My Thoughts On Willie Colon's (Reported) Development

by Blitzburgh on Aug 3, 2009 2:47 PM EDT Comment 65 comments

So early reports out of Pittsburgh Steelers Training Camp have included glowing commentary on right tackle Willie Colon. The former 2006 4th round draft pick out of Hofstra has not exactly been a fan favorite amongst Steelers Nation - as I'm sure I don't need to remind you.

Before I carry on, let me just quickly say that I think any statement that Colon is the best right tackle in the league is a bit hyperbolic - to say the least. In fact, not one week will go by in the 2009 season where Colon won't be outclassed at right tackle. That will happen when the Steelers host the Tennessee Titans and LaMarr Woodley goes up against David Stewart of the Titans. That said, I do think it's unfair for Steelers fans to completely write Colon off because he has struggled at times in his first years in the league. One must remember where he comes from - the Bronx, N.Y. and Hofstra College. That's not a hotbed for football talent. And I think it's fair to say that Colon has had some catching up to do - on the fly mind you - since being exposed to legitimate NFL talent day in and day out for the first time in his life.

It's worth repeating that Colon has been learning on the fly. And he deserves a tip of the cap his durability thus far in his short three year career. Colon has started all 16 games in both 2007 and 2008, as well as all four of the team's playoff games during that time span. That's a decent chunk of experience now under his belt from which he should be able to draw upon moving forward.

So, the 26 year looks good in camp so far according to tweets from Jim Wexell and from the initial wave of columns coming off the press. Say it isn't so? We'll see. But I think it's fair to say that it's quite possible that we've seen the worst of Willie Colon and that the best of his career is very much ahead of him. For his sake and for the sake of the team and us fans, I sure hope so.

Thoughts?

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Totally agree with what you wrote

I just found it odd that Bruce Arians would say that Willie Colon is one of the best Right Tackles in the league right now. I am all for having confidence in your players and supporting your guys. I also generally believe that pretty much any coach in the NFL is a better evaluator of talent then I am.

Having said that, I just don’t see Willie Colon being among the best right tackles in the league right now.

by SteelerBuddha on Aug 3, 2009 2:57 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I’m guessing that Colons will still not be good next year. These stories sound like the Kendall Simmons is looking awesome stories from a few years back.

by Cols714 on Aug 3, 2009 2:59 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Colon is horrible

I watched all 19 games of the Steelers and the worse would’ve been the Eagles, Giants, Colts, Titans, and Ravens. I’ve watched Colon and Stapleton get beat by simple X stunts by the defensive tackle and OLB. They fail to pick up blitzes, if I were an opponent I would blitz the Steelers until my defenders dropped dead. The Titans rushed only 4 or 5 defenders and were hitting Ben all day and had nothing to do with Ben scrambling.

I’m hopeful that Hill or Urbik becomes Colon and Stapleton replacements

by 72Steeler on Aug 3, 2009 3:02 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Hills has looked HORRIBLE according to anyone and everyone at training camp this weekend.

I'll drink your Milkshake, I'll drink it up!

by drinkyourmilkshake on Aug 3, 2009 3:03 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Really?

Huh. Interesting.

charity standing orders

by BadMaafala on Aug 3, 2009 3:18 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Interesting as in…“!@*!”?

Willie Colon doesn’t get flagged because he has long arms; he gets flagged because he sucks. - cliff harris is still a punk!

by steelguy99 on Aug 3, 2009 3:29 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I was just being a smart-ass.

charity standing orders

by BadMaafala on Aug 3, 2009 3:35 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Hopefully, sometime before Ben retires, we draft a tackle that’s a tackle and not a guard.

by betelgeuse on Aug 3, 2009 10:12 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

That would be a good start.

charity standing orders

by BadMaafala on Aug 4, 2009 10:56 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

agreed. i say hills doesnt make it past the first cuts.

by GMSteel on Aug 3, 2009 3:31 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Addition to my post

Colon really struggles with the following.
- Mentallly (blitz pickup, false starts)
- Overwhelmed by good defensive linemen (Giants, Cowboys, Titans, Ravens, and Eagles)
- Athletic ability … slow to react and gets beat consistently

I like one thing, he tries hard. But this dude is not a top RT and some foolish team will pay him millions and hopefully we let him walk. It’s disappointing to see that Tony Hills is having a horrible camp or is that Steeler management trying to keep teams from stealing him.

