Does anyone think the Steelers should fire ...

[SS Laser]

I am starting to agree that JJ was a reach. Being perfect in a 3-4 and enough talent to be good to very good in college. But there are so MANY of those type of 1st round guys that are a total bust. He is at least getting some snaps but that could just also be circumstance. I.E. No one better to put on the field! How many of the corners that have been picked in the first have been average or below the last few seasons? Now I understand rookies can take time but my point is who was the player needed at that point? No other OLB worth taking as far as I know. Or corner with out 20/20 looking back IMO. Now maybe there was a safety though I would have to look. So many HITS on offense and very few on defense. And just the opposite during the cowher years. I hope Golson is MUCH better then Boykin! And they can hit on some more defense! As the cap/ money will be starting to hit the offense for the bad IMO very soon!

[RuthlessBurgher]

Probably Weddles last contract. He's probably going to want the house.
Mitchells making $5 mil, wish we replace him with Weddle.

Weddle got the house with his last contract when he was truly in his prime (just completed a 5 year deal worth a total of $40 million). Since he is turning 31 the day after tomorrow, I imagine his next deal will be similar to what we gave Mitchell on a yearly basis (except for perhaps a greater percentage of the deal being guaranteed).

[fordfixer]

Placed on IR against his wishes, Eric Weddle runs sprints during Chargers' practice

[url]http://espn.go.com/blog/san-diego-chargers/post/_/id/14551/placed-on-ir-against-his-wishes-eric-weddle-runs-sprints-during-chargers-practice[/url]

Dec 31, 2015
Eric D. Williams
ESPN Staff Writer




SAN DIEGO -- Eric Weddle wanted to make a statement.

Placed on season-ending, injured reserve earlier this week against his wishes, Weddle ran 50-yard sprints and did lateral slides on a side field while his teammates went through stretches at the start of Thursday’s practice.

Weddle appeared to be running at full speed, and his effort drew comments from quarterback Philip Rivers watching while the rest of teammates stretched.



Eric Weddle, who is an unresticted free agent this offseason, likely won't be back with the Chargers. Stephen Dunn/Getty Images

Rivers said on Wednesday he wished that Weddle had more time to show that he could get healthy before Sunday’s game.

“I hate it that he’s not going to be out there for his last one and finish this season with all of us,” Rivers said. “That’s definitely tough. You don’t want to see it end that way for him.

“He’s played through a lot of things over his career. And so I would have loved to see him have the chance to get to Friday or Saturday, and see if he could go. But that didn’t happen because I think he would have done all he could to be out there with us one last time.”

Chargers head coach Mike McCoy said the organization decided to place Weddle on injured reserve on Monday after a conversation with the team’s medical staff, including head trainer James Collins, determining that Weddle could not make it back to the field healthy after reinjuring his groin.

Placing a healthy player on injured reserve is in violation of league rules.

“We made the decision on what we thought was best for the football team this week, with what his injury was, what his diagnosis was and when we thought he could play again and be at full speed to help our team,” McCoy said. “That’s the decision we made.”

McCoy said Weddle’s replacement, second-year pro Adrian Philips, had been in Weddle’s hip pocket ever since joining the team last season, learning daily from the veteran safety.

Along with placing Weddle on injured reserve, McCoy confirmed this week that the Chargers fined the 30-year-old safety $10,000 for violating team policy by not going into the locker room at halftime of the team’s 30-14 win over the Miami Dolphins two weeks ago, choosing instead to watch his daughter perform in a halftime show with the team’s cheerleaders.

An unrestricted free agent in 2016, Weddle is all but certain to be playing elsewhere next season. Weddle skipped voluntary workouts last offseason to show his displeasure with the Chargers’ unwillingness to sign him to a contract extension.

Weddle said he felt disrespected by the way the organization handled negotiations.

“It’s tough anytime a guy gets hurt,” defensive coordinator John Pagano said. “It’s always a setback. But the thing is, these younger guys are getting better. They’re playing more. They’re playing together, and you see the things they’re doing, which is good because it always takes reps.”

