2015 Offseason Thread

[Rara]

Now that playoffs was short for us...might as well start the offseason thread. Here's a few things I think should be done:

Those that need to be cut:
Mike Mitchell
Lance Moore
Cam Thomas
Antwon Blake (re-sign to practice squad)
Jason Worilds
Darrius Heyward-Bey
Jarvis Jones
Ike Taylor
Brett Keisel (retires?)

-Roethlisberger needs to be re-signed/extended..maybe Harrison needs to come back too. Would like to bring Ben Tate back as well.
-Move Shazier to outside linebacker, Vince Williams takes over for Shazier next to Timmons
-Target in free agency: Buster Skrine, CB; Davon House, CB; Pernell McPhee, OLB; Matt Asiata, RB (if Tate is gone), Clint Boling, OG

Draft talk

Look at Cornerback, defensive tackle, outside linebacker, safety, tight end, wide receiver.

Targets through for each round (estimate):

Round 1
Trae Waynes, CB; Michigan State
P.J. Williams, CB; Florida State
Jalen Collins, CB; LSU
Danny Shelton, DT; Washington
Vic Beasley, OLB; Clemson

Round 2
Gerod Holliman, S; Louisville
Michael Bennett, DT; Ohio State
Alex Carter, CB; Stanford
Charles Gaines, CB; Louisville
Carl Davis, DT; Iowa
Erik Striker, OLB; Oklahoma

Round 3
Cam Thomas, CB; Western Kentucky
Lynden Trail, OLB; Northfolk State
Jeff Heuerman, TE; Ohio State
Kurtis Drummond, S; Michigan State

Round 4
Jake Ryan, OLB; Michigan
Durrell Eskridge, FS; Syracuse
Tyler Kroft, TE; Rutgers
Tony Lippett, WR; Michigan State

Round 5
Nick Boyle, TE; Delaware
Stefon Diggs, WR; Maryland
Brandon Ivory, DT; Alabama


Round 6
Blake Bell, TE; Oklahoma
Curtis Riley, CB; Fresno State

Round 7
TBA
Jake McGee, TE; Florida

[SidSmythe]

Round 1 and 2: CB and DT (I want a Ngata)

[Rara]

I completely agree. But..are we giving up on McCullers already though?

[NorthCoast]

Rd 3..seriously, another Cam Thomas on the team?.. haahahaa.

[Rara]

So where does this put us officially in the draft order?

[Rara]

Rd 3..seriously, another Cam Thomas on the team?.. haahahaa.

I would guess herpes free too?

[7 UP]

I completely agree. But..are we giving up on McCullers already though?

Drafting a stud DT dosent mean we are giving up on McCullers. We drafted Shazier 1st. Who played more he or Spence? Just because we drafted Shazier dosent mean we gave up on Spence. Same goes for McCullers. We need depth everywhere.

[papillon]

So where does this put us officially in the draft order?

20th or 21st I guess.

Pappy

[papillon]

I completely agree. But..are we giving up on McCullers already though?

You're giving up on Jones.

Pappy

[NJ-STEELER]

start with "retiring" Lebeau

[SidSmythe]

People are seriously answering this thread. Dude said cut Jarvis Jones. I'm not Jones believer but seriously? ?

[NJ-STEELER]

yeah. jones and mitchell are not getting cut

[NJ-STEELER]

20th or 21st I guess.

Pappy

read it will be the 24th pick unless dallas losses tomorrow. 23rd if they do

[phillyesq]

yeah. jones and mitchell are not getting cut

Jones absolutely isn't getting cut, but Mitchell is a possibility. He's due a roster bonus and can be cut now without a significant cap hit. Would you pay him a roster bonus based on his play this year? I sure wouldn't.

[7upnext]

Players that need to be let go:

Mike Adams (useless)
Mike Mitchell (just a guy..borderline liability)
Troy Polamalu (legend that needs to step away...hope he realizes this and does so. If not, he needs to be shown the door ala K.G., Porter, Clark)
Gilbert (just let him go already)
Ike (doubt he returns for what he made last year and probably goes somewhere else for his last year or two)


The coaches:

Mike Tomlin's teams these past several years have proven to be soft and undisciplined. That isn't going to change. Winning 11 games with our easy schedule unfortunately probably buys him time
Dick Lebeau needed to retire after the last SB. Everything bad about our D was on display that day and since then any team with a decent QB can beat us. His scheme doesn't work now..period
Todd Haley deserves a HC job. This is the first year of Ben's career that he somewhat played within a system and lo and behold he has a career year. In our losses when Ben plays poorly it is so evident he is playing outside what is asked of him. He is just not a system type QB. That is both good (see SB win v ARI, two 6 TD games) and bad (almost every bad game he has where you see him pass up underneath open receivers or fails to run for a first because he is trying to go deep) so you just hope that he continues that development with Haley or the new guy. But Ben isn't very bright so I won't hold my breath. Back to Haley, I firmly believe he is HC material and deserves another chance. But would like him to stay if not

Draft:

I move Beachum inside or to RT where I think he goes from slightly above average to firmly above average. I then draft the best LT I can get. We've never landed a true great LT since Ben has been here. If we are hoping to keep him here and producing at an advancing age he needs more/better protection. Moving Beachum to RT and drafting a legit LT could make our line be among the best instead of among the lower third it has been since Ben came in.

I don't draft DT like many want because I believe we already have good young talent that just needs PT and will develop into a strength.

If there are no LT where we are at in the first I hope they take the best CB or Safety. I say either because in today's NFL, these positions are almost interchangeable with how much passing is going on. We need CB real bad though...like real bad. So best player available at either LT, CB, S and then rinse and repeat.

I do not sign Ben long term if I am KC. I let him play out his contract and if some team is willing to break the bank for a 33 y/o QB who can't play within a system...and he takes the money..so be it. If that happens any QB that comes in, whether a draft pick or veteran will be walking into a loaded situation as we have arguably the best collection of young playmakers in the league with hopefully by then a very solid O line. My guess is they sign him though. I hope it is extremely team friendly with outs and lots of incentives. I do think with a better D coach D overall he can still win a SB. Probably real good for another 3 years.

The sky isn't falling..it's just that all the changes we have been putting off for years i.e. Ike, Troy, Dick, etc really once and for all need to happen. There is a lot of talent especially on offense. I am not at all surprised we lost without Bell. We were entering the game at a coaching disadvantage and minus perhaps the best RB in the game. Ben needed to play a perfect game and he didn't. Is anyone really surprised?

Bring on the East/West, combine, pro days, and mini camp. I'm already chomping at the bit!!