I would love to see a battle on the right side for RG and RT among (Urbik, Stapleton, Essex, Colon, Hill, Parcquet, etc…)

by 72Steeler on Aug 3, 2009 11:26 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Interesting thoughts…I think Colon’s biggest issue is not his physical deficiencies, but rather his mental one’s he seems to exhibit during games. An inordinate amount of false starts seems to occur. So looking good in camp is one thing, as he has always looked good during practice to the coaches, hence their decision to start him over Max Starks the last two seasons.

Having said that I think we all need to start bracing ourselves for Willie Colon to be the long term solution at right tackle, and also be prepared for the Steelers to give him a healthy contract next season.

I'll drink your Milkshake, I'll drink it up!

by drinkyourmilkshake on Aug 3, 2009 3:02 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

how’s Ramon Foster looking? I remember being intrigued by this guy when we picked him up as an RFA.

by 36chambers on Aug 3, 2009 3:05 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

nice article
watch my steelers video please
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5Ts3bBG75g

by fabr3g4s on Aug 3, 2009 3:05 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Maybe if you keep spamming the board people or watch it. Or maybe you’re just being a dick.

Willie Colon doesn’t get flagged because he has long arms; he gets flagged because he sucks. - cliff harris is still a punk!

by steelguy99 on Aug 3, 2009 3:33 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yeah, seriously. Go somewhere else with your YouTube video.

charity standing orders

by BadMaafala on Aug 3, 2009 3:38 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Level-headed indeed

by phxsteeler on Aug 3, 2009 3:17 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Thoughts?

Did DaTruth take over your account Blitz?

Seriously though, I think we have to separate stupid comments by Bruce Arians from camp reports. And seperate both of those from anything that means a whole lot. Arians basically said that Colon was “one of the top RT’s in the league”, I’m assuming based on how he’s played up to this point in his career, which we know is just a downright lie. The camp reports are a little encouraging, but consider all the positive comments we’ve heard about Kendall Simmons, Jason Capizzi, Roy Lewis, etc just to see them get cut or play like crap. If he keeps it up over the whole course of camp, I’ll be more excited.

One more thing about Colon’s development. He started his first games halfway through the season as a rookie and really didn’t look bad, which was promising, considering his low competition level in college. However, I’d argue that he has developed very minimally since that point: he was a maginal starter then, he’s a marginal starter now. Based on the 2+ years I’ve watched him, he’s actually been very steady; he’s good for a penalty just about every game, he’ll let up sacks and give an inconsistent effort in the running game. I think he’s just about maxed out his potential, whether he’s just not smart enough to follow snap counts and pick up blitzers or whether he has to make up for a lack of athleticism by jumping, holding, and sucking.

I dunno, I could be wrong, but those are my impressions.

charity standing orders

by BadMaafala on Aug 3, 2009 3:18 PM EDT reply actions 2 recs

I say your impressions are dead on...

by NYSteelersFan4 on Aug 3, 2009 3:34 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

+1

by The_Nation_in_Mexico on Aug 3, 2009 7:02 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

hilarious…

I'll drink your Milkshake, I'll drink it up!

by drinkyourmilkshake on Aug 4, 2009 12:45 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Thoughts

Willie certainly believes he’s one of the most talented RT’s in the league b/c this guy is quoted in the press more than most starting QB’s in the league! Seriously, he could use a little of Tomlin’s “under promise and over deliver” speech…

Net, net I am hopeful his best days are ahead b/c at this point his “specialty” has been getting beat and penalized in order to kill good drives. Here’s to hoping the QuoteMachine starts playing like one of the best RT in the game!

by sweed14 on Aug 3, 2009 3:43 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

X stunts

72Steeler is right on about him getting smoked by those. In the Giants game Tuck and some clown did one of those stunts that Colon and might’ve been Stapleton at RG at that point couldn’t handle. Colon was flagged for a clear holding call that nullified a bomb down the left to Nate Washington for a TD.

by barnerburner on Aug 3, 2009 3:58 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Not sure what others are seeing

I only saw one day of camp, but it happened to be the same day I heard that Willie was looking good. On one play during 11 on 11, Colon completely missed his assignment. Two rushers came in untouched from the right side unaccounted for. Granted, Colon could only have picked up one, but he picked up no one. This was within the first four plays. Maybe Willie is doing better because he missed his assignment more than 1/4 of the time last year.

by CarlWeathersMustache on Aug 3, 2009 4:01 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Well... yeah...

