Prety much confirms what I have said about Colbert...

[steeler_fan_in_t.o.]

Re: Prety much confirms what I have said about Colbert...

No credit given for success of UDFAs?

James Harrison
Willie Parker
Ramon Foster
Chris Hoke
Doug Legursky
Nate Washington
Isaac Redman
Weslye Saunders

And I'm sure that there are a few over the years that I've missed.

[Steeler Shades]

Re: Prety much confirms what I have said about Colbert...

Worst Pick: LB Alonzo Jackson (2nd round, 2006)
[url="http://www.coldhardfootballfacts.com/Articles/11_3749_Decade_in_the_making%3A_the_ultimate_NFL_d raft_grades.htmlded"]http://www.coldhardfootballfacts.com/Ar ... es.htmlded[/url]).

I don't know if I agree with this. Limas Sweed might have been a worse draft pick.

[aggiebones]

Re: Prety much confirms what I have said about Colbert...

Yea, this argument is crap.

EVERY year but maybe 1, we drafted in the back half of the draft. And 80% of the time in the back quarter of the draft. And a couple times...last.

Don't tell me how bad we are doing. We have made mistakes, but I'd like to see the sheer advantage some teams get by picking so high every year.

And NE has done sooo well, that their defense is dead last (or was) in pass defense. They have Tom Brady and that makes alot of their picks look better. He gets points on the board, thus forcing alot of teams to pass and takes them out of their offenses.
The whole argument lackss on MANY levels.

[RuthlessBurgher]

Re: Prety much confirms what I have said about Colbert...

Yea, this argument is crap.

EVERY year but maybe 1, we drafted in the back half of the draft. And 80% of the time in the back quarter of the draft. And a couple times...last.

Don't tell me how bad we are doing. We have made mistakes, but I'd like to see the sheer advantage some teams get by picking so high every year.

And NE has done sooo well, that their defense is dead last (or was) in pass defense. They have Tom Brady and that makes alot of their picks look better. He gets points on the board, thus forcing alot of teams to pass and takes them out of their offenses.
The whole argument lackss on MANY levels.

Yeah, let's look at the almighty Patriots. How have they been drafting in rounds 3-7 lately? Let's look at those rounds in the last several drafts, and look for big-time contributors, so we can see how much better they are in rounds 3-7 than sucky Colbert.

2011 - New England Patriots
RD SEL # PLAYER POSITION SCHOOL
3 73 Stevan Ridley RB LSU
3 74 Ryan Mallett QB Arkansas
5 138 Marcus Cannon T Texas Christian
5 159 Lee Smith TE Marshall
6 194 Markell Carter LB Central Arkansas
7 219 Malcolm Williams DB Texas Christian
2010 - New England Patriots
RD SEL # PLAYER POSITION SCHOOL
3 90 Taylor Price WR Ohio U.
4 113 Aaron Hernandez TE Florida
5 150 Zoltan Mesko P Michigan
6 205 Ted Larsen G North Carolina State
7 208 Thomas Welch OT Vanderbilt
7 247 Brandon Deaderick DE Alabama
7 248 Kade Weston DT Georgia
7 250 Zac Robinson QB Oklahoma State
2009 - New England Patriots
RD SEL # PLAYER POSITION SCHOOL
3 83 Brandon Tate WR North Carolina
3 97 Tyrone McKenzie OLB South Florida
4 123 Rich Ohrnberger G Penn State
5 170 George Bussey T Louisville
6 198 Jake Ingram C Hawaii
6 199 Stryker Sulak DE Missouri
6 207 Myron Pryor DT Kentucky
7 232 Julian Edelman WR Kent State
7 234 Darryl Richard DT Georgia Tech
2008 - New England Patriots
RD SEL # PLAYER POSITION SCHOOL
3 78 Shawn Crable OLB Michigan
3 94 Kevin O'Connell QB San Diego State
4 129 Jonathan Wilhite CB Auburn
5 153 Matt Slater WR UCLA
6 197 Bo Ruud LB Nebraska
2007 - New England Patriots
RD SEL # PLAYER POSITION SCHOOL
4 127 Kareem Brown DT Miami (Fla.)
5 171 Clint Oldenburg T Colorado State
6 180 Justin Rogers LB Southern Methodist
6 202 Mike Richardson DB Notre Dame
6 208 Justise Hairston RB Central Connecticut State
6 209 Corey Hilliard OT Oklahoma State
7 211 Oscar Lua LB USC
7 247 Mike Elgin G Iowa
2006 - New England Patriots
RD SEL # PLAYER POSITION SCHOOL
3 86 David Thomas TE Texas
4 106 Garrett Mills RB Tulsa
4 118 Stephen Gostkowski K Memphis
5 136 Ryan O'Callaghan T California
6 191 Jeremy Mincey LB Florida
6 205 Dan Stevenson G Notre Dame
6 206 Le Kevin Smith DT Nebraska
7 229 Willie Andrews CB Baylor

