Q & A: Colbert on the '10 Draft

[cruzer8]

Re: Q & A: Colbert on the '10 Draft

You're killing me dude, don't stroke out there, OK?

Ok.

I am fine. Just looking at things analytically rather than through the bottom of a glass filled with koolaid. Like I said, I think things can be fixed but we have to draft better than we have or hit up FA to fill key holes. I don't think you have to turn into Jerry Jones or Dan Snyder to a key hole or two.

You can put the kibosh on the kool-aid comments. Like I posted before, history is on my side and not yours. That's not kool-aid. That's the truth.

You say Ben's $100 million contract could hurt the team because it's less money to pay other players, yet you want the Steelers to be more active in signing name free agents. That makes zero sense. That is a contradiction. The Steelers do use FA to fill spots, but they do so with value players that make the team better, not big names to make fans like you feel better "because they're finally doing something".

Of course if they did go out and sign a big name FA and it didn't work out then you'd be complaining about that too.

Could the Steelers draft better? Yes. Could other teams draft better? Yes. The draft is not an exact science. Teams will typically miss more than they hit. That's the nature of the draft. Fortunately for us the Steelers draft well and find value FA's (and sometimes even UDFA's) to fill needs. It's a formula that has proved to be successful and I hope they continue with it since it does work quite well. The Steelers are pointed to as being the prime example of how to run a pro sports franchise for a reason.

[BURGH86STEEL]

Re: Q & A: Colbert on the '10 Draft

Ovie what was your opinion of our D in 2008? I'm impressed by your undying 4-3 love. But if we were 4-3 and had a drop off like we did in 2009 after years of domination I'm sure you wouldn't scream for the 3-4.

Look at most 4-3 teams.. list off their best 5 players and their stud backups.. You can't. I was frustrated Tryone Carter and Deshea were are best options last year but every so often a great defensive team gets hit with a few injuries at key positions and suffers a let down.

I hated last years D in the fourth but I'm no fool. Our D is one of the best when healthy. I'm glad we were exposed a year after winning a SB. It could be a lot worse.

Sorry it has taken me awhile to respond. My opinion of the defense in 2008? It performed well however IMO the cracks began to appear that led to the issues of this past season. We saw it in the Super Bowl where the Cardinals starting picking us apart late in the game and if not for Arians high powered passing offense bringing us back we would had lost that game.

The problem remains why can't we get young players contributing. In 2008 we were lucky we had no injuries to our core team. That is the exception rather than the rule in the NFL. The advocates on both sides of the argument will not budge but there is a reason our defense has aged and its not because we have Pro Bowl players at every position who are irreplaceable. We saw that this past season.

The weaknesses of our defense are:

1. Too many hit or miss draftees and free agents because we force players to "convert" to new positions which is a multi-year process in most cases. I think we would get more sooner by having players play their natural positions. I feel this will become even a bigger issue as the college game goes more to spread offenses and the DL and LB players that are developed in college become more lighter, faster guys versus what you need on a 3-4 DL and LB corps. Look at the top rated DL from any source this season and look specifically at the DEs. Sixty to seventy percent of those players won't even be on our draft board because they are 6'4" to 6'7" and 250 to 275lbs and don't project to 3-4 DEs. But they are some of the best speed pass rushers in the draft and we ignore that talent pool every year.
2. A scheme that when it works is great but when it doesn't can be really bad. One player goes down in the secondary and we can no longer defende the pass against good and bad teams. Is a scheme designed to rely that much on one player really smart or effective????
3. A scheme that relies on getting to the QB very play in a league where holding is tolerated to the point of mugging defensive players. We saw this past season that the refs aren't going to call holding unless a player is essentially tackled but we still play 10 yards off the receivers and give up a high percentage of pass completions. I saw abosolutely no adjustments this past season by LeBeau as we got picked apart. it was like we had no other option. That doesn't portend well for the future if our D Coord has no answers.

The reality is that no matter what I or other 4-3 advocates believe this team will stay with the 3-4 for the forseeable future. Unfortunately IMO I think we will see more of what we saw last season because LeBeau won't change the scheme and we won't get the young players on the field that we need to.

The issues did not start with the Cardinals in the SB. Sometimes those things happen by a game by game basis. The Cardinals had a very good offensive team. They did some pretty good things against other good defensive teams.

They get young players to contribute. Most teams are lucky never to have any key injuries. There are players on teams that simply can't be replaced no matter how well younger or older players are prepare. The Steelers defense has aged for several reasons. Some of those older players still play at a high level and take a significant amount of cap space, they missed on some defensive players, they tried to maintain a balance between offensive and defensive first round picks, & the natural cycle of the NFL are a few reasons that come to mind. I think some of you guys have unrealistic expectations. It is amazing that this organization has been able to be a major contender/factor for so many season. So much so that a lot of fans take it for granted.

Show me a team that does not have any defensive weaknesses?

1) Not every draft pick is going to make the team. A very high percentage of draft picks don't last with teams. We can sit here and go over our own philosophies of how the team should be run. The Steelers have a philosophy that works. Things may change under new the new president and ownership. Unfortunately, Dan is gone.

2) As I stated before, great players can't be replaced. All teams can do is try to compensate for their losses. Sometimes it works and sometimes it does not.

3) How do you know if there were or were not adjustments? The NFL is about the players. The players have to execute no matter what scheme is being called. What kills me is that all teams play 10 yard cushions. They play the 10 yard cushion for various reasons. If they played more bump & run and got burned people would question why they play bump & run. What defensive scheme does not rely on getting pressure to the QB? Teams try to do it different ways.

The scheme is fine.

[Mister Pittsburgh]

Re: Q & A: Colbert on the '10 Draft

You're killing me dude, don't stroke out there, OK?

Ok.

I am fine. Just looking at things analytically rather than through the bottom of a glass filled with koolaid. Like I said, I think things can be fixed but we have to draft better than we have or hit up FA to fill key holes. I don't think you have to turn into Jerry Jones or Dan Snyder to a key hole or two.

You can put the kibosh on the kool-aid comments. Like I posted before, history is on my side and not yours. That's not kool-aid. That's the truth.

History isn't on your side. We are facing situations in our franchise we haven't had to face before. Once again you fail to address the specifics I mention. Huge cap hit by franchise QB we didn't have to deal with before so have to fill roster spots with less cap space. Half the league running the 3-4 now so tough to draft. Mass amount of players nearing the end all at once, go look at the players over 30 on our D. Immediate upgrades needed for Gay, Deshea, Carter who clearly showed they can't cover anyone. Thin backups at OLB and ILB. You didn't address anything. Simply saying 'history is on my side' is a ridiculous argument.

You say Ben's $100 million contract could hurt the team because it's less money to pay other players, yet you want the Steelers to be more active in signing name free agents. That makes zero sense. That is a contradiction. The Steelers do use FA to fill spots, but they do so with value players that make the team better, not big names to make fans like you feel better "because they're finally doing something".

Putting words in my mouth to try and suit your argument. Point out to me where I said 'NAME FREE AGENTS'. Please do so. Your argument is void after that lie right there.

Of course if they did go out and sign a big name FA and it didn't work out then you'd be complaining about that too.

See above. Your ranting off of something I never said genious.

Could the Steelers draft better? Yes. Could other teams draft better? Yes. The draft is not an exact science. Teams will typically miss more than they hit. That's the nature of the draft. Fortunately for us the Steelers draft well and find value FA's (and sometimes even UDFA's) to fill needs. It's a formula that has proved to be successful and I hope they continue with it since it does work quite well. The Steelers are pointed to as being the prime example of how to run a pro sports franchise for a reason.