Rank the potential 2010 free agents; Who'd be your priority?

[Jigawatts]

Re: Rank the potential 2010 free agents; Who'd be your priority?

I'll rank Colon at #8 as well.

[steeler_fan_in_t.o.]

Re: Rank the potential 2010 free agents; Who'd be your priority?

1) Reed - he makes the top spot because of the ease of signing a kicker.

2) Hampton - this ranking might change by the end of the season, but he still plays strong and we currently have no reasonable replacement.

3) Clark - FS is another relatively cheap position and the only player behind Clark right now is Mundy. We already know how well he works with Troy, and I doubt that every FS would fit in as well.

4) Keisel - Underated but key player on our DL. However, soon enough he will have to make way for the rook.

5) Hartwig - Doing a steady job at C for a reasonable price. His price won't go up at his age and he can be signed at a reasonable enough price so that he can be moved to backup.

6) Parker - Another guy who could easily fall off this list with another injury filled/subpar year or a dynamic performance by Mendenhall.

7) Colon - I don't know. Some seem to love him, and he may have potential, but I can't see it.

Deshea - Ideally he retires after this year and joins the coaching ranks. He served us well but his time is done.

[papillon]

Re: Rank the potential 2010 free agents; Who'd be your priority?

I'd like to see the Steelers keep a few of that group, but, if keeping any one of them eliminates Holmes, Woodley or Timmons from possibility then I'd gladly let them all walk.

Pappy

[RuthlessBurgher]

Re: Rank the potential 2010 free agents; Who'd be your priority?

I'd like to see the Steelers keep a few of that group, but, if keeping any one of them eliminates Holmes, Woodley or Timmons from possibility then I'd gladly let them all walk.

Pappy

When have the Steelers ever let a young promising player walk after his rookie contract was up, unless it was a case of his attitude completely not meshing with the team's concept (i.e. Plaxico Burress)? It simply doesn't happen. They will be priorities in the future, and there won't be much argument about it (except for the handful of folks still clinging to the "Timmons is a bust" mantra because he wasn't All-Pro during his rookie season).

[JUST-PLAIN-NASTY]

Re: Rank the potential 2010 free agents; Who'd be your priority?

The most interesting part of this thread so far is the wide range of opinions with regard to Willie Colon. Of the 8 guys who have contracts up at the end of this season, Colon has been ranked:

1st by 100$handshake
2nd by JUST-PLAIN-NASTY
3rd by grotonsteel
5th by RuthlessBurgher
8th by SteelerNation1

There has also been some disagreement about Reed, ranging from 1st to 5th to 8th, but since 3 people listed him first, he is not quite all over the board like Colon has been so far.

Can someone pull up the amount of holding calls and false stats Colon had in 2008? Also, keep in mind, Heath is kept in to help on Colon's side quite a bit.

I think you are noticing Miller on Colon's side more frequently because of the dynamics of playaction pass from the strong side. It isn't because they want to give Colon help. Having a TE strong side moves the DE or OLB out a gap making it easier to run inside. Having a TE strong side off playaction has an impact on alignment and asignment for coverage. The fact that Miller stays in on a passing play when he is next to Colon is by design to catch the defense with a roled up S. Many people don't like Colon but I do. His is the "Nastiest" Mo Fo on this OL and his tenacity & motor keeps him in the play. He is the 2nd best run blocker on this OL and he is closing fast on Kemo. His pass protection could get better and I'm sure the OL coach is trying to teach him to "throttle down" in pass protection and concentrate on his feet and his hand placement. They guy still has upside even from seeing the field as a rookie. I just don't know if he is in the budget. There is a real possibilty where the Steelers only return 3 of 5 next year and those odds aren't good for a growing OL. I'll bet that if Colon was 6'6" some of you would think he had potential.

[fezziwig]

Re: Rank the potential 2010 free agents; Who'd be your priority?

