Warren and Wallace sign

[K Train]

For the reasons you mentioned, he is limited. And I like Cody's nasty streak better than Pouncey's thug vibe (Best friends with Aaron Hernandez). Cody just lines up and fights you. He doesn't need tribal tattoos to look tough. Pouncy has been overrated and ASSUMED good from the start because:

1.) He was drafted by the Steelers in the first round. (Everyone assumes that means you are good).
2.) He plays center for the Pittsburgh Steelers (Long tradition of fine center play - Webster, Dirt, Hartings.)
3.) He had a good start of his career, so everyone assumes he continued to develop but I am not so sure he did.)

If you WATCH him play, you will see he get run over and tossed around like a rag doll much of the time. The reason people think he is good, is when he get off the first wave on the DL, he is good at running LBs over. But that is not the norm. Watch him actually play and you will see the former happens more than the latter. I rarely saw Wallace get tossed around like he was on ice wearing ice skates.

Sounds more personal about pouncey than play, but ill bite:

1.) He was drafted by the Steelers in the first round. (Everyone assumes that means you are good).
Well thats just not true. Ask Evander Hood, ive loathed him since day one but hes become (and for good reason) a whipping boy on the defensive side of the ball and is a big time bust

2.) He plays center for the Pittsburgh Steelers (Long tradition of fine center play - Webster, Dirt, Hartings.)
He played center just fine, i was very excited to see him in Bicknells system. You are right hes terrific at the second level, which is why ive been a long time fan of moving him to guard. But this statement isnt really true, you can ask Sean Mahan and Justin Hartwig if the fans ever made them feel better than they really were

3.) He had a good start of his career, so everyone assumes he continued to develop but I am not so sure he did.)
I would give you this, but that doesnt mean hes a worse player than he was.

I am glad they plan on keeping pouncey another year, I think hes a great player...not the best center in the league but one hell of an athlete for an interior oline. Ideally id play him at LG, that should have been his spot since day one given his thin lower body but when you have Justin Hartwig to beat out you do it with ease

I like Wallace, glad they brought him back...if pouncey commands top dollar next year they have some insurance at the position

[Shawn]

Have you actually WATCHED Pouncey play or do you just assume he is so great? He was getting thrown around like a rag doll before - again - he was out for the entire season.

Again not true. Yes, I watch Pouncey play.

[8467thekraken]

To me, it seems like Pouncey may not be a good fit in Pittsburgh. That Hernandez thing really turned me off of him. If Wallace can provide the same production or better, I don't want Pittsburgh to use that money on Pouncey.

His play was never jaw dropping to me. Getting rid of Pouncey is a good move cap-wise and for team morale/chemistry.

I mean, I can't be the only one who was turned off by the Hernandez crap.

[sick beats]

Sounds more personal about pouncey than play, but ill bite:

Personal? No dude. The only thing I take personally is if a player doesn't help my favorite team win as much as he should. And just like the Steelers themselves, if a player is a bad apple, that IS part of his total evaluation, and, granted, if a player is exceptional in the game, he gets a longer leash on off field/personality issues. The team operates that way and I think most of us fans are the same way: If a player helps us win rings, we give them more slack, but not endless. Holmes endless hippie lettuce FAILs is an example to eventually just too much bad off field news. (Plus, it didn't help that it occurred during Ben's horrid PR stints. That was a big part of dumping Holmes in my opinion. Rooneys felt they were on a PR mess and had to stop the bleeding.)

1.) He was drafted by the Steelers in the first round. (Everyone assumes that means you are good).
Well thats just not true. Ask Evander Hood, ive loathed him since day one but hes become (and for good reason) a whipping boy on the defensive side of the ball and is a big time bust

Of course being a first round for the Steelers doesn't mean you are infallible forever regardless of play, but you have to admit, being a Pgh first rounder gives you some street cred originally. But you can't ride those coat tails forever. Of course, if you don't produce, eventually you are found out. Of course. But how many times have you read or heard something like, "If you are a first round pick of the Steelers, you are probably good, because the Steelers have shown they know what they are doing when it comes to the draft." I have heard it plenty.

2.) He plays center for the Pittsburgh Steelers (Long tradition of fine center play - Webster, Dirt, Hartings.)
He played center just fine, i was very excited to see him in Bicknells system. You are right hes terrific at the second level, which is why ive been a long time fan of moving him to guard. But this statement isnt really true, you can ask Sean Mahan and Justin Hartwig if the fans ever made them feel better than they really were

Yea, but Hartwig and Mahan were not high Steeler draft picks; they were known ham and eggers, and as such, would not have the typical Steelers center reps. Different animal.

