Stop the Madness!!

[Dee Dub]

Some are saying that Dont'a Hightower is too slow to be anything but a 2 down LB'er or that he is in adequate in coverage. This is not true. He was a 3 down back at Alabama in Nick Saban's 3-4 zone blitz and although he isnt great in coverage he is far from inadequate. If he isnt the guy you want the Steelers to draft, cool, but dont just make up stuff because about Hightower because he isnt your pick.

Here are some clips of him. Please watch them.

watch the 6 play on this clip. Hightower picks up the back in the flat and has him blanketed. Also you will notice that Hightower was used all over the place. Even off the edge as a DE.

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzJ3o1heM5E"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzJ3o1heM5E[/url]

These next clips all show how quick he plays. From the ILB spot he is able to get hits on these QB's. And they arent just hits. They are violent hits.

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBe6Ez1OwO4&feature=related"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBe6Ez1O ... re=related[/url]

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fdY8xnsUuY&feature=related"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fdY8xns ... re=related[/url]

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOYCrxD-4c8&feature=related"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOYCrxD- ... re=related[/url]

[RuthlessBurgher]

Re: Stop the Madness!!

In the nickel, you take out your NT and replace him with a DB. Our DE's shift inside to DT's, our OLB's put their hands on the ground as rush ends, and our two ILB's stay put.

Hightower would still be in the nickel, next to Timmons.

But in the dime, you replace your NT and one of your ILB's with 2 DB's. You still have the four man line up front like in the nickel, but now have only one ILB in the game. The dime ILB is typically the faster guy with more range and coverage ability (while still being able to rush the passer if a ILB blitz up the middle is called).

Timmons is the dime backer. Hightower would be on the sidelines.

Survey says...he'd be a 2.5 down player.

[Oviedo]

Re: Stop the Madness!!

In the nickel, you take out your NT and replace him with a DB. Our DE's shift inside to DT's, our OLB's put their hands on the ground as rush ends, and our two ILB's stay put.

Hightower would still be in the nickel, next to Timmons.

But in the dime, you replace your NT and one of your ILB's with 2 DB's. You still have the four man line up front like in the nickel, but now have only one ILB in the game. The dime ILB is typically the faster guy with more range and coverage ability (while still being able to rush the passer if a ILB blitz up the middle is called).

Timmons is the dime backer. Hightower would be on the sidelines.

Survey says...he'd be a 2.5 down player.

I'd take Hightower as a 2.5-3 down player without hesitation because I do know that a NT like Poe will be watching 1.5 of those downs from the sideline.

An impact ILB is more importnat right now for our defense than a NT.

[RuthlessBurgher]

Re: Stop the Madness!!

In the nickel, you take out your NT and replace him with a DB. Our DE's shift inside to DT's, our OLB's put their hands on the ground as rush ends, and our two ILB's stay put.

Hightower would still be in the nickel, next to Timmons.

But in the dime, you replace your NT and one of your ILB's with 2 DB's. You still have the four man line up front like in the nickel, but now have only one ILB in the game. The dime ILB is typically the faster guy with more range and coverage ability (while still being able to rush the passer if a ILB blitz up the middle is called).

Timmons is the dime backer. Hightower would be on the sidelines.

Survey says...he'd be a 2.5 down player.

I'd take Hightower as a 2.5-3 down player without hesitation because I do know that a NT like Poe will be watching 1.5 of those downs from the sideline.

An impact ILB is more importnat right now for our defense than a NT.

If Poe can collapse the pocket better than Hood or Heyward, then he'd stay on the field as one of the nickel/dime DT's (a guy that big will need breathers now and then, so he won't be on the field all time, but he's not just a plugger to take up blockers and stuff the run...he displayed the movement skills to be disruptive as a pass rusher as well).

[steeler_fan_in_t.o.]

Re: Stop the Madness!!

If we don't have guys who can collapse the pocket then we won't have to worry about who is a two down, 2.5 down, or three down player...........as we might never get to third down.

[Dee Dub]

Re: Stop the Madness!!

If we don't have guys who can collapse the pocket then we won't have to worry about who is a two down, 2.5 down, or three down player...........as we might never get to third down.

This is the great thing about Hightower. If you look at those clips you can see he is a force inside with the blitz. He himself can collapse the pocket.

[feltdizz]

Re: Stop the Madness!!

Some are saying that Dont'a Hightower is too slow to be anything but a 2 down LB'er or that he is in adequate in coverage. This is not true. He was a 3 down back at Alabama in Nick Saban's 3-4 zone blitz and although he isnt great in coverage he is far from inadequate. If he isnt the guy you want the Steelers to draft, cool, but dont just make up stuff because about Hightower because he isnt your pick.

Here are some clips of him. Please watch them.

watch the 6 play on this clip. Hightower picks up the back in the flat and has him blanketed. Also you will notice that Hightower was used all over the place. Even off the edge as a DE.

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzJ3o1heM5E"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzJ3o1heM5E[/url]

These next clips all show how quick he plays. From the ILB spot he is able to get hits on these QB's. And they arent just hits. They are violent hits.

