2011 Pittsburgh Steelers Draft/Offseason Thread

[Hines]

Carl Nicks is going to be a free agent. I wish we had the cap space to sign that beast.

[brat316]

no way does NO let him walk.

[Mr. Goosemahn]

Originally Posted by Hines

Carl Nicks is going to be a free agent. I wish we had the cap space to sign that beast.

Yeah, I hope we could do something, but ultimately nothing will probably happen.

I've been reading that it's likely that Ward will take a paycut and the team will explore a paycut from Hampton too. If they do accept, and we cut Kemoeatu, McFadden, and a couple others, and Aaron Smith retires, we may just have enough cap space to work with.

Highly unlikely though :(

[brat316]

Aaron Smith really does need to retire. How long has it been since he he played a full season?

We have to let go of some of the aging vets in order to make cap room. Hampton will be tricky since we don't have a true NT behind him.

[Hines]

I think Hampton takes a pay cut to stay one more year while we groom a NT either in the draft or let Ziggy play NT.

[K Train]

a year later i think they shoudl look into deunta williams rehab and see if hes ready to play and maybe bring him in for a tryout

[mikehop05]

goodbye arians?

[Mr. Goosemahn]

Mock Offseason

Retire:
- DE Aaron Smith - clears up about $3 million in cap room, set to be a free agent anyway

- NT Chris Hoke - old and we have a solid young player in Steve McClendon

- QB Charlie Batch - very old and very frail at this point

Restructure:
- NT Casey Hampton - sixth highest cap charge at $8 million

- WR Hines Ward - currently has a $4.6 million cap charge

- ILB Larry Foote - gets paid $0.2 million less than Farrior, who's the starter and defensive captain. No way he keeps his $3.6 million cap charge.

- QB Ben Roethlisberger - he's set to have over $16 million in cap charge. There's always a little adjusting that can be done.

Resign:
- QB Byron Leftwich - he knows the system, likes the team, and with his age and recent injuries, I doubt he finds a good offer elsewhere; relatively cheap too

- OT Max Starks - he'll be cheap due to his injury and age, and wouldn't have to be a starter for us, with the return of Colon and Gilbert (hopefully) flipping over to the left side.

- CB William *** - cheap corner, will go down the depth chart with the expected emergence of Curtis Brown and Cortez Allen, who the team is supposedly really high on. He wasn't bad at all, but he isn't a great corner either. Good depth.

- WR Mike Wallace - our best receiver, I think they lock him up long-term sometime during the summer.

- TE David Johnson - great blocker, below average receiver, but he's improving, and we don't really have any other "lead" blocker on our roster.

- OL Doug Legursky - solid at center, not really at guard, but he's cheap and we could definitely do worse. I don't expect him to compete for a starting gig.

- OG Ramon Foster - starter at RG right now, expect him to be back.

- CB Keenan Lewis - came on this season, will stay to keep developing.

- S Ryan Mundy - only safety depth we have, no way he leaves.

- RB Isaac Redman - backup runner, fantastic short yardage back, consistently gets the job done when his number is called.

- NT Steve McClendon - only depth we've got and he's played pretty well when he has to step in for an injured player. No star, but solid.

- P Jeremy Kapinos - only punter we've got, we have to keep him.

Don't Resign:
- QB Dennis Dixon - wants to play and that won't happen here; didn't really develop too well either

- WR Jerricho Cotchery - we were fortunate to land him because of an injury; he's not too old (29) and would probably play more on another team, with our young receivers being the clear starters.

- OL Trai Essex - we've got plenty of younger players who can play all positions, so he's easily expendable.

- P Daniel Sepulveda - Sad to say this, but I genuinely think this is the end of the line for Seppy. I really liked him, but due to his constant knee injuries, I think the team will finally move on and stick with Kapinos for the time being. Maybe he gets invited to camp.

- RB Mewelde Moore - no need for him, really. Mendenhall is the starter, Redman is the backup, Batch is the 3rd down back, and Dwyer and Clay are backup runners. Between all those guys, there is nothing Mewelde does better at this point in his career. He's got Tomlin's trust and doesn't fumble a lot, but those aren't really good reasons for keeping him on the roster instead of one of the younger players.

- CB Anthony Madison - I loved this guy as a ST ace for us, but he's no longer needed and was just signed for ST help during the playoff game.

- OT Jamon Meredith - did nothing, no reason for him to return.

Release:
- OG Chris Kemoeatu - I've wanted him gone for a while now, more because of his cap charge than his play, really; not too bad a guard, he's average-to-below average at best, but he's taking up more than $5 million a year, and that is waaay to much for him. Furthermore, the fact that his best asset is pulling and he's constantly got a knee banged up doesn't help.

- WR Arnaz Battle - virtually no participation as a receiver, takes about $1.5 million in cap room.

- CB Bryant McFadden - did absolutely nothing this year, and he won't do anything in the future either. Takes up $2.6 million in cap room.

- OT Jonathan Scott - has a $2.7 million cap charge, but probably won't be starting next year. I'd rather have an older but cheaper Starks over him.

Sign:
- OG Carl Nicks - wishful thinking, I know, but with the cap room saved by releasing the players and restructuring the contracts (I'm guesstimating it's around $15 million) we could have enough to sign him to a large deal that works. Jahri Evans' salary is $6.8 million, and it escalates to $8 million in two years, so I'm guessing something similar could be given to Nicks. $7 the first year, plus bonuses.

