Ziggy Hood is running out of time

[Dupree]

The Timmons comparison isn't quite right. Timmons was trying to make a switch to a completely new league, new defensive system, and new position. Heyward played in a 3-4 at OSU.

I agree that Timmons might not have been the best example, but we do sit our guys, If Quite possibly the greatest SS to ever play this game had to sit a year. I will be perfectly fine with Heyward have to backup/swap in and not full time start til his 3rd year.

And OSU's 3-4 is no where near our 3-4.

They basically play a 4-3, in their alignment.

What OSU played was a 1-gap system, like what Houston Does with J.J. Watt, thats a far cry from what we do here.

[phillyesq]

I'm not ready to write off Hood as a bust just yet. He finished the season strong and has something to build off going into this season. Playing DE in a 3-4 is not the easiest of positions. Outside of Aaron Smith and Richard Seymour, have there really been any other truly great 3-4 DEs?

Keisel got good, but it took him a while, but I remember for years people saying he was weak at the point of attack and couldn't hold up against the run.

And if we really dig into the numbers, Aaron Smith only had 50+ tackles 3 seasons and Keisel twice. Could Hood have had more tackles? Sure. But many more than 42 isn't typical for his position. 3 sacks aren't that bad either from his position.

There are more positives than negatives in his game. The problem is we drafted him with a first round pick. If we took him later, people would look at him differently. I think we want All Pros with our 1st round picks. And we didn't get it. But that doesn't make him a horrible player. It's not his fault Colbert and company drafted him #1.

And we're always going to compare him to Smitty who always took on a double team. That's the problem across our D line. Everyone of our guys can be handled with 1 blocker except for Casey who's now gone too. It puts even more pressure on our LBs.

All that said, I think Hood can get over the hump and be a solid player.

There are a lot of players between the Ziggy Hood level and the Aaron Smith/Richard Seymour level. Two guys who come to mind are KVO and Ray Seals. KVO would get pressure on passing downs, or at least move the pocket, and was disruptive against the run. Seals was also a guy who was disruptive.

Look at Mike Devito, a free agent from the Jets that signed a very reasonable deal with KC in the offseason. Is Ziggy Hood any better than he is?

Even aside from numbers, the eye test also tells a part of the story. You would frequently see teams open by running to the offensive right - directly at Ziggy. And he could not hold the point of attack. Obviously, the rest of the league saw him as a weak spot, and they attacked.

Ziggy Hood needs to play better. As a late first round pick, I don't expect a pro bowl player, but I do expect him to be an above average starter, and right now, he is not.

[Slapstick]

There are a lot of players between the Ziggy Hood level and the Aaron Smith/Richard Seymour level. Two guys who come to mind are KVO and Ray Seals. KVO would get pressure on passing downs, or at least move the pocket, and was disruptive against the run. Seals was also a guy who was disruptive.

Look at Mike Devito, a free agent from the Jets that signed a very reasonable deal with KC in the offseason. Is Ziggy Hood any better than he is?

Even aside from numbers, the eye test also tells a part of the story. You would frequently see teams open by running to the offensive right - directly at Ziggy. And he could not hold the point of attack. Obviously, the rest of the league saw him as a weak spot, and they attacked.

Ziggy Hood needs to play better. As a late first round pick, I don't expect a pro bowl player, but I do expect him to be an above average starter, and right now, he is not.

Ziggy made adjustments later in the season and during games when they ran his way...

Didn't the Steelers end up with the #2 rush defense last year? Ziggy was never benched...so, he was out on the field to help the team earn that ranking...

If he were as pathetic as posters make him out to be, the rush defense could not have been that good with him on the field...and, he was on the field...

[papillon]

IMO, Hood's biggest problem with the fans is not being named Aaron Smith. I think this is the last year of his rookie contract, so we should get a glimpse into what the football minds of the Steelers think of him after the season when it comes time to sign his second contract. Inconsistency is his biggest problem right now. I'm still hoping he becomes what the Steelers believed he could be when they drafted him.

Pappy

[Oviedo]

IMO, Hood's biggest problem with the fans is not being named Aaron Smith. I think this is the last year of his rookie contract, so we should get a glimpse into what the football minds of the Steelers think of him after the season when it comes time to sign his second contract. Inconsistency is his biggest problem right now. I'm still hoping he becomes what the Steelers believed he could be when they drafted him.

Pappy

+1

The Steelers will decide his value and either keep him or we get a Comp pick

[steelz09]

I think Hood will get resigned to a cap friendly deal. Keisel is a UFA in 2014. He's done as a Steeler. Heyward and Hood will be the future starters. NT is up for grabs.

[Oviedo]

I think Hood will get resigned to a cap friendly deal. Keisel is a UFA in 2014. He's done as a Steeler. Heyward and Hood will be the future starters. NT is up for grabs.

I would suspect that is how it plays out too!

[hawaiiansteel]

Steelers notebook: Hood among those looking to secure next contract

By Alan Robinson
Published: Sunday, July 28, 2013



Ryan Clark, Brett Keisel, Ziggy Hood, Emmanuel Sanders, Jason Worilds, Jonathan Dwyer, Isaac Redman and Jerricho Cotchery are key Steelers who are in the final season of their contracts. There are no known ongoing contract talks with any of them, although Sanders, who was offered a contract by the Patriots during the offseason, would be the logical top candidate for such discussions.

