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

[fezziwig]

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

Through the 80's Anderson was the offense. Gary would have no trouble at Heinz field. The guy was Mr. Automatic and had a lot stronger leg than Reed. Their was never any doubt that Anderson wouldn't or couldn't make the 48, 52 yard field goals.
Gary would have done well at Heinz. Sadly, he gets a lot of bad press for shanking the Super Bowl advancing field goal for the Vikings. Actually, the Vikes had an opportunity to overcome Andersons missed field goal and blew it as a whole. They just keep pointing out that Anderson missed.

Noll screwed up by allowing Matt Barr to go. Noll fell in love with some kicker named Trout I believe. Noll seen that Trout could boom the kickoffs like no one elses business but, he forgot to pay attention that, the guy couldn't get the ball between the goal post.

[RuthlessBurgher]

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.

Actually, this will be the last year of Gay's 3 year rookie contract, but he will only be a restricted free agent in the next offseason, so he can be kept with an RFA tender. Other teams can attempt to sign him, but we would have the opportunity to match the offer, and if we choose not to, we would get draft compensation based upon the level of the tender that we choose to give him (for example, Willie Colon is working on a 1st round level RFA tender right now for $2,198,000).

[frankthetank1]

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.

Actually, this will be the last year of Gay's 3 year rookie contract, but he will only be a restricted free agent in the next offseason, so he can be kept with an RFA tender. Other teams can attempt to sign him, but we would have the opportunity to match the offer, and if we choose not to, we would get draft compensation based upon the level of the tender that we choose to give him (for example, Willie Colon is working on a 1st round level RFA tender right now for $2,198,000).

wow i didnt realize this is it for gay. he has to be resigned. a lot will depend on lewis and burnett but gay has been nothing but solid in his first few seasons. a first round pick for colon??? are you kidding me? please please front office let the man walk!!!!

[fezziwig]

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

With all the money they are tossing around ,I feel the Steelers are tryinfg their best to win again right now. Strike while the iron is hot in other words. They have so much talent on this team, they're young, the coach is still hungry and they proved they can win it all. ( twice )

Why not go for the throat with trying to win again this very season or next compared to worrying about the future that really promises nothing.

[RuthlessBurgher]

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.

Actually, this will be the last year of Gay's 3 year rookie contract, but he will only be a restricted free agent in the next offseason, so he can be kept with an RFA tender. Other teams can attempt to sign him, but we would have the opportunity to match the offer, and if we choose not to, we would get draft compensation based upon the level of the tender that we choose to give him (for example, Willie Colon is working on a 1st round level RFA tender right now for $2,198,000).

wow i didnt realize this is it for gay. he has to be resigned. a lot will depend on lewis and burnett but gay has been nothing but solid in his first few seasons. a first round pick for colon??? are you kidding me? please please front office let the man walk!!!!

The period for signing players to RFA offer sheets was over a long time ago, so Colon is a Steeler for this year and we will not be getting a first round pick for him. Gay is pretty much guaranteed to be a Steeler next year as well, because we will likely give him a high RFA tender that other teams will not be willing to consider since it would cost them an elite pick.

[frankthetank1]

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.

Actually, this will be the last year of Gay's 3 year rookie contract, but he will only be a restricted free agent in the next offseason, so he can be kept with an RFA tender. Other teams can attempt to sign him, but we would have the opportunity to match the offer, and if we choose not to, we would get draft compensation based upon the level of the tender that we choose to give him (for example, Willie Colon is working on a 1st round level RFA tender right now for $2,198,000).

wow i didnt realize this is it for gay. he has to be resigned. a lot will depend on lewis and burnett but gay has been nothing but solid in his first few seasons. a first round pick for colon??? are you kidding me? please please front office let the man walk!!!!

The period for signing players to RFA offer sheets was over a long time ago, so Colon is a Steeler for this year and we will not be getting a first round pick for him. Gay is pretty much guaranteed to be a Steeler next year as well, because we will likely give him a high RFA tender that other teams will not be willing to consider since it would cost them an elite pick.

i know willie colon is signed for this season but if another team offered him a contract that the steelers choose not to match we would get a high draft pick right?

[RuthlessBurgher]

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.

Actually, this will be the last year of Gay's 3 year rookie contract, but he will only be a restricted free agent in the next offseason, so he can be kept with an RFA tender. Other teams can attempt to sign him, but we would have the opportunity to match the offer, and if we choose not to, we would get draft compensation based upon the level of the tender that we choose to give him (for example, Willie Colon is working on a 1st round level RFA tender right now for $2,198,000).

wow i didnt realize this is it for gay. he has to be resigned. a lot will depend on lewis and burnett but gay has been nothing but solid in his first few seasons. a first round pick for colon??? are you kidding me? please please front office let the man walk!!!!

