Ziggy Hood...child please!!!!

[steelblood]

Re: Ziggy Hood...child please!!!!

Yes!

Never mind that he changed positions in his first year!

Never mind that he is injured!

He obviously is a bust...he hasn't shown anything yet so there's no chance he ever will!

He's a wasted pick!

He needs to justify being taken at 1.32 but I don't think he ever will!

What a disaster!

If he hasn't done anything by now he never will!



Oops....

Let's cut him now. The La-Z-Boy experts have done their in-depth analysis and have spoken.

Why rely on the assessments of Tomlin, LeBeau, John Mitchell, Smith or anyone in the organization. Obviously they don't know anything.

Are we also posting pictures of Bruce Davis and Alonzo Jackson? The Bruce Davis one kills me. I was sure when they picked him that he'd be a steal. I loved watching him at UCLA.

Seriously though, no one here except perhaps JD is saying he is a complete bust or anything close to that. We will rely on him though. The pressure is on. I hope he responds.

[Shawn]

Re: Ziggy Hood...child please!!!!

I couldn't disagree with you more JD. We must be watching a different guy. Yes, he has looked less than explosive this season. And as others have said before he is nursing a bum ankle. What I have seen from Hood in the past is that brings a unique skill set to the table. While Smith and Keisel are both solid at run support and taking on double teams Hood has explosive ability to also create serious problems for the OL if they try to block him one on one. He can take it to the QB with terrific first step speed and adequate power.

I see Hood only getting smarter and stronger at the POA. I believe he will be an elite 3-4 end in the next 2-3 seasons.

[Shawn]

Re: Ziggy Hood...child please!!!!

There has always been an excuse for Ziggy. Now that Smith is done and Keisel may be out again. We will rely on him. He has been in the system for 1 1/2 years. He was a number one pick. Now, bad ankle or not, he needs to produce. Next week will be very interesting. I don't think we will play as much base D as we normally do. LeBeau needs to be careful with heavy blitzes because Brees will find his hot reads quickly. We must get pressure with 4 or 5 guys (and a lot more pressure than we got today). Plus, Ziggy must hold up at the POA to stop the run.

Always an excuse? Isn't that what many said about Timmons? He has only played a little bit much like many defensive greats before him. Don't you think we should see Hood actually play a reasonable about of time over several seasons before we can adequate view the bustometer.

[Shawn]

Re: Ziggy Hood...child please!!!!

Yes!

Never mind that he changed positions in his first year!

Never mind that he is injured!

He obviously is a bust...he hasn't shown anything yet so there's no chance he ever will!

He's a wasted pick!

He needs to justify being taken at 1.32 but I don't think he ever will!

What a disaster!

If he hasn't done anything by now he never will!



Oops....

Let's cut him now. The La-Z-Boy experts have done their in-depth analysis and have spoken.

Why rely on the assessments of Tomlin, LeBeau, John Mitchell, Smith or anyone in the organization. Obviously they don't know anything.

Overall, that group has done an amazing job at assessing talent. According to the La-Z-Boy talent scouts we should have cut Timmons long ago. Amzing how gifted they are eh?

[Eddie Spaghetti]

Re: Ziggy Hood...child please!!!!

According to the La-Z-Boy talent scouts we should have cut Timmons long ago. Amzing how gifted they are eh?

the same ones who said Pouncey was vastly overrated and Urbik was a future Pro Bowler???

[papillon]

Re: Ziggy Hood...child please!!!!

There has always been an excuse for Ziggy. Now that Smith is done and Keisel may be out again. We will rely on him. He has been in the system for 1 1/2 years. He was a number one pick. Now, bad ankle or not, he needs to produce. Next week will be very interesting. I don't think we will play as much base D as we normally do. LeBeau needs to be careful with heavy blitzes because Brees will find his hot reads quickly. We must get pressure with 4 or 5 guys (and a lot more pressure than we got today). Plus, Ziggy must hold up at the POA to stop the run.

