If Gary makes the team, would Davis be cut?

when I was discussing Harrison possibly moving to ILB (thats also if we don’t draft or pick up a FA to replace Farrior), i was assuming we were under the pretenses that this was a year or two away, if/when Farrior fades. didn’t Levon Kirkland move from outside to inside, or vice versa at one point because of Greg Lloyd being injured?

Good post. I’ll believe that Colon will be moved to guard when I see it. It seems like every report written about the Steelers OL includes the “Colon, who many see as a guard…” line and then nothing happens.

I also don’t think that Rucker will beat out Baker/Reid. All reports show that Baker has been much improved over last year. I agree that Reid will be cut, and no, they can’t get anything from him in a trade. A 3rd round draft choice who has done nothing at all in the NFL isn’t going to fetch any draft pick at all.

And just say no to moving Harrison inside. The guy was pretty good last year at his position.

Nice post,

I suspect you are right about Starks. If were a betting man, the unit you see along the Oline is the five I would take. I also see a big year ahead for L. Wood and the gang. That is going to be one hell of a LB corps.

Well written and entertaining. The only editing required will be for factual errors.

1. Max Starks will start because he is the best RT on the team, when he is healthy and fit.

2. Jeremy Bloom will only ever work for the team as a sales rep.

3. Top 5 are Holmes, Ward, Washington, Baker, Sweed.

4. Najeh Davenport will play a hybrid fullback role, Gary Russell stays, Carey Davis goes.

5. Mike Humpal will be the team’s third best ILB this season, and eventually replace Farrior.

6. Doug Legursky among the free agents will stick this year. Kyle Clement further down the road, perhaps. Mike Lorello from the past returns this year. Ryan Clark will be soon gone for physical reasons, I think.

7. McFadden is fine. You don’t give enough credit to Townsend, in assuming that he still plays only because McFadden isn’t very good.

So, if you could be so kind as to resubmit the piece with the appropriate corrections I’m sure it will be more than satisfactory. Keep up the good work!

Why would Ryan Clark be gone? Every report has him a totally healthy.

“Sarcasm” has such negative negative connotations.

What? Ryan Clark has played very well the past 2 years for the Steelers. Just because a guy isn’t a highly touted draft pick does not mean that he is barely hanging on in terms of talent. I thought that Anthony Smith was going to beat him out, but he couldn’t and the defense was much better with Clark in the lineup than without.

And just so I’m clear, Smith is also very talented, and the Steelers have to hope that he shows he can take over the starting FS if Clark is injured or is ineffective. But based on their play from a year ago, Clark is clearly the better player at this point.

but the number of pass plays that went for 20+ yards sky-rocketed after Clark went down.

Gary Russell will be a contributor he played on the same team as the dallas cowboys numbero uno back and the numbeo uno back for the pats he just screwed up in school and Jeremy Bloom will
EVENTUALLY be the number 2 or 3 receiver he will make a good slot receiver he has good hands,good strength for 180 pounds, passion and intelligence for the position and fearless. I think the steelers will have the best running backs combined in the league this yr my concern is the cornerbacks

Guys,

Great responses to my post. If there’s anything that the DaTruth loves is to hear the truth from other people’s perspectives. Here are some further follow-up thoughts:

- I don’t think that Najeh will beat out Carey Davis because Davis is much cheaper and is a better special teams player (kickoffs and punts). I never said that Najeh wasn’t a good player. The Steelers just aren’t going to pay a 4th string tailback approaching 30 years old $1M next year. If he doesn’t get picked up and the Steelers have an injury, they can always go back and pick him up, ala Verron Hayes. I think that Moore will probably take on the role that Najeh had last year. DaTruth has always been a big Gary Russell proponent, and I bet the rest of SN and the league will see why before this year is out.

- DaTruth takes nothing away from Deshea Townsend and his play this past year. He had a solid year. But I think this defense needs to have Bryant McFadden in that starting lineup if it wants to go to the next level. McFadden still has a ton of talent. He’s physical, plays the ball pretty well and actually has decent hands (the anti-Ike). I think Deshea would be more effective as a nickle corner playing the slot. However, with the way the league is now, you need 3 starting caliber corners anyway. I saw a statistic where a team’s nickle defense is on the field now about 60 percent of the time, anyway. That sounds about right for this year’s team because the offense is going to put up a ton of points.