The period for signing players to RFA offer sheets was over a long time ago, so Colon is a Steeler for this year and we will not be getting a first round pick for him. Gay is pretty much guaranteed to be a Steeler next year as well, because we will likely give him a high RFA tender that other teams will not be willing to consider since it would cost them an elite pick.

i know willie colon is signed for this season but if another team offered him a contract that the steelers choose not to match we would get a high draft pick right?

No, not anymore. The restricted free agent signing period was from February 27 to April 17. We gave Colon his RFA tender on 2-26-09, and since no other team gave him an offer sheet by 4-17-09, there is no more draft compensation at this point. After this season, Colon should be an unrestricted free agent who can sign anywhere without compensation.

There is a caveat however, which has to do with the potential lack of a salary cap. If no new collective bargaining agreement is worked out, then guys will need 6 accrued seasons instead of 4 to achieve unrestricted free agency. What this means is that we can just give Colon another RFA tender to keep him next year if there is no CBA. Heath Miller would have been in the same boat if we had not extended him.

[pfelix73]

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

I will still disagree with those who say Skippy should be the #1 priority. I looked up a list of Kickers next year that will be FA's and there's a few on there that are better, (IMO) than Reed. For starters, there's Goskowski (SP?) from NE. There's also Nugent and Janikowski to name a few more. There's also another possibility and that would be to draft a rookie kicker.

Look- I like Skippy as much as everyone here does, but business-wise, there are more pressing needs than a kicker. You've got Keisel who is having a super camp so far, Colon, who is a young OT with many years of playing time ahead of him, and you have Ryan Clark, who just might be the one we can't go without in the secondary. Remember how is was 2 years ago when he was injured? Our secondary now needs some depth because Townsend and Carter ain't getting any younger. I just hope this Mundy fellow pans out somehow.


Also, I hope you guys aren't jinxing Skippy with all this talk about him never missing one. Personally, I don't ever remember seeing him needing to kick a 50 yard plus FG to win a game for us. They have all been relatively short distances.

[frankthetank1]

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

oh ok thanks ruthless for the clarification. im worried about the future in regards to the CBA. i see it as a bad thing if it doesnt get worked out. teams like the skins cowgirls and pats will just throw crazy amounts of money at players and it will turn into MLB. i hope i am wrong with that assumption

[JUST-PLAIN-NASTY]

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

Hey RuthlessBurgher...You seem to have access to a vault of knowledge on the CBA. See if you can find out the rules of contract extensions if no CBA exists. I have heard that you can extend a player currently under contract but it can not exceed a % increase over previous year. I also wonder if a team can sign one of their own free agents who played his last year for you to a contract structured to be front loaded. Meaning, absorb a large part of the contract in year 1 when there is no salary cap. Of course you have to have the money to pay the guy. If some of this is possible, and the Steelers have the front money, they could actually figure out a way to fit an extra guy or two into their future plans by absorbing some large contract amounts in the uncapped year. I'm very curious to see the rules.

[RuthlessBurgher]

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

I will still disagree with those who say Skippy should be the #1 priority. I looked up a list of Kickers next year that will be FA's and there's a few on there that are better, (IMO) than Reed. For starters, there's Goskowski (SP?) from NE. There's also Nugent and Janikowski to name a few more. There's also another possibility and that would be to draft a rookie kicker.

Look- I like Skippy as much as everyone here does, but business-wise, there are more pressing needs than a kicker. You've got Keisel who is having a super camp so far, Colon, who is a young OT with many years of playing time ahead of him, and you have Ryan Clark, who just might be the one we can't go without in the secondary. Remember how is was 2 years ago when he was injured? Our secondary now needs some depth because Townsend and Carter ain't getting any younger. I just hope this Mundy fellow pans out somehow.


Also, I hope you guys aren't jinxing Skippy with all this talk about him never missing one. Personally, I don't ever remember seeing him needing to kick a 50 yard plus FG to win a game for us. They have all been relatively short distances.

Gostkowski is a good young kicker, but Janikowski and Nugent are substantially overrated because of their draft status (Janikowski as a former #1 pick, and Nugent as a 2nd rounder who was the Jets first pick in that draft since they didn't have a first rounder that year).

Janikowski has a big leg, but is wildly inaccurate. His career average of 77.2 is woefully substandard.

Nugent never lived up to his lofty draft status, and was not re-signed by the Jets after sitting out last season with an injury, being replaced by Jay Feely. He is now trying to win back an NFL job in Tampa vs. Matt Bryant.

[pfelix73]

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

I know all about these kickers- why? cause I'm gonna take of of them in the draft next weekend......