Should have traded all our picks.

[aggiebones]

Re: Should have traded all our picks.

Some of you are missing MY point. I'm just saying that these 3rd to 7th rounders are going to miss VERY important time due to lockout. They will NOT have any kind of a grasp about the NFL. They will be 100% dead weight for at least a year, maybe 2. They will get no training and then sit on the bench ALL year.
The point about Webster, et all makes no sense. I NEVER NEVER NEVER said I don't appreciate the value of lower round picks. NEEEVVVEERR. And most years, they are VERY important to our team. But with this year being a weak draft and then no training camp possibly. Yikes.

I'm just implying that they will not get the field exposure THIS year due to the lockout. And had we pushed a few of these picks to next year, we might be better off keeping a few extra veterans this year.

The point about veteran money is valid. I have seen no other valid points to counter mine. If they make the team it will be out of sheer cap numbers and it will HURT our team to let go of some of the 'mediocre' veterans we have. We should have drafted 4 kids and pushed the rest to the deep draft next year.

[feltdizz]

Re: Should have traded all our picks.

Some of you are missing MY point. I'm just saying that these 3rd to 7th rounders are going to miss VERY important time due to lockout. They will NOT have any kind of a grasp about the NFL. They will be 100% dead weight for at least a year, maybe 2. They will get no training and then sit on the bench ALL year.
The point about Webster, et all makes no sense. I NEVER NEVER NEVER said I don't appreciate the value of lower round picks. NEEEVVVEERR. And most years, they are VERY important to our team. But with this year being a weak draft and then no training camp possibly. Yikes.

I'm just implying that they will not get the field exposure THIS year due to the lockout. And had we pushed a few of these picks to next year, we might be better off keeping a few extra veterans this year.

The point about veteran money is valid. I have seen no other valid points to counter mine. If they make the team it will be out of sheer cap numbers and it will HURT our team to let go of some of the 'mediocre' veterans we have. We should have drafted 4 kids and pushed the rest to the deep draft next year.

Why wouldn't all the teams use this logic given the lockout situation? What if our 6th or 7th so something special and we nurture that talent for the future?

You haven't seen any valid points to counter your opinion on how this year will pan out? Sounds like you rigged the game with your solid analysis of the future. How about holding onto this opinion and bumping it back up after the roster is selected... at least then you will have some facts to back up your awesome points.

6 lottery numbers please?

[Oviedo]

Re: Should have traded all our picks.

i'm concerned about butler's comments on this.

he mentioned thaddeus gibson last year being behind cause of a late graduation date. if the lockout looms it will be even harder for the rookies to get a grasp on this defense.
it took ziggy a year/middle of year 2 to get everything down and start making an impact with the defense.

is it possible that we wont see a contribution from a 1st round pick like heyward into his 3rd season?

Wild idea---simplify the defense so young players can contribute sooner and become better players sooner!!!!!!

Dom Capers didn't seem to have a problem doing that with young players in Green Bay. Maybe we are just outsmarting ourselves.

[tiproast]

Re: Should have traded all our picks.

Some of you are missing MY point.

This is what you posted in your first paragraph:

We should have only had a few picks this year. The reason is that most will be lost when they get to the Steelers this year. Since we are in Super Bowl mode, we won't be keeping alot of projects and most draftees this year will fall into that category. So veterans we might consider dumping will be more valuable this season. So we should have loaded up on picks next year and just keep more veterans this year.

Your main point (because it was your opening paragraph) is that the team should only pick a few players because they (The Steelers) are in Super Bowl mode. Only in your last paragraph did you mention the lockout and reduced opportunities for training camp.

[ikestops85]

Re: Should have traded all our picks.

i'm concerned about butler's comments on this.

he mentioned thaddeus gibson last year being behind cause of a late graduation date. if the lockout looms it will be even harder for the rookies to get a grasp on this defense.
it took ziggy a year/middle of year 2 to get everything down and start making an impact with the defense.

is it possible that we wont see a contribution from a 1st round pick like heyward into his 3rd season?

Wild idea---simplify the defense so young players can contribute sooner and become better players sooner!!!!!!

Dom Capers didn't seem to have a problem doing that with young players in Green Bay. Maybe we are just outsmarting ourselves.

...sigh ... I forgot we are going to have to listen to this for another off season.

[aggiebones]

Re: Should have traded all our picks.

"Anyway that's my thinking. It just seems like a wasted year for most draftees, even the top ones. Those first minicamps and such are so valuable for rookies that many won't ever catch up and will end up on the trash heap or Cleveland."

Tip, you are correct that I didn't plainly mention the lockout, just danced around it like in the third paragraph. I used the term THIS as in this year due to lockout, but that was vague on my part. I assume you could all see inside my head. Sadly, if you could see in my head, you would all kill yourselves.

But alas, it was my main point of being the lockout year draft and also being a weak draft since many kids hid in school another year. This is one of the weakest top end of the draft in awhile. WRs, CBs, RBs, not much to speak of. Heck, it was hard to get a consensus on who the real QB talents were.

We'll see how this ends. And while I agree a few of these guys will make the roster since we are in need of cap space, that doesn't mean they will contribute. And they will in short order be replaced by near future draftees.
We'll see how this turns out, but it will be REAL hard to get a feel for this draft class without minicamps, training camps and who knows how much preseason we'll have.
Alas, we can revisit it in time.
If Gilbert and the texas kid end up major players on SB teams, I'll gladly eat crow.

[Eddie Spaghetti]

Re: Should have traded all our picks.

We'll see how this ends. And while I agree a few of these guys will make the roster since we are in need of cap space, that doesn't mean they will contribute. And they will in short order be replaced by near future draftees.

this statement makes zero sense.

are you saying these rookies will make the team to save cap space(dumb) and then be replaced by lower drafted rookies next year???

you are all over the place in this thread.

