Camp is almost here--what will be most interesting

[RuthlessBurgher]

Re: Camp is almost here--what will be most interesting

Sepulveda and the punting game. Does the kid have an NFL leg? will he come back? or continue to dissapoint?

Will Sepulveda continue to disappoint??? Who was disappointed by his punting during his rookie year? He had 28 punts downed inside the 20 with only 2 touchbacks. That is an absurdly good differential. He was a significant improvement over Chris "never had a punt blocked" Gardocki before him, and the punting game severely declined with Mitch Berger and Paul Ernster who tried to replace him. The punt game should definitely improve, and I don't understand the people who are disappointed with Sepulveda already. Did you think he should be an All-Pro as a rookie or else it was a wasted draft pick? Do you realize that he wasn't even the first punter taken in the 2007 draft? (the Jaguars took Adam Podlesh 11 picks before him)

I agree 100%. Sepulveda did not disappoint at all as a rookie. he was great at pinning the opponents. I could care less that every punt isn't 50 yards. it is the quality of the punt and the options which you take away from the opponent for a return. he was good at that.

I think this is just the continued misperception that you should not EVER draft a kicker in Round 4. I guarantee both his rookie year and again this year more game changing plays were and will be in the hands of Sepulveda than most 4th round draft picks see in their entire careers.

Yeah, I thought it was a solid pick...that one pick means that we should not have to worry about that position for the next decade or more (of course, then he goes and blows out his ACL in year 2...oh well).

[flippy]

Re: Camp is almost here--what will be most interesting

Sepulveda and the punting game. Does the kid have an NFL leg? will he come back? or continue to dissapoint?

Will Sepulveda continue to disappoint??? Who was disappointed by his punting during his rookie year? He had 28 punts downed inside the 20 with only 2 touchbacks. That is an absurdly good differential. He was a significant improvement over Chris "never had a punt blocked" Gardocki before him, and the punting game severely declined with Mitch Berger and Paul Ernster who tried to replace him. The punt game should definitely improve, and I don't understand the people who are disappointed with Sepulveda already. Did you think he should be an All-Pro as a rookie or else it was a wasted draft pick? Do you realize that he wasn't even the first punter taken in the 2007 draft? (the Jaguars took Adam Podlesh 11 picks before him)

I agree 100%. Sepulveda did not disappoint at all as a rookie. he was great at pinning the opponents. I could care less that every punt isn't 50 yards. it is the quality of the punt and the options which you take away from the opponent for a return. he was good at that.

I think this is just the continued misperception that you should not EVER draft a kicker in Round 4. I guarantee both his rookie year and again this year more game changing plays were and will be in the hands of Sepulveda than most 4th round draft picks see in their entire careers.

Yeah, I thought it was a solid pick...that one pick means that we should not have to worry about that position for the next decade or more (of course, then he goes and blows out his ACL in year 2...oh well).

I'm supportive of the pick if he plays as advertised. How many times has Danny been pinned back in our end of the field and he delivered a monster kick to change our field position?

Longest punt in Danny's 1st season - 59 yards.

Number of punters that punted over 59 yards last season?

32

Where's this big leg that was advertised?

He wasn't advertised as the guy who can pin someone inside the 20. That's been nice.

But that's only part of the game.

He was advertised as a field position changer. He hasn't been.

[stlrz d]

Re: Camp is almost here--what will be most interesting

He's played one season dude.

Do yourself a favor and unclench.

[Chadman]

Re: Camp is almost here--what will be most interesting

Top 5 things to look for in camp?

Hmm...

1. Improvement/regression of the first team OL unit in run-blocking. If the OL can lift their game from last season in run-blocking, then Willie Parker & Mendenhall will look good.

2. William Gay vs Santonio Holmes in pass coverage. Teams are going to test Gay- he needs to show he can cover WR's.

3. Improvements in LaMarr Woodley & Bruce Davis. Woodley was fantastic last season, but Chadman hopes he doesn't plateau. He has incredible ability, and if dedicated, he could be the #1 OLB on this team by years end. Davis needs to show some improvement to become the #1 OLB back-up.

4. Attitude/lethargy & how Tomlin reacts to it in practice. Everything Tomlin has done so far has shown he won't allow complacency. But he's a SB winning coach now- hopefully that fire is still burning & he won't allow the players to rest on their laurels like the last Steeler HC did.

5. Safety Battle- the Steelers didn't pick up a safety in the draft last year & go into camp with Ty Carter & ryan Mundy as the top back-ups. Honestly- if Troy or Clark are injured for the year- do you have faith in either of the top 2 back-ups to do the job? This is why Chadman was calling for Louis Delmas at #32.....

[flippy]

Re: Camp is almost here--what will be most interesting

He's played one season dude.

Do yourself a favor and unclench.

Let's see, but so far he's been over hyped.

Isn't it great that my biggest pet peeve is our punter's leg

It's good to be a Steelers fan

[RuthlessBurgher]

Re: Camp is almost here--what will be most interesting

Sepulveda and the punting game. Does the kid have an NFL leg? will he come back? or continue to dissapoint?