- Jeremy Bloom hasn’t done it in the NFL. DaTruth will give you that. He doesn’t have to be Joshua Cribbs to make this team though. If he shows good hands as a returner along with some of that quickness and burst that he had at Colorado, he can make this team. The only returner that they have is M. Moore, and he is more effective returning punts than kickoffs. Plus, I don’t want Santonio back there catching punts. Let him concentrate on trying to be an all-pro WR.

- DaTruth just doesn’t buy all of the noise out of OTAs and on this board about Baker claiming that 5th WR spot. Everyone looks good in shorts and can catch the ball when no one is hitting them. For all of Baker’s ability, he’s still a 4.7 WR on a good day. The reason why Rucker is so intriguing is that he is a 4.47 guy at 6’6’’, 221-lbs, with a MAJOR chip on his shoulders for not being drafted. He even said himself that he put up better numbers at his Pro Day than any WR in this draft (by the way, he benched 225-lb, 20 times). I checked them, and he isn’t that far off. People who have seen him play said that he has good speed for a big guy and can track the deep ball. If he can show decent hands and can grasp the offense, no way will he last on the practice squad. I predict he will be this year’s Gary Russell, a player who the team will essentially redshirt for a year with the hopes of getting him ready for bigger things the following year.

- Max Starks is just an interesting case. Did they overpay out of fear because they didn’t want to lose Faneca and Starks in one year, or do they really think he has some long-term potential as the team’s right tackle and potentially as a LT. It will be interesting to see how this develops this year.

- Dale Lolley recently mentioned that he thinks this team could be good, but that he is a little worried about the age on this defense. DaTruth’s biggest worry is another injury to the top 3 on the DL. If you add Woodley, Timmons, McFadden as starters with the return of Ryan Clark and a healthy A. Smith, this defense should be better than this past year. I also think a maturing William Gay will be a good asset to this defense in case any of the top 3 corners go down. I think the pass rush will be improved with Woodley starting and B. Davis and A. Frazier getting some situational reps. I just don’t know about the DL depth.

- People need to stop with the Ryan Clark and Anthony Smith back and forth. Clark is the better football player and starter right now. A. Smith has to work on and step up his game to take the job. The most important job for the Steeler’s free safety is to play the 3-deep position and keep the ball in front of him at all costs. Clark does that routinely. Anthony Smith has a little too much Rod Woodson in him right now, meaning he’s going to bite on everything that comes his way. You can get away with that as a strong safety. No as a last line of defense FS. I look for Mundy to win the backup FS job with A. Smith being the 3rd safety who’ll be a starter in a pinch if either Clark or Polamula goes down.

- I think the Steelers this year will officially be under the radar. That’s a good thing because this team plays better when it has a chip on its shoulders. I’m interested to see how Tomlin handles the special teams issues. There are at least 3 to 4 jobs that can be won on this roster purely with special teams.

- Lastly, thank you all for your great comments. DaTruth believes in knowledge and always enjoying sharing and receiving with Steelers Nation. What up, Blitz! Be blessed, all.

And also, who would you guys keep, a C. Davis as your lone FB or Najeh to play a hybrid FB/RB role. I might be inclined to keep the better blocker and special teams tackler (C. Davis) over the more all around talented Najeh.

This conversation has come up because, DaTruth believes, there is no way that they are cutting G. Russell.

Who would you guys keep?

...the UDFA I think have the best chance to stick are Doug Legursky and Kyle Clement. Rucker has a tall order (no pun intended) to stick as one of the top 5 WR, with Ward, Holmes, and Washington as incumbents, and Limas Sweed guaranteed the fourth spot. He has to beat out Willie Reid and Dallas Baker (who know the system), along with Matt Trannon, Jeremy Bloom, and Gerran Walker who have all been through other NFL camps before.

I think that the pro day workout numbers posted by Legursky (at 6-2, 325) and Clement (at 6-4, 317), are every bit as impressive in relation to their size and position as Rucker’s(at 6-6, 220). Legursky benched 38 times and ran a 5.02 40. Clement benched 37 times and ran a 5.20 40. Kyle’s numbers, across the board, were better than top DT Sedrick Ellis (6-1, 307) managed at the combine.

There is a lot more room to find a spot with the Steelers as an interior offensive or defensive lineman than as a wide reciever, I think.

For once, I agree with you. Rucker has a much harder path to the roster and Clement. I imagine that they are all likely to end up on the PS. Although if Mahan is shown the door, Legursky is probably in.

Guys, one thing you have to remember about the WR’s is that the Steelers kept 5 WRs AND a return specialist. So, you can insert the best returner (Bloom, Reid, Walker?) and let them have Rossum’s spot. That still leaves 5 WR spots. I don’t think Micah Rucker beating out the WRs mentioned above is such a tall order because none of them have made an active roster in the NFL.

