Fat Casey to Stay With Steelers This Season

[feltdizz]

I hate having all these veterans lingering around. It breeds complacency, entitlement... Besides, we have enough veterans around anyway, without all those guys (Hampton being a poster boy for entitled/complacency).

I want hungry players. Not hungry in the literal sense (i.e. Hampton). I mean hungry in the figurative sense.

It sounds like you don't like obesity. Seriously... I can't think of any other reason why you bash Hampton or use him as the prime example of a vet that needs to go.

Complacency? How about consistency. Hampton has probably been the most consistent Steeler since he arrived. I think we lost him for the bulk of one season since he's been here due to injury.

We. Need him to play for less money but I doubt the FO will use his weight as the primary reason he needs to restructure. I don't have a problem with joking Snacks size but pointing to his weight when talking about what needs to be fixed with the Steelers vet issues is pure ignorance.

I'm not anti-Casey. If he was a former Steeler, I'd be singing his praises as the best NT we've had (in our 3-4 era). But he reached his peak in probably 2008, after our last SB win. 2011 highlighted how keeping aging players out of sentimentality or lack of a better option makes a team. We were ranked "#1" (or whatever we ended up in total D), but anyone who watched every game could see how that ranking was a farce. We rarely turned the ball over. You know why? We old.

Hampton is my poster-boy because... yes, he shows up obese. Farrior, and the rest at least show some willingness to be in some sort of shape. I understand Nose tackles are supposed to be girthy, but IMO there is a difference between girthy and obese. (I happen to think guys like Wilfork are obese too, for the record.) I just don't think there is any reason for guys to be THAT fat.

Casey started showing up out of shape under Cowher. Cowher let him get away with it but that all changed under Tomlin. Tomlin embarrassed Casey his first year and I think it had a big effect on him. When Casey signed his contract before the 2010 season I expected him to show up fat and out of shape. Instead he showed up at camp in better shape than he had been in for years. He also had what I thought was one of the better seasons in his career.

He was also in good shape last year but I think he got a bad rap when the ratbirds started diving at his knees in the first game of the season and he got a little gun shy. That didn't last long and he had his normal good year as anchor of the D-line. Yes, he counts a bunch against the salary cap but I don't think cutting him helps us in that regard. He is still a good player so if we have to pay him anyway then let's use his talent. Keeping Casey is a no brainer right now.

Tomlin got on Casey his first year and that was the last time we heard of Casey being out of shape.

It's easy to say Casey shows up obese every camp.. because he is a freaking NT!!!!

He will always be obese. Casey being obese or "old" isn't the reason we aren't getting TO's on D.