3.) He had a good start of his career, so everyone assumes he continued to develop but I am not so sure he did.)
I would give you this, but that doesnt mean hes a worse player than he was.

I am going to be honest: Do I think he got worse? I really can't say. But I don't recall seeing him getting manhandled like a rag doll as a rookie as much. I know what I saw last year before he got hurt and was surprised he was thrown around by DTs so much.

I am glad they plan on keeping pouncey another year, I think hes a great player...not the best center in the league but one hell of an athlete for an interior oline. Ideally id play him at LG, that should have been his spot since day one given his thin lower body but when you have Justin Hartwig to beat out you do it with ease

I am not bitching they brought him back, but I am just saying it seems his perceived ranking is higher than reality would dictate. Wallace looked good out there. Pouncey looked good and then bad; not really consistent.

I like Wallace, glad they brought him back...if pouncey commands top dollar next year they have some insurance at the position

I liked the other guy too. As long as one was brought back, I am happy. This is a big year for Pouncey. He could position himself for a giant new deal, or for a very mid-level deal. If he doesn't blow up big time, I hope they don't give him a premium OC deal, as he doesn't deserve it. I am not sure if he is even better than his brother.

[sick beats]

To me, it seems like Pouncey may not be a good fit in Pittsburgh. That Hernandez thing really turned me off of him. If Wallace can provide the same production or better, I don't want Pittsburgh to use that money on Pouncey.

His play was never jaw dropping to me. Getting rid of Pouncey is a good move cap-wise and for team morale/chemistry.

I mean, I can't be the only one who was turned off by the Hernandez crap.

No, you aren't. I just don't understand the mentality of "He is my boy, so nothing he does should put him in jail." That is one F'd up way to think. "Free Hernandez?" He should be allowed to murder people? I have stuck with more than 1 friend who ended up serving time, but they didn't kill anyone and were still good people even though they got in some trouble. But that is not the same thing as this.

[birtikidis]

To me, it seems like Pouncey may not be a good fit in Pittsburgh. That Hernandez thing really turned me off of him. If Wallace can provide the same production or better, I don't want Pittsburgh to use that money on Pouncey.

and this is why most people say that Pouncey isn't good. even though he is arguably the best center in the NFL. The second statement shows you just how little some people know about the game.

[thor75]

A couple good signings, now lets add Cotchery to this headline.

[birtikidis]

Personal? No dude. The only thing I take personally is if a player doesn't help my favorite team win as much as he should. And just like the Steelers themselves, if a player is a bad apple, that IS part of his total evaluation, and, granted, if a player is exceptional in the game, he gets a longer leash on off field/personality issues. The team operates that way and I think most of us fans are the same way: If a player helps us win rings, we give them more slack, but not endless. Holmes endless hippie lettuce FAILs is an example to eventually just too much bad off field news. (Plus, it didn't help that it occurred during Ben's horrid PR stints. That was a big part of dumping Holmes in my opinion. Rooneys felt they were on a PR mess and had to stop the bleeding.)




Of course being a first round for the Steelers doesn't mean you are infallible forever regardless of play, but you have to admit, being a Pgh first rounder gives you some street cred originally. But you can't ride those coat tails forever. Of course, if you don't produce, eventually you are found out. Of course. But how many times have you read or heard something like, "If you are a first round pick of the Steelers, you are probably good, because the Steelers have shown they know what they are doing when it comes to the draft." I have heard it plenty.



Yea, but Hartwig and Mahan were not high Steeler draft picks; they were known ham and eggers, and as such, would not have the typical Steelers center reps. Different animal.



I am going to be honest: Do I think he got worse? I really can't say. But I don't recall seeing him getting manhandled like a rag doll as a rookie as much. I know what I saw last year before he got hurt and was surprised he was thrown around by DTs so much. what was that 8 plays into the season? The only manhandling he got was from Decastro


I am not bitching they brought him back, but I am just saying it seems his perceived ranking is higher than reality would dictate. Wallace looked good out there. Pouncey looked good and then bad; not really consistent.



I liked the other guy too. As long as one was brought back, I am happy. This is a big year for Pouncey. He could position himself for a giant new deal, or for a very mid-level deal. If he doesn't blow up big time, I hope they don't give him a premium OC deal, as he doesn't deserve it. I am not sure if he is even better than his brother.

I only had to answer to one of those quotes. Seriously man.

[fordfixer]

I really thought Cody Wallace played better than Pouncey and am glad they signed him. Pouncey is soooo overrated.

I think this is the first positive thing I have seen you say about the Steelers or one of the player's... Well done

[RuthlessBurgher]

Slightly surprised that they valued Cody Wallace over Fernando Velasco (particularly with Velasco's connection to Munchak back in Tennessee).