I don't know what to say other than the following:

1998 - Alan Faneca
1999 - Troy Edwards
2000 - Plaxico Burress
2001 - Casey Hampton
2002 - Kendall Simmons
2003 - Troy Polamalu
2004 - Ben Roethlisberger
2005 - Heath Miller
2006 - Santonio Holmes
2007 - Lawrence Timmons
2008 - Rashard Mendenhall
2009 - Ziggy Hood?

That's an impressive list of first round selections. Three potential HOfers when they're done (Faneca, Polamalu and Roethlisberger) and 5 really good players with pro-bowl potential this year or have been to a pro-bowl (Hampton, Miller, Holmes, Timmons and Mendenhall), Edwards was a bust and Simmons had a nice career. It remains to be seen what becomes of Hood.

Insisting that Hood produce like Aaron Smith this year is ludicrous as we have seen, 9 times out of 10 it takes some time to be successful in the Steeler defense or maybe Lebeau is too dumb to realize how good players are and simply waits to play them.

Pappy

[phillyesq]

Re: Ziggy Hood...child please!!!!

According to the La-Z-Boy talent scouts we should have cut Timmons long ago. Amzing how gifted they are eh?

the same ones who said Pouncey was vastly overrated and Urbik was a future Pro Bowler???

Must be the same ones who also had the likes of Bruce Davis and Joe Burnett (both of whom are unemployed) as studs on the defense, while finding James Harrison to be overrated in a system that we should scrap.

[steelblood]

Re: Ziggy Hood...child please!!!!

There has always been an excuse for Ziggy. Now that Smith is done and Keisel may be out again. We will rely on him. He has been in the system for 1 1/2 years. He was a number one pick. Now, bad ankle or not, he needs to produce. Next week will be very interesting. I don't think we will play as much base D as we normally do. LeBeau needs to be careful with heavy blitzes because Brees will find his hot reads quickly. We must get pressure with 4 or 5 guys (and a lot more pressure than we got today). Plus, Ziggy must hold up at the POA to stop the run.

I don't know what to say other than the following:

1998 - Alan Faneca
1999 - Troy Edwards
2000 - Plaxico Burress
2001 - Casey Hampton
2002 - Kendall Simmons
2003 - Troy Polamalu
2004 - Ben Roethlisberger
2005 - Heath Miller
2006 - Santonio Holmes
2007 - Lawrence Timmons
2008 - Rashard Mendenhall
2009 - Ziggy Hood?

That's an impressive list of first round selections. Three potential HOfers when they're done (Faneca, Polamalu and Roethlisberger) and 5 really good players with pro-bowl potential this year or have been to a pro-bowl (Hampton, Miller, Holmes, Timmons and Mendenhall), Edwards was a bust and Simmons had a nice career. It remains to be seen what becomes of Hood.

Insisting that Hood produce like Aaron Smith this year is ludicrous as we have seen, 9 times out of 10 it takes some time to be successful in the Steeler defense or maybe Lebeau is too dumb to realize how good players are and simply waits to play them.

Pappy

It is a great track record on first round picks.

I have never, in my life, entertained the idea that Hood would or should produce like Aaron Smith. Please don't put words in my mouth.

My sole point is that Hood has been here and has had his redshirt season and a half of another to learn the position. Now, we need him. It is time for him to produce. In another thread, I said that my hope for him is that he simply improve. I want him to be functional now. But, I realize that you can only learn so much in practice and in limited game reps. As he gets more playing time, his mastery of the position will be accelerated. My hope is that he is a solid 3-4 DE come playoff time. This is not a "ridiculous" expectation. The pressure will be on Hood, and I hope he responds. I am not calling him a bust, not even close. Just because I didn't say I disagree with JD, doesn't mean that I agree with his assessment.

[phillyesq]

Re: Ziggy Hood...child please!!!!

We will all get to see now if Hood grows into what they thought he would. With Smith going down...He sits at the head table. Time to eat Ziggy!

He may be eating at the head table, but he hasn't been to finishing school yet. So, you can expect some errors in his table etiquette and manners.

Pappy

I think the jury is still out on Hood. He has certainly shown flashes, and I'd love to see him seize this opportunity and establish himself. I agree with Pappy that he'll likely make some mistakes, but what I want to see is whether he shows enough that he can be counted on going forward.