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBe6Ez1OwO4&feature=related"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBe6Ez1O ... re=related[/url]

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fdY8xnsUuY&feature=related"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fdY8xns ... re=related[/url]

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOYCrxD-4c8&feature=related"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOYCrxD- ... re=related[/url]

Anyone with 2 feet could have blanketed the RB on that play because he was stopped in his tracks by the blitzing DB.

The other hits were nice.

[phillyesq]

Re: Stop the Madness!!

I'd take Hightower as a 2.5-3 down player without hesitation because I do know that a NT like Poe will be watching 1.5 of those downs from the sideline.

An impact ILB is more importnat right now for our defense than a NT.

Timmons is sure as hell being paid like an impact ILB, and the Steelers don't need 2 impact ILBs. Timmons and a solid ILB should be fine.

The defense does need a NT. A good NT will occupy blockers and free up the LBers and other ends to make plays. If the NT could push the pocket, that would also be a plus.

That said, if I had to rank players today, I'd rank Hightower over Poe. Hightower fits the Steelers mold -- big program, college success, etc. Poe, on the other hand, is more of a boom or bust type pick.

In the last 20 years, the Steelers have essentially made three boom or bust picks. One of those (Ben) worked very well; the other two (Troy Edwards and Jamain Stephens) did not.

[feltdizz]

Re: Stop the Madness!!

If Poe can collapse the pocket better than Hood or Heyward, then he'd stay on the field as one of the nickel/dime DT's (a guy that big will need breathers now and then, so he won't be on the field all time, but he's not just a plugger to take up blockers and stuff the run...he displayed the movement skills to be disruptive as a pass rusher as well).

Bingo... we need guys up front who can collapse the pocket.

[hawaiiansteel]

Re: Stop the Madness!!

did we really need a 4th Dont'a Hightower thread?

[RuthlessBurgher]

Re: Stop the Madness!!

In the last 20 years, the Steelers have essentially made three boom or bust picks. One of those (Ben) worked very well; the other two (Troy Edwards and Jamain Stephens) did not.

Whenever you take guys from small schools, some boom and some bust (take Ike Taylor from Louisiana-LaFayette vs. Ricardo Colclough from Tusculum, for example...neither was a first rounder, but we struck gold with the guy we took in the 4th, and struck out with the guy we traded up for in the 2nd). With that said, however, I wouldn't necessarily put Ben and Poe in the same category as Stephens and Edwards. To wit:

Jamain Stephens went to North Carolina A & T...Division I-AA school (I suppose they call it the "Football Championship Subdivision" now as opposed to Division I-A's "Bowl Championship Subdivision", but whatever...same thing). Troy Edwards went to Louisiana Tech. Granted, that's where we got Terry Bradshaw too, but that was a different animal. When we drafted Edwards, La. Tech had only been in Division I-A for a decade...they were I-AA up to 1989.

That's different than Miami (OH) from the MAC, which has proven to be a respectable grounds for developing NFL talent, particularly at QB (although most of them are on our roster now...Ben, Byron, and Charlie are all MAC QB's...I'm shocked that we never signed Pennington near the end of his career). Memphis is no slouch either...they've been in Conference USA, and are moving to the Big East after this season. Mike Tomlin and Randy Fichtner coached there, DeAngelo Williams and Isaac Bruce played there, etc.

[Dee Dub]

Re: Stop the Madness!!

did we really need a 4th Dont'a Hightower thread?

Yes we did...but we sure could have done without you complaining about them in all 4 threads.

[Oviedo]

Re: Stop the Madness!!

If Poe can collapse the pocket better than Hood or Heyward, then he'd stay on the field as one of the nickel/dime DT's (a guy that big will need breathers now and then, so he won't be on the field all time, but he's not just a plugger to take up blockers and stuff the run...he displayed the movement skills to be disruptive as a pass rusher as well).

Bingo... we need guys up front who can collapse the pocket.

That's called a 4-3 defense, ask the Giants

As long as LeBeau is the DC we will not see our defensive linemen collapsing the pocket. They have the critical task of "occupying" blockers instead of making plays in the backfield.

[hawaiiansteel]

Re: Stop the Madness!!

did we really need a 4th Dont'a Hightower thread?

Yes we did...but we sure could have done without you complaining about them in all 4 threads.

you exaggerate, I only complained about it in 3 of the four threads...

[grotonsteel]

Re: Stop the Madness!!

[quote=Dee Dub]

If we don't have guys who can collapse the pocket then we won't have to worry about who is a two down, 2.5 down, or three down player...........as we might never get to third down.

This is the great thing about Hightower. If you look at those clips you can see he is a force inside with the blitz. He himself can collapse the pocket.[/quote:bnhcfvzs]


Can he cover TEs and RB?? I don't think Hightower plays well in space. I will pass.

I can get better value in later rounds.


Most of his scouting report:
Not going to excel in man coverage, some stiffness in the hips – Durability is a concern – Will occasionally be over-aggressive – Not a sideline to sideline guy.