It’s not like he has to beat out someone who is established. Plus, as a rookie free agent, he is cheaper than any of the above mentioned. Also, I don’t think Rucker has anything to do with Legursky and Clement making the team. And also, why not keep all three?

This team can have a roster with 10 rookies. Clement can clearly grab that last DL spot. Legursky might have to beat out both Mahan and the rookie center from Rutgers that made the team last year. He probably has the toughest way to go. But then again, why not keep all 3? I think it is about time that Tomlin begins turning over this roster before it gets too old. Should be some interesting story lines come training camp.

Your thoughts?

Sure, they can keep all three, but it’s not likely. How often does a team have 3 UDFAs make its final roster? Legursky probably only stays if Mahan is cut or he beats out Stapleton. Clement really just has to beat out Eason.

I think we still need to see all of these players on the field. I know a WR with Rucker’s size, 6’6, 220 lbs, speed at 4.47 and strength at 20 bench presses doesn’t come along every year. I don’t know anything about Trannon and I don’t think Baker is fast enough. Their play will sort things out.

And by the way, don’t go by the Steelers website as far as Stapleton’s size. He is up to 315 lbs and has said he wants to be at 310 lbs. for the season. In looking at several games from this past year, most of the offensive line breakdowns came because Mahan struggled and K. Simmons didn’t have a good year.

It just makes what Ben did last year that much more amazing. I don’t see how this line can be worse than it was this past year, especially with a legitimate starting NFL center in Hartwig, a healthy M. Smith and Starks and Colon competing for right tackle.

The actual pro day numbers for Kyle Clement are 6’ 4’’, 316 lbs, 37 bench presses at 225 lbs., 5.21 in the 40 yard dash, 32.2 inches arm length, 10 inch hand size, 4.54 short shuttle, 4.54 cone, 7.54 broad jump and 8’11 inch broad jump. In other words, the dude is a load but still has pretty good athleticism.

However, I think Rucker’s numbers are even more impressive. A guy that is 6’6’’, 221-pounds, can run a 4.47 40 yard dash with a 40 inch vertical and 20 bench presses. That bench press number is the second highest number for WRs in this draft class. Imagine what he will do once he becomes a part of an NFL offseason conditioning program.

The 5th WR on this team won’t play on Sundays unless someone gets hurt (ala Reid this past year). It’ll likely be the top 4 (Holmes, Ward, Washington, Sweed) and the return specialist (Bloom, Walker, Reid) whom are active on game days. Rucker sounds like a diamond in the rough to me worth keeping around for a redshirt year.

Thoughts?

Guys, great discussion on a lot of topics. I think this rookie class will go down as one of K. Colbert’s better drafts. I also look for 2 to 3 rookie free agents to make this final team and about 10 rookies overall. The past few years, about 2 rookie free agents have made this squad each year.

I think Rucker and one of the DL could be those that do this year or maybe even the center/guard from Marshall. I also think one of the secondary spots can be grabbed by a special teamer that can also play a position well enough not to hurt the team if they had to fill in (either one of the two rookie corners or a backup safety).

I believe this team will keep 5 corners, 4 safeties and 1 spot for a return specialist. Usually, most NFL teams keep 10 players for the secondary. I think A. Smith will be the first safety off the bench for this team if either Polamula or Ryan Clark can’t go, but I don’t think Smith is the type of free safety that this team needs or wants for its defense.

In LeBeau’s 3-deep system, the primary job of the free safety is to play thirds of the field and, at all cost, keep the ball in front of him. I just think Smith’s primary instincts are to attack the line of scrimmage and go get the ball. That is fine as a strong safety but not so good when you are the last line of defense.

Maybe he puts it all together this year and learns from his mistakes this past year. However, I do believe that Mundy will be groomed to take over Clark’s spot. And when was the last time the Steelers had a free safety with the size of Mundy, 6’ 1’’, 215 lbs ? Let’s just hope he can play.

I read a recent post where Dale Lolley said he expects with Najeh to be with the team until the final cuts and could win a roster spot if there are injuries. I can see that happening as well. I do think Gary Russell will show that he can play and be a keeper. I still have hopes for J. Capizzi, though he’ll have to have a lights out camp to make this team. He could be that swing tackle that every team is looking for. Capizzi has great feet for a person with that type of size.

Now how many months to the season starts? Be blessed all.