Ziggy Hood - Second-year stud or dud?

[hawaiiansteel]

What do you guys think, are you glad we drafted Ziggy Hood in the 1st round last year?



Second-year studs or duds?

May, 18, 2010
By James Walker

Ziggy Hood, DE, Pittsburgh Steelers




2009 draft status: First round

Analysis: Hood had a typical rookie year for the Steelers. On a veteran-laden team, he was able to get his feet wet in the defensive-line rotation without the pressure of being a starter. Hood played in all 16 games as a reserve and recorded eight tackles, one sack and two passes defensed. Barring injury, Hood will remain a backup this year but still needs to increase his production. Ideally, Hood will be able to earn more snaps and be able to keep starting defensive ends Brett Keisel and Aaron Smith fresh in the trenches.


[url="http://espn.go.com/blog/afcnorth/pos...-studs-or-duds"]http://espn.go.com/blog/afcnorth/pos...-studs-or-duds[/url]

[fezziwig]

I don't think he has had enough reps to really give a valued opinion. If he could end up being as good as Aaron Smith, Ray Seals or even Von O'Hoffen I would be happy.

I think it will take him a season of totally being on the field to learn. I would then grade him the following season and see if he was worth the pick.

[steelblood]

I'd like to see him transform that body a bit. That picture makes him look dumpy with skinny arms for his size. He needs to train with Smith and Keisel, those boys are really well built.

[StarSpangledSteeler]

i would say right in the middle. but that's ok. picking at 32 it's very rare you get a bonafide stud. usually you hope for a solid starter and i think we got that. i've read a couple of articles where aaron smith has basically said, 'keep your eye on this kid he's gonna be a good one' which speaks a lot to his technique and on field understanding. so i think he'll be fine.

the one problem i have with hood pick is we neglected OL yet again, so now the question becomes, would you rather have drafted hood and pouncey? or unger and odrick?

[Oviedo]

Oh yea, he is definitely a "bust." No Pro Bowl as a rookie. Didn't push two high performing, established veterans out of the starting line up. LeBeau and John Mitchell should both be fired for picking this guy and failing to develop him.

Walker needs to quit being an idiot and understand the role of a DE in our defense. I'd like to know his metric for "increasing production."

[Shawn]

I think Hood is going to be the real deal. From the little I seen he seemed quick, powerful with a nice burst.

[SidSmythe]

I read this article. I think the bigger question will be MIKE WALLACE.

WALLACE is more likely to be a starter this year ... HOOD will be a rotational player. HOOD will make an impact, but WALLACE will need to fill HOLMES' shoes.

[ANPSTEEL]

I like Ziggy, if only because he is a cartoon character.

In all seriousness-

Tomlin's 1st round picks in 07 & 08 both have the same signature move.

the spin move.

Hopefully this trend does not continue in to 09.

ok, ok- on a seriously, serious note-

We have not seen enough of ziggy to have any real idea about his ability to play the position as a starter- the only things I have taken away from his brief stints in the games were:

- he is very quick and athletic for his size
- he seems to revert back to his 4-3 DE or UT mentality often

[Oviedo]

I read this article. I think the bigger question will be MIKE WALLACE.

WALLACE is more likely to be a starter this year ... HOOD will be a rotational player. HOOD will make an impact, but WALLACE will need to fill HOLMES' shoes.

You have correctly identified what may be the key question to our season's success. Wallace has a lot to prove learning a new positions and new patterns and reads plus he has to also learn how to deal with double teams that he never saw last year.

If he matches last seasons totals I think that will be a good first step forward.

[cruzer8]

I read this article. I think the bigger question will be MIKE WALLACE.

WALLACE is more likely to be a starter this year ... HOOD will be a rotational player. HOOD will make an impact, but WALLACE will need to fill HOLMES' shoes.

You have correctly identified what may be the key question to our season's success. Wallace has a lot to prove learning a new positions and new patterns and reads plus he has to also learn how to deal with double teams that he never saw last year.

If he matches last seasons totals I think that will be a good first step forward.

It's not an automatic that Wallace will see double teams.