At that point you hope that the trailing rusher will take out the first guy because he wants the sack more. Understanding that the best action is sometimes inaction only comes with experience.

by barnerburner on Aug 3, 2009 4:14 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Two possibilities

1. Everyone on this board doesn’t understand football and has badly underestimated Colon
2. Bruce Arians is being an idiot by talking up a guy who he would do better to coach up.

by SteelerBuddha on Aug 3, 2009 4:09 PM EDT via mobile reply actions 0 recs

My thought

Colon is not nearly as good as Arian’s says, nor as bad as many of the fans think.

by worldtrip on Aug 3, 2009 4:13 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

A big mystery

Without having a trustworthy pair of BTSC eyes watching everything at camp, it’s difficult to know exactly what is going on there. I’ve scoured other sites and read the online stories, and I think the fairest conclusion is that Starks and Colon have looked like solid veterans especially in comparison to all the other tackles. Primary backup Trai Essex has worked almost exclusively at RG, Tony Hills has looked awful according to most reports, Capizzi has done nothing special and has also taken reps at guard, and UDFA Ramon Foster has made a good impression while also getting a lot of work at guard. At this very early stage it would seem one of the looming questions for the rest of camp and preseason is to see if anyone emerges as a capable game-day backup at OT, especially if Essex continues to play well at RG and Stapleton gets all the reps at center that Hartwig would normally be getting.

The comments about Colon by both Arians (“one of the best right tackles in the league”) and Zierlein (“He’s as good a run-blocking right tackle as there is in the league”) would seem to fly in the face of what most fans see on the field every Sunday. But it might not be hyperbole from the Steelers perspective. Actually, it’s a logical explanation for everything they’ve done with Colon since drafting him in the fourth round in 06, which at the time was considered quite a reach for a small school player. He impressed the coaches at his rookie camp with his aggressiveness and started the last two games of the season for an injured Starks. He was originally projected to be moved to guard in the NFL but that has never happened. The coaching staff has consistently said Colon is a tackle, not a guard. He moved ahead of third-rounder Trai Essex in the OT depth chart and then beat out Max Starks as a second-year player in 07 and beat him out again in 08. To us fans, that seemed ridiculous. To the Steelers, that meant Colon is pretty good because they thought Starks was already good enough to be a franchised player. Anybody who could beat Starks out of a job must therefore be even better. This offseason they placed a high first-rounder RFA tender on Colon, a move that cost them an extra $650,000 over a middle tender and forced any interested team to give up a first-rounder as compensation. To fans, this seems like overspending; to the coaching staff, this must have been seen as the only way to make sure they kept Colon around and provided a strong suggestion to Colon that they view him as a long-term starter. Two months later, the Steelers had an opportunity to draft a promising OT in Eben Britton; instead, they drafted (probably wisely) a DE. They did not draft a single OT, later signing UDFA OT Ramon Foster as a long-term project for depth.

I would say that all these events are connected and logical to the Steelers coaches, including Tomlin, only because they think Colon is a helluva player and destined to get even better. This, of course, is totally baffling to most fans. So what are they seeing that most fans don’t see? Colon is highly penalized, gives up sacks, and the Steelers are not effective running behind him. I remember having a BTSC debate with blitz about Colon on the game-winning SB drive. On the second play, after Kemo’s holding penalty, Colon was flattened by a DL, forcing Ben to run for his life. Colon quickly got up, looked around for someone else to block, tried to get a block on Darnell Dockett and whiffed. In the process of whiffing he forced Dockett to run a little bit further and that allowed Ben just enough time and space to complete a crucial pass. Now, how does “one of the best right tackles in the NFL” even get knocked down to start with, especially in a do-or-die situation? This just shouldn’t happen. Of course, later in the drive Colon like most of his linemates did a fine job in giving Ben time to pick apart a passive Cardinals’ defense.

