Ed: Legursky Will Compete to Start

[hawaiiansteel]

Ed: Legursky Will Compete to Start

THURSDAY, 24 MARCH 2011 WRITTEN BY ED BOUCHETTE


Good morning,


--- The only thing this lockout has produced is angst – by the players, owners and fans. There’s really nothing else affected unless you’re a guy like Maurkice Pouncey and your more than $5 million bonus is overdue and cannot be paid until there is a CBA. There also are those free agents who have missed out on early signing bonuses. By now, Ike Taylor might have had close to $10 million more in the bank.

--- Here’s why the Steelers don’t have a future starting cornerback among their young players: Young corners show their skills quickly; it shouldn’t take them three years to develop. It might take them three years to get comfortable with the system, but a talented young cornerback should be able to cover a receiver man-to-man. Nothing has changed for him in that way since college. You either can cover someone or you cannot.

--- Thus, the Steelers need to get one in the draft, above all else.

--- As much as everyone has complained about their offensive line, the Steelers have reached two Super Bowls in the past three seasons with an offensive line nobody loves. That included losing their two starting tackles last season.

--- Mike Tomlin says Doug Legursky can compete to start at guard, even if he is valuable as a swing lineman as backup center/guard. He could still be the backup center while starting at guard.

“Why not? I would imagine he has a mindset to continue to get better,’’ Tomlin said. “I’m not going to say he’s more valuable as a swing guy. He does have value as a swing guy, position flexibiltity of course is valuable to us. But if he’s worthy of starting he’ll be given that opportunity as well. He can still swing and start.”

Legursky has a look of one of those old-time Steelers offensive linemen that were unheralded but effective, going back to the 1970s when the line outside Mike Webster produced more Super Bowls than Pro Bowlers.

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[Discipline of Steel]

Re: Ed: Legursky Will Compete to Start

[quote="hawaiiansteel"]Ed: Legursky Will Compete to Start

THURSDAY, 24 MARCH 2011 WRITTEN BY ED BOUCHETTE

--- Here’s why the Steelers don’t have a future starting cornerback among their young players: Young corners show their skills quickly; it shouldn’t take them three years to develop. It might take them three years to get comfortable with the system, but a talented young cornerback should be able to cover a receiver man-to-man. Nothing has changed for him in that way since college. You either can cover someone or you cannot.

I thought Butler showed those skills early but wasnt playing cause he was a new guy, didnt know the system.

--- Thus, the Steelers need to get one in the draft, above all else.

But we still definately need another good corner.

--- As much as everyone has complained about their offensive line, the Steelers have reached two Super Bowls in the past three seasons with an offensive line nobody loves. That included losing their two starting tackles last season.

I dont know if anyone else noticed, but the OL had its best game of the year in the Super bowl and Kemo was the only original starter left from the beginning of the season. Was it the change in the personnel or Kuggs?

--- Mike Tomlin says Doug Legursky can compete to start at guard, even if he is valuable as a swing lineman as backup center/guard. He could still be the backup center while starting at guard.

If we draft Pouncey 2, Legursky would be the top backup. May take Kemos LG job in 2012 if he messes up again this year. If not, Legursky probably takes over the RG spot this year.

[quote]

[Snatch98]

Re: Ed: Legursky Will Compete to Start

Kugler was one in my opinion the biggest off season acquisition outside of Pouncey. He's been fantastic and it shows. We had a ton of injuries and the line improved over the course of the season. If Bronco can step up we may not touch a o-lineman until day 2. Although a lot of that depends on Starks and Colon. Colon could be gone and Starks with his injury who knows.

[Eddie Spaghetti]

Re: Ed: Legursky Will Compete to Start

i would have sworn i saw ramon foster starting for most of the season at RG and doing a pretty good job.

better get my eyes checked.

[Chadman]

Re: Ed: Legursky Will Compete to Start

The 'problems' on the OL are quite possibly overstated. Ramon Foster did indeed do a reasonable job at RG. Colon & Starks are returning, and that must be a positive. Tomlin has even suggested that Colon could move inside, allowing for both Colon & Adams to be on the OL.

Legursky looked good filling in at OC, Jon Scott did nothing but improve as the season went on, even looking like a possible starter in the right situation.

In fact, the biggest weakness could very well be LG as Kemo looked to regress as the season went on.

If Jon Scott, Doug Legursky & Ramon Foster are your 3 back-up OL on gameday, you are not in THAT bad shape.

[NJ-STEELER]

Re: Ed: Legursky Will Compete to Start

Tomlin has even suggested that Colon could move inside, allowing for both Colon & Adams to be on the OL.

.

when. recently?

[Chadman]

Re: Ed: Legursky Will Compete to Start

Quick hits
On the health status of tackles Max Starks (neck surgery) and Willie Colon (Achilles surgery), Tomlin said "all things were encouraging" the last time he had contact with them before the lockout. "I think they're progressing well; we're moving forward in anticipation that will be the situation." ... Tomlin said he would not close the door on Colon playing guard (provided he does not leave as a free agent). ...On the health of Troy Polamalu, bothered by a foot injury the final two months of the season: "I haven't talked to Troy that much, and that's not out of the ordinary this time of year. He might be in a monastery." ... Tomlin said he is comfortable with the progress of punter Daniel Sepulveda, who missed last season with his third torn ACL since his final college season, but also mentioned that Jeremy Kapinos "did a nice job for us. ... We have some options there, and looking at the draft pool is one of them."



