Coach's rookie grades with two regular season games left to go

[Coach]

With the season nearly over here are my rookie grades. The grading on based


1. Player improvement
2. What the player did on the field
3. NFL upside.




Round 1 ) Terrell Edmunds.


Edmunds has had a successful rookie season in terms of being thrust into a starting role and keeping it, however, I have not seen enough improvement on his tackling or coverage. He made few plays on the ball ( one interception, 4 passes defended ) but does flash first-round pedigree in terms of athleticism. I think he's not a fluid type fo athlete in coverage. With another year under his belt, one would hope his familiarity with the defense and ball awareness would be better.


Grade B-




Round Two. James Washington.


Outside of playing very well in one game, Washington has been a second-round disappointment. His target to catch ratio is awful. 33 targets, just 13 catches, for 39.4% catch ratio. A good receiver is above 60%. More disappointing, Washington doesn't have the deep speed the offense needs to complement our #1 and #2 guys, and Rogers looks better in the slot. It would be nice if he could return punts or kickoffs, but he doesn't. With zero chance of beating out Brown and Ju-Ju when they are healthy, Washington's role for the Steelers seems limited. Then again, if he has another game as he had vs New England, things can change.


Grade C-




Round three. Mason Rudolph.


Rudolph looked okay in the pre-season. He needs a lot of work. His arm seemed just Okay. He will need good decision making and accuracy to compensate and he MUST do a better job at protecting the football.


Grade - Incomplete as he did not play in the regular season




Round Three. Chuckwuma Okorafor.


Chucks, looked shaky in the pre-season. He did start one game and gave up a sack and penalty, but at the same time, the stage did not look too big for him and he won some battles on running plays. A longer look is needed for evaluation. I tend to think he needs to improve playing strength, and his feet are just okay for a tackle. Right now, he's an okay back up tackle, lacking the power of Feiler, and needs more work on technique. WIth another start, a slightly higher grade can happen.


Grade C+




Round five. Marcus Allen.


Allen only dressed for one game ( LA chargers ) and out depth at safety has been thin. He was hurt early in camp, but at the same time had plenty of healthy practices with the Steelers during the regular season. I think he lacks speed and would be a disaster in coverage, but he'll need to play more to qualify is that is true. For now, it would be nice if he can improve our special teams play.


Grade D




Round five. Jaylen Samuels.


Samuels flashed big-time potential in his last game and had what I view as a sucessfully starting debut in the game before. He's got the size of a fullback, the shiftiness of a 3rd down running back, and the speed of a wide receiver ( well 4.54 40 same as Washington ), and the hands of a wide receiver. His ball control looks excellent and he opens up the playbook in ways the coaches are just starting to figure out. Based on the production when he played, and his NFL upside I'm giving him top marks, though I'd like to see him do it again a few more times. The Steelers could have something special here.


Grade A-




Round Seven. Frazier.


To quickly sum it up, Frazier showed nothing in camp and failed to make the practice squad.


Grade F

 

[Steelerfan]

Please bring back the attention ***** avatar, mods.

 

[Stryker]

Not bad Coach, Can't disagree with most assessments. For me though Washington is a disappointment and a D. I think he had a great game last game, and I hope he has the potential to build on that performance. Up to this point though, he's below the line for his production vs snaps. Especially being a 2nd rounder, you expect more from those guys.

Also with only 17 snaps on D, I'd see Marcus Allen more as an incomplete, since we're not able to see what he can do yet.

 

[Coach]

Not bad Coach, Can't disagree with most assessments. For me though Washington is a disappointment and a D. I think he had a great game last game, and I hope he has the potential to build on that performance. Up to this point though, he's below the line for his production vs snaps. Especially being a 2nd rounder, you expect more from those guys.

Also with only 17 snaps on D, I'd see Marcus Allen more as an incomplete, since we're not able to see what he can do yet.

While we agree mostly on Washington, his last game raised his grade a bit.

 

[Drink IRON City]

Thanks for your wright up. Cope hit it on Washington, but EDMUNDS should have a few more "splash" plays. I think he is playing in a bad "D" scheme and would thrive a little better in different "D". He teatters between a C & B.




Salute the nation

 

[ianv2012]

I see Edmunds having Shazier's early issues, extremely athletic but is thinking rather than reacting. I think a season or two of him settling in and being able to read and react rather than over thinking things will show his splash abilities

 

[Coach]

Thanks for your wright up. Cope hit it on Washington, but EDMUNDS should have a few more "splash" plays. I think he is playing in a bad "D" scheme and would thrive a little better in different "D". He teatters between a C & B.


Salute the nation

Our defensive scheme changed suddenly vs. the Patriots. Maybe it was for only one game, but I'm intrigued. Nickel formations were very limited last Sunday. And it worked.


I still think the Steelers need a safety they can trust in cover three and man defense that can make plays on the ball. I do not think Edmunds is that guy. But he can be a good SS if his pre snap reads improve.

 

[ktw1021]

Well written and thought out Coach, in agreement

 

[ark steel]

Not bad.

I agree with Cope on Washington. D, at the highest.

Given that Chuks is a 3rd round rookie and the sack that he gave up was to Von Miller (I think), you have him a smidge too low. That was a tough assignment for his first start and, I know they gave him help, but he did well (ish). I'd give him a B-, or an incomplete.