1. Jeff Reed. This number one spot would have went to Ryan Clark if it wasn't so difficult to kick at Heinz field. I wasn't big a Reed fan in the start other than, he was a lot better than the last guy. As someone stated, the dude doesn't miss under pressure.

2. Ryan Clark is tops and because of Troy, Ryan doesn't get the praise he deserves. When Ryan learned or clicked in with our defense, all I could say was, " Chris Hope who ? "

3. Depending on the money, I would take Hampton over Brett at this time. I also agree about these nose tackles, they hit a wall and there is no slow decline. Big Snack still has some gas in the tank but with age, injuries and just probably being worn out after 10 seasons, get him on a two year deal if possible.

4. Brett does seem to fit the defense pretty well and I hope he will improve to be Arron Smith good. That is asking a lot.

5. Parker. Where would Parker be rated if Mendenhall wasn't on the team ? As much as I invision Mendenhall being the next NFL force, we really can't say he is the present or future of the team. This year should tell and if he is any good, I see parker getting his pink slip. Too bad Willie can't catch.

6. Hartwig didn't do bad but, pretty much anyone can look better than Mayhan . Wow, were we ever spoiled with Mansfield, Webster, Dawson and Hartings.


7. Colon, does he even matter ? I feel any average kid with pride and determination coming out of college or one NFL year under their belt could take Colons job.


8. Deshea Townsend is the unsung hero of our defense at times. How many seasons did he make us forgetabout the chumps we had and also the good corners that we had. I don't even think he gets an offer to remain.

[flippy]

Re: Rank the potential 2010 free agents; Who'd be your priority?

I'd like to see Hampton this year.

Hampton and Keisel are likely at the top of the list.

Then Colon.

Clark and Deshea are close nexts at reasonable prices.

Then Skippy.

Then FWP. Although I'd like to see Mendy first before I put Willie down this far.

[frankthetank1]

Re: Rank the potential 2010 free agents; Who'd be your priority?

1. jeff reed
finding a kicker as good as skippy is would not be easy at all especially a kicker that can kick at heinz. other than gary anderson i would say reed is the best kicker i have seen the steelers have. norm johnson was pretty good though.

2. ryan clark
seeing as there is no replacement on this team right now i would rank clark 2nd. that and he isnt all that old and compliments troy so well. i dont want to see another chris hope expieriment trying to put a ss at fs

3. hampton
again no one on the current roster can really replace him. i like hoke a lot but he is up there in age.

4. willie parker
until mendenhall can prove he can carry the load then i think fwp is pretty high priority. i dont fault fwp too much for his ypc declining the last two seasons because he has pretty poor run blocking.

5. brett kiesel
is always up there with qb pressures. has been nothing but solid opposite smith. hopefully hood will turn out to be as good as an a. smith but you always need depth on the d-line

6.hartwig
i have no confidence in essex taking over at center, hopefully shipley turns out to be something. i think stapleton would be beter at center than RG he did play center at rutgers

7. willie "false start number 74" Colon
the only reason i put him at 7 is because deshea townsend should retire after the season. i love deshea he has been a great steeler but i think he would be wise to finish his career a steeler. oh yea about willie colon he is pretty much a bum and i think essex could do just as poorly as colon

[RuthlessBurgher]

Re: Rank the potential 2010 free agents; Who'd be your priority?

6.hartwig
i have no confidence in essex taking over at center, hopefully shipley turns out to be something. i think stapleton would be beter at center than RG he did play center at rutgers

Essex doesn't play center. He can play LT, LG, RG, RT, but not center, so you don't have to worry about that.

[Mister Pittsburgh]

Re: Rank the potential 2010 free agents; Who'd be your priority?

I would consider slapping the franchise tag on skippy. Dude is definately top 5 in the league so paying him the average of the top 5 kickers is a no brainer.....unless of course he signs for a reasonable amount. I don't want to see another kicker because Reed is so damn clutch kicking in the mud at Heinz Field.

Just think of all the games he has won for us. He single handedly won the Jets playoff game in Ben's rookie season.

[papillon]

Re: Rank the potential 2010 free agents; Who'd be your priority?

I'd like to see the Steelers keep a few of that group, but, if keeping any one of them eliminates Holmes, Woodley or Timmons from possibility then I'd gladly let them all walk.

Pappy

When have the Steelers ever let a young promising player walk after his rookie contract was up, unless it was a case of his attitude completely not meshing with the team's concept (i.e. Plaxico Burress)? It simply doesn't happen. They will be priorities in the future, and there won't be much argument about it (except for the handful of folks still clinging to the "Timmons is a bust" mantra because he wasn't All-Pro during his rookie season).

Well, here's the reality as I see it right now. Holmes is going to be a 8 million per year player, Woodley will be whatever a top OLB in a 3-4 defense is making at the time and Timmons will probably be only slightly less than Woodley. Then there's Limas Sweed who is going to have a kick @ss year and he'll probably become a 4 million per when his rookie contract is up or more. There's only so much money to go around; the Steelers are not going to be able to keep all the players that they desire to keep, IMO.

Harrison's contract won't be done, Ward will still be getting his large @ss salary and Ben will be finishing up his 102 million dollar contract. There may be 50 million or more tied up in 7 players. I just don't see this working out good for the Steelers in the next 4 years.

Pappy

[frankthetank1]

Re: Rank the potential 2010 free agents; Who'd be your priority?

6.hartwig
i have no confidence in essex taking over at center, hopefully shipley turns out to be something. i think stapleton would be beter at center than RG he did play center at rutgers

Essex doesn't play center. He can play LT, LG, RG, RT, but not center, so you don't have to worry about that.

i thought he was third on the depth chart last season? if stapleton or hartwig got hurt i would assume essex would be the center.

[steelblood]

Re: Rank the potential 2010 free agents; Who'd be your priority?

I believe Woodley, Holmes, and Gay would each have one year left after this season, so I'd add them to the mix. As their contracts should be addressed next offseason and they are the young core of the team. My list would be

1. Woodley
2. Holmes
3. Gay
4. Reed
5. Hampton
6. Keisel
7. Colon
8. Hartwig
9. Parker

If we resigned the top 4, I'd be pretty happy. The only other player that would be really difficult to replace would be Hampton.

[fezziwig]

Re: Rank the potential 2010 free agents; Who'd be your priority?

[quote="frankthetank1"]1. jeff reed
finding a kicker as good as skippy is would not be easy at all especially a kicker that can kick at heinz. other than gary anderson i would say reed is the best kicker i have seen the steelers have. norm johnson was pretty good though.



Anderson IMHO was by far the best kicker that we had and then Matt Barr. Norm Johnson did well for us in his short time but, I really can't recall his football days prior to being a Steeler to compare hm.

I agree with you about Anderson being the best but Barr and Reed are probably close. Just think if what's his face, the kicker before Reed didn't totally stink the joint up ? Reed might only be working at Sheets rather than smashing up their towel dispensers.

[frankthetank1]

Re: Rank the potential 2010 free agents; Who'd be your priority?

1. jeff reed
finding a kicker as good as skippy is would not be easy at all especially a kicker that can kick at heinz. other than gary anderson i would say reed is the best kicker i have seen the steelers have. norm johnson was pretty good though.



Anderson IMHO was by far the best kicker that we had and then Matt Barr. Norm Johnson did well for us in his short time but, I really can't recall his football days prior to being a Steeler to compare hm.

I agree with you about Anderson being the best but Barr and Reed are probably close. Just think if what's his face, the kicker before Reed didn't totally stink the joint up ? Reed might only be working at Sheets rather than smashing up their towel dispensers.

i am to young to remember matt barr as a steeler so i cant comment. do you think gary anderson would have done just as well at heinz as skippy has? i dont think so. three rivers was by far an easier place to kick than heinz. norm johnson i believe was a seahawk before a steeler so he wasnt all that known but i remember him being just as automatic in seatle as he was in the burgh. ugggh you mean kris brown, that guy was totally useless