Kugler IS the O-line coach after all ...

[SanAntonioSteelerFan]

But I don't really blame him, he made chicken soup of out chicken, err, niblets, all season last year.

He's down to beaks and chicken lips. Even Merlin the Magician couldn't protect Ben together with that crew!

[papillon]

Re: Kugler IS the O-line coach after all ...

I'm not sure about Kugler, at first he seemed to be making something out of nothing with the O-line. I'm beginning to wonder about the following. The last line he coached in Buffalo had injury issues and was a patchwork line and the first two seasons with the Steelers the offensive linemen are going down like flies. Is it something he's doing or not doing that is causing offensive linemen to be injured?

Pappy

[Pahn711]

Re: Kugler IS the O-line coach after all ...

Eh, I'd still blame the front office for not coveting lineman enough. They could have brought in a difference maker like Gurode or Mckinnie as the Ravens did, they chose not to. They could have found a way to keep Flozell Adams, they chose not to. Heck, they could have given up a first round pick next year to get Mike Pouncey, they chose not to.

Kugler can only do so much without talent to work with.

[steeler_george]

Re: Kugler IS the O-line coach after all ...

I am starting to believe that KUGLER is a jinx.

[ramblinjim]

Re: Kugler IS the O-line coach after all ...

Eh, I don't go with Jinxes, other than the clothes that I'm wearing on game day, the beer I drink, the food I eat, the socks my wife wears... you know....

Hard to blame Kugler on this and in the FO's defense, we spent a 1st on a lineman last year and a second this year. There's only so much you can do and we rarely bring in top flight free agents.

Assuming we pick in the middle of the pack this year, I would have no hesitations drafting the best OT & the best OG in the first two rounds next year and trying to work some talent into the O-line.

[Oviedo]

Re: Kugler IS the O-line coach after all ...

Eh, I'd still blame the front office for not coveting lineman enough. They could have brought in a difference maker like Gurode or Mckinnie as the Ravens did, they chose not to. They could have found a way to keep Flozell Adams, they chose not to. Heck, they could have given up a first round pick next year to get Mike Pouncey, they chose not to.

Kugler can only do so much without talent to work with.

To a degree I agree with you. We have not done well bringing in OL talent but in a league with a cap you have to economize in some positional unit if you are going to spend big dollars in other areas like the defense. We have invested heavily in keeping defensive players because IMO it takes so long to learn the defense you can't easily replace them with lower priced young players. The problem is that we are overpaying veteran defensive players like Aaron Smith and James Farrior which has limited our ability to have the cap space to go out and get some quality on the OL.

With a salary cap you have a zero some gain with talent acquisition. Last year Flozell was an anomoly because there was no cap. If we are going to improve the OL we have to draft better and dump aging players fans love like: Smith, Farrior, Hampton, etc.

[feltdizz]

Re: Kugler IS the O-line coach after all ...

I'm not sure about Kugler, at first he seemed to be making something out of nothing with the O-line. I'm beginning to wonder about the following. The last line he coached in Buffalo had injury issues and was a patchwork line and the first two seasons with the Steelers the offensive linemen are going down like flies. Is it something he's doing or not doing that is causing offensive linemen to be injured?

Pappy

if you look at his last 4 years his OL has a ton of injuries. Something isn't right...

[Oviedo]

Re: Kugler IS the O-line coach after all ...

I'm not sure about Kugler, at first he seemed to be making something out of nothing with the O-line. I'm beginning to wonder about the following. The last line he coached in Buffalo had injury issues and was a patchwork line and the first two seasons with the Steelers the offensive linemen are going down like flies. Is it something he's doing or not doing that is causing offensive linemen to be injured?

Pappy

if you look at his last 4 years his OL has a ton of injuries. Something isn't right...

Guys, don't make Kugler a scapegoat here. Remember, kugler was a godsend 12 months ago because Larry Z. was blamed for everything. It starts and ends with talent. Except for Pouncey, and he may not be as good as we thought last year, we have no talent on the OL. Once Colon went down we were left with 2nd and 3rd string players on most NFL teams being starters for us.