My only positive evaluation of Colon is that he is a battler. He’s like a gritty third-line winger in hockey who does the dirty work and has to be an energy player to be effective. Think of him as the Steelers’ version of Mathew Barnaby. He brings an attitude and an element of toughness. He has pretty quick feet, which allow him to be effective as Ben scrambles around after somehow evading the first potential sacker. He seems to have a good attitude and is a willing worker. But, he has limited physical skills. He seems challenged by the mental side of the game, losing his concentration way too often. The concentration lapses could be caused by the pressure he puts on himself to try to perform beyond his abilities. He has not had the luxury of working with a consistent RG, with Simmons underperforming and then being injured, and then the even less experienced (and physically overmatched) Stapleton being thrown into the fire. This year he could be playing beside Essex or Urbik. The high regard for Colon amongst the coaches, which has been consistent from his draft evalution in 2006 to the most recent declaration by Arians and Zierlein, has been the biggest mystery on this team for more than three years.

The only logical conclusion about Colon’s future is that he is viewed as a long-term fixture and that every attempt will be made to sign him to a Max Starks’ like contract next spring. His agent is loving every quote that is coming out of camp and there’s nothing in the Steelers history with Colon to suggest those quotes don’t reflect their honest opinion.

by steeler.lifer on Aug 3, 2009 4:20 PM EDT reply actions 3 recs

Good post...

And a solid job of putting it into a big picture perspective. All the moves by the front office, when taken as a whole, make a lot of sense.

But, just as you said, they seem to be misplaced. Odviously we just don’t see it. Or possibly that forest is being blocked by all those trees. I have full faith in the Rooney’s and the front office. I just don’t see what they see right now. Here’s to hoping when pads are popping it becomes clearer to us all.

by NYSteelersFan4 on Aug 3, 2009 4:30 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

If there's anyone who would agree with the Steelers evaluation of Colon it would be the Cowboys

Remember those black and white videos that were of players telling some memorable anecdote, some were funny while others were very serious, that fans could vote for with the winning clip being shown during the Super Bowl? The winner a couple years ago was two guys on the Texans I think who were on the same team in high school and there was a running joke about how one of them plays the oboe.

Well Willie Colon did one (I remember because I voted for it) and he was wearing a freaking sombrero talking about how he was almost drafted by the Cowboys in the 2nd round, but a dead cellphone battery kept him from receiving their call at the time so they picked someone else instead and he ended up falling to us in the 4th round.

I like the comparison of him to a third-line winger, but I’ll pass on Barnaby and liken him to the Cookie Monster (Matt Cooke) instead. He’s a tough, energy guy who brings a lot of toughness to the table, but will also have stretches where he’ll be given two shots at an empty net and miss both.

by barnerburner on Aug 3, 2009 4:41 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Links

Can’t dig up the video yet but this will do for now:
http://news.steelers.com/article/85179/

Cooke’s whiffs:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOGS9_mV0d0

by barnerburner on Aug 3, 2009 4:44 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

What's really funny is...

I almost posted “Is Willie Colon the best RT in the NFL, or the best sombrero wearing RT in the NFL”, but didn’t think anyone would know what I was talking about and decided not to.

by NYSteelersFan4 on Aug 3, 2009 5:36 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I got your back.

This is Pittsburgh Steeler Troy Polamalu getting knocked around by the Pacific Ocean in Hawaii yesterday...
Minutes later, Troy caught the ocean going over the middle and smacked it right in the mouth. The ocean fumbled, Troy recovered and ran it into the endzone. The ocean never messed with Troy again.

by paulamalu on Aug 3, 2009 10:55 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I think the mystery extends to the whole offense. I’m sorry, but it has been painfully obvious that Arians has been overmatched from day one, but I haven’t heard any inkling that Tomlin disapproves of the job he is doing. We’re running a zone blocking system that just makes no sense from a personnel perspective. After the benefit of watching the past two years, we drafted yet another big, slow lineman (Urbik) who won’t fit in the zone blocking system any better than Kemoeatu. We’re letting our biggest investment take one of the biggest beatings over an extended period of time that any QB has taken, and no one seems the slightest bit worried or upset about it.