While players often insist before a season that a new contract isn't a primary focus, many say after a season that, indeed, it was always in the back of their minds.

Clark wants to return next season, while Keisel, who will be 35 in September, could retire.

Hood, a former first-round draft pick who has yet to distinguish himself as an NFL defensive end, knows it might take a breakout season to land another multiyear contract with any team, not just the Steelers.

“As long as I do whatever I can and I lay it out on the line, I can wake up the next morning and say I gave it everything I got,” he said. “If it just doesn't flow, it doesn't flow, then I'm OK with it.”

He also said he expects the Steelers to see “maybe more than they expected” from him.

• A season ago, Mike Wallace's contract holdout was the dominant story early in training camp. By this stage of camp, the Steelers already had given Antonio Brown a new $42.5 million contract. But there's been no such deal for Sanders, who has given no hint to what it would take to retain him. His negotiating position was enhanced when the Patriots offered him a contract as a restricted free agent, the first player in three years to be given such a deal. The Patriots' offer forced the Steelers to pay Sanders $2.5 million to retain him, or $500,000 more than their initial tender. “I'm not too concerned about it,” Sanders said. “At the end of the day, the contract will work itself out.”

• The Steelers practice in pads for the first time Monday. The collective bargaining agreement reached two years ago mandated no contact work early in camp. To coach Mike Tomlin, that means it's like “the first day in school.” Position battles such as Jason Worilds/Jarvis Jones at outside linebacker and Isaac Redman/Jonathan Dwyer/Le'Veon Bell at running back can't begin to be sorted out until contact work begins. The Steelers gave their players the morning off Sunday, which created the unusual sight of players — mostly rookies and first-year players — going through a walk-through with fans in the St. Vincent grandstands about two hours before the scheduled practice began at 3 p.m. Normally, fans and reporters are not permitted to watch walk-throughs.

• Cortez Allen, now a starter at cornerback, and cornerback DeMarcus Van Dyke left practice early Sunday — Allen with knee discomfort, Van Dyke with a hamstring injury, Tomlin said. Their status is likely to be updated Monday. Allen wore an ice bag on his knee when practice ended. With Allen out, Curtis Brown took over at cornerback and was beaten once in deep coverage by Emmanuel Sanders but came back to cut in front of Sanders and intercept a Ben Roethlisberger pass. Brown is also getting work as William Gay's backup at nickel back. “It's my third year in the NFL, and people are expecting me to play more defense. Right now, everybody knows me as a gunner and a special-teams player,” Brown said. “For right now, I'm going to give it my all for special teams, but at the same time, I have to step up in other areas of the game.”

• Roethlisberger still finds himself thinking at times how close the Steelers were to being a good team last season, when five of their eight losses were by three points. “Obviously it's frustrating because you know you were so close,” he said. “It was one of those seasons where you know the ball has to bounce your way. There is a lot of luck in this game, and sometimes it's not your season. Sometimes it's not your season as an individual. One year I threw a bunch of interceptions, and you know what? I had a bad season. Last year was one of those seasons where we were close and almost had it. But we can't dwell on almost. We have to say, ‘Let's move on.' ”

• Right tackle Mike Adams, a stabbing victim less than two months ago, practiced fully on the first two days of camp and has shown no ill effects from his injuries. Adams is the only one of the five starting offensive linemen who doesn't practice with a knee brace. … Orlando Magic coach Jacque Vaughn and assistant GM Scott Perry attended Steelers camp over the weekend to watch how Tomlin deals with his players. Tomlin is one of only five NFL coaches on Twitter, and he posted a picture of himself with Vaughn and Perry.

[URL]http://triblive.com/sports/steelers/...#ixzz2aQLgEn7G[/URL]

[Shoe]

I would suspect that is how it plays out too!

I would be fine with that. Hood is judged by the expectations that come with being picked in the first round. But if you judge him and pay him, as the ham & egger that he is--suddenly he is, if not an great asset, a solid option.

[Eddie Spaghetti]

jeez louise, the excuses for this guy

he's not very good and was a poor draft pick

its that simple

[Ghost]

jeez louise, the excuses for this guy

he's not very good and was a poor draft pick

its that simple

Simply stated, right to the point, and correct. Well done Eddie!

One would think this was an excuse factory and some guys are getting paid by volume.

[SidSmythe]

HOOD at this point is not worthy of a contract extension. the only thing he has going for him is they invested a 1st round pick on him. I'm sure we can find someone who won't be playing the run 7 yards deep to play his position. He can prove himself this year but I won't be holding my breath.

[flippy]

Hood started playing good during the last month of the season. I think he'll build on that and his game might be on the verge of clicking. I see this as his make or break year.

[Shoe]

HOOD at this point is not worthy of a contract extension. the only thing he has going for him is they invested a 1st round pick on him. I'm sure we can find someone who won't be playing the run 7 yards deep to play his position. He can prove himself this year but I won't be holding my breath.

Is a contract extension, giving the player a salary that is equal or comparable to their current deal? Or does that just mean re-signing the player? If so, I wouldn't give him an extension; I would consider re-signing him (lower salary).

[ramblinjim]

It's going to be awfully tough for Hood to break the bank next year based on his play to date. On the other hand for the Steelers, you can probably sign a young, defensive lineman to a cap friendly deal (say like Kiesel's second deal) and it could be worth it.