[tiproast]

Re: Should have traded all our picks.

"
Tip, you are correct that I didn't plainly mention the lockout, just danced around it like in the third paragraph. I used the term THIS as in this year due to lockout, but that was vague on my part. I assume you could all see inside my head. Sadly, if you could see in my head, you would all kill yourselves.

No worries - and after you explained it, I thought about it and realized you had a solid argument. There's a good chance that many late round picks that might have made rosters in previous years won't have that opportunity because the coaching staff won't be able to spend as much time with them as they normally would.

[D Rock]

Re: Should have traded all our picks.

We'll see how this ends. And while I agree a few of these guys will make the roster since we are in need of cap space, that doesn't mean they will contribute. And they will in short order be replaced by near future draftees.

this statement makes zero sense.

are you saying these rookies will make the team to save cap space(dumb) and then be replaced by lower drafted rookies next year???

you are all over the place in this thread.

Unless the lockout takes up the whole season, incoming rookies wont be anywhere near as ready to contribute to the teams as this years crop will, whether they get on the field or not.

[aggiebones]

Re: Should have traded all our picks.

Well, my original thought may be coming into play. Seems the Steelers are loading down the roster with veterans from past camps as they know the system and time is short...much like I suspected.
With little time to go through camps, even veterans changing teams will have a hard time.
With us sticking to a mostly veteran team right out of the Super Bowl, we should have an advantage at least in the early games.
We should CRUSH Seattle in game2. Baltimore hasn't gone through many changes either, so that will be a dogfight.

That all said, how many of the draft picks are wasting time with us before being cut. Not much time to learn and not many places to store them for the season. I still think we should have tried to trade more draft picks into the next draft. We will have alot more change over going into next camp with many older veterans probably retiring. We could have either amassed pics next year to use to trade up or just used multiple picks last year to trade up a round or 2 next year. It was possible and I rarely complain about our personnel department as I think VERY highly of them, but they knew how this lockout was going to go (almost to the last second grandstanding, ala debt ceiling in congress) and that veterans would rule the day.
I would have loved to have been able to sneak up to get an extra 2nd or 3rd at least next season.

[RuthlessBurgher]

Re: Should have traded all our picks.

Well, my original thought may be coming into play. Seems the Steelers are loading down the roster with veterans from past camps as they know the system and time is short...much like I suspected.
With little time to go through camps, even veterans changing teams will have a hard time.
With us sticking to a mostly veteran team right out of the Super Bowl, we should have an advantage at least in the early games.
We should CRUSH Seattle in game2. Baltimore hasn't gone through many changes either, so that will be a dogfight.

That all said, how many of the draft picks are wasting time with us before being cut. Not much time to learn and not many places to store them for the season. I still think we should have tried to trade more draft picks into the next draft. We will have alot more change over going into next camp with many older veterans probably retiring. We could have either amassed pics next year to use to trade up or just used multiple picks last year to trade up a round or 2 next year. It was possible and I rarely complain about our personnel department as I think VERY highly of them, but they knew how this lockout was going to go (almost to the last second grandstanding, ala debt ceiling in congress) and that veterans would rule the day.
I would have loved to have been able to sneak up to get an extra 2nd or 3rd at least next season.

We are still not in compliance with the salary cap (I believe we have until Thursday to get the books in order), so there still may be more terminations to come if the proposed renegotiations/restructures/extensions do not go as planned. If we have to dump more overpriced vets to get under the cap, then we'll need cheap rookies to take their place on the roster.

[aggiebones]

Re: Should have traded all our picks.

Good point, but I think the veterans realize that they need to take the pay cut to get under the cap or they may be cut outright. And not many other teams are running around picking up leftovers. Well, maybe the Skins, Cards and Browns.
They could be stuck in no man's land.

[Captain Lemming]

Re: Should have traded all our picks.

Some of this makes sense. Some I'm not so sure.
You drop all that 'dead weight' and you will see a significant drop in ST play at least.

Our best ST players last season were the two "rookie" LBers, not special teams veterans like Madison and Fox.

[chiken]

Re: Should have traded all our picks.

its very rare that rookies can start in our defense so if you trade most of your picks this year, and then try and pick up a bunch of guys in the next draft, you will screw yourself not out of just 1 but 2 years.

We have aging players.. We cant afford to throw a year away, ever.

its best to draft these so called "Weak" players and let them get some Practice experience under the belt. so that in year 3 they are ready to contribute.. thats our cycle. We dont need the whole Class to produce, just 2 or 3 of them.

[StarSpangledSteeler]

Re: Should have traded all our picks.

Let me put a different spin on this...

What if we traded our 1.31 + 2.31 + 3.31 + 4.31 for the 1.14 and picked up Pouncey II? Could he start at LG this year? Probably yes. Could we cut Kemo and use that money to sign a veteran CB to take over the nickel spot instead of drafting Brown (thus saving both Brown's and Gay's salaries)? Probably yes. Would both of those acquisitions see the field this year and be an upgrade over our current roster? Probably yes. What do we really lose? Our "non bustable future star" OT in Gilbert? Assuming we just re-signed Colon. That lines us up as:

Scott (or FA) - Pouncey - Pouncey - RG - Colon

The only thing we really lose is Heyward at DE, which is significant going forward, but certainly not this year with: Hood-Smith-Keisel rotating.

I think the bigger point here is that (outside of Heyward) we drafted a bunch of solid journeymen/role players/back ups. Maybe we get a couple of gems. But maybe not. If we draft Pouncey and pick up a veteran CB, we know what we're getting, and we're getting contributions now.