I’ll agree that the evaluation of Colon is perhaps the starkest (or “max starkness”) example of these peculiarities, but I think the issue is bigger than just one lineman. At times I’ve thought, “well that just seems too obvious for a professional to miss, so I’ll just trust their judgement”, but at this point I don’t trust the current Steelers coaching staff to identify, evaluate, or develop offensive talent, specifically on the offensive line.

charity standing orders

by BadMaafala on Aug 3, 2009 5:04 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Let's see how this plays out

I don’t disagree with your view Badmaafala. Protecting Ben, and maximizing his ability, should be at the top of the to-do list. I have not liked Arians’ offensive philosophy from Day 1 because to me he simply doesn’t put individuals in the best position for them to succeed, nor collectively establish a sense of purpose or identity. The offensive playbook is a 25 cent grab bag of wishful thinking. I will admit to loving the Tomlin Kool-Aid and want to see what happens going forward. It’s way too early to judge anything from camp. I do see the team focusing on improving the running game and that could mean some changes in the blocking schemes and the types of personnel used. The backfield is deeper, a David Johnson could make it as the blocking TE, Essex could be a surprise at RG, it’s way too soon to dismiss Urbik’s chances because as Arians himself said at the time he was drafted: “If you just go out and play one-on-one you aren’t picking him (Urbik) on your team … on offensive line there a lot of guys that don’t play good one-on-one.” I guess you could paraphrase that as: “Just because a guy doesn’t have any physical talent doesn’t mean he can’t play for us” and also apply it to the Colon situation.

Let’s see how things look in 2-3 weeks.

by steeler.lifer on Aug 3, 2009 5:38 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I will admit that it’s early, but I was expecting pretty much the same offense that we’ve seen over the past two years. Nothing changed over the offseason, and I’m detecting early signs in camp that nothing has changed, so I’m extrapolating that nothing has changed and no one is very upset by the state of the offense.

I will say this: the most positive development in camp so far is that Trai Essex came to play. He is BY FAR the most athletic interior OL candidate we have, which means that he might actually be able to pass protect and work in a zone blocking scheme. However, ten bucks says Big Oaf v4.0 (Urbik) wins the starting position because “Essex’s position flexibility is more valuable as a backup” or something.

Here’s a depressing anecdote from Wexell:

I responded that with second-year man Tony Hills being such a disappointment, the team needs depth in the worst way.

"I don’t agree with you on that," Zierlein said. "Tony’s playing better than he ever has with the team."

But he’s been so bad in one-on-one drills.

"You can’t judge a player on those drills. There’s a lot more to it than that," Zierlein said in conclusion.

Max Starks, watch your considerably-more-talented back.

charity standing orders

by BadMaafala on Aug 4, 2009 10:55 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

At this point I don't trust the current Steelers coaching staff to identify, evaluate, or develop

offensive talent, specifically on the offensive live. I think the skill positions are fine but I’llwhole heartedly agree about the OL.

BA’s glowing reports on Colon. Well this is the same guy who said of the 61 sacks last year 19 were the fault of the line. Well facts are useful so lets try this from NFL.com

Total ofensive yards 2008 regular season………RANK 22
Total points scored 2008 regular season………RANK 20
Toatal # of plays (off)2008 regular season………RANK 10
Toatal offensive TOP2008 regular season……..RANK 6

So our offense with top oppertunity as measured by time of possession & number of offensive plays yielded a decidedly below averge performance by either yards or points. The only conclusion can be that the offense is off. WAY OFF By the way fourth down conversions ranked 32 YES as in dead last.

