Will Tony Hills ever get a chance?

[pittpete]

Why the hell did we draft him if he isnt going to be used.
Cant be worse than Scott or Essex ?
Anyone have any recent news as to why he isnt even considered or given a chance?

[AkronSteel]

Re: Will Tony Hills ever get a chance?

Why the hell did we draft him if he isnt going to be used.
Cant be worse than Scott or Essex ?
Anyone have any recent news as to why he isnt even considered or given a chance?

I don't know bro, but he can't be worse than Scott at LT, can he??? I thought he was carrying a red cape on Sunday on some of those pressures off the corner!!! He let Maybin drive by him like he wasn't even there and Maybin can't even really get on the field consistently for the Bills. I say give Hills a chance!!!

[Crash]

Re: Will Tony Hills ever get a chance?

If Scott can walk in here and play off the bat and Hills has been here for three years and can't, why is he still here?

[AkronSteel]

Re: Will Tony Hills ever get a chance?

If Scott can walk in here and play off the bat and Hills has been here for three years and can't, why is he still here?

Agreed!!!

[jj28west]

Re: Will Tony Hills ever get a chance?

Why the hell did we draft him if he isnt going to be used.
Cant be worse than Scott or Essex ?
Anyone have any recent news as to why he isnt even considered or given a chance?

I don't know bro, but he can't be worse than Scott at LT, can he??? I thought he was carrying a red cape on Sunday on some of those pressures off the corner!!! He let Maybin drive by him like he wasn't even there and Maybin can't even really get on the field consistently for the Bills. I say give Hills a chance!!!

Scott is really making people better then they are. Maybin was on the verge of being cut he was doing so poorly. In practice I bet Jason Worilds is beating him all day. Hopefully they will adjust and have Ben make quicker throws.

[SteelBucks]

Re: Will Tony Hills ever get a chance?

Hills looked like a swinging gate in the preseason but it's hard to believe he's actually worse than Scott. We got lucky with Flozell but losing Starks killed the entire left side of our line. Both Scott and Kemo are struggling and the holding penalties are getting out of control.

[Oviedo]

Re: Will Tony Hills ever get a chance?

Hills looked like a swinging gate in the preseason but it's hard to believe he's actually worse than Scott. We got lucky with Flozell but losing Starks killed the entire left side of our line. Both Scott and Kemo are struggling and the holding penalties are getting out of control.

I said it when Starks first got hurt. You don't appreciate what you have until you lose it. Maybe now the "haters" can acknowledge that Starks is a solid, if not great, LT in this league and the whole left side of the OL suffers with him out. We are seeing that week in and week out.

[SteelBucks]

Re: Will Tony Hills ever get a chance?

Hills looked like a swinging gate in the preseason but it's hard to believe he's actually worse than Scott. We got lucky with Flozell but losing Starks killed the entire left side of our line. Both Scott and Kemo are struggling and the holding penalties are getting out of control.

I said it when Starks first got hurt. You don't appreciate what you have until you lose it. Maybe now the "haters" can acknowledge that Starks is a solid, if not great, LT in this league and the whole left side of the OL suffers with him out. We are seeing that week in and week out.

[steeler_fan_in_t.o.]

Re: Will Tony Hills ever get a chance?

Hills looked like a swinging gate in the preseason but it's hard to believe he's actually worse than Scott. We got lucky with Flozell but losing Starks killed the entire left side of our line. Both Scott and Kemo are struggling and the holding penalties are getting out of control.

I said it when Starks first got hurt. You don't appreciate what you have until you lose it. Maybe now the "haters" can acknowledge that Starks is a solid, if not great, LT in this league and the whole left side of the OL suffers with him out. We are seeing that week in and week out.

Agreed with the Starks comments. I've always been on his side and said that he gets way too much negative attention. He is a solid NFL LT. He has never been close to that elite Jon Ogden, Orlando Pace player, but he has been a top 10 LT throught the past 5 or so years.

As for the Hills comments, I disagree that he was bad in the pre season. He probably saved his roster spot with what was a good performance. I started a thread in the PS titled something like "the first positive Tony Hills thread ever" and it caught on. He looked like he was turning the corner there...albeit against third stringers. Now it seems that he is only suited for blocking those guys in street clothes. Too bad, I'd have hoped that this was his time to step up.

[aggiebones]

Re: Will Tony Hills ever get a chance?

Likely because Hills is practically free at the end of his contract.
He might even get a mini-contract as a warm body in preseason next year, but I doubt he sticks.
Maybe he carries the coaches bag or something, cause he will never play for us, unless drastic measures occur.
Good OL just aren't floating along the waiver wire, in case some of you think dumping him for someone better is an option. Just aren't any.
There's about 5 teams with OL in same shape as us. And they can't find anyone either. Did you watch the SD-Indy game. Washington is a disaster area for OL. Buffalo actually took Urbik...who I'd love to have back about now.
So Hills is there..because he's better than me and that's about it.

[papillon]

Re: Will Tony Hills ever get a chance?

Hills looked like a swinging gate in the preseason but it's hard to believe he's actually worse than Scott. We got lucky with Flozell but losing Starks killed the entire left side of our line. Both Scott and Kemo are struggling and the holding penalties are getting out of control.

I said it when Starks first got hurt. You don't appreciate what you have until you lose it. Maybe now the "haters" can acknowledge that Starks is a solid, if not great, LT in this league and the whole left side of the OL suffers with him out. We are seeing that week in and week out.

It's part of the unreasonableness of some Steeler fans that believe the Steelers should have a Pro-bowl player at each position. Starks did more than hold his own on Ben's blind side and now the fans are seeing the difference between good and barely serviceable players.

I didn't think Hills was terrible during the pre-season; I'm almost certain there were a few games where he actually looked good and there were threads here talking about it, but maybe I'm misremembering. :P

Pappy

[Ghost]

Re: Will Tony Hills ever get a chance?

I'd have to assume he's only still here b/c he knows the playbook? I mean, if you can't get on the field now with a line that's decimated and you've been here for 3 years, you are a waste of a roster spot.

[pittpete]

Re: Will Tony Hills ever get a chance?

Hopefully they will adjust and have Ben make quicker throws.

I dont believe thats in Arians playbook unless you consider the useless bubble screen

[ikestops85]

Re: Will Tony Hills ever get a chance?

Hopefully they will adjust and have Ben make quicker throws.

I dont believe thats in Arians playbook unless you consider the useless bubble screen

I keep waiting for that to get picked off. We run that far too often for my taste.

[buckeyehoppy]

Re: Will Tony Hills ever get a chance?

I'd have to assume he's only still here b/c he knows the playbook? I mean, if you can't get on the field now with a line that's decimated and you've been here for 3 years, you are a waste of a roster spot.

Absolutely right, G! It's put up or shut up time for Hills and the offensive coaching staff. He will not be here beyond this season at the rate he's going.

And, while we're on the topic, why can't we expect the LT that blocks for Ben to be Pro Bowl caliber? Quite frankly, his style of play requires a LT that is multi-faceted, has good foot work and good instincts The only one of those values that Max has developed in 3 years as the starter is good instincts (and one would hope that he would have gotten that far by now). His foot work is still a mess and, if it weren't for his gargantuan wing span, he'd be getting beaten off the left side more often than he does. He is also hit or miss in run support.

Now, in his defense, it's not realistic for any offensive line to have to hold the pose as long as our OL seems to have to. I could prep, cook and serve a dinner in the time it takes for Ben to get the ball off half the time. So, part of Max's problem is systemic and not really his. Sure, this applies to the rest of the line, too. But, that problem really keys in on Max twice as much as anyone else on the line and it isn't his fault.

OTOH, how often do you really hear his name mentioned among the elite LTs in the league. Between you and me, the next time I hear that (apart from the Steeler Faithful) will be the first time. He's not that well regarded, friends. Sorry to break that to ya.

It's time we found out about Hills once and for all. Either that, or cut his @$$ because he's wasting a roster spot we could use someplace else.