The only starters there are the punter and kicker. Their pick on Aaron Hernandez in the 4th round last year was a steal, but that's about it...they got a really good #2 TE. Edelman's their 4th WR. Ridley's their 3rd RB. Mallett's their 3rd QB. Nothing tremendous to write home about.

We may not be great at drafting OL talent in rounds 3-7, but during the same time period, look at the WR's and DB's that we were able to get in rounds 3-7 who are contributing to our team this year (Mike Wallace, Emmanuel Sanders, Antonio Brown, William Gay, Keenan Lewis, Curtis Brown, Cortez Allen). How many of these 7 guys would start for the Patriots right now? Wallace? Definitely. Brown? Absolutely. Sanders? He might be their #3 behind Branch but ahead of Ochocinco. As for the corners, they are currently starting Kyle Arrington and either Philip Adams or Antwaun Moldin. They aren't the worst pass D in the league because teams are trying to play catch-up against Brady...they have the worst pass D because their corners suck. I'd say Gay and Lewis could start for them today, and rookies Brown and Allen could probably take over a starting CB job within a few weeks.

Anyway, my point is that Colbert is not as bad as you think, even in rounds 3-7. Every team sucks in rounds 3-7. Even for the best teams, late round picks are often a crap shoot...that's just the way it goes.

[steelerkeylargo]

Re: Prety much confirms what I have said about Colbert...

Anyone who wants to do better take a look at the job that the "Genius" Bill Belicheat has done in NE. This guy has more picks than anyone in the history of football and still cant draft to save his life. His team is full of busts and scrubs. If it wasn't for Brady he would have been canned years ago.

[steelblood]

Re: Prety much confirms what I have said about Colbert...

Colbert did have some drafts were he picked poorly in the middle and late rounds. BTW, have you looked at the recent draft of the Pats? For as many 1-3 round picks as they have had, they have sure had many failures and a few colossal misses (From 2006-2009 -- Chad Jackson, Brandon Tate, Brandon Meriweather, Ron Brace, Darius Butler, Shawn Crable, Lawrence Maroney). And, those are early round picks -- many first rounders.

The best teams in this league are built through the draft. Certainly, the STeelers future success hinges on the recent drafts and the next few. But, there is reason for hope. We finally have some young talent on our lines to build upon (more is needed). We also have some young corners, wide receivers, linebackers, a TE that have shown some promise. Furthermore, Woodley, Timmons, Polamalu, and Ben are locked up for a while. Colbert is not perfect, but he is doing pretty well.

[WindyCitySteel]

Re: Prety much confirms what I have said about Colbert...

What teams consistently hit on late round picks?

[BURGH86STEEL]

Re: Prety much confirms what I have said about Colbert...

What teams consistently hit on late round picks?

This. And how does winning factor into the equation? What's the point of hitting on late round picks if the team remains a perennial loser?

The thing about this debate is that the Steelers have drafted solid contributors and starters in the latter rounds since Colbert's became the GM. They've also added starters and solid UDFA's. Appears the article considers late round picks as rounds 3-7.

Some fans may remember players differently. I might be missing a few guys that people remember.

2000 draft
3rd rd- Clancy - contributor
3rd rd- Poteat - contributor
5th rd- Haggans- solid starter

2001

5th rd - Okobi - (not sure what to make of his contributions)

2002

3rd rd- Hope - solid starter
4th rd- Foote - solid starter
5th rd - Haynes - contributor
7th rd - Keisel - solid starter (underrated)

2003

4th rd - Taylor - solid starter (underrated - probowl caliber player)

2004

3rd rd - Starks - solid starter

2005

3rd rd - Essex - contributor
6th rd- Kemoeatu - starter (I believe Kemo is better then many fans believe)

2006

4th rd - Colon - starter (could be solid if he can stay healthy)

2007

3rd rd - Spaeth - contributor
4th rd - Sepulveda - solid starter (injuries might halt career)
5th rd - Gay - solid nickle CB

2008

4th rd - Hills - seems he only made the team based on potential
5th rd - Dixon- 3rd string material they hoped to develop into backup material
6th rd - Mundy - contributor