I am not football knowledgable enough to tease out the exact ills or how to fix them but consensus boils down the problems to OL and play calling. I do know the answer is very difficult because with a salary cap and the reverse order of the draft. There will always be a position or unit on every team that does not have top ranked talent or expensive veterans

by steelerstyle on Aug 3, 2009 9:45 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Willie Colon and the rest of the line have had a full year together so they should gel this year and provide better blocking. I hate that they get blamed for all of Big Ben’s sacks, if BB holds the ball that extra time he is bound to get sacked no matter who is blocking. I am optimistic Arians will put in game plans to work to the teams strengths. I am optimisitc ( and sober)

by Hambo97 on Aug 3, 2009 5:38 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

The problem is Arians

Arians is tolerating Zierlein and a group of linemen that are marginal starters on any other top-ten team in the NFL. That he uses this hyperbole to describe Colon only diminished his credibility further. He is the worst offensive coordinater that Pittsburgh has had in living memory. The Steeler offense was at its best when it was improvising plays, which means that it worked well when it wasn’t following his script. That is not good, considering all of the talent they have at skill positions.

How happy would Steeler fans be if Shanahan’s visit to Steeler training camp was for an OC interview? I know this is very unlikely, but hope springs eternal…

by ec on Aug 3, 2009 5:42 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

ok...look at the avatar to the right and read below.

Ok I’m firing Arians and Zierlin toady. Thanks for the info.

"The team that scores the most points wins."
John Madden
(Master of the obvious)

by PixburghArn on Aug 4, 2009 12:30 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Torn...

I don’t think Arians is the worst OC the Steelers have had. Gilbride was pretty bad. There was another one while Kordell was QB who was bad, but I am sorry that I can’t come up with his name. Walton was bad with his Eric Green O that nobody could figure out except Walton. I do agree that Arians does not give the O and identity. However, I think that is an advantage. I think that is exactly why Tomlin likes it. He wants everyone to adapt to situations and be “position flexible”. That is how this offense looks. They do enough to get enough points to win. They can throw when they need to (because of Ben and the awesome skill players). They can dink it or go long. Once in awhile they can even run it down somebody’s throat. It reminds me of New England’s offense before Randy Moss. They could do the same thing, but you could never pin them down as a run all the time or throw all the time offense. The Pats have evolved as Brady has matured. The Steelers might too, but for now I think Tomlin likes it the way it is. They are “offensive flexible” . I am not as good at Tomlinisms as he is :) .

Erik

by ekl on Aug 3, 2009 7:17 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Very interesting "glass half-full" perspective

but I’m more inclined to agree with the previous posts against Arians. Can’t we be a flexible offense while making sure our star quarterback doesn’t get knocked off his feet?

Bill Beeelichick proved that in America it’s okay to cheat, as long as you cheat your way to the top. – Eric Cartman

by Alba on Aug 3, 2009 9:16 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

You may be right

Yeah, I hear you. I wish Ben wouldn’t get pummeled so often. I want him around for awhile. I guess my post was optimistic. I am just trying to see why Tomlin keeps BA around.

Erik

by ekl on Aug 4, 2009 8:44 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Flexibility is not the same thing as disorganization. We survived on offense because we have a QB who can improvise when there is no plan. Now that I think about it, maybe Vick would be a pretty good fit here.

charity standing orders

by BadMaafala on Aug 4, 2009 10:38 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Colon is bad and Arians is still an idiot!

I also agree Colon sucks, his psychological/mental problems are just a consequence of being misused, he has no place being a starter RT for our team, he doesnt have the size n skill therefore he gets nervous in the field.
And I do agree as well that Bruce Arians is a very mediocre OC to be kind. Actually, in 20 years following this team I dont remember watching so many dumb offensive calls and so much bullshit being sayed to the press off the field. He is an idiot.
Still we won the Superbowl, with Arians and Colon, how amazing is that?
But lets leave Arians aside for now, talking about the OL again, Im very disapointed the way Colbert handled our OL issues this offseason, why? well:

IF Tony Hills is a complete bust right now , Im sure everyone in the staff knew that was a BIG probability coming to this camp, add to this that Colon is already a fucked up Tackle hated by 8 out of 10 steelers fans (fans dont live, fans know whats going on!!!), how could the staff not worry more about a Tackle in the draft then?? PLEASE SOMEONE EXPLAIN TO ME!! WHY DIDNT WE DRAFT A FREAKING TACKLE?? Its unbelievable.
Now Tony Hills will get the boot, Urbik and Shipley cannot secure a starting job because they are simply not good enough (and we knew that deep inside right? right after they were selected) and we now start to say Colon is not that bad And we start to hope some undrafted freak will save our QB and running teaml…Oh Boy!
My conclusion after just a few days of training camp? We screwed it up when we didnt address our greatest needs when we could and now we will pay the price. We gambled and so far things are very odd with the OL!
But still, I cannot believe this unit will do worse then last year as I dont believe Arians will either, so , after all we are still favorites to another SB run, thank god!

by setherian on Aug 3, 2009 8:50 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

(I mean fans dont LIE not LIVE, sorry . .)

by setherian on Aug 3, 2009 9:01 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

A.Q.