Hood will be a huge step down from Aaron Smith, but so would just about anybody else in the league right now, with a few exceptions.

[Eddie Spaghetti]

Re: Ziggy Hood...child please!!!!

According to the La-Z-Boy talent scouts we should have cut Timmons long ago. Amzing how gifted they are eh?

the same ones who said Pouncey was vastly overrated and Urbik was a future Pro Bowler???

Must be the same ones who also had the likes of Bruce Davis and Joe Burnett (both of whom are unemployed) as studs on the defense, while finding James Harrison to be overrated in a system that we should scrap.

thats exactly the problem with the Lazy Boy experts.

they want it both ways. criticize amd mock others for finding faults in a player yet, want total absolution from some of their obviously incorrect assumptions and football knowledge.

and then they want you to believe they know better than dick lebeau how to run the zone blitz and call defensive plays. hilarious.

[steelblood]

Re: Ziggy Hood...child please!!!!

There has always been an excuse for Ziggy. Now that Smith is done and Keisel may be out again. We will rely on him. He has been in the system for 1 1/2 years. He was a number one pick. Now, bad ankle or not, he needs to produce. Next week will be very interesting. I don't think we will play as much base D as we normally do. LeBeau needs to be careful with heavy blitzes because Brees will find his hot reads quickly. We must get pressure with 4 or 5 guys (and a lot more pressure than we got today). Plus, Ziggy must hold up at the POA to stop the run.

Always an excuse? Isn't that what many said about Timmons? He has only played a little bit much like many defensive greats before him. Don't you think we should see Hood actually play a reasonable about of time over several seasons before we can adequate view the bustometer.

The word "excuse" was a poor choice. It has a negative connotation that has lead some here to think that I was labeling Hood a bust. By excuses, I simply mean that he has not had to produce because the coaches here believe that it takes time to learn the D (excuse 1). Further, he has been insulated by great players in front of him so there has been no pressure to produce as there normally is a for a first round pick (excuse 2). Neither of these are Hood's fault. But, now he has to play and produce. And, I think he will to some level.

Never said he was a bust. He really hasn't a had a shot to make a name for himself. He will now.

[Shawn]

Re: Ziggy Hood...child please!!!!

There has always been an excuse for Ziggy. Now that Smith is done and Keisel may be out again. We will rely on him. He has been in the system for 1 1/2 years. He was a number one pick. Now, bad ankle or not, he needs to produce. Next week will be very interesting. I don't think we will play as much base D as we normally do. LeBeau needs to be careful with heavy blitzes because Brees will find his hot reads quickly. We must get pressure with 4 or 5 guys (and a lot more pressure than we got today). Plus, Ziggy must hold up at the POA to stop the run.

Always an excuse? Isn't that what many said about Timmons? He has only played a little bit much like many defensive greats before him. Don't you think we should see Hood actually play a reasonable about of time over several seasons before we can adequate view the bustometer.

The word "excuse" was a poor choice. It has a negative connotation that has lead some here to think that I was labeling Hood a bust. By excuses, I simply mean that he has not had to produce because the coaches here believe that it takes time to learn the D (excuse 1). Further, he has been insulated by great players in front of him so there has been no pressure to produce as there normally is a for a first round pick (excuse 2). Neither of these are Hood's fault. But, now he has to play and produce. And, I think he will to some level.

Never said he was a bust. He really hasn't a had a shot to make a name for himself. He will now.

Then I would agree. It's time for Hood to put on his big boy helmet and play some ball. I want him to be serviceable for now showing flashes. But, like you I want to see growth over the season.

[buckeyehoppy]

Re: Ziggy Hood...child please!!!!

In the interest of full disclosure, I've always had a problem with where we took LT because, at the time, we needed a player that was going to need to have a more immediate impact. I thought LT was an intriguing pick, but maybe not the right one for us. I knew he was going to be a project and a "red shirt". Hardly the situation you'd want out of a 1.14 (I think that's where we took him).

Having said that, I'm glad the project has worked. Sometimes, Steeler fans, like me, need to see the bigger picture and hope for the best.

I think the situ was a little different for Ziggy because we could afford to make him a bit of project. We had guys in front of him that he wasn't going to supplant immediately.

