quote:

Originally posted by DesertDawg:

quote:

Originally posted by Snatch98:
I just don't think they are quite as bad as everyone likes to believe, at least in Cleveland. If they were we would have made it a point to address it in the draft no? Clearly the front office believes in the guys we have, is it a mistake? I guess we'll find out as you've stated.

You've admitted that the guys you wanted were gone so that means you couldn't address it. Now your saying the FO did not want to address it because they're confident with the guys they have. Your FO admits they need to address it -

quote:

"We need to strengthen ourselves in our lines, of course," he said. "If I could identify anything at this point, I would say we need young, big people."

Later in that news conference, Tomlin added:

"I talked about offensive and defensive lines earlier in terms of our focus. Because you always need big, strong men in the interior on the rise. We're older in those positions. We are. That will be our intentions, along with all areas, of course. But in terms of having the personality that we want to have, there is no secret that we want to run the football and run it big time. We want to smash the run so it starts inside and up front."

Yeah. No problems here.

Didnt you hear what the Steeler said?! ONCE LIMA SWEED STARTS PLAYING RIGHT GUARD EVERYTHING WILL BE OK!!!

quote:

Originally posted by Snatch98:
I think Hartwig makes a huge difference, Mahan was the glaring weakness last year especially coming off of a long Hartings tenure.

I don't think Hartwig is much of an improvement. He's been so injury-prone lately, and I think he was overhyped during his glory days with the Titans.

For instance, take this blurb PFW posted in 2003:

quote:

An AFC general manager told PFW that Titans C Justin Hartwig is a major weakness on Tennessee’s offensive line.

“(Hartwig) can single-handedly hurt their running game. If you’ve got a good physical nose over him, you can take away running inside the tackles."

He's also a pretty funny-looking dude.

I read that Hartwig's nickname is the Matador.

One thing I do look forward to....won't he look cute snapping to this clown:

Aloysius...werent you aware they got a great value in Sweed in the second round? Werent you aware rookie WRs make everyone on the line all-pros? Didnt you see Calvin Johnson dominate the league and make the Detroit o-line so much better? How could we be so blind as not to have seen this?

Shaun rogers is going to OWN hartwig...regardless of what you heard....rogers will be at NT

quote:

Originally posted by xX HOLLYWOOD Xx:
Aloysius...werent you aware they got a great value in Sweed in the second round? Werent you aware rookie WRs make everyone on the line all-pros? Didnt you see Calvin Johnson dominate the league and make the Detroit o-line so much better? How could we be so blind as not to have seen this?

I think Sweed was a decent pick, though I'd be concerned about his injury history. And you're right that it takes time for rookie receivers to adjust to the NFL.

The real goof is that they didn't take someone like Anthony Collins or Carl Nicks in the later rounds. Either one of those could excel on the right side of their line, which will be important if Smith gets hurt and Starks has to move to LT.

Tony Hills is an interesting prospect, but I've read that he looked terrible at his workout and may spend this year on IR. So if Marvel Smith goes down, the Steelers are screwed.

quote:

Originally posted by DesertDawg:

quote:

Originally posted by Snatch98:
I just don't think they are quite as bad as everyone likes to believe, at least in Cleveland. If they were we would have made it a point to address it in the draft no? Clearly the front office believes in the guys we have, is it a mistake? I guess we'll find out as you've stated.

You've admitted that the guys you wanted were gone so that means you couldn't address it. Now your saying the FO did not want to address it because they're confident with the guys they have. Your FO admits they need to address it -

quote:

"We need to strengthen ourselves in our lines, of course," he said. "If I could identify anything at this point, I would say we need young, big people."

Later in that news conference, Tomlin added:

"I talked about offensive and defensive lines earlier in terms of our focus. Because you always need big, strong men in the interior on the rise. We're older in those positions. We are. That will be our intentions, along with all areas, of course. But in terms of having the personality that we want to have, there is no secret that we want to run the football and run it big time. We want to smash the run so it starts inside and up front."

Yeah. No problems here.

I'm here for a alternate perspective on things and honestly I enjoy arguing. However I'm not here trolling around spitting a bunch of bullsh.it at everyone. I'm speaking objectively. I'm not here calling the browns the "stains" or saying that Cleveland sucks but it seems to be all I get in return and thats fine.