Shipley was (arguably) the best Center in college football last year (he has the award to prove it). Trust me, he was a steal and will see the field at some point (even if it is next year).

It’s my understanding the Steelers didn’t pick up a OT because they were in high demand and that there wasn’t one left worth spending a pick on sitting in slot #32. That could also be debated, but realistically they didn’t pick up an OT because going into the draft they were fairly comfortable with who they’ve got now.

I think many on here would agree that Colon has been… horrible…. for the team, but the coaching staff still sees something really good in him, so that’s why they’re not doing anything in order to replace him. Winning the Super Bowl only strengthens their argument that they’ve got the O-line that can win championships.

by smashtheguitar on Aug 4, 2009 2:15 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Rimington...

I love how we seem to collect guys who’ve won positional awards in college – Heath Miller and Matt Spaeth (Mackey), Woodley (Lombardi and Hendricks), Tyrone Carter (Thorpe for top DB back in 1999, no joke), Sepulveda (two-time Ray Guy), and now Shipley (Rimington).

But to be perfectly honest, the list of past recipients of the Rimington doesn’t exactly read like a list of starting centers in the league.

2000 Dominic Raiola Nebraska
2001 LeCharles Bentley Ohio State
2002 Brett Romberg Miami
2003 Jake Grove Virginia Tech
2004 (tie) David Baas Michigan
Ben Wilkerson LSU
2005 Greg Eslinger Minnesota
2006 Dan Mozes West Virginia
2007 Jonathan Luigs Arkansas
2008 A. Q. Shipley Penn State

Only Raiola and Grove have been able to establish themselves as consistent starting centers while Bentley is the only one on there to make the Pro Bowl I believe. Granted it is a relatively new award, so the jury’s still out on how well of an indicator/predictor the award is/will be of success with the big boys. There have been some real wash outs on that list though who only played a little on special teams or bounced around practice squads, so don’t put too much stock in the award yet. Naturally I am hoping just as much as the next Steelers fan that Shipley will set a new standard that future Rimington winners will be measured against, but if he does make it eventually, he’ll be one of the exceptions so far.

It also really bugs me that there were co-recipients in 2004. What kind of “best player” award cops out and has co-recipients?

by barnerburner on Aug 4, 2009 1:57 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

holy crap

LECHARLES BENTLEY!!!!!!!

Willie Colon doesn’t get flagged because he has long arms; he gets flagged because he sucks. - cliff harris is still a punk!

by steelguy99 on Aug 4, 2009 2:09 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I hear he's still available

by barnerburner on Aug 4, 2009 3:18 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

You guys are hilarious.

charity standing orders

by BadMaafala on Aug 4, 2009 3:31 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Grimm > Zierlin

Wouldnt mind trying to get the script of how to run Shanahans zone blocking scheme while hes around…….

Sucks we lost Grimm, i thought he was a really good OL coach, we had Hartings, Faneca as well as Smith and Simmons in some of their best years under Russ

Bleeding Black and Gold.....forever

by Steeler_ on Aug 4, 2009 2:46 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Who is the weak link?

