Colin Cowherd says

[NorthCoast]

I know some of yinz hate on him but I find some of his points are relevant and worth discussion. I'll paraphrase his comments on NE and CLE this offseason:

"What NE is doing is obvious. Belichick knows he has one, perhaps two seasons left with Brady and he isn't messing around with 20 yr olds in the draft. He is bringing in seasoned talent, in some cases very good talent, to maximize their last chances with Brady as the QB. These guys will drop in and play immediately, not 2 yrs from now. And they continue to draft QBs to look for the next Brady. They aren't keeping guys that are backups. They are actively searching and cutting guys that don't work out.

CLE has amassed an unbelievable selection of draft picks the next two seasons. They are far under the cap so are able to sign all of these rookie deals. They will build this team through the draft and can be patient to get their QB when the opportunity strikes. This is what SF did in the early nineties."

Honestly as I was listening, I couldn't help but wonder why Steelers management isn't thinking the same approach as NE. They are now hamstrung by a bloated cap on offense and can't really hope to sign guys they can plug and play. They now have to hope they strike gold in the draft.

[pittpete]

The Steelers way is the best way..,Shame on you for asking why

[Real Deal Steel]

I know some of yinz hate on him but I find some of his points are relevant and worth discussion. I'll paraphrase his comments on NE and CLE this offseason:

"What NE is doing is obvious. Belichick knows he has one, perhaps two seasons left with Brady and he isn't messing around with 20 yr olds in the draft. He is bringing in seasoned talent, in some cases very good talent, to maximize their last chances with Brady as the QB. These guys will drop in and play immediately, not 2 yrs from now. And they continue to draft QBs to look for the next Brady. They aren't keeping guys that are backups. They are actively searching and cutting guys that don't work out.

CLE has amassed an unbelievable selection of draft picks the next two seasons. They are far under the cap so are able to sign all of these rookie deals. They will build this team through the draft and can be patient to get their QB when the opportunity strikes. This is what SF did in the early nineties."

Honestly as I was listening, I couldn't help but wonder why Steelers management isn't thinking the same approach as NE. They are now hamstrung by a bloated cap on offense and can't really hope to sign guys they can plug and play. They now have to hope they strike gold in the draft.

What your saying is bordering on insubordination son. LOL. They'll be getting after you in 5,4,3,2,1............

[SS Laser]

The Steelers way has worked very well since Cowher took over. One article said 25yrs. And there are no whispers of cheating no matter how trivial as deflated footballs. I will ride with this terrible defense and old lazy Ben to #7. Don't care what the pats have done or are doing.

[feltdizz]

and a lot of those vet WRs don't do much in NE. How many times have we seen a vet WR ride the bench because they couldn't grasp the playbook or gel with Brady?

Half these vets wont even make the team.

i won't even respond to the Cleveland topic because it's Cleveland.

[Cinnjerm3000]

I understand your concerns, but I doubt three years from now (after the Patriots don't win the next two years) we'll still be having this conversation. Color me old-fashioned, but I'm from the school of thought that believes "if it aint broke, don't fix it".

[NorthCoast]

The Steelers way has worked very well since Cowher took over. One article said 25yrs. And there are no whispers of cheating no matter how trivial as deflated footballs. I will ride with this terrible defense and old lazy Ben to #7. Don't care what the pats have done or are doing.

And that strategy may be perfectly fine if you have a 10 yr window of opportunity. But the Steelers are in the same boat as NE in regard to their franchise QB. The window is small and shrinking.

[NorthCoast]

and a lot of those vet WRs don't do much in NE. How many times have we seen a vet WR ride the bench because they couldn't grasp the playbook or gel with Brady?

Half these vets wont even make the team.

i won't even respond to the Cleveland topic because it's Cleveland.

Avg tenure of a drafted Steeler WR since 2000 = 2.5 yrs; NE = 1.9. And if it wasn't for Hines Ward, the numbers would be close to dead even.....

[SteelCrazy]

NE has been in 6 straight AFCCGs and I wouldn't bet against them for a 7th. If we want to get to a SB and win it, we'll need to get passed the Bradiots* (trademarked 2017).

[feltdizz]

Avg tenure of a drafted Steeler WR since 2000 = 2.5 yrs; NE = 1.9. And if it wasn't for Hines Ward, the numbers would be close to dead even.....

I wonder what the average is for proven vets. All I'm saying is for every Randy Moss there is a Chad Johnson. I don't think acquiring vets has any impact on the Pats success. It would be nice to see at least one of the other teams in their division step up and act like they play them twice a year, every year.

[SteelCrazy]

Inwonder what the average is for proven vets. All I'm saying is for every Randy Moss there is a Chad Johnson. I don't think acquiring vets has any impact on the Pats success. It would be nice to see at least one of the other teams in their division step up and act like they play them twice a year, every year.

Buffalo managed to beat them once 16-0...which is amazing...Need to hire Rex Ryan as Asst DC

[Oviedo]

By all means if Cowherd says

[Flasteel]

I would also consider the contracts paid to both Brady and Roethlisberger. Brady took a huge discount to allow the team to invest in other positions.

[SanAntonioSteelerFan]

I don't care who the author is, I've been saying the same thing for months. What's the point of drafting who won't be ready to go until the year after Ben retires?

[Northern_Blitz]

I don't care who the author is, I've been saying the same thing for months. What's the point of drafting who won't be ready to go until the year after Ben retires?

I would have been OK if we mortgaged the future. I believe that the best way to get good again after Ben leaves is to be bad enough to draft early. I think that the team feels that they would rather go with a strategy that is proven to work in the long term. They want the team to still be good when Ben is gone.

I wonder if part of the different in strategy is based on how the owners of the respective teams make money. Kraft makes money outside of the NFL, so who cares if the team isn't good for a while. The NFL isn't a side gig for the Rooney's. They'd probably prefer to be consistently good.