• Please be aware we've switched the forums to their own URL. (again) You'll find the new website address to be www.steelernationforum.com Thanks
  • Please clear your private messages. Your inbox is close to being full.

Rounds 4 to 7 Discussion

Meh if he was there Id have taken Billings, but he is a NT for us, and certainly a 2 down player... yes its important, but we already have a guy that is huge and plays too high there... im not that worried. I wonder if Marvin Lewis simply has the same draft philosophies as we do because of his time here, or if maybe he still talks to some of the staff and gets an idea of where we are potentially going... this isnt the first year they targeted steeler type players that at least seemed were on the steelers immediate radar
 
cincy **** blocked us again!

We weren't taking Billings, we already grabbed our NT. Billings has slipped for a reason, has pass rushing issues which means he may not need to be double teamed as much. If the Bungles are drafting just to keep players out of our hands "possible" then the Steelers have really gotten into their heads, it means the Steelers are determining who they draft instead of them selecting quality players in positions of need which is their loss. We have no control over how the team ahead of us drafts. Billings if he pans out would eventually replace Peko so it's questionable that they drafted him simply just to "block" us unless they passed on better quality.
 
Last edited:
Yep once we got Hargrave, we were never taking Billings. And apparently the word on him is he is a 2 down player and I think Butler is moving toward generating more penetration and pass rush from the line, rather than space eaters. Billings would have been a great Casey Hampton replacement in a Lebeau defense, but Hargrave is the better choice in Butler's D
Indeed, that's why it's hilarious to see the few Debbie Downers on here proclaiming the Bengals 'cuckold' the Steelers and 'snatched' Billings away from us. May just be the funniest thing in these draft threads, given that all 32 teams passed over Billings time and time and time again. Then finally, at the very bottom of the fourth round the Bengals suddenly STOLE Billings from us. ******* brutal, you can't make this **** up.
 
Btw for those lamenting the Bengirls drafting Billings 'ahead of us'... the correct interpretation - and the cold, hard reality - is the Steelers simply chose Hargrave over Billings. They considered Hargrave a better player and a better fit. End of story.

Seriously. The Steelers passed on him three times and if he was there in the fourth, they would have passed on him again.
 
We weren't taking Billings, we already grabbed our NT. Billings has slipped for a reason. If the Bungles are drafting just to keep players out of our hands "possible" then the Steelers have really gotten into their heads, it means the Steelers are determining who they draft instead of them selecting quality players in positions of need which is their loss. We have no control over how the team ahead of us drafts. Billings if he pans out would eventually replace Peko so it's questionable that they drafted him simply just to "block" us.

We have been known to double dip in positions of need. Prospects have a high failure rate. taking two at a position just increases the likelihood the position is secured against busts and injuries.
 
We have been known to double dip in positions of need. Prospects have a high failure rate. taking two at a position just increases the likelihood the position is secured against busts and injuries.

Billings fit the old 2 gap system. Hargrave fits the new 1 gap system. We were never going to take Billings.
 
For the record we passed on Lamar Woodley for Timmons, then ultimately drafted him.... We past on Antionio Brown 5 times and drafted Sanders ahead of him, yet still got him.... even last year we took 2 CBs.... drafting one, even high, doesnt preclude taking another... Earlier this week, that guy from that paper that you cant mention here said he wouldnt be surprised if they went 2 DT,& CB's and maybe even 2 safeties....
 
Would love to get Ochi in the 6th.
 
Indeed, that's why it's hilarious to see the few Debbie Downers on here proclaiming the Bengals 'cuckold' the Steelers and 'snatched' Billings away from us. May just be the funniest thing in these draft threads, given that all 32 teams passed over Billings time and time and time again. Then finally, at the very bottom of the fourth round the Bengals suddenly STOLE Billings from us. ******* brutal, you can't make this **** up.


Cinci got good value there. I still like Billings and probably would have taken him if I still had the 5th and 6th that were traded away.
 
We have been known to double dip in positions of need. Prospects have a high failure rate. taking two at a position just increases the likelihood the position is secured against busts and injuries.
madinsomniac you have a point, but given Billings' stature and all the pre-draft attention paid to him - by the Steelers and others - you would think they would have picked him rnds 1-2-3 if they had any inclination to do so. Not sure what it was, but they saw something w Billings they didn't like, either the fact he's a two-down guy or whatever's wrong w his knee and decided they simply didn't want him on their roster. And if that's the case, why would they have drafted him in the 4th or even later? They simply moved on from Billings early on and got the guy they wanted in Hargrave.
 
For the record we passed on Lamar Woodley for Timmons, then ultimately drafted him.... We past on Antionio Brown 5 times and drafted Sanders ahead of him, yet still got him.... even last year we took 2 CBs.... drafting one, even high, doesnt preclude taking another... Earlier this week, that guy from that paper that you cant mention here said he wouldnt be surprised if they went 2 DT,& CB's and maybe even 2 safeties....

