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Training Camp thoughts and roster evaluation Pt.1



Here we go steelers! So finally after having to wait months to get any real information one week of training camp has surpassed and it's amazing the amount of info accessible this year. Great talent evaluation, play by play synopsis of training camps, player interviews and camp videos and so many people covering the subjects. These are my thoughts on the various positions of the team and ideas for reconstruction or improvement of the roster.

 

QB:

Ben is still highly underrated and extremely overlooked throughout the entire football audience. One word defines great quarterbacks and it is clutch. He's a mobile, creative, two time superbowl winning,highly efficient, dedicated, emotional leader to the team. He will improve this year and so will the diversity of our offense. Dennis Dixon and Charlie Batch enter preseason in battle for the backup quarterback position. I think that Dixon has developed significantly and is a rare athlete that has to be implemented into the offense. So far in training camp he has been completing his passes and making the correct reads, even running for touchdowns. He was so good in college and is learning the playbook well. Charlie Batch is solidified as a mentor.

RB:

Willie Parker, Rashard Mendenhall, and Mewelde Moore will all contribute majorly to the running game/ pass protection. Willie is one of the fastest running backs I've ever seen in black and gold and if he gets outside he'll torch you for 20 in no time at all. All running backs deal with injuries this isn't anything new, he's still young and dangerous. Rashard Mendenhall is still unproven to me because he hasn't shown anything at the professional level. Reports from training camp site his poor vision, inability to hit the correct hole, akward cutbacks, and all I remember was Heinz paying people $500 to knock the ball out of his hands last preseason because of fumbling. One year in college doesn't prove anything to me in a spread offense like that and I am hoping he develops soon. Mewelde moore is such a big contributor I don't want to see him lose carries this year. He's an excellent pass blocker and has great hands. Frank the Tank is expectantly practice squad talent until he further develops but will make the team because of his ability to blow up special teams plays, he will single handedly make them fun to watch. All the hype behind him makes me realize how much we need that goal line back.  Stefan Logan looks fast as hell and like he'll be an awesome addition to our depth. Arians, ugh, is implementing the h back role into the playbook more this year and not using as much of the fullback position, so you will probably see McHugh or the 7th round pick to fill the spot.

 

WR:

I could leave this to one sentence, we have two superbowl mvp wide receivers. Heinz is the best possession receiver in football and excellent run blocker and route runner. He is also reliable in the endzone repeatedly and is a player coach. Santonio won so many big games for us this season, wow. What an athlete and contributor, really provided some legendary plays this year. He has a little too much swagger, acts too much like a receiver sometimes but when you're winning like we win it doesn't matter. Shaun McDonald was one of the only free agent moves we made and is an accomplished proven receiver that they obviously were very interested in. 80+ catches in a season, I like it. Mike Wallace - ole miss - you can't coach s p e e d! Ike Taylor, Wallace, Polamolu, and FWP all run 40's in under 4.3! As the 3d receiver and kick returner he'll get his number on sportscenter and put up an impressive rookie season if healthy. Limas Sweed is the biggest topic of the training camp news so far. His hands are good, he's explosive, he's 6 ft. 4 225, his routes are crisp and i heard he's getting real comfortable in a zone coverage. I think Dallas baker could step up if there are injuries throughout the course of the season.

 

TE:

Heath is resigned for 6 years! I have met the guy personally he is huge and was a real good guy. Great blocking tight end which we need for our line and that is an overlooked part of the offensive line. He's huge in the redzone, think about our targets now in the redzone, rb or wr, it looks good. Spaeth is supposedly blocking better and his hands have improved, these two guys are very big on that goaline.

 

OL:

I think we talk about this so much because we're perfectionists and look for the weakness in the structure. These guys aren't great but they're better then average and superbowl titans. Max Starks is huge and unfortunatley the left tackle instead of the right tackle. I like him on the line alot and he'll grow to command it if he can perform continuously. Keomatu is a punishing blocker devastating in the run block. He is the biggest guy on the team and is mean as hell on the field. His stamina could be better, he needs to finish games which is where his penalties come into play. The center position is very interesting to me because I feel that we notoriously elect elite centers and hartwig, stapleton when he comes back, shipley and legursky are all capable centers. That is where our depth is though on the line and that worries me. Stapleton going out hurts our depth but he is a backup center in my eyes. Trai Essex is groomed in the steeler system and is apparently strong as hell and disciplined, your time to shine. Hartwig is reliable. Legursky I don't know alot about but I have been doing my research lately and he is very quick for a guy his size, 6'1 325. He is an accomplished player through his collegiate career that is versatile inside the line. I had very high hopes/ expectations for Urbik and I am not hearing anything good about him so far but maybe that 's because everyone else is looking for a savior at right guard especially at 6'5 330. He is not going to be an immediate starter by any means in my opinion and has been described as soft by some. That doesn't fly. His tape at the combine wasn't good either but I think by his performance and succesfullness at wisconsin in a couple years he'll be a starter. Tony Hills report card has smelled worse then sewage plants on the ohio river blvd in august. I had a feeling he was just a member of a successful organization coming from Texas and there are reports that he will be cut because of his weight, laziness, attitude, and abilities. I hate the thought of losing that fourth round pick on a lineman that couldn't ****n block. Oh yeah, and Willie Colon. I always liked the thought of having him at rg because he's big and mean, and would be better suited at an inside guard position. No one seems to think that he can play that position solid. I don't like him at right tackle because he is sparratic but we'll see how he advances into next season. A.Q. Shipley was a steal in the 7th round, possibly completed the draft. I watched the entire Penn St. Ohio St. game last year and he is the truth. Blocks with great leverage, nasty, remington trophy winner that benched the third most reps in the whole entire draft and squats 700 lbs. The offensive line is my biggest concern because it is the most dynamic postition in the sport. They are the smartest - sometimes - guys on the field that line up and fist fight for four quarters everygame. There is no offense without them. I am concerned at the depth we carry along the line and will be atimately watching through the preseason like everyone else. I also would like to say that sacks happen because of missed blocking assignments, busted hot routes, quarterback indecisiveness, and other variables - not just the front five.

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Good analysis

A few thoughts
- I assume you mean’t Stephan Logan instead of Vincent (maybe mistaken Justin Vincent)
-I agree with Parker, he’ll have yet another breakout year I hope.
-Stapleton is not a big loss to our line, we would fair just fine without him..he’s a feesable backup at best.
-I look forward to seeing what our line shapes up to be after preseason. I’m looking for this to be the starting lineup.. Starks, Kemoeatu, Hartwig, Essex, and unfortunately Colon (please let Capizzi show enough to boot him out)
- I hope Urbik forms into a solid OLineman!

by MSsteele on Aug 7, 2009 11:20 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

you make a lot of good points but...

the OL better than average? Not even close. Last year they were one of the worst 3 OLs in the league. The only 2 worse in my book? Cincinnati and Detroit. That’s not company a Steelers OL has any business being in. But their run blocking was abysmal. 3.7ypc we generated? And not for want of decent RBs either. Their pass blocking was even worse. Yes you’ll hear a lot of blah blah about how Big Ben holds onto the ball too long and invites the sack but for every time he’s responsible for a sack he avoids 2 sacks that would get most QBs.

There really is no escaping how poor our OL was last year, average just doesn’t cut it as a description. Abysmal? Appalling? Dreadful? Deplorable perhaps but not average. They are nowhere near the 16th best OL in the league sadly.

They did improve down the stretch and into the playoffs though so we’re not entirely without hope. They’re relatively young and inexperienced as a group after all.

by KiwiSteelerFan on Aug 8, 2009 12:51 AM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Holding the ball

I counted, Brady held the ball for 7 secs in the pocket one time. No one got near him and he completed the pass. Ben doesn’t hold the ball too long, the line doesnt block long enough.

by tannofsteel84 on Aug 8, 2009 2:33 AM EDT up reply actions   1 recs

Well I can see how judging from that one play you could make a case that Ben never holds the ball too long and Brady always has more time to throw.

by worldtrip on Aug 9, 2009 10:51 AM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Pats

I was wondering how they kept the game with us sooooo close last year, it was the OL.

Over? Did you say "over"? Nothing is over until we decide it is! Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell no!

by TXcheesesteak on Aug 9, 2009 10:57 AM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

taste great...less filling

ahhh, the ongoing OL debate.

Over? Did you say "over"? Nothing is over until we decide it is! Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell no!

by TXcheesesteak on Aug 9, 2009 10:41 AM EDT reply actions   0 recs


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