In your opinion, what is Steelers' weakest link?

[Mister Pittsburgh]

Re: In your opinion, what is Steelers' weakest link?

Center is rough. Safety is rough. CB is rough.

No future C on the roster I don't think.....

Have to hold onto Clark due to no S coached up to replace him. Still need depth though.

Have some young CB so will see about that position.

[AngryAsian]

Re: In your opinion, what is Steelers' weakest link?

CB... has been for some years. Even last year's championship team.... the only difference is that our pass rush was monstrous last year and help made the difference in the decisions that opposing QBs made against our secondary.

[Chadman]

Re: In your opinion, what is Steelers' weakest link?

The weakest link is that the Steelers don't have 2 1st round RB's on the roster, or a 2nd RB for that matter.

And definately, the lack of Joey Porter & Larry Foote go a long way to making the LB position a weakness.



Realistically- the Steelers have FEW weaknesses, and are a well rounded football team, that didn't recover from a couple of injuries & probably entered the season without the correct attitude to back up a SB winning season. Won't be the last team to do that.

But hey- Tomlin's a bum, Arian's a fool & LeBeau is out of his mind.

[ramblinjim]

Re: In your opinion, what is Steelers' weakest link?

I think our weakest link is D-Line. The guys are all getting older, as we all are and we haven't been grooming the right guys over the years. It is very interesting to me that both years Aaron Smith went down, our defense started giving up big yards late in games. One guy seems to be that important to us.

The problem I see with moving to a 4-3 defense is that we currently are having a hard time finding 3 D-lineman that can hustle, by changing it up, we have to find four. Snack doesn't fit a 4-3 DT, does Hoke? Smith and Keisel have been playing the two gap for so long, that would be a tough transition. Hood can play, and he hasn't "un-learned" everything about playing the one gap yet. So there's one. If Harris is worth a darn and I'd say that's still up for debate, there's 2.

Moving Woodley back up to the line puts him back three years of learning OLB and becoming a Pro-Bowler at it. Does Harrison move to MLB, Timmons to the OLB? Ovie's right, that could well be Timmons' more natural spot. We'll find out soon enough, this will be his fourth year coming up if I'm not mistaken.

Also, if the Steelers were 6-10 last year then I could see blowing the team up and starting over. But the Steelers were 9-7 last year with 2 all Pro's out on defense for much of the year and Tyrone Freakin' Carter at Safety. Heck, you look at it like that and 9-7 no longer sounds so bad!

Keith Butler is the heir apparent I believe for our Defensive Coordinator. He's worked with LeBeau for an awful long time and he could be a 3-4 disciple at this point. I would think if he steps in for LeBeau, he would keep things as they are.

[pfelix73]

Re: In your opinion, what is Steelers' weakest link?

DB's

[Oviedo]

Re: In your opinion, what is Steelers' weakest link?

I think our weakest link is D-Line. The guys are all getting older, as we all are and we haven't been grooming the right guys over the years. It is very interesting to me that both years Aaron Smith went down, our defense started giving up big yards late in games. One guy seems to be that important to us.

The problem I see with moving to a 4-3 defense is that we currently are having a hard time finding 3 D-lineman that can hustle, by changing it up, we have to find four. Snack doesn't fit a 4-3 DT, does Hoke? Smith and Keisel have been playing the two gap for so long, that would be a tough transition. Hood can play, and he hasn't "un-learned" everything about playing the one gap yet. So there's one. If Harris is worth a darn and I'd say that's still up for debate, there's 2.

Moving Woodley back up to the line puts him back three years of learning OLB and becoming a Pro-Bowler at it. Does Harrison move to MLB, Timmons to the OLB? Ovie's right, that could well be Timmons' more natural spot. We'll find out soon enough, this will be his fourth year coming up if I'm not mistaken.

Also, if the Steelers were 6-10 last year then I could see blowing the team up and starting over. But the Steelers were 9-7 last year with 2 all Pro's out on defense for much of the year and Tyrone Freakin' Carter at Safety. Heck, you look at it like that and 9-7 no longer sounds so bad!

Keith Butler is the heir apparent I believe for our Defensive Coordinator. He's worked with LeBeau for an awful long time and he could be a 3-4 disciple at this point. I would think if he steps in for LeBeau, he would keep things as they are.

Moving to the 4-3 would be easy. You just move Woodley back to the DE position with Kiesel at the other DE. The DTs would be Smith and Hood. Back ups would be Hoke, Eason, Paxson and Harris. You could draft two rookies this year and have them step into their natural college positions versus doing the two year conversion. Plus you save $7M because you aren't hostage to resigning Hampton as NT.

