Pats sign Sanders

[Big Ern McCracken]

Philly, I understand your thoughts on the extra cap space... and the lame duck scenario. I'm not sure if a number quality #2 receiver is easily replaced though in the near term..especially with what they are getting in return (#3 rd draft pick).

Lots of interesting conversation in this thread. Been enjoyable to follow.

[grotonsteel]

I don't mind a 3rd pick but my biggest worry is Big Ben will have only AB84, Cotchery and Plex as WR....He will have to develop chemistry with rookie WRs again...

Also he won't have Heath at the start of the season....Plus a new LT....

Rb scenario is in big limbo

Too many changes on the offensive side...

[AkronSteel]

The more I think about this situation, the more I lean toward letting Manny walk to New England. The Steelers would basically be renting a player for a year because if he has a solid season the Steelers will not be able to retain him anyway. They have extensions coming up the are going to be needed for Ben, Pouncey, Allen, McClendon, Hood and Miller if healthy. Where in the pecking order would Manny actually fall in that scenario? Obviously now WR becomes much more of a need and would probably be our first round pick. I would take Allen or Hopkins to be honest and then get a safety in the 2nd. Then the Steelers can add a RB and OL in the third, plus another WR later on. If the Steelers have a good draft this move could really help.

[phillyesq]

Philly, I understand your thoughts on the extra cap space... and the lame duck scenario. I'm not sure if a number quality #2 receiver is easily replaced though in the near term..especially with what they are getting in return (#3 rd draft pick).

Lots of interesting conversation in this thread. Been enjoyable to follow.

I understand that perspective, but I'm not sure that I see Sanders as a quality #2. In the games that Brown was out (and his game as a co-starter), here are his stats:

2 rec, 30 yards
3 rec, 82 yards
5 rec, 75 yards
5 rec, 60 yards

Looking at that, I'm underwhelmed. And looking at his career stats, no 100 yard games. During the rest of 2013, he did not exceed 5 catches or 56 yards. He just has not produced at a level where I think he will be difficult to replace. With just about any rookie or with Cotchery/Burress, there is likely to be a dropoff to some extent early in the year, but I don't think it is anything that cannot be overcome. I guess I just don't see Sanders as a difference maker at all.

[Big Ern McCracken]

Doesn't look like too bad of stats to me.. Sanders has shown some flashes of greatness in his young career. Will take longer than a year to replace him in my opinion...especially with Wallace gone. I wouldn't be so worried about it if we had depth at the position..

[Rara]

Think of it this way, for those who oppose giving Sanders away...it frees up cap space to sign free agents (such as Ahmad Bradshaw, Steve Breaston, ect.) AND gives an extra third rounder..so just draft Steadman Bailey..boom. We are getting more out of getting rid of Sanders instead of keeping him.

[Big Ern McCracken]

Think of it this way, for those who oppose giving Sanders away...it frees up cap space to sign free agents (such as Ahmad Bradshaw, Steve Breaston, ect.) AND gives an extra third rounder..so just draft Steadman Bailey..boom. We are getting more out of getting rid of Sanders instead of keeping him.

Those are possibilities. I guess we'll know a year from now whether it worked out lol

[Eddie Spaghetti]

when has sanders shown "flashes of greatness"?

he has been a decent player, but nothing special.

[Big Ern McCracken]

Special enough for New England to want to sign him.

[Eddie Spaghetti]

that doesn't cut a lot of ice with me. Says more about their strike outs at WR and losing welker. Also, they are built to contend now more so than the steelers. The move makes sense for them in that regard.

sanders isnt special and very easily replaced.

[Big Ern McCracken]

that doesn't cut a lot of ice with me. Says more about their strike outs at WR and losing welker. Also, they are built to contend now more so than the steelers. The move makes sense for them in that regard.

sanders isnt special and very easily replaced.

I guess time will tell. I think you are overstating things by saying he'll be easily replaced. Let's see what kind of numbers he's able to put up with Brady this year... and have this conversation in early 2014.

[Eddie Spaghetti]

and I think you are grossly overstating sanders when you say he has shown flashes of greatness.

[SidSmythe]

I was a huge SANDERS fan until last season and his 2 costly fumbles (especially the Ravens game). I started to question his BIG TIME/BIG GAME ability in light of his "Flashes of greatness"

[Chadman]

If the coaches want him, he's gone. If the front office wants him, then he'll stay. I think there's this unspoken FU to Tomlin and staff like there's been toward Ben for the last few years.