If Colon is one of the best RT in the game, and Starx and Kemo are worthy of lucrative extenstions, and everyone seems to think Hartwig did a good job last year, who is to blame for the line play last year? Is it all Stapleton’s fault? I doubt it. We had the worst line to ever win a Super Bowl, and we need to uprgrade Center, RG, and RT.
Maybe they will get better with age, they are very young, but I have my doubts.
Hartwig played like he was on roller skates, Stapleton could not see a blitzer unless he tripped on him, and Colon is a hard worker, but we could not run right last year.

by scottd7 on Aug 4, 2009 10:51 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I disagree with the could not run right last year comment

I was calling for them to run right more. I would be interested to see what the stats were for the team running right vs. left, and I bet the stats support the team did better running right.

by worldtrip on Aug 4, 2009 9:36 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

You would win that bet Trip

By direction, the Steelers had the most success running right. Around Right End they had 4.8 ypc; RT 4.2; LT 3.8; Left End 3.7; LG 3.5, RG 3.1, Center 2.8. However, most teams have have more success running right (you knew it couldn’t be this simple). According to Football Outsiders this is how the Steelers ranked by run direction: Left End 9th; LT 8th, Interior 23rd, RT 32nd, Right End 16th. To sum up, the Steelers had more success running behind their RT than any other specific line position, but they were the worst in the league running behind their RT. Perhaps John Cleese could explain this better than I can.

by steeler.lifer on Aug 5, 2009 12:51 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Thanks lifer

That’s interesting.

by worldtrip on Aug 5, 2009 9:48 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

And now for something completely different…

charity standing orders

by BadMaafala on Aug 5, 2009 10:44 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

In other words

We got our Colon cleansed?

"The team that scores the most points wins."
John Madden
(Master of the obvious)

by PixburghArn on Aug 5, 2009 10:58 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

ZING!

by barnerburner on Aug 6, 2009 2:33 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Ultimately I trust front office and coaches

Willie certainly has his detractors (to put it kindly) and he obviously has had his share of growing pains, but I’m willing to trust coach Tomlin and the other coaches on his ability and progress.

Why didn’t we address the OT position earlier in the last drafts? Value. WIth the huge run on OT’s by other teams, it would have been a big mistake to panic and select an OT. Trading up would have been too costly.

Arians sucks? Sigh. I know he is the devil incarnate but he is another one that is here to stay for awhile. Tomlin really likes him and BA and Ben have a great relationship.

Patience. Patience. Patience. That’s one of our storied organizations greatest attributes. While most teams in the NFL succumb to knee-jerk reactions, rash personnel decisions, and impetuous tendencies, our Steelers allow players and coaches time to develop. They make their decisions and stick with them (it’s why we’ve had 3 coaches in the last 40 (?) years. There are inevitable peaks and valleys in life in general and every business, especially pro sports.

Trust and patience, not easy virtues to follow. I think Kevin Colbert and Coach Tomlin success speaks for themselves.

by SteelerMike on Aug 4, 2009 1:33 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

San Diego Game

I watched the San Diego playoff game and only focused on Wille Colon. He actually did a decent job, except for falling down on 2 blocking assignments and lining up too far in the backfield, which called back a big 3rd down conversion.

He manhandled the chargers DE’s and LB’s on pash rushes. Was a stalemate on running plays, because he stop moving his feet once he made contact. Also, his hands were on the outside of the defenders shoulder pads, which could’ve resulted in holding.

TONIGHT, I rewatch the Bmore game. The report will not be glowing!!!

On another note, FWP doesn’t pick holes well. Wilie had the LB sealed inside and Parker ran right into him, instead of cutting outside for a bigger gain. It appeared as if Parker didn’t know, which way the linemen were taking the defender.

by 72Steeler on Aug 4, 2009 2:31 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Baltimore Game

Did a good job of run and pass blocking when defenders tried to bullrush or go around him to the outside. One false start penalty. Does a horrible job along with Stapleton when defenders criss cross. Colon was beaten on 3 occasions, causing Ben to rush the ball. Jarrett Johnson would rush up field and cut quickly back into the inside causing Colon to reach and fall face first. This happen on 3 separate occasions. His foot work is flat our horrible. You can beat him all day with a X stunt or up the field cut in or spin move to the middle.

So far I would grade him a B- for both games. Onto the Troy P Superbowl. Darnell Dockett killed us.

by 72Steeler on Aug 5, 2009 1:54 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Nice work 72

Appreciate you going through the videos and watching closely. Just out of curiousity, how many times does an OL have to fall face first on something as simple as an X stunt to get less than a B-minus?

by steeler.lifer on Aug 5, 2009 4:13 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs