Moneyball GM?

[Captain Lemming]

I think a numbers geek GM who focuses on team building financials might be a perfect compliment to a coach who leans a little much on emotion and sentiment. Both Colbert and Tomlin are loyal to a fault.

Team building is about more than talent evaluation.

What positions you chose to invest big dollars to make the greatest impact in is huge.

I have said FOR YEARS investing big coin in backs and receivers is a terrible way to spend finite resources.

They are flashy stars, but buying expensive ones dont win you championships.

I've shown on many occasions that elite secondary players are undervalued.

Managing what positions to invest more in using succes NUMBERS to measure the value of spend is something we can do better.

And we need to get past the sentimental desire to pay productive people we draft over similar priced free agents who are at an more valuable position (I wanted Gilmore at the expense of AB before AB got crazy, they got almost the exact same money).

Oline, Dline, every position. What gives the best bang for your buck?

Me? Invest in INTERIOR oline (elite is affordable), pay for average tackles (elite are overpaid and rarely keys to championships.) You literally could buy 3 James Daniel's quality guard/centers for the cost of 1 similar quality tackle. Heck look at how Chuks is paid and he is a lesser player.

Result is you don't have to invest in overpriced backs by paying over market for interior line.

Invest high picks more on overvalued positions like receiver and tackle.

We need to let certain expensive replaceable positions walk during free agency (receivers) and spend that dough elsewhere.

Then don't be scared to invest in an elite lockdown corner.

So I'm very interested in how a numbers guy looks at team building.

It might be a much smarter hire than you think.

[Oviedo]

I think Khan's hire means that we will not under any circumstances give DJ an contract like we have recently seen for WRs

[WindyCitySteel]

Good post. WR pay scale is nuts, it's crazy that Christian Kirk is making $7M more a season than the elite TEs in the game.

[WindyCitySteel]

I think Khan's hire means that we will not under any circumstances give DJ an contract like we have recently seen for WRs

Colbert alluded to that leading up to the draft with his comments.

[Captain Lemming]

Good post. WR pay scale is nuts, it's crazy that Christian Kirk is making $7M more a season than the elite TEs in the game.

Yes. And what people don't appreciate is that the actual VALUE disparity between elite tight ends and average is gigantic. THAT is a position worth paying for elite quality. They are hard to replace. Supply and demand people. Quality receivers and backs are too abundant to pay big bucks.

We don't need Khan to grade every last prospect. We have Weidl and the scouting department for that.

But determining what positions to invest finite FA resources in is HUGE.

Everybody knows the value of elite QBs.

I've said FOR YEARS there is a CLEAR correlation between elite secondary and rings that few see. More than highly coveted backs, receivers, left tackles, dtackles EVEN EGDE RUSHERS.

I would suggest that maybe 80 percent of all elite HOF caliber secondary players of recent years have rings. Try doing that with backs. Receivers? Tackles?

You look at almost EVERY SINGLE high caliber QB and ELITE secondary player on the same team and you will nearly always see players with rings.

[Captain Lemming]

Colbert alluded to that leading up to the draft with his comments.

Yeah, I just don't see DJ in our future regardless the GM.

[whatever]

I think that philosophy is great if you want to win rings but not so much if you want to keep fans in the seats.
Most fans are fans of players before they are fans of a team.
They won’t admit it, but it’s true.
Fans like certain players and want to watch them on Sunday’s. They like to feel like they have a connection or the team has an identity with a certain player on their team. You see it all the time when they say, ‘pay the man’ . They don’t care how it negatively affects the team, They just want their favorite player stay on the team.
There’s a reason why 99% of the jerseys being worn in stadiums have rbs, wrs and qbs on them.
The average fan doesn’t realize the importance of those other positions.
That’s evident by posters on here always wanting rbs, wrs etc drafted instead of oline.
Winning solves a lot but if you don’t, fans want to know why their favorite rb or wr was allowed to leave in FA.