But now, he needs to play. Sure, he has the ankle issue. He needs to overcome that and play. I have no worries that he will do the job and I think he will be more effective the more action he gets.

[Shoe]

It's Sink or Swim time

While I don't agree that he is a bust, I do think it is time for him to produce. If he doesn't this team will be SOL. I think he will. In some ways, Hood getting this playing time at this stage of his career will be a blessing. He'll never grow into a dominant 3-4 end without extended playing time. He should get it now.

I agree.
Too early to call him a bust, but given the circumstance (i.e. we drafted him #1 last year replace one of our aging DE's-->one of those DE's, our Star DE, goes down midway thru his rookie year-->Ziggy is unable to step in for him-->in other words, he was granted a "redshirt" year-->which is fine-->the next season, he isn't able to crack the starting lineup, which is reasonable considering who he's playing behind-->yet he hasn't even emerged as the #3 DE, against the likes of Nick Eason-->the aforementioned Star DE goes down again-->the team really needs someone to step up again-->same situation as last year, except he's had two camps and a full season to stew in his juices... you'd hope that he'd be able to step up and fill that prescription).

[papillon]

Re: Ziggy Hood...child please!!!!

There has always been an excuse for Ziggy. Now that Smith is done and Keisel may be out again. We will rely on him. He has been in the system for 1 1/2 years. He was a number one pick. Now, bad ankle or not, he needs to produce. Next week will be very interesting. I don't think we will play as much base D as we normally do. LeBeau needs to be careful with heavy blitzes because Brees will find his hot reads quickly. We must get pressure with 4 or 5 guys (and a lot more pressure than we got today). Plus, Ziggy must hold up at the POA to stop the run.

I don't know what to say other than the following:

1998 - Alan Faneca
1999 - Troy Edwards
2000 - Plaxico Burress
2001 - Casey Hampton
2002 - Kendall Simmons
2003 - Troy Polamalu
2004 - Ben Roethlisberger
2005 - Heath Miller
2006 - Santonio Holmes
2007 - Lawrence Timmons
2008 - Rashard Mendenhall
2009 - Ziggy Hood?

That's an impressive list of first round selections. Three potential HOfers when they're done (Faneca, Polamalu and Roethlisberger) and 5 really good players with pro-bowl potential this year or have been to a pro-bowl (Hampton, Miller, Holmes, Timmons and Mendenhall), Edwards was a bust and Simmons had a nice career. It remains to be seen what becomes of Hood.

Insisting that Hood produce like Aaron Smith this year is ludicrous as we have seen, 9 times out of 10 it takes some time to be successful in the Steeler defense or maybe Lebeau is too dumb to realize how good players are and simply waits to play them.

Pappy

It is a great track record on first round picks.

I have never, in my life, entertained the idea that Hood would or should produce like Aaron Smith. Please don't put words in my mouth.

My sole point is that Hood has been here and has had his redshirt season and a half of another to learn the position. Now, we need him. It is time for him to produce. In another thread, I said that my hope for him is that he simply improve. I want him to be functional now. But, I realize that you can only learn so much in practice and in limited game reps. As he gets more playing time, his mastery of the position will be accelerated. My hope is that he is a solid 3-4 DE come playoff time. This is not a "ridiculous" expectation. The pressure will be on Hood, and I hope he responds. I am not calling him a bust, not even close. Just because I didn't say I disagree with JD, doesn't mean that I agree with his assessment.

It took Timmons a few years, Mendenhall a few years and it will take Hood a few years, but, chances are, when he steps in permanently at DE he will perform in a similar fashion to the way Timmons is performing this year.

It's how the Steelers do things, patient, methodical and calculated, they aren't changing unless they absolutely have to. We need Hood to perform, don't be surprised if he looks lost at times. it's normal. Be thankful that the Steelers rarely, if ever, are in such dire straits that they need a 1st round draft pick to perform at a high level immediately.

Even with Pouncey, they didn't need him to perform the way he is, he simply was able to beat out a bad center. If Hood was playing behind a bad DE, chances are, he'd win tyhe job, but he's playing behind the best 3-4 DE in the game over the past 7-8 years.

Pappy