Draft:
1. LB Vontaze Burfict, Arizona - Ray Lewis-like intensity with James Harrison's mentality. As physical as LBers come, would be a wet dream to see him alongside Timmons. If teams prefer Kuechly's smarts over Burficts raw physical power, I could see him sliding to 24.

2. RB Chris Polk, Washington - with Mendenhall's injury and the fact that he's entering the last year of his deal, I wouldn't be surprised to see the team look for another RB. With Richardson and Miller out of the picture (I think both'll go in the first round), I'd like Polk. I've been watching a lot of Polk and Doug Martin right now, and Polk really stands out to me. Martin is shorter and is more compact, like Ray Rice and MJD, but lacks their amazing lateral ability. Polk is more like Matt Forte. Very tough runner, can contribute to the passing game, and breaks a ton of tackles.

3. WR Dwight Jones, UNC - It's clear that our offense revolves around the pass, so why not add another weapon. We've had success with 3rd round wide outs in the past with Wallace and Sanders, let's keep it going. A couple of weeks ago I'd have said that Jones in the 3rd wouldn't happen, but with the talent of players (juniors specifically) that declared, he could potentially fall all the way here. Big target, not the quick guys we have, and physical.

4. TE Michael Egnew, Missouri - all the great passing teams have athletic, pass-catching TE's, we should add one too.

5. OG Rokevious Watkins, South Carolina - O-line depth, maybe compete for the RG spot.

6. WR Travis Benjamin, Miami - fast and quick receiver, also good in the return game

7. OT Josh Oglesby, Wisconsin - OT depth, physical size similar to Max Starks, that would probably be his ceiling.

7. NT Hebron Fangupop, BYU - big bodied NT, probably a 2 down player only, developmental prospect

7. K Carson Wiggs, Purdue - we need a kicker, and I've liked what I've seen from this guy.

[Hines]

Arians is officially gone!

[brat316]

retired? finally rejoice but who will we find?

[K Train]

bring in haley, hes a sound coordinator not a madden player

[Mr. Goosemahn]

Originally Posted by bhaarat316

retired? finally rejoice but who will we find?

Originally Posted by K Train

bring in haley, hes a sound coordinator not a madden player

Haley would be great, also rumored are Tom Clements and Randy Fichtner.

I just hope they keep passing and taking advantage of our young receivers.

[Hines]

Todd Haley or Tom Clements would be fine with me.

[brat316]

Originally Posted by Mr. Goosemahn

Haley would be great, also rumored are Tom Clements and Randy Fichtner.

I just hope they keep passing and taking advantage of our young receivers.

I hope they find someone who knows how to run a balanced offense and tells them to draft Oline.

[Hines]

I wouldn't mind running a 65-35 pass to run ratio, though. We have many explosive weapons that we need to have on the field. The run would be something to have as an advantage, not because we have to due to our old timer fans. With that said, with an improved OL, a new OC who doesn't suck in the redzone, and an OC who can score points, our O will be Patriots, Packers, and Saints level. We have that potential but we are in the second tier.

[K Train]

its not the ratio of arians that bothers me its the ****** gameplanning and his poor ability with x's and o's

[brat316]

Goose finally read your offseason. After all the about the Rbs and young WRs you want more of them in the draft? This has to be the year of the big uglies. OG, OT, NT, are a must and not in the later rounds. Other than that agree with the rest of the draft, need a return man, kicker, TE and could throw in S.

[brat316]

I think Ben plays his best and makes the most plays when he has a running game to rely on so teams can stay honest.

Of course he is going to make plays when he has to throw it 35+ times, but teams are also going to tee off on him. PA who falls for that.

[K Train]

you would think we could land anyone, what a hell of a spot to be a coach? so much talent and stability

[brat316]

Originally Posted by K Train

you would think we could land anyone, what a hell of a spot to be a coach? so much talent and stability

Also a lot of pressure. Think about it, in the history of the team, 3 HC. The defense is outstanding, with a HOF DC who has 2 rings. The HC has a SB ring, the Qb has 2 rings and multiple Pro Bowls. So if the team were to fall flat, who would all the blame go on? You guessed it the new guy.

[K Train]

well i would hope a damn professional coach could handle that kind of pressure lol.

id like a big name personally, haley would be ideal but clements wouldnt bother me one bit

[mikehop05]

POP CHAMPAGNE BITCHES

but now who will we blame when we lose? :(

[Smooth Criminal]

My biggest complaint about Arians was the predictable play calling and his formations. Honestly no one can say a 1 receiver 3 te set with ward as the receiver is a good idea. It's basically a 4 TE set.

I don't care who we get as long as the redzone offense improves. Arians put up yards, but always struggled with scoring. Though the defense getting no turnovers this year didn't help either.

[Jakey]

I'm SOOOOOO ******* happy XD

[DeathbyStat]

I agree with everything everyone has been saying.

Arians put up the yards but failed to score enough points.

I want a name coach, but are they willing to pay.

My dream dude would have been Norv Turner but owww well.

I like Todd Haley somewhat, but I don't think screaming at professional athletes that are making more money than you is the best way to motivate.