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A new Tomlin thread, and no, not a bash him thread.

Coryea

Coryea

Nothing left to do but win the whole ******* thing
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When Cowher left and they were interviewing, Tomlin is the coach I wanted in here, and let's face it, he's probably going no where. If he was let go, I wouldn't be upset, and if he's back I'm fine there too, I like stability there.
The question is, can Tomlin fix this? He has final say on the draft, per him. We've all heard the "Cowher's players thing" I'm not trying to start a Tomlin vs Cowher thing at all, that gets brought up because Cowher was the last coach, but it's pretty clear as the defensive players that were here when Tomlin took over began to leave, this defense has gone down hill, and even with 5 first round draft picks over the past 6 or 7 drafts the defense is still bad.
In alot of the Tomlin threads, the years 98-00 under Cowher were brought up. 98-00 were the years where alot of Cowhers early drafted players and any of Noll's leftovers were getting older and leaving, then the GM was left go, so it was all on Cowher and the Rooney's stuck with him after 2 losing seasons, and 3 non-playoff years, Cowher rebuilt the team to have the best record the AFC in 2001 (13-3), then onto the Super Bowl in 2005. I think the Rooney's will give Tomlin the chance to fix this/rebuild, but can he do that? IMO I think the Rooney's should give Colbert the final say and turn over the draft to him.
 
I'll just add this here as well, I heard a local Pittsburgh media guy bring up an interesting thought. Bell will be going into his final season next season, how much is he going to want? Can we keep him and Bryant, do we want to pay Bell what he's going to want, and with the success of Williams, is Bell worth what he's going to ask for, or is our passing game going to make any good RB look better? Will it come down to Bryant or Bell?
 
I think it will come down to keeping 2 of the big 3.
Bryant will be on the outside looking in. Honestly, I would look to trade him next in the next offseason or two if he stays clean.
We simply can't pay them all and AB is going nowhere. Bell is just too good to let go.
 
I believe Colbert more than anyone should be on the hot seat. Either he has lost his touch on the defensive side of the ball or Cowher was a large part of his early success. If a new GM comes in and the status quo remains, then maybe it's time to start talking about the head coach.
 
Even with Bell's injuries and how well Williams has played, do we pay Bell what he's going to want?

Tomlin has the say over Colbert, Tomlin himself has said before that he hand selected Bruce Davis, and I think most head coaches have the final say.
 
It isn't as easy as just snapping your fingers and replacing talent. If that was the case, the Steelers would have about 30 trophies, because they just could have replaced the 70s guys and so on.

There was an article somewhere recently I think, discussing the dearth of great pass rushers coming out of college. Maybe it was in relation to the 2013 draft in which they took Jarvis Jones. They have tried for sure, but maybe right now some of those guys just aren't there.

Their pass rush is going to improve if they ever find a DB or two who can man up on someone and and the very least make the QB hold the ball a tick longer. Hell, look at Sunday. I don't know if LT in his prime is getting there, as quick as Mallet was getting rid of it. He was never made to come off his first guy. Pass rush and coverage go hand and hand. I do not believe one is more important than the other.

To me this year they have to not only draft some DBs again but maybe spend a little on the FA market. I am not sure if you can draft your entire team anymore. You have to identify some areas to address in FA and do it.
 
no you can't just snap your fingers, but some coaches draft alot better than others, and our defensive picks haven't been good, we haven't had a OLB get a sack since the Colts game, and Jones hasn't gotten a sack since the Browns game, and it was only a half sack. With a salary cap and high salaries, the draft is extremely important to hit on a few guys to get some good years out of their rookie contracts.
Pass coverage and pressure go hand in hand, but we've had **** DB's in the past with very good pass rushers and we had good defenses that got to the QB.
 
It amazes me that Tomlin has brought countless weak Defensive players in the draft but with his skill position players he is second to none, both draft and the free agents he has brought in. Brown, Bell, Bryant, Wheaton, and free agents like DHB, Williams, Roosevelt Nix. I don't get it? Look at the linebackers, Harrisson is our best past rusher, has been for 10 years. Jarvis, bust, Shazier joke, Dupree the jury is still out, Shamarko joke,
Cowher did build a hell of a Defense BUT
I think alot of the success that cowhers Steelers had came down to a small handfull of all time greats. Polomalu, Hampton, Harrisson, Keisel, Aaron smith. having these guys on the field makes up for alot of deficiencies. Cowher never had great corners. no disrespect to Ike.
These guys retiring left shoes to big to fill for any coach. Unfortunately Tomlin hasn't replaced ANY of these guys with the same caliber player. Thats gonna hurt.

That said
PAY BELL, PAY BRYANT, they are going to need to score 40+ per game with this garbage D.
Bring in a d coordinator like Rex Ryan, he is light years better than the unqualified BUMS we have running our D.
 
Harrison never started for Cowher, I don't think Keisel ever started for Cowher, maybe the 2006 season, he had Porter at ROLB and brought in good FA's like Kimo, Clark, Farrior.

I'm not sure Tomlin has shown any signs of fixing the defense, and Ben has 2-3 years of good football left.
 
Shazier is pretty ******* far from being a joke.

If it comes down to Bryant vs Bell, who do you keep? You keep bell over the guy that is one relapse away from missing half a year.
 
bigben said:
I think alot of the success that cowhers Steelers had came down to a small handfull of all time greats. Polomalu, Hampton, Harrisson, Keisel, Aaron smith. having these guys on the field makes up for alot of deficiencies. Cowher never had great corners. no disrespect to Ike.
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So by a small handful, you mean half of the starting defense? You are also selling the talent level of Porter, Farrior, Taylor and Clark well short.
 