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[StarSpangledSteeler]

Re: Ed: Legursky Will Compete to Start

I may be in the minority on this one but i think our OL is still really bad. Just because they went from "sucks a$$" to "sucks moderately" does not make them acceptable. Mendenhall gets hit in the backfield ALL THE TIME (see super bowl fumble). Opposing DT's get penetration up the middle CONSISTENTLY (see super bowl pick six). Using the same logic as Ed, you could say we got to 2 super bowls with our crappy CB's as well, so no need to upgrade there either.

I'm not saying we need 5 pro-bowl OL, but our 2 starting guards are a 6th rounder and a UDFA. Their athletic talent and skill sets are far below average. If we use a 1st and 3rd on Pouncey and a 2nd and 4th on CB's, we can beat anybody in the league.

[frankthetank1]

Re: Ed: Legursky Will Compete to Start

I may be in the minority on this one but i think our OL is still really bad. Just because they went from "sucks a$$" to "sucks moderately" does not make them acceptable. Mendenhall gets hit in the backfield ALL THE TIME (see super bowl fumble). Opposing DT's get penetration up the middle CONSISTENTLY (see super bowl pick six). Using the same logic as Ed, you could say we got to 2 super bowls with our crappy CB's as well, so no need to upgrade there either.

I'm not saying we need 5 pro-bowl OL, but our 2 starting guards are a 6th rounder and a UDFA. Their athletic talent and skill sets are far below average. If we use a 1st and 3rd on Pouncey and a 2nd and 4th on CB's, we can beat anybody in the league.

i wouldnt say mendy gets hit in the backfield all the time. besides the sb fumble i dont recall all that many times it happened. i thought foster did a better job than essex did last season. legursky filled in very well and scott looks like he could possibly start some day in the nfl. all of a sudden we have some depth on the Oline. besides essex i think the weak link on the Oline is kemo

[Oviedo]

Re: Ed: Legursky Will Compete to Start

I may be in the minority on this one but i think our OL is still really bad. Just because they went from "sucks a$$" to "sucks moderately" does not make them acceptable. Mendenhall gets hit in the backfield ALL THE TIME (see super bowl fumble). Opposing DT's get penetration up the middle CONSISTENTLY (see super bowl pick six). Using the same logic as Ed, you could say we got to 2 super bowls with our crappy CB's as well, so no need to upgrade there either.

I'm not saying we need 5 pro-bowl OL, but our 2 starting guards are a 6th rounder and a UDFA. Their athletic talent and skill sets are far below average. If we use a 1st and 3rd on Pouncey and a 2nd and 4th on CB's, we can beat anybody in the league.

I don't think they are really bad. I think they are an avergae NFL OL with good at some positions and weaker players at others. We are fixated on them because they are ours but I think probaly 80-90% of the fans in other cities could say the same about their OLs.

Guard is the weakest position for us and Kemo is much weaker than many of us thought. Going into this past season he should be entering his prime but his development clearly has plateaued. If Colon does come back and shifts inside to RG that is a big piece of the puzzle solved.

The reality is that the Steelers have done what every successful team has done in a salary cap driven league. The OL has been the bill payer for maintaining a Top 3 defense (paying top dollar to Harrison, Hamption, Smith, Woodley, etc) and retaining skill position players (Ben, HInes, Heath, etc)...it is a zero sum game under the cap. I don't see them sacrificing other units to add more top notch talent, and hence salary, into the OL. We have to hope Kugler can make what is there better.

[RuthlessBurgher]

Re: Ed: Legursky Will Compete to Start

i would have sworn i saw ramon foster starting for most of the season at RG and doing a pretty good job.

better get my eyes checked.

Compared to the likes of Trai Essex, Darnell Stapleton, and Kendall Simmons trying to come back from multiple injuries and a diabetes diagnosis, yeah, Ramon Foster was doing a pretty good job. But compared to quality interior linemen around the league, he is still below average as a starter. I like what guys like Ramon Foster, Doug Legursky, Jon Scott, etc. bring to the table as reserve o-lineman, but I don't want to rely on any of those guys to start except in case of injury. While we have reasonable depth along the OL now, we can certainly upgrade the quality of some starters there.

[Eddie Spaghetti]

Re: Ed: Legursky Will Compete to Start

never said an upgrade there wouldn't be a good thing. i was just pointing out that he held his own, and actually played better than his counterpart on the other side.

also, if bronco is all of a sudden the chosen one, how come he couldn't beat anyone on this "subpar" line out during the season?

fosters value as a swing man cannot be understated. he was a quality pick up as an UDFA.

[birtikidis]

Re: Ed: Legursky Will Compete to Start

Honestly, I can't see how anyone thinks Foster is a good guard. I wouldn't even say that about kemo... I do think that Foster will take that RG spot when Flo leaves. i don't see a guy like Essex or Scott being able to nail it down... but think Foster could.