Dee Milliner CB Alabama

[Chadman]

Wouldn't think CB is super-high on the priorities list after the season Lewis has had & the improvement in Allen. Maybe a late round CB, but Chadman would expect the CB situation to be very similar next season to this one.

Playmakers at FS & SS however, sound the go.. as well as a NT.

[Eddie Spaghetti]

OMG. It must be the Sprit of the Season overtaking us! Are you really advocating playing younger players to get them real game experience? Haven't I been saying that for years?

I was more suggesting that when you put a guy in there due to injury and he fouls up, don't yank him at the 1st sign of trouble like I feel they did with brown yesterday. I can't advocate playing younger guys just because they are younger and you want them to get game experience. Could they do a better job of spoonfeeding the younger CBs some reps? Yes, you may have an argument there. Maybe if we could put some poor teams away early in games, it might be easier to do.

while we are agreeing, you are spot on about texas players.

[flippy]

I was more suggesting that when you put a guy in there due to injury and he fouls up, don't yank him at the 1st sign of trouble like I feel they did with brown yesterday. I can't advocate playing younger guys just because they are younger and you want them to get game experience. Could they do a better job of spoonfeeding the younger CBs some reps? Yes, you may have an argument there. Maybe if we could put some poor teams away early in games, it might be easier to do.

while we are agreeing, you are spot on about texas players.

is it possible brown got injured in any way? his first bad play looked so bad, he didn't look like he belonged on the field. i thought to myself as bad as wally drives me bonkers when he half arses it sometimes, he never doesn't look like an NFLer. brown just didn't belong.

there was a lot of bad play. bronko really stood out as having a rough game. but even when he got beat, he fought through it. not sure if I can describe it right, but there's just different levels of bad play. and brown was as bad as it gets.

[NJ-STEELER]

Why anyone would want to keep Ike Taylor who will be 33 next year and is heading in the wrong direction skill wise is beyond me. Did anyone forget how horrible he played for like the first half of the season? Oh and the next big play he makes will be like his first. The Steelers need to stop holding on to players too long and start bringing in some young, hungry talent. Play makers

the playmakers we have at corner behind ike were 'making plays' for the other team

[BradshawsHairdresser]

After the game try to use for party.

What the????

[steelz09]

In the first round, I just don't see a d-line, o-line, or CB being picked.

You have Ike, Cortez Allen and Keenan Lewis.

If Ike is let go (unlikely) and Lewis is resigned (likely) then Cortez Allen and Keenan Lewis are the starters

If Ike stays and Lewis stays then they will be the starters again.

If Ike stays and Lewis goes then Ike and Allen are the starters.

If we were to go with a DB in the first round, I'd prefer it be a safety. We need depth and a future starter at safety. He'll be a backup S this year if Clark and Polamalu can stay healthy but realistically 1 of those 2 will be hurt during the season at some time. If Clark/Polamalu do stay healthy, a 1st round safety will see significant playing time in subpackages and obviously special teams... that's almost as good as starting.

[NW Steeler]

If someone offers Keenan $10mil a season as some have projected, I cant see the Steelers matching that. We might be back to having a dire need for a CB all of a sudden.

[steelz09]

If someone offers Keenan $10mil a season as some have projected, I cant see the Steelers matching that. We might be back to having a dire need for a CB all of a sudden.

I don't think he'll get that but who knows...

If push came to shove, I'd let Ike walk to keep Lewis.

[Eddie Spaghetti]

I think we lose lewis once he hits the market.it would be nice if brown could actually help.

[steelz09]

I want the Steelers to keep Ike for next season and sign Lewis to a long-term deal.

I would NOT keep Ike if it was at the expense of losing Lewis. The bottom line is that Ike is a "now" player and is not in the Steelers future plans. It's not because he's not good right now... it's because of his age. Age, especially at the CB position will greatly impact level of play.

Lewis on the other hand has developed into starter material and age is on his side. We've spent years developing Lewis and he finally had his breakout season thus far. Why would the Steelers develop their young talent just to let another team take him away. If they want to be competetive, they can't let this stuff happen. Of anything, you keep Lewis and let Ike walk. That isn't even a difficult position. Historically, the Steelers have been good at knowing when to move on from older players in favor of a younger player. This fits the same mold.

The future CB starters is likely Cortez Allen and Keenan Lewis. There will probably be another CB (draft pick) in the mix but it won't be a 1st rounder if Lewis is resigned. Ike is not the future and the Steelers & fans should just accept that. If Ike is kept and Lewis walks, I feel the Steelers are making a huge mistake and jeopardizing the team's success now and in the future.

[RuthlessBurgher]

If we lose Lewis to free agency, then Ike and Cortez will be our starters going into next season. But how long does Ike have left, realistically (particularly when you compare his age with his cap number)? Without Lewis, we would need a starting CB of the future (since I don't see much in Curtis Brown or Josh Victorian at this point). Unfortunately, it appears that Milliner is far out of our reach (the consensus top CB in the draft always goes in the top half of round 1). The only other CB who provides first round value would be Banks from Mississippi State. Day 2 possibilities include Xavier Rhodes, David Amerson, Desmond Trufant, etc. Hopefully we are able to retain Lewis so this won't be an issue, but we'll have to wait and see.

[RuthlessBurgher]

If Ike is kept and Lewis walks, I feel the Steelers are making a huge mistake and jeopardizing the team's success now and in the future.

I'm a big fan of Ike's, but