The reality is that when the front office laid out the allocation of cap dollars to positional units they tried to economize on the OL because it is typically measured more by group performance than individual performance. They took a risk and lost the gamble. Not sying they screwed up but they did what they had to to sign a franchise QB to a long term deal and keep a large number of defensive player with very large contracts.

I'm betting this off season they do a major shake up and relook their approach.

[feltdizz]

Re: Kugler IS the O-line coach after all ...

Kugler isn't the scape goat but he is in the equation when it comes to the bad OL play.

Was Kugs really a hero or were we just happy to see a new OL coach?

[SidSmythe]

Re: Kugler IS the O-line coach after all ...

Look at what Kuglar had to work with ...

I give the guy credit . . . he worked under Jim McNally (probably 1 of the best OL Coaches in our time whom i've personally met and watched coach in person). I think he's just been given lemons and he's made about as much lemonade as he can get.

He's done good with Pouncey and I would love to see if he can develop Gilbert.

He brought Jonathan Scott from Buffalo ... I think he was meant to be a backup in this league and now he's the starter and that's a tough task for Kuglar.

[feltdizz]

Re: Kugler IS the O-line coach after all ...

Look at what Kuglar had to work with ...

I give the guy credit . . . he worked under Jim McNally (probably 1 of the best OL Coaches in our time whom i've personally met and watched coach in person). I think he's just been given lemons and he's made about as much lemonade as he can get.

He's done good with Pouncey and I would love to see if he can develop Gilbert.

He brought Jonathan Scott from Buffalo ... I think he was meant to be a backup in this league and now he's the starter and that's a tough task for Kuglar.

ehhh.... is he really making lemonade? This OL is horrible. Pouncey would look great regardless of the OL coach because he is a great player.

I think we need to see some development from the new guys and improvement from guys like Kemo.

Anyone Kugler brought with him would have a hand up because they already know his system.

[steeler_fan_in_t.o.]

Re: Kugler IS the O-line coach after all ...

J Scott - 5th rounder
Kemo - 6th rounder
Pouncey - 1st rounder
Legursky - UDFA
Colon - 4th rounder
Essex - 3rd rounder
Foster - UDFA
C Scott - 5th rounder
Gilbert (R) - 2nd rounder
Meredith - 5th rounder

Anyone really willing to point the finger at Kugler?

[grotonsteel]

Re: Kugler IS the O-line coach after all ...

J Scott - 5th rounder
Kemo - 6th rounder
Pouncey - 1st rounder
Legursky - UDFA
Colon - 4th rounder
Essex - 3rd rounder
Foster - UDFA
C Scott - 5th rounder
Gilbert (R) - 2nd rounder
Meredith - 5th rounder

Anyone really willing to point the finger at Kugler?

2008 draft is coming to haunt Steelers.

I know Steelers never thought of drafting O-line early in last decade but one thing that haunts me is Bills O-line looked far better once Kugler was fired. Also regarding injuries is it just bad luck or something else? Bills used to have injured O-linemen and now Steelers are having them.

[Northern_Blitz]

Re: Kugler IS the O-line coach after all ...

Eh, I'd still blame the front office for not coveting lineman enough. They could have brought in a difference maker like Gurode or Mckinnie as the Ravens did, they chose not to. They could have found a way to keep Flozell Adams, they chose not to. Heck, they could have given up a first round pick next year to get Mike Pouncey, they chose not to.

Kugler can only do so much without talent to work with.

We did spend big money on RT this year. Unfortunately, Colon got injured and now we're screwed at tackle.

[RuthlessBurgher]

Re: Kugler IS the O-line coach after all ...

2008 draft is coming to haunt Steelers.

2008 is the year in which 7 OT's were off the board in the first 21 picks (and we picked 23rd). Should we have reached for the #8 OT in Duane Brown in the first round that year? A few really good OL came out of that draft (like Jake Long and Ryan Clady), but we had no shot at guys like that, so there is no need to fret about such things. The only Pro Bowl quality O-lineman in that draft who was not taken before our first pick in 2008 was Carl Nicks, and he fell all the way to the middle of the 5th round (so every NFL was wrong about that guy on numerous occassions...he should have been drafted much earlier, but every team passed on him several times).