Cope said:
Shazier is pretty ******* far from being a joke.

If it comes down to Bryant vs Bell, who do you keep? You keep bell over the guy that is one relapse away from missing half a year.
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You keep Bell and it isn't even close. Bryant is pretty close to a two-trick pony with the deep ball and the screen pass. I like him, but he isn't developing into a well-rounded receiver and is better suite as a complementary piece rather than a featured one.
 
SteelerFan448 said:
You keep Bell and it isn't even close. Bryant is pretty close to a two-trick pony with the deep ball and the screen pass. I like him, but he isn't developing into a well-rounded receiver and is better suite as a complementary piece rather than a featured one.
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I'm starting to agree with this, he's been dropping quite a few easy passes this season, maybe it will knock his asking price down, but neither he nor Wheaton seem to be a dependable #2 guy yet.
 
coryea said:
I'll just add this here as well, I heard a local Pittsburgh media guy bring up an interesting thought. Bell will be going into his final season next season, how much is he going to want? Can we keep him and Bryant, do we want to pay Bell what he's going to want, and with the success of Williams, is Bell worth what he's going to ask for, or is our passing game going to make any good RB look better? Will it come down to Bryant or Bell?
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If forced to pick between Willians and Bryant or Bell, I'd pick Williams and Byrant

Williams did the same job, perhaps even better this season. Bell is coming off his second knee injury and was suspended. He's a risk.

RB's are the easiest position to replace besides punters and kickers.
 
Coach said:
If forced to pick between Willians and Bryant or Bell, I'd pick Williams and Byrant

Williams did the same job, perhaps even better this season. Bell is coming off his second knee injury and was suspended. He's a risk.

RB's are the easiest position to replace besides punters and kickers.
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Williams will be approaching his mid-30s. No thank you.
 
coryea said:
I'm starting to agree with this, he's been dropping quite a few easy passes this season, maybe it will knock his asking price down, but neither he nor Wheaton seem to be a dependable #2 guy yet.
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Wheaton was underutilized in 2015. He should have returned all kickoffs all season and been given more targets. But Ben and Haley like to force feed, Brown. While brown is fantastic, Wheaton might have a better match up on a 3rd corner. Just saying.
 
Does anyone know what the top 5 RB's are paid, if we had to franchise Bell after next season?
 
SteelerFan448 said:
Williams will be approaching his mid-30s. No thank you.
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Counterpoint, he often split time with another back in Carolina and unlike Bell does not have two knee injuries and a suspension.

I think Williams is a little faster and a better power runner.

I think Bell has better hands and is a better pass protector.

If you put their stats for the season, Williams might be a bit better with the same players.
 
GMC said:
I believe Colbert more than anyone should be on the hot seat. Either he has lost his touch on the defensive side of the ball or Cowher was a large part of his early success. If a new GM comes in and the status quo remains, then maybe it's time to start talking about the head coach.
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Colbert has been uneven, but I do think him picking up Cockrell, Villanueva and Boswell were very good moves. Without them, we lose 2 more games for sure, perhaps more.

By beef with Kevin is has given bad contracts to Woodley and Worilds. Replacing one of them with Jarvis Jones has not worked. Colbert has not hit on a drafted DB in a long time. Because of this, the defense is a mess.
 
Bell is special. I think we forget that cause we haven't seen him in a while. Right now, you pay him.

Next year will be a big year for Bryant. Big rookie year, defenses adjusted. Can he take the next step? All young guys go through this. Some take the step, others just kinda fade away. We'll see.
 
coryea said:
Does anyone know what the top 5 RB's are paid, if we had to franchise Bell after next season?
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I don't know exactly how they determine the number that is used to calculate the franchise tag number, but here are the top 5 RB salaries of 2015.

A. Peterson - 14 million
M. Lynch - 12 million
J. Charles - 9
A. Foster - 9
L. McCoy - 8

That is a total of 52 million divided by 5 is about a 10 million dollar franchise tag amount.

Papillon
 
Coach said:
Counterpoint, he often split time with another back in Carolina and unlike Bell does not have two knee injuries and a suspension.

I think Williams is a little faster and a better power runner.

I think Bell has better hands and is a better pass protector.

If you put their stats for the season, Williams might be a bit better with the same players.
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It doesn't matter if Williams split carries. At some point the body begins to break down in regards to the strength and speed necessary to compete in the NFL. As you are suggesting, the Steelers would need to sign Williams when he turns 34 after the 2016 season. Given that they would likely want him for more than one year, you are looking at him be a key part of the offense until he is 35 or 36. I'm not going to post all of the numbers as you can just go to the link and see the lack of success running backs that old have: http://www.sportingcharts.com/articles/nfl/best-running-back-seasons-by-30plus-year-olds.aspx

Coach said:
Colbert has been uneven, but I do think him picking up Cockrell, Villanueva and Boswell were very good moves. Without them, we lose 2 more games for sure, perhaps more.

By beef with Kevin is has given bad contracts to Woodley and Worilds. Replacing one of them with Jarvis Jones has not worked. Colbert has not hit on a drafted DB in a long time. Because of this, the defense is a mess.
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How was Woodley a bad contract? He was the best pass rusher on the team and a borderline defensive player of the year type talent. Who knew that he would fall off a cliff so soon after signing the deal.
 
It takes luck too. Who knew AB would be AB? **** we were one pick from taking Revis.
 
D'Angelo is getting older but you can't deny that he's delivered this year.

Well done young man. Well done.
 
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