I also said that the Steelers didn't reach for a offensive lineman. Certainly after the loss of Faneca they would have loved to pick up Branden Albert who was projected early in the mock process to fall to 23, obviously he didn't. I would have liked to have Clady or Williams but neither were there so the Steelers drafted value, hence the Mendenhall pick in the first and the Sweed pick in the second. I will say this I guarantee the only player that may have touched the field offensive lineman wise was Albert, otherwise any rookie tackle drafted would have sat behind the guys we currently have because thats just how the Steelers work the system. Did you see Woodley rushed on to the field? Timmons?

Mendenhall and Sweed contribute immediately and I guarantee it. Sweed will come in at the 3 or 4 spot and Mendenhall along with Moore will take some carries from Willie. He is after all coming off a broken leg. You all can downplay it as much as you want, so long as it helps you catch some extra Z's at night. Our offensive is down right scary and with the draft we immediately enter New England, San Diego and Indy territory and anyone with a rational thought process will agree. Todd McShay said we had the best draft period, as far as playoff teams are concerned and plenty of others ranked us better or nearly even besides Kiper with the draft grades and thats including Quinn, Rogers and Williams.

Additionally plenty of analysts will agree that a good majority of the sacks taken were because Big Ben was trying to make something happen and rolling out of the pocket. I watched every minute of every game and I can't recall more than maybe 10 times Big Ben through the ball away and even 10 may be a stretch. Holding on to the ball and making something happen is what makes Big Ben, Big Ben, he may be one of the hardest if not the hardest QB to bring down in the entire NFL. Therefore I just don't see how a versatile RB and a big WR don't help him get rid of the ball faster, ultimately taking less sacks outside the pocket. If your QB is rolling out it's no longer a o-line issue. I wish there was a stat to go to but there isn't......

quote:

Originally posted by Snatch98:
Our offensive is down right scary and with the draft we immediately enter New England, San Diego and Indy territory and anyone with a rational thought process will agree.

I definitely disagree with that.

Sure, adding Mendenhall and Sweed will help your offense, but the truth is you guys needed help.

The Steelers' offense was ranked 17th in total yards last year, 22nd in passing yards.

Adding Mendenhall will help the run game, but that was already a strength (3rd in the league).

What a lot of us have said is that Sweed's a good player, but the real problem is that your QB's constantly getting hit.

Whether that's the result of poor o-line play or Big Ben holding the ball too long (or both), adding Sweed doesn't seem to be the fix for that.

If anything, I think Sweed's full effect won't be felt until Hines Ward leaves in two years.

By contrast, our offense was ranked 8th in the league, and we improved upon it by bringing in a legit #2 receiver (Stallworth) and a versatile lineman known for his run-blocking (Hadnot).

So if an AFC North team is going to acquire an Indy-like reputation for offensive production, I think it'll be the Browns.

quote:

Originally posted by Aloysius:

quote:

Originally posted by Snatch98:
Our offensive is down right scary and with the draft we immediately enter New England, San Diego and Indy territory and anyone with a rational thought process will agree.

I definitely disagree with that.

Sure, adding Mendenhall and Sweed will help your offense, but the truth is you guys needed help.

The Steelers' offense was ranked 17th in total yards last year, 22nd in passing yards.

Adding Mendenhall will help the run game, but that was already a strength (3rd in the league).

What a lot of us have said is that Sweed's a good player, but the real problem is that your QB's constantly getting hit.

Whether that's the result of poor o-line play or Big Ben holding the ball too long (or both), adding Sweed doesn't seem to be the fix for that.

If anything, I think Sweed's full effect won't be felt until Hines Ward leaves in two years.

By contrast, our offense was ranked 8th in the league, and we improved upon it by bringing in a legit #2 receiver (Stallworth) and a versatile lineman known for his run-blocking (Hadnot).

So if an AFC North team is going to acquire an Indy-like reputation for offensive production, I think it'll be the Browns.

Stallworth won't prove to be a number 2 WR in your offense. He's not that kind of WR and if he was he wouldn't be on his 4th team. He had one productive year in Philadelphia and that was it, for all I know Cleveland may be the change of pace he needs to break out but he's been in the league 4 years now I believe, maybe 5 i'd have to check and he had one productive year. As far as our pass offense is concerned we are after all the Steelers a team known for our run game. Holmes and Ward were both hurt at different periods last year. We're still a run first team and likely will remain a run first team. However that doesn't mean that with the addition of Sweed and the continue maturation of Holmes won't translate to more passing yards because I believe it will and I do 100% believe a lot of the sacks came from Big Ben wanting to hold on to the ball as long as possible. I imagine he'll get better in that department and the offense will be reflected on the stat line. We'll see what happens either way there is no denying the weapons in our offense.

Ward, Holmes, Sweed, Washington
Heath, Spaeth
Parker and Mendenhall with Big Ben behind it all.

I can't begin to speculate on a firm level how well our offense will play, but based on our pick ups and the continued improvement of both Big Ben and Holmes the Passing yards will increase and if they don't Sweed is just another big target in the red zone and he is a WR known for using his body very effectively in the red zone.

quote:

Stallworth won't prove to be a number 2 WR in your offense. He's not that kind of WR and if he was he wouldn't be on his 4th team.

Just how Randy Moss and T.O. have only played on one team their entire careers? And to say you're offense is up there with N.E. and Indy is just downright stupid, they are in a class of their own. If you really believe that then I dont even know what to say to you.

Hell even the Browns offense ranked higher than Pittsburgh last year.

quote:

Originally posted by AdaM:
Hell even the Browns offense ranked higher than Pittsburgh last year.

So we can safely say we are light years ahead of the patriot offense? right? right?!

I'll say it again...very nice draft.....First three picks are no-brainers and simply taking the best player on their board when it was time to pick....I think pitt got DAMN lucky on both 1st and second rounders...and can say I hate the thought of RM becoming what I thought he could become.....On the other hand...Pitt HAS NOT Faced a Browns 3-4 defense with a proper D-line...to be honest I would be more scared of Rogers(nose tackle) twice a year than I would be of RM at this point....Hartwig is gonna be raggety ann'd

Come on you guys...the Steelers OL is the BEST IN FOOTBALL!!!

I mean, they only gave up the 2nd most sacks (47), and Big Ben only took the HIGHEST PERCENTAGE OF SACKS PER PASS PLAY (10.4%) of all starters (Dilfer was not a starter before you bother bringing him up).

QB Sack Percentage

They also had the 3rd highest percentage of negative pass plays (12.47%, only better than SF and NYJ).

OL Hog Index

So what in the world could be wrong???

By the way, if you are basing this on getting Harting, the Titans were ranked 20th in negative pass plays, gave up 25 sacks, and got sacked on over 6% of their passes.

(The Browns gave up sacks on 2.6% of passing attempts, just for comparison.)

Oh, and we HAD KW2, BE, and JJ the year before when our offense sucked. Sure we changed our QB...but don't think for a second that not letting the QB get hit didn't make a difference.

quote:

Originally posted by Solon16:
I'll say it again...very nice draft.....First three picks are no-brainers and simply taking the best player on their board when it was time to pick....I think pitt got DAMN lucky on both 1st and second rounders...and can say I hate the thought of RM becoming what I thought he could become.....On the other hand...Pitt HAS NOT Faced a Browns 3-4 defense with a proper D-line...to be honest I would be more scared of Rogers(nose tackle) twice a year than I would be of RM at this point....Hartwig is gonna be raggety ann'd

...Thats actually not a completely retarded comment. I have to say im impressed Solon.

Just another stat for the Steelers who think their OL is OK...

Ranked 31st in Pass Protection
Football Outsiders, a well respected stat site, has them ranked 31st in pass protection. 31st!!!

Yeah, better than SF!!! WoooHooo!!!

its easy to see how adding 2 talented rookies will correct the problems with the o-line.....what, chu guys blind or sumptin?

quote:

Originally posted by choco:
its easy to see how adding 2 talented rookies will correct the problems with the o-line.....what, chu guys blind or sumptin?

Absolutely CANNOT wait for week 2 to get here. We'll see whose standing on top when the dust settles.

quote:

Originally posted by Snatch98:

quote:

Originally posted by choco:
its easy to see how adding 2 talented rookies will correct the problems with the o-line.....what, chu guys blind or sumptin?

Absolutely CANNOT wait for week 2 to get here. We'll see whose standing on top when the dust settles.

ME NEITHER....Shaun Rogers is going to make many fans on that day!