Everyone seems to think Wally and Mendy were the disgruntled locker room cancers. But I'm starting to think there's a bigger cancer and it's between the owner, coaches, and Ben. This team chemistry thing is bigger than the players. And it might turn out ok with old man Rooney back his break in Ireland.

I don't think it's just a coincidence that things starts busting apart at the seams when he left.

Flippy- this sounds dangerously close to what Crashiggy used to say (although, far more confrontationally), and what Chadman suggested earlier this off season when nearly everyone on here wanted to put the foot into Wallace & call him the biggest problem this team had.

For Chadman- and this is opinion only based on rumours & media reporting- The FO wanted Bruce Arians gone in 2011. Tomlin went in to bat for him, and pulled a rabbit out of the hat in order to keep Arians around. Why the FO wanted Arians out in 2011 is not decided, but there was plenty of speculation that it was the case. Was it because of the whole "Ben is getting bigger than the team" theory, and the FO thought that by removing Arians, they might control Ben & his ego/locker room power easier? Perhaps. But we won't know for sure, ever. It was also being widely reported that Rooney wanted a stronger reliance on the run game in Pittsburgh.

In 2012, the "Arians issue" came up again, and this time Arians was removed, much the the mostly aknowledged chagrin of Ben, but also the rumoured/reported chagrin of Tomlin, who didn't want him gone. Let's face it, at the sign-off of the 2011 season, Tomlin said to the media he didn't forsee ANY changes to his coaching staff, even after reporters asked him directly about Arians.

Todd Haley is brought in- a renowned confrontationalist- presumably to 'keep Ben in line'. Now, for Chadman- Haley is about as innocent a victim as we are likely to see. He's walked into a team that didn't want the old OC gone, and now looks to be facing not only a QB who isn't happy with him, but possibly a HC as well. Add to that what appeared to be a few other key Offensive players not buying the system, for whatever reasons.

During 2012 we had a few concerning issues- the Wallace non-contract, and the subsequent signing of Antonio Brown- arguably a direct FU to Wallace for not signing what the FO thought was reasonable (after all, Brown wasn't even an UFA or RFA at that point). Ben was continually talking to the papers about Haley's offense- not necessarily attacking it, but always bringing it up- making it an issue. The lack of ball control on the field spoke volumes to the level of dedication from the players. The "Cleveland Fumble-a-thon Debacle" was the pinnacle of our Steelers lack of dedication in 2012, and in what is STILL a confusing, head-scratching decision, the team elects to 'rest' (read- punish) Rashard Mendenhall (2 fumbles vs Browns) in the next game, but lets other offenders- Antonio Brown, Jonathan Dwyer, Issac Redman, Manny Sanders & Chris Rainey- off without any sort of 'rest' (punishment). Then we have an 'unnamed source' bagging Woodley's conditioning. Then we have Ryan Clark calling out the 'unnamed source'. Then poster-boy Brown tells the media the locker-room is fractured, only for his GM Kevin Colbert to then tell the media that Brown is wrong.

Guys that Tomlin brought in & relied on- Wallace, Mendenahall, Lewis- are let go in FA without an offer extended to them by the Steelers. And now with Sanders potentially leaving, we have poster-boy coming out to the media, essentially telling everyone Sanders is gone because he isn't doing things the way the Steelers like players to do things. Nice way to tip the hat to every other club.

Chadman thinks Flippy is right- there is something not right between the FO & Coaches, and that is filtering down throughout the rest of the team. Maybe Old Man Rooney can sort it out, because like Crashiggy, chadman has doubts about the younger Rooney's ability to let football men make football decisions.

[BradshawsHairdresser]

IMHO, Chadman, Flippy, Crashiggy, et al, are drumming up drama where there is none. The FO is at odds with Tomlin? Art is taking over the football operations? The only reason we're hearing this kind of stuff is because the team went 8-8 and missed the playoffs (well, we'd likely hear it from Crashiggy regardless).

Arians was shipped out because the O was underperforming. It was time for a change. Tomlin himself said he was down with the decision. I don't think he's a liar. Jury is out as to whether Haley will do any better than BA, but he gets one more season to prove himself.