2009

3rd rd - Wallace - nothing needs to be said
3rd rd- Lewis - still developing
7th rd - Johnson - contributor

2010

3rd rd - Sanders- has potential
5th rd - Butler - Jury still out
5th rd - Sylvester - solid special teams player
6th rd - Dwyer - has potential
6th rd - Brown - budding star

2011

to early to say

Feel free to rip my post apart

If the goal is near perfection, fans will not find near perfection. It appears that the Steelers did a good job in the late round of the draft. Those later picks seemed to complement the stars of the team well. I believe that some draft picks don't make the team because of who the Steelers have on the team as starters or backups. Some of the starters and backups were better then the players that were drafted. Unless draft picks show enough potential to make the practice squad or warrant a roster spot they won't be around. At the end of the day, it's seems to be a juggling act. The Steelers do a find job of putting it all together to remain a competitive team. That's really what it's all about.

[TallyStiller]

Re: Prety much confirms what I have said about Colbert...

I personally don't buy the explanation about not having needs due to having few holes. There are many examples of them being forced to hit up free agency or pay more for one of their own to stick around due to not having replacements. Look at the bmac scenario since they failed drafting d backs so many times. it would also be retarded to not need as many picks due to so many vets and then not trade up more often.

I think Whiz solved our defensive backfield problems by taking Ray Horton off our hands. NOBODY we drafted has really progressed in many years under his tutelage. The secondary play is dramatically improved in months under Carnell Lake. I don't think that's coincidental. Wouldn't have mattered WHO we drafted, they'd've sucked.

[NJ-STEELER]

Re: Prety much confirms what I have said about Colbert...

No credit given for success of UDFAs?

James Harrison
Willie Parker
Ramon Foster
Chris Hoke
Doug Legursky
Nate Washington
Isaac Redman
Weslye Saunders

And I'm sure that there are a few over the years that I've missed.

there's the reason i dont mind trading up for picks if they want to grab someone they like.

we more then make up for it with UDFA when we deal off late rounders

[WindyCitySteel]

Re: Prety much confirms what I have said about Colbert...

What teams consistently hit on late round picks?

This. And how does winning factor into the equation? What's the point of hitting on late round picks if the team remains a perennial loser?

The thing about this debate is that the Steelers have drafted solid contributors and starters in the latter rounds since Colbert's became the GM. They've also added starters and solid UDFA's. Appears the article considers late round picks as rounds 3-7.

Some fans may remember players differently. I might be missing a few guys that people remember.

2000 draft
3rd rd- Clancy - contributor
3rd rd- Poteat - contributor
5th rd- Haggans- solid starter

2001

5th rd - Okobi - (not sure what to make of his contributions)

2002

3rd rd- Hope - solid starter
4th rd- Foote - solid starter
5th rd - Haynes - contributor
7th rd - Keisel - solid starter (underrated)

2003

4th rd - Taylor - solid starter (underrated - probowl caliber player)

2004

3rd rd - Starks - solid starter

2005

3rd rd - Essex - contributor
6th rd- Kemoeatu - starter (I believe Kemo is better then many fans believe)

2006

4th rd - Colon - starter (could be solid if he can stay healthy)

2007

3rd rd - Spaeth - contributor
4th rd - Sepulveda - solid starter (injuries might halt career)
5th rd - Gay - solid nickle CB

2008

4th rd - Hills - seems he only made the team based on potential
5th rd - Dixon- 3rd string material they hoped to develop into backup material
6th rd - Mundy - contributor

2009

3rd rd - Wallace - nothing needs to be said
3rd rd- Lewis - still developing
7th rd - Johnson - contributor

2010

3rd rd - Sanders- has potential
5th rd - Butler - Jury still out
5th rd - Sylvester - solid special teams player
6th rd - Dwyer - has potential
6th rd - Brown - budding star

2011

to early to say

Feel free to rip my post apart

If the goal is near perfection, fans will not find near perfection. It appears that the Steelers did a good job in the late round of the draft. Those later picks seemed to complement the stars of the team well. I believe that some draft picks don't make the team because of who the Steelers have on the team as starters or backups. Some of the starters and backups were better then the players that were drafted. Unless draft picks show enough potential to make the practice squad or warrant a roster spot they won't be around. At the end of the day, it's seems to be a juggling act. The Steelers do a find job of putting it all together to remain a competitive team. That's really what it's all about.

Awesome summary. Maybe the OP expects 7 Pro Bowlers every April?