Stop the Madness!!

[RuthlessBurgher]

In the last 20 years, the Steelers have essentially made three boom or bust picks. One of those (Ben) worked very well; the other two (Troy Edwards and Jamain Stephens) did not.

Whenever you take guys from small schools, some boom and some bust (take Ike Taylor from Louisiana-LaFayette vs. Ricardo Colclough from Tusculum, for example...neither was a first rounder, but we struck gold with the guy we took in the 4th, and struck out with the guy we traded up for in the 2nd). With that said, however, I wouldn't necessarily put Ben and Poe in the same category as Stephens and Edwards. To wit:

Jamain Stephens went to North Carolina A & T...Division I-AA school (I suppose they call it the "Football Championship Subdivision" now as opposed to Division I-A's "Bowl Championship Subdivision", but whatever...same thing). Troy Edwards went to Louisiana Tech. Granted, that's where we got Terry Bradshaw too, but that was a different animal. When we drafted Edwards, La. Tech had only been in Division I-A for a decade...they were I-AA up to 1989.

That's different than Miami (OH) from the MAC, which has proven to be a respectable grounds for developing NFL talent, particularly at QB (although most of them are on our roster now...Ben, Byron, and Charlie are all MAC QB's...I'm shocked that we never signed Pennington near the end of his career). Memphis is no slouch either...they've been in Conference USA, and are moving to the Big East after this season. Mike Tomlin and Randy Fichtner coached there, DeAngelo Williams and Isaac Bruce played there, etc.

[Dee Dub]

did we really need a 4th Dont'a Hightower thread?

Yes we did...but we sure could have done without you complaining about them in all 4 threads.

[Oviedo]

If Poe can collapse the pocket better than Hood or Heyward, then he'd stay on the field as one of the nickel/dime DT's (a guy that big will need breathers now and then, so he won't be on the field all time, but he's not just a plugger to take up blockers and stuff the run...he displayed the movement skills to be disruptive as a pass rusher as well).

Bingo... we need guys up front who can collapse the pocket.

That's called a 4-3 defense, ask the Giants

As long as LeBeau is the DC we will not see our defensive linemen collapsing the pocket. They have the critical task of "occupying" blockers instead of making plays in the backfield.

[hawaiiansteel]

did we really need a 4th Dont'a Hightower thread?

Yes we did...but we sure could have done without you complaining about them in all 4 threads.

you exaggerate, I only complained about it in 3 of the four threads...

[grotonsteel]

[quote=Dee Dub]

If we don't have guys who can collapse the pocket then we won't have to worry about who is a two down, 2.5 down, or three down player...........as we might never get to third down.

This is the great thing about Hightower. If you look at those clips you can see he is a force inside with the blitz. He himself can collapse the pocket.[/quote:bnhcfvzs]


Can he cover TEs and RB?? I don't think Hightower plays well in space. I will pass.

I can get better value in later rounds.


Most of his scouting report:
Not going to excel in man coverage, some stiffness in the hips – Durability is a concern – Will occasionally be over-aggressive – Not a sideline to sideline guy.

[grotonsteel]

I'd take Hightower as a 2.5-3 down player without hesitation because I do know that a NT like Poe will be watching 1.5 of those downs from the sideline.

An impact ILB is more importnat right now for our defense than a NT.

Timmons is sure as hell being paid like an impact ILB, and the Steelers don't need 2 impact ILBs. Timmons and a solid ILB should be fine.

And you don't need to burn a Rd 1 draft pick for solid ILB. Get solid ILB in mid-rounds.

DeMario Davis
Nigel Bradham

[RuthlessBurgher]

If Poe can collapse the pocket better than Hood or Heyward, then he'd stay on the field as one of the nickel/dime DT's (a guy that big will need breathers now and then, so he won't be on the field all time, but he's not just a plugger to take up blockers and stuff the run...he displayed the movement skills to be disruptive as a pass rusher as well).

Bingo... we need guys up front who can collapse the pocket.

That's called a 4-3 defense, ask the Giants

As long as LeBeau is the DC we will not see our defensive linemen collapsing the pocket. They have the critical task of "occupying" blockers instead of making plays in the backfield.

Responsibilites for our d-linemen are different on 1st and 2nd down in our standard 3-4 (occupy blockers) than they are in nickel and dime packages (rush the passer). I'm talking about using Poe in nickel/dime situations if he can collapse the pocket, but that is what they are asked to do in those situations.

[Dee Dub]

And you don't need to burn a Rd 1 draft pick for solid ILB. Get solid ILB in mid-rounds.

DeMario Davis
Nigel Bradham

and then two things you hope for, one they transition to a 3-4, and two that you hope to get something out of them by year 2 if not year 3.

Neither one will get on the field in year one other than special teams.

[Oviedo]

I'd take Hightower as a 2.5-3 down player without hesitation because I do know that a NT like Poe will be watching 1.5 of those downs from the sideline.

An impact ILB is more importnat right now for our defense than a NT.

Timmons is sure as hell being paid like an impact ILB, and the Steelers don't need 2 impact ILBs. Timmons and a solid ILB should be fine.

And you don't need to burn a Rd 1 draft pick for solid ILB. Get solid ILB in mid-rounds.

DeMario Davis
Nigel Bradham

Well, given that BOTH our current ILBs are former 1st Rd picks I'm not sure that holds true.

[Dee Dub]

Can he cover TEs and RB?? I don't think Hightower plays well in space. I will pass.

He's adequate. I've seen him hold his own at it. But you dont need both of your ILB to be great at coverage. The zone blitz is is a defense that actually helps coverage in that they have a zone or if in man they get over the top help. And since he played ILB in a 3-4 how do you figure he doesnt play well in space? To excel at it at that position, which he did at Alabama, is the epitome of playing in space. What space are you talking about, outer space?

I can get better value in later rounds.

That is far from being true. In Hightower you can get an immediate impact starter. In later rounds you arent even guaranteed they will make the roster. How is that better value? If he excelled in Saban's 3-4 zone blitz you can bet he can come in and start for the Steelers.

Most of his scouting report:
Not going to excel in man coverage, some stiffness in the hips – Durability is a concern – Will occasionally be over-aggressive – Not a sideline to sideline guy.

Stop reading about him and watch the tapes yourself.