Again, system fit. We're not looking for space eaters in THIS defense. Them days are over. Billings' tape shows little to no pass rush ability, AND he gets cut an awful lot. He's a bad fit for what we do NOW.

10 years ago, yeah. Now, no way.
 
Steelers seem to be running to the podium in each round.

That's not a bad thing, it means they've done their research instead of scratching their heads for several minutes until the clock runs down.
 
madinsomniac you have a point, but given Billings' stature and all the pre-draft attention paid to him - by the Steelers and others - you would think they would have picked him rnds 1-2-3 if they had any inclination to do so. Not sure what it was, but they saw something w Billings they didn't like, either the fact he's a two-down guy or whatever's wrong w his knee and decided they simply didn't want him on their roster. And if that's the case, why would they have drafted him in the 4th or even later? They simply moved on from Billings early on and got the guy they wanted in Hargrave.

I dont know... i mean he wasnt there so we wont know, but look at Bryant, who was a 1st round talent falling for ?s about his character... we ended up taking him in the 4th, even after we clearly passed on him for Archer...
 
Again, system fit. We're not looking for space eaters in THIS defense. Them days are over. Billings' tape shows little to no pass rush ability, AND he gets cut an awful lot. He's a bad fit for what we do NOW.

10 years ago, yeah. Now, no way.

I think you are way off base on this. Colbert specifically said in several radio spots this week that run stopping NTs were still part of this team, but that they were less important since they were at best early down and late in games you trail players... They still play the old system a ton on run downs. its just deemphasized for much of the game due to the run game being fairly useless these days
 
I dont know... i mean he wasnt there so we wont know, but look at Bryant, who was a 1st round talent falling for ?s about his character... we ended up taking him in the 4th, even after we clearly passed on him for Archer...
Again, I totally get what you're saying and agree the Steelers have a history w double dipping. But not with a clear cut first round guy like Billings. He was ranked I believe top 3 on most DT draft boards. Just seems to me the Steelers took him off their board. I have no way of knowing that for sure. You would have thought if they liked him even a teeny-tiny bit they would have grabbed him in the 3rd ahead of Hargrave. Then maybe gone back in the 4th to double dip on the d-line with a much lower ranked guy like Hargrave. That's the key, if they had Hargrave higher on their board than Billings - as obviously they did - where in the world was Billings ranked for them? Below guys like Ridgeway, DJ Reader, etc? I don't believe it. I think they took him off their board.
 
Last edited:
I dont know... i mean he wasnt there so we wont know, but look at Bryant, who was a 1st round talent falling for ?s about his character... we ended up taking him in the 4th, even after we clearly passed on him for Archer...

Archer was a RB and Bryant a WR. Apples to oranges, that doesn't compare with Hargrove to Billings. Could he have been the pick? Certainly, is it likely he would of been our pick even if available? Unlikely!
 
Yep. And I think we'll be fine with the Hargrave/McCullers combo. No need to double dip.
John Mitchell went out of his way to praise McCullers yesterday, saying he'll be a different player this year. I'm still hopeful on Big Dan's progress. It'll be Thunder & Lighting with that combo, both players bringing different skills to the position.
 
Christian Westerman is a bit of a surprise. I had him as a solid third round guy and still available. Injury?
 
I think you are way off base on this. Colbert specifically said in several radio spots this week that run stopping NTs were still part of this team, but that they were less important since they were at best early down and late in games you trail players... They still play the old system a ton on run downs. its just deemphasized for much of the game due to the run game being fairly useless these days

So you say I'm way off base, then come to the same conclusion I did. Read your own post: run stuffers are just not at a premium anymore.

The Run and Shoot. Why did teams stop running this very productive 90's offense? Hits on the QB. With no real help blocking on the line, your QB took a ton of hits. Today you see tons of teams running spread type offenses without taking so many hits, even when going empty set. That's because the NFL in it's quest for ever more passing TDs, has stopped flagging OL holding on pass plays. If you watch teams that run the spread from the pocket like NE, they hold egregiously on almost every pass play and it isn't flagged.

How does that affect us? It means we can't beat the spread with pressure like we used to. They can block 5 with 5 because OL are essentially allowed to cheat. That means we have to sub much more than we'd like to and our space eating NT and heavy DEs can be handled by just one person. The solution is to go with penetrators up front. Guys who can get after the QB from any spot on the line and defeat cut blocks and hold blocks by the OL.

Now go watch Billings' tape and see if he can defeat holds 1 on 1 in the pass game, and stay on his feet when cut. The answer is no, and no.
 
Is Jatavis Brown still on the board? Would like to see him drop to the Steelers in the 6th
 
5-159-Texans just took KJ Dillon Nice pick...
 
Steelers snooping around trying to get into the 5th so hold tight.
 
Damn, I knew this would suck, the huge gap between 4th and 6th round picks. Will there be any players left at the ******* BOTTOM of the sixth round, or do we just cut right to signing undrafted FA's? ;)
 
Top