If you look at the defensive line players ranked as legit 1st Round talents this season we tend to ignore most of the DEs because they don't fit the requirements of a 3-4 DE. It has always for me been about the talent pool and the talent pool for 4-3 DL is much deeper than for 3-4.

All that said as pointed out we are probably stuck with the 3-4 and will have to deal with the inability to reload talent and get young players playing.

[steelblood]

Re: In your opinion, what is Steelers' weakest link?

Weakest link,...i'd say the organization's weakest links are every single player that we have drafted and brought in as F/A's since Mike Tomlin became Head Coach. (with the exceptions of Woodley and Wallace)

Along with the fact that Tomlin is little more than a glorified motivational speaker whom must Kow-Tow to Roethlisberger so as to please a specific demographic of the Steeler fanbase. IMO

But,...for the sake of answering the question from a position standpoint ,....

ILB (Timmons,..as i have said since he was drafted,... is a Clown and Potsie isn't getting any younger )

CB (Again,.. Gay, Burnett, and Lewis are Clowns, Dshea's been running on fumes for years and Ike whom has always been somewhat suspect,..... is getting older)

S (I realy don't think i even need to speak upon how ridiculous Carter and Mundy are,.....and Clark is likely gone)

DT/DE (People ,..you do realize that Hood is not a 3-4 DE whom would only ever be average at best in his true position in 4-3 ?)

RB (Mwelde,.. though decent,... is a journeyman whom has little to offer the O in terms of impact. And we will neeeeever be able to control the clock with "twinkle toes" Mendenhall maybe breaking off one or two long runs and then proceed to average 2 yards per carry on his other rushing attempts, thereby Ben must be allowed to throw the ball for more than 25 "back yard " attempts.)

That about sums it up for me,...in fact i no longer even have the patience to sugar coat any more evaluations when it comes to Tomlin's "Gritz Gang" anymore,.....

A few points here.

First Mendenhall was a Tomlin era selection. Are you saying he is a bust too? The jury is still out on many Tomlin era selections.

There were many Cowher/Colbert years where it seems like we only added one quality starter and a few role players.

[NW Steeler]

Re: In your opinion, what is Steelers' weakest link?

The depth of this team was hampered just as much by Cowher's drafts as Tomlin's. I'm not saying for one minute that some of Tomlin's picks weren't poor...Bruce Davis, Spaeth....the Steelers used to be great at finding talent in the later rounds of the draft. Lately...not so much other than Mike Wallace.

[MeetJoeGreene]

Re: In your opinion, what is Steelers' weakest link?

CB and Center are our weakest first string positions.

DL depth is also very weak.

[feltdizz]

Re: In your opinion, what is Steelers' weakest link?

No disrespect Ovie but screaming for the 4-3 is like screaming for BA's head. It's a waste of time. It's like screaming for a FB and a run first philosophy.

I'm curious why it takes up so much of your time? You have some great points but as soon as I read 4-3 I stop. LOL!!! it ain't happening anytime soon.

[Oviedo]

Re: In your opinion, what is Steelers' weakest link?

No disrespect Ovie but screaming for the 4-3 is like screaming for BA's head. It's a waste of time. It's like screaming for a FB and a run first philosophy.

I'm curious why it takes up so much of your time? You have some great points but as soon as I read 4-3 I stop. LOL!!! it ain't happening anytime soon.

I continue to write about it because I believe it and it stirs debate and strong views on both sides of the argument. Isn't that what this board is suppose to do to entertain us middle age men?

Of course I know it isn't going to happen (this year ) but if we see another defensive performance like last season then something needs to change. I have always just advocated for a critical assessment of the defense and not sticking with it because it is what LeBeau does. The issue I have is "playing ostrich" and just counting on past performace as a predictor of future success.

[hawaiiansteel]

Re: In your opinion, what is Steelers' weakest link?

CB... has been for some years. Even last year's championship team.... the only difference is that our pass rush was monstrous last year and help made the difference in the decisions that opposing QBs made against our secondary.

this article is a bit dated but sums up our CB situation very well...only thing is, there aren't any CBs that are worth the #18 pick in the 1st Round, I'm much more in favor of using a Round 2 or 3 pick on one.

Scouts Inc. on Steelers' draft
January, 11, 2010
By James Walker


The Pittsburgh Steelers have the No. 18 overall pick in the 2010 draft, which is their highest slot in three years.

On Monday the AFC North blog caught up with Matt Williamson of Scouts Inc. to get an early feel for Pittsburgh's needs in the first round.

Matt, the Steelers don't pick in the teens often. Do you think this is their chance to land an impact player who can help right away next season?

Matt Williamson: The Steelers don't miss often in the first round no matter what. They're pretty solid in that regard. They've have some issues in the second round at times. But I think they need to find an impact defensive back. That has to be priority No. 1. I don't know exactly what's going to be there yet at No. 18. We will have to see what juniors will declare.

What do you think about the cornerbacks in particular?

Williamson: If you look at all their corners right now, Ike Taylor, Deshea Townsend, the two guys they just drafted, they're all mid-round guys. None of them came into the league with a huge pedigree or blow-you-away athleticism and natural skills. If they can add a first-rounder it might go a long way.

Do the Steelers have enough confidence in 2009 draft picks Joe Burnett or Keenan Lewis to make strides and fill a big role next season?

Williamson: I can see one of those guys being a solid No. 3. That's sort of been their formula with these mid-round guys. Ike Taylor gave them nothing as a rookie. William Gay was a nickelback and did a nice job. But when he became a starter he struggled. So I think they want to bring in corners in the middle rounds, have them play special teams and earn their way, and then insert them in the lineup in year two or three. That formula can still hold true with Lewis and Burnett. I liked both players coming out of school, and I haven't seen enough of them to say they're not going to be able to help at this level. I think the jury is still out. But it's obvious, too, that neither has the pedigree or the ability to be a No. 1 corner. The ideal situation is to make Ike Taylor your No. 2 corner and bring in a No. 1-type corner. Then you’re really talking. The rest can play nickel and dime positions.

[steelblood]

Re: In your opinion, what is Steelers' weakest link?

Weakest link is the 3-4 defense. We have the wrong players and it is too difficult to replace players as current players get older because you have to take a degree of risk and hope you can convert college DT to 3-4 DEs, convert college DEs to 3-4 OLBs, convert college OLBs to 3-4 ILBs. All of this takes time and therefore you give up a minimum of one or two productive seasons for young players.

Most importantly find 6'1" 330lb+ NTs who are athletic and don't eat themselves out of the position and can avoid injuries that naturally come with carrying more weight than you should. Currently there are 13 teams looking for the same type of player which makes it impossible to keep depth at the position and it drives the price of resigning a good player if you find them through the roof.

Of course none of you expected me to say any of that

I'm not opposed to a switch to a 4-3, but the front is not the problem. We stopped the run and pressured the QB adequately (or at least as adequately as we would if we switched). The problem was coverage. That won't be solved by switching to a 4-3.

It will be solved by finding Farrior and Gay's replacements and upgrading our Safeties.

[ramblinjim]

Re: In your opinion, what is Steelers' weakest link?

The depth of this team was hampered just as much by Cowher's drafts as Tomlin's. I'm not saying for one minute that some of Tomlin's picks weren't poor...Bruce Davis, Spaeth....the Steelers used to be great at finding talent in the later rounds of the draft. Lately...not so much other than Mike Wallace.

Let's not forget that Mike Wallace was a 3rd rounder too, just like Hines Ward. You should get good players in the third round.

[RuthlessBurgher]

Re: In your opinion, what is Steelers' weakest link?

As we saw this season,....Troy like anyone can be injured,..and the rest of the Db's have regressed to the point where even the pass rush and system (zone) can no longer protect them because of their lack of speed, ball skills, explosiveness and ability to cover.

Okay, so you look for speed, ball skills, explosiveness and ability to cover when evaluating DB's, but you covet Taylor Mays, who has all of the speed and explosiveness you can ask for, but lacks those all-important ball skills and ability to cover. I expect Pete Carroll to draft a bunch of your USC favorites in Seattle, as opposed to the lousy "grits" players who you hate, but help us to win titles at this level instead of at the college level.

For what it's worth, I like your suggestion of Kyle Wilson, but based on his strong showing at the Senior Bowl, I think he is now a late first or early second type of prospect (unfortunately for us).

The original poster noted that Hartwig's deal was almost up. We only signed him to a 2 year deal initially, but two days prior to the 2009 season opening game vs. Tennessee, he was given a 4 year extension.

As for the original question, I'd have to say our biggest weakness is at starting CB. At most other positions, we have legit starters and the weakness involves depth, but at CB we have quantity of bodies, but lack starting quality there. We have Ike and a bunch of nickel and dime backs. Unfortunately, the only CB who provides legit value at #18 would be Haden, and he'll be long gone by then. There are about a dozen CB prospects worthy of consideration on day 2 of the draft (rounds 2 & 3), however.