[feltdizz]

Colbert along with Bill Cowher put together the second most successful NFL team of the 2000s behind only New England. You'd think that would give the man some leeway. Once that team got older and left he was charged with working alongside Tomlin to keep the team in the hunt when they probably should have done a rebuild after the loss to Green Bay. It's hard to restock the cupboard when you don't have high picks. As far as the secondary goes he did just draft a legit corner but lost him for the season before it even began. He also traded for Boykins but Tomlin refuses to play him despite all evidence pointing to him being world's better. I actually think that is an area of contention between Colbert and Tomlin but the Steelers don't broadcast issues like that so we'll never know

I would give Colbert another year. If it was between losing him or Tomlin I would keep him. But there's no chance Tomlin will ever get fired. As others have pointed out, that would result in people saying it's racist. I say that because I have noticed people being called racist on here when posters criticize Tomlin for anything. I can't imagine the outcry if he was actually fired.

Someone brought up that the team hasn't won a playoff game since the 2010 season. That's crazy to me. If we don't make the playoffs this season I would think that everyone should be on the hot seat including Colbert and Tomlin for next season. I would welcome whole sale changes despite my personal feelings about both men because sometimes there just needs to be a change. I felt that way with Cowher as well despite winning in 2005. I was glad he left and thought the Tomlin hire was a fresh new face that would inject some new energy. It might be time for that again but with Colbert going as well.

Steelers aren't changing coaches after 9 years

[steelnavy]

How can you argue that the DB coach has too much influence on a draft, when the only DBs selected during his tenure were day 3 picks (the first time we used even a day 2 pick on a DB under Lake is Golson, and he spent his rookie year on IR). The decline in the secondary has way more to do with Ike, Troy, and Clark moving on with their life's work.

Maybe Carnell told Colbert that he is so good, that he can work magic with 4th and 5th stringers? All I am saying is that the secondary talent has not evolved since Carnell arrived. They looked absolutely lost many times this year. Even if they have less athletic talent than their NFL peers, missing assignments (how do you lose Gronk?!?) and recurring miscommunications on the field are directly on him.

The O-line used to look like azz until we got Munchak. Now those same players look like real football players. I wouldn't lose much sleep if we found another secondary coach...

[RuthlessBurgher]

Maybe Carnell told Colbert that he is so good, that he can work magic with 4th and 5th stringers? All I am saying is that the secondary talent has not evolved since Carnell arrived. They looked absolutely lost many times this year. Even if they have less athletic talent than their NFL peers, missing assignments (how do you lose Gronk?!?) and recurring miscommunications on the field are directly on him.

It's the philosophy that if they can get pressure on the QB by investing heavily in the front 7 (first round picks on Heyward, Jones, Shazier, and Dupree, plus a second rounder on Tuitt), then they can get by with mid round talent in a zone defense behind them. The issues arise when we don't get pressure on the opposing QB.

[RuthlessBurgher]

The O-line used to look like azz until we got Munchak. Now those same players look like real football players. I wouldn't lose much sleep if we found another secondary coach...

I agree about the positive impact of the Munchak hire...best addition in years...but we did balance out the late round picks and UDFA finds like Beachum, Foster, and Villenueva with high draft picks like Pouncey, DeCastro, and Gilbert. I want to see what Lake can do if we give him a blue chip prospect or two instead of just all flawed projects he has to try to turn into legit NFL players.

[Oviedo]

It's the philosophy that if they can get pressure on the QB by investing heavily in the front 7 (first round picks on Heyward, Jones, Shazier, and Dupree, plus a second rounder on Tuitt), then they can get by with mid round talent in a zone defense behind them. The issues arise when we don't get pressure on the opposing QB.

It's all about the pressure up front and I think even his most ardent fanboys have to admit that Jones has been a major disappointment at the critical ROLB position. What is unfortunate is that given the "healthy year" his fans said he needed he has still shown next to nothing.

IMO we are still in the position that we need to find a premier pass rushing OLB like we had with Harrison, Porter, Gildon and Greene.

I think two of the first three draft pick will have to be for the secondary but I still think we also need a top pass rushing OLB.

[Oviedo]

I agree about the positive impact of the Munchak hire...best addition in years...but we did balance out the late round picks and UDFA finds like Beachum, Foster, and Villenueva with high draft picks like Pouncey, DeCastro, and Gilbert. I want to see what Lake can do if we give him a blue chip prospect or two instead of just all flawed projects he has to try to turn into legit NFL players.

I would love to see what Lake could do with some "Prime, Grade A beef" too and if he can "salvage" Cortez Allen.