Will Sepulveda continue to disappoint??? Who was disappointed by his punting during his rookie year? He had 28 punts downed inside the 20 with only 2 touchbacks. That is an absurdly good differential. He was a significant improvement over Chris "never had a punt blocked" Gardocki before him, and the punting game severely declined with Mitch Berger and Paul Ernster who tried to replace him. The punt game should definitely improve, and I don't understand the people who are disappointed with Sepulveda already. Did you think he should be an All-Pro as a rookie or else it was a wasted draft pick? Do you realize that he wasn't even the first punter taken in the 2007 draft? (the Jaguars took Adam Podlesh 11 picks before him)

I agree 100%. Sepulveda did not disappoint at all as a rookie. he was great at pinning the opponents. I could care less that every punt isn't 50 yards. it is the quality of the punt and the options which you take away from the opponent for a return. he was good at that.

I think this is just the continued misperception that you should not EVER draft a kicker in Round 4. I guarantee both his rookie year and again this year more game changing plays were and will be in the hands of Sepulveda than most 4th round draft picks see in their entire careers.

Yeah, I thought it was a solid pick...that one pick means that we should not have to worry about that position for the next decade or more (of course, then he goes and blows out his ACL in year 2...oh well).

I'm supportive of the pick if he plays as advertised. How many times has Danny been pinned back in our end of the field and he delivered a monster kick to change our field position?

Longest punt in Danny's 1st season - 59 yards.

Number of punters that punted over 59 yards last season?

32

Where's this big leg that was advertised?

He wasn't advertised as the guy who can pin someone inside the 20. That's been nice.

But that's only part of the game.

He was advertised as a field position changer. He hasn't been.

There is much more to punting than just a big leg. You should be able to punt directionally, which gives the return man half the field with which to work. You want good hang time, hopefully good enough for a decent number of fair catches, which eliminates the impact of returner entirely. And being able to put spin in the ball so it does not bounce into the end zone is a huge plus.

59 yard punts aren't necessary good. In order to travel that far, those types of punts are typically of the line-drive variety. The ball gets to the returner quickly, giving him plenty of opportunity to get up to top speed before the gunners get down there. This is typically referred to as "overkicking your coverage." What good is a 59 yard punt if the returner is able to get back 25 yards on the return because your coverage is not able to get down there due to lack of hang time? I'd much rather see a high 45 yard punt with plenty of hang time that results in a fair catch than a line-drive 59 yard punt that is just asking for a huge return.

[Oviedo]

Re: Camp is almost here--what will be most interesting

There is much more to punting than just a big leg. You should be able to punt directionally, which gives the return man half the field with which to work. You want good hang time, hopefully good enough for a decent number of fair catches, which eliminates the impact of returner entirely. And being able to put spin in the ball so it does not bounce into the end zone is a huge plus.

59 yard punts aren't necessary good. In order to travel that far, those types of punts are typically of the line-drive variety. The ball gets to the returner quickly, giving him plenty of opportunity to get up to top speed before the gunners get down there. This is typically referred to as "overkicking your coverage." What good is a 59 yard punt if the returner is able to get back 25 yards on the return because your coverage is not able to get down there due to lack of hang time? I'd much rather see a high 45 yard punt with plenty of hang time that results in a fair catch than a line-drive 59 yard punt that is just asking for a huge return.

You're making way too much sense and showing way too much knowledge about how football is really played.

It's unfortunately has become about stats in the Fantasy Football driven world we live.

[RuthlessBurgher]

Re: Camp is almost here--what will be most interesting

There is much more to punting than just a big leg. You should be able to punt directionally, which gives the return man half the field with which to work. You want good hang time, hopefully good enough for a decent number of fair catches, which eliminates the impact of returner entirely. And being able to put spin in the ball so it does not bounce into the end zone is a huge plus.

59 yard punts aren't necessary good. In order to travel that far, those types of punts are typically of the line-drive variety. The ball gets to the returner quickly, giving him plenty of opportunity to get up to top speed before the gunners get down there. This is typically referred to as "overkicking your coverage." What good is a 59 yard punt if the returner is able to get back 25 yards on the return because your coverage is not able to get down there due to lack of hang time? I'd much rather see a high 45 yard punt with plenty of hang time that results in a fair catch than a line-drive 59 yard punt that is just asking for a huge return.

You're making way too much sense and showing way too much knowledge about how football is really played.

It's unfortunately has become about stats in the Fantasy Football driven world we live.

Unfortuately for the PlanetSteelers Fantasy Football league that Jooser put together, I also know the stats, and will dominate them all in that arena once again as well.

[Oviedo]

Re: Camp is almost here--what will be most interesting

Any thoughts on the odds that Casey Hampton(s of fun) comes in out of shape and is put on PUP?

[RuthlessBurgher]

Re: Camp is almost here--what will be most interesting

Any thoughts on the odds that Casey Hampton(s of fun) comes in out of shape and is put on PUP?

Since it is a contract year for him, I'd imagine that he will only be a half ton coming into camp this year instead of the full ton he was last year.