There will be haters. Pouncey skill set & athleticism is one thing...It is at the Top of the list for interior OL. Pouncey has very quick presnap recognition & is very good adjusting line calls all the way to the snap. Very intelligent & a student of the game. I have no problem with this signing at all. You get Decastro locked up next year. Gilbert will walk after 2014. You have your starting OTs in the Beachum, Adams, Johnson, mix for 2015. If any of them fail you have the draft. I'm perfectly fine with paying 2 interior guys Top Dollars on the OL if we are dedicating ourselves to zone blocking.
Look long term here guys. "IF" the players drafted & signed are who they think they are...Where the Steelers going next years draft? Doesn't look to be a QB, RB, WR, DL, ILB, or S RD 1. Now throw in some "ifs". If They lock up Worilds long term...Take away OLB. If Richardson & Blake turn out to be what they think they could be...Take away CB. The Steelers may really only have starting to look for Millers replacement on their plate. If the OTs on this roster turn out to be (what it seems so many are rooting for) "Busts"......You make OT a draft day need. Really...No worries here.
I'm using my crystal ball with a sprinkle of "worst case scenario". The Steelers investments will be "profitable". I feel Worilds is in the long term plans this year or next. I feel the defensive starters for years to come are all on this roster right now with some depth behind them. So the Steelers won't be looking at DL, LB, or DB early next year. I look on the other side of the ball & I could see TE coming up with the #1 & #2 being 32 & 31. If there are any questions at OT at the end of the year...You can address in draft. I don't see QB, RB, or WR being an early target. So if the LT "experiments" fail...You draft your LT in the 1st of the 2015 draft even if you have to use a 3rd to go get one. 5th year option for 1st rounders make for good cornerstone picks. If Munchak's influence isn't visible at the end of 2014 with Adams, Beachum, & Johnson...The Steelers will know their direction.
Everyone put down the half empty or half full glass. Let's just "ASSume" this FO & coaching staff knows what they are doing. Let's NOT look at the roster as overflowing with potential...Let's look at it as the Pieces are in place. Locking up the "Knowns" for the future creates Runs...And not the lumpy kind. Pouncey's $$$ does nothing to hinder that. Ike's & Troy's $ are going to be gone. The Steelers will recover about 6 mil of dead money for 2015 versus the nearly 11 mil this year they are absorbing. The books are fine. Gotta pay the talent to make strides forward. Building a core is what kept them as contenders for so many years. Have to keep locking up those pieces.
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