tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8694339605194166992.post2118067103783104783..comments2023-09-27T07:47:03.667-02:00Comments on Steel Curtain Rising: The Long View from Latrobe: Steelers Training Camp 2010 OpensKThttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11407272159389023362noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8694339605194166992.post-52817434507664121632010-07-30T09:20:36.448-02:002010-07-30T09:20:36.448-02:00Neal,
"Sobering."
Truthfully that is t...Neal,<br /><br />"Sobering."<br /><br />Truthfully that is the word I'd use to describe the conclusion I reached reading your comment about the 2006 draft "What did we expect in 2006? That we were going to find premier starters on Day 2? drafting in the Champs spot?"<br /><br />That is a sobering point in and of itself, as several of the players in this post are from the 2009 draft -- where the Steelers were drafting last in each round....KThttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11407272159389023362noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8694339605194166992.post-64314129219863650392010-07-30T08:17:00.297-02:002010-07-30T08:17:00.297-02:00An almost sobering reminder of the slightly-more-e...An almost sobering reminder of the slightly-more-educated game of roulette that is determining long-term value of 22-year-old NFL players. <br /><br />Love the Joel Steed reference, haven't heard that name in a while. <br /><br />In my mostly useless opinion, so much of the arguments people have based on the value found later rounds of the draft depends on what you expect from it. What did we expect in 2006? That we were going to find premier starters on Day 2, drafting in the Champs spot? Who on that team, at that point, should have been cut? <br /><br />Granted, no excuses are being made for Willie Reid and Anthony Smith. <br /> <br /><br />However, 06 produced the best offensive lineman we have (Colon) and a Super Bowl MVP (Holmes). So what makes a great draft? 2002 is not going to happen every year. <br /><br />2007 is also seen different ways, depending on your perspective of the draft. First, it's the introduction of Tomlin's "twitch muscle fiber" fetish. Timmons is athletic as anyone in the league, and boiling under the surface of all that potential is a young kid who barely played the game when he was drafted. He didn't even have one full year of starter experience at Florida State. He was hurt most of camp in 2007. He was a role player in 2008, behind the most productive group of LBs we've had since the 1994 AFC conf champs. Last year was his first year as a starter, and he played pretty well, all things considered. <br /><br />But...Woodley was drafted after him. Switch drafting spots, and Colbert's a genius. Spaeth's an experienced second TE at a cheap price, Sepulveda looked a lot better when we had Mitch Berger in the game. Rag on William Gay all you want, but he had the same problem experienced and uber-talented veteran Ike Taylor had last season; he had to play with little to no deep help, and they got thrown at all game long. <br /><br />I like your comment about Willie probably overachieving in 2008, then underachieving in 2009. I think both years were the products of what was around him. Lebeau's defense today requires more out of the safeties against the pass, and no one will argue the strength of Ryan Clark/Tyrone Carter over Ryan Clark/Troy Polamalu. <br /><br />Word from insiders is that Ryan McBean is one of the dumbest people in the NFL, and just flat-out didn't understand his role in the complicated zone blitz defense. He plays and produces in Denver, where the defense is much simpler (and far less effective).Neal Coolonghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11929652844949915051noreply@blogger.com