Incomplete on Allen, too.

 

[jitter77]

Washington has been rough, but he came through in our biggest game of the year I would rate him a bit higher. Hopefully this will be a stepping stone for him

 

[bmoritz]

The only sack Chucks gave up was to Miller when he was a full yard offsides. I thought he played pretty damn well. Overall though, agree with the assessment, though you may be a little too harsh on Allen.

 

[Hypocycloids]

.

Also with only 17 snaps on D, I'd see Marcus Allen more as an incomplete, since we're not able to see what he can do yet.

Hey no fair! I was gonna say that.

I'm not as well versed as you guys are on football... so by golly when there is something so easy to dispute I expect you to be a little more considerate!!! LOL

 

[Steelerfan81]

I don't understand the hate for Washington. The guy only ever played one side in his career and has had a tough time adjusting. We saw what he can do in the preseason and against NE. I think he's going to be fine. Everyone is just spoiled by JuJu last season. Rookie WRs are notorious at taking a year to get acclimated.

 

[Steelworth]

I don't understand the hate for Washington. The guy only ever played one side in his career and has had a tough time adjusting. We saw what he can do in the preseason and against NE. I think he's going to be fine. Everyone is just spoiled by JuJu last season. Rookie WRs are notorious at taking a year to get acclimated.

I don't think it's hate so much, just disappointment because the guy showed in the preseason and then became a dud in the regular season. And believe me, I love this kid. And like Cope said, higher standards for higher picked guys.

I hope NE was his coming out party and he starts really putting it together.

 

[ark steel]

I don't think it's hate so much, just disappointment because the guy showed in the preseason and then became a dud in the regular season. And believe me, I love this kid. And like Cope said, higher standards for higher picked guys.

I hope NE was his coming out party and he starts really putting it together.

Yeah, no hate involved he just hasn't shown much in meaningful games, outside of the last one.

 

[BLITZ]

I don't understand the hate for Washington. The guy only ever played one side in his career and has had a tough time adjusting. We saw what he can do in the preseason and against NE. I think he's going to be fine. Everyone is just spoiled by JuJu last season. Rookie WRs are notorious at taking a year to get acclimated.

I think he is already better than hines and abs rookie years as far as catches. needle is pointing up for Washington

 

[Drink IRON City]

I don't think it's hate so much, just disappointment because the guy showed in the preseason and then became a dud in the regular season. And believe me, I love this kid. And like Cope said, higher standards for higher picked guys.

I hope NE was his coming out party and he starts really putting it together.

NO hate here and "putting it together" would be VERY welcome come Sunday...........specially if JuJu is hurting...





Salute the nation

 

[Coach]

I don't understand the hate for Washington. The guy only ever played one side in his career and has had a tough time adjusting. We saw what he can do in the preseason and against NE. I think he's going to be fine. Everyone is just spoiled by JuJu last season. Rookie WRs are notorious at taking a year to get acclimated.

If wasn't just Ju-Ju. Bryant and Wallace made an early impact too. Many 2018 rookie WR's are doing well.

 

[Hypocycloids]

I bet hard core knowledgeable football fans could do just as well or better in picking players as the experts in the war room.
Wouldn't it be great to have someone like Coach in the war room on draft day offering his advice?!?!

Or why not give monkeys a shot? They sure can pick stocks!

I'm not certain how many times this experiment has been tried, but when it relates to picking stocks, monkeys had outperformed the financial experts every time it appears!

https://www.google.com/search?sourc...67j0i131i67j0i10j0i20i263j0i22i30.meGs-NMmsmM

 

[Stryker]

I love Washington's potential, but he frustrates the crap out of me when I watch him run routes. He's not getting separation or setting up routes with fakes to gain separation. He did a much better job last game, but that's his first game with actual production. If JuJu is out, he's going to get a lot of targets, and needs to get open. If he can't, the O is in trouble. If he can, we might win this game.

 

[Drink IRON City]

I love Washington's potential, but he frustrates the crap out of me when I watch him run routes. He's not getting separation or setting up routes with fakes to gain separation. He did a much better job last game, but that's his first game with actual production. If JuJu is out, he's going to get a lot of targets, and needs to get open. If he can't, the O is in trouble. If he can, we might win this game.

Different things MOTIVATE different players even this O'l kayaker's gut might just be the motivation needed for WASHINGTON to have an awesome game. I think James has gotten his head on a little tighter since the "diving superman" catch. I think he heard an earful of professionalism VS collegeism. What ever the reason he does need to make the catch and move the chains / score board.




Salute the nation

 

[ark steel]

I love Washington's potential, but he frustrates the crap out of me when I watch him run routes. He's not getting separation or setting up routes with fakes to gain separation. He did a much better job last game, but that's his first game with actual production. If JuJu is out, he's going to get a lot of targets, and needs to get open. If he can't, the O is in trouble. If he can, we might win this game.

I think the thing that frustrates me is that every on was saying he'd go up and fight for ball turning 50/50 balls into a catch.

Have we seen that? Maybe, the opportunity hasnt been there enough.

 

[Drink IRON City]

I think the thing that frustrates me is that every on was saying he'd go up and fight for ball turning 50/50 balls into a catch.

Have we seen that? Maybe, the opportunity hasnt been there enough.

He hasn't been in opportunity enough to establish this as a fact. He has combated a couple catches