Ben: Be careful with Le'Veon Bell

[WindyCitySteel]

Hahahaha...nice shot Ben took at his dope of a head coach.

Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger says yes. Coach Mike Tomlin — who once promised to run Willie Parker until his wheels came off — says no.
“You do have to be careful,” Roethlisberger said Tuesday on his show on 93.7 The Fan. “I hope we don’t, you know, run him into the ground, if you will.”

[RuthlessBurgher]

I'm no NFL draft wizard, but I'm thinking the key is not to reach for a gadget player in the 3rd round when you need to rebuild at corner. I'm also thinking making Archer a bigger part of our "regular plays" sounds a lot like throwing good money after bad. Like doubling down on a sh*tty hand because you've already invested more than you should have.

Which is why you shouldn't draft gadget players, let alone in the 3rd round.

Here are the corners drafted between the 97th pick (where we took Archer) and the 118th pick (where we took Bryant):

Jaylen Watkins, Florida
Bashaud Breeland, Clemson
Ross Cockrell, Duke
Aaron Colvin, Oklahoma
Keith McGill, Utah

Which of these guys should have been part of our rebuild at corner?

[feltdizz]

Hahahaha...nice shot Ben took at his dope of a head coach.

Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger says yes. Coach Mike Tomlin — who once promised to run Willie Parker until his wheels came off — says no.
“You do have to be careful,” Roethlisberger said Tuesday on his show on 93.7 The Fan. “I hope we don’t, you know, run him into the ground, if you will.”

Ben needs to worry about playing better at his position.

If we don't run Bell into the ground this year we lose 2 more games because Ben has looked like azz vs a lot of these bad teams.

[feltdizz]

Here are the corners drafted between the 97th pick (where we took Archer) and the 118th pick (where we took Bryant):

Jaylen Watkins, Florida
Bashaud Breeland, Clemson
Ross Cockrell, Duke
Aaron Colvin, Oklahoma
Keith McGill, Utah

Which of these guys should have been part of our rebuild at corner?

I agree with been when he says we need Archer on the field on more than gadget plays. Everyone locks in on him when we trot him out there and we always give him the ball.

[WindyCitySteel]

Ben is frustrated working with the mental midgets in charge. I'm guessing if they don't offer him an extension this offseason, or come in way low, he'll call up Bruce in Arizona and push to get a deal done.

[MCHammer]

Here are the corners drafted between the 97th pick (where we took Archer) and the 118th pick (where we took Bryant):

Jaylen Watkins, Florida
Bashaud Breeland, Clemson
Ross Cockrell, Duke
Aaron Colvin, Oklahoma
Keith McGill, Utah

Which of these guys should have been part of our rebuild at corner?

You tell me. All I know is that we reached on a gadget player. Does anyone seriously believe Archer was the best player available at that time, given this team's needs?

Now I'm reading Ben say that when we put Archer in everyone knows it's a gadget play so now we have to waste more downs using Archer in roles for which he is not suited....all to set up gadget plays.

Sorry to be the stick in the mud, but this sort of muddled thinking is not indicative of a championship caliber offense (to say the least).

[Slapstick]

Archer was projected as a 3rd round pick...just because he isn't playing well in his rookie season, that does not make him a reach...

[feltdizz]

You tell me. All I know is that we reached on a gadget player. Does anyone seriously believe Archer was the best player available at that time, given this team's needs?

Now I'm reading Ben say that when we put Archer in everyone knows it's a gadget play so now we have to waste more downs using Archer in roles for which he is not suited....all to set up gadget plays.

Sorry to be the stick in the mud, but this sort of muddled thinking is not indicative of a championship caliber offense (to say the least).

the only reason he is a gadget player is because we are using him as one.

He should get 10 to 15 snaps a game, 5 to 7 touches if we are serious about using him this year.

throwing him in for 2 plays and expecting magic is delusional

[Ghost]

General manager Kevin Colbert said after the Steelers picked Archer that they took him so high because they viewed the Kent State product as a starter because of his kick-return ability. He's so damn terrible at the very specific task used to justify taking him at three; they decided a slow, 250 pound Blount was a better option to return kicks. And they risk their best player on punt returns because Archer can't do that either. He continues to be a head-scratching choice. You could not dress him the last 4 games of the season and it wouldn't make one iota of difference. Not one. And that sucks!!

[feltdizz]

General manager Kevin Colbert said after the Steelers picked Archer that they took him so high because they viewed the Kent State product as a starter because of his kick-return ability. He's so damn terrible at the very specific task used to justify taking him at three; they decided a slow, 250 pound Blount was a better option to return kicks. And they risk their best player on punt returns because Archer can't do that either. He continues to be a head-scratching choice. You could not dress him the last 4 games of the season and it wouldn't make one iota of difference. Not one. And that sucks!!

Austin struggled early on as well... he was doing too much and trying to score on every play.

I think we pulled the plug too quick on his KR duties.

[hawaiiansteel]

I think we pulled the plug too quick on his KR duties.

Wheaton is doing pretty well as our new KR...

[feltdizz]

Wheaton is doing pretty well as our new KR...

he is... so well he should have been doing it from day 1.

[MCHammer]

Archer was projected as a 3rd round pick...just because he isn't playing well in his rookie season, that does not make him a reach...

I seem to recall it being considered a reach at the time. I don't follow the draft as closely as many posters, but I remember hearing he may have been available in the 4th based on how the draft was going then.

Regardless, my overall point is we wasted a pick. I wish Archer the best and my beef is not with him. This team has enough needs without spending a 3rd round pick on an undersized guy capable of playing only a limited role. As Ghost pointed out, he can't even handle kick-off or punt returns.

So who are we gonna take off the field to work Archer into the mix more regularly? Seems the pick is bad enough without doubling down on this misfire. Just my opinion.

[RuthlessBurgher]

I seem to recall it being considered a reach at the time. I don't follow the draft as closely as many posters, but I remember hearing he may have been available in the 4th based on how the draft was going then.

Regardless, my overall point is we wasted a pick. I wish Archer the best and my beef is not with him. This team has enough needs without spending a 3rd round pick on an undersized guy capable of playing only a limited role. As Ghost pointed out, he can't even handle kick-off or punt returns.

So who are we gonna take off the field to work Archer into the mix more regularly? Seems the pick is bad enough without doubling down on this misfire. Just my opinion.

If Archer was projected to be a 4th round pick that we got at the end of the 3rd, and Bryant was projected to be a 3rd round pick that we got in the middle of the 4th, would it make you feel better if we took Bryant first in the late 3rd then Archer in the mid 4th? We get the same two players regardless of perceived reach or value based on arbitary pre-draft rankings.

[Slapstick]

Archer was rated a 3rd round pick.