[Captain Lemming]

I think that philosophy is great if you want to win rings but not so much if you want to keep fans in the seats.
Most fans are fans of players before they are fans of a team.
They won’t admit it, but it’s true.
Fans like certain players and want to watch them on Sunday’s. They like to feel like they have a connection or the team has an identity with a certain player on their team. You see it all the time when they say, ‘pay the man’ . They don’t care how it negatively affects the team, They just want their favorite player stay on the team.
There’s a reason why 99% of the jerseys being worn in stadiums have rbs, wrs and qbs on them.
The average fan doesn’t realize the importance of those other positions.
That’s evident by posters on here always wanting rbs, wrs etc drafted instead of oline.
Winning solves a lot but if you don’t, fans want to know why their favorite rb or wr was allowed to leave in FA.

While I had never considered it, you make alot of sense here.

Maybe teams are not as dumb about this as a
I thought.

Flashy stars put butts in the seats.

[Northern_Blitz]

Yeah, I just don't see DJ in our future regardless the GM.

This.

And not because he's not good. Because WRs are too expensive in 2nd contracts, and really good coming out of college.

[NorthCoast]

I think that philosophy is great if you want to win rings but not so much if you want to keep fans in the seats.
Most fans are fans of players before they are fans of a team.
They won’t admit it, but it’s true.
Fans like certain players and want to watch them on Sunday’s. They like to feel like they have a connection or the team has an identity with a certain player on their team. You see it all the time when they say, ‘pay the man’ . They don’t care how it negatively affects the team, They just want their favorite player stay on the team.
There’s a reason why 99% of the jerseys being worn in stadiums have rbs, wrs and qbs on them.
The average fan doesn’t realize the importance of those other positions.
That’s evident by posters on here always wanting rbs, wrs etc drafted instead of oline.
Winning solves a lot but if you don’t, fans want to know why their favorite rb or wr was allowed to leave in FA.

Let's see how many fans stop going to the games after fan-favorite Juju is gone. Doubt you will see a drop in attendance. Fans always find a new guy to cheer for. Most fans are fans of the team, not the player.

[Northern_Blitz]

Let's see how many fans stop going to the games after fan-favorite Juju is gone. Doubt you will see a drop in attendance. Fans always find a new guy to cheer for. Most fans are fans of the team, not the player.

I agree with you.

But I also think that teams with less stable fan bases make stupid large ticket UFA signings to sell season tickets. I don't think all teams are optimizing for wins.

[feltdizz]

I think that philosophy is great if you want to win rings but not so much if you want to keep fans in the seats.
Most fans are fans of players before they are fans of a team.
They won’t admit it, but it’s true.
Fans like certain players and want to watch them on Sunday’s. They like to feel like they have a connection or the team has an identity with a certain player on their team. You see it all the time when they say, ‘pay the man’ . They don’t care how it negatively affects the team, They just want their favorite player stay on the team.
There’s a reason why 99% of the jerseys being worn in stadiums have rbs, wrs and qbs on them.
The average fan doesn’t realize the importance of those other positions.
That’s evident by posters on here always wanting rbs, wrs etc drafted instead of oline.
Winning solves a lot but if you don’t, fans want to know why their favorite rb or wr was allowed to leave in FA.

This isn’t true. Most are fans of the team and they gravitate to players who make splash plays.

Who was a fan of JuJu BEFORE he was a Steeler?

Who was a fan of Ben BEFORE he was a Steeler?

AB, Heyward, Muth, Minkah, Watt?

Unless you follow college you rarely have a Pittsburgh Steeler fan who also cheered for a player in college.

Pitt and Penn State players are probably the only ones who some fans may have a connection with but the reality is most Steeler fans become fans of Steelers once they start making plays as a Steeler.

[whisper]

Yeah, I just don't see DJ in our future regardless the GM.

He's subpar wanting top $, that is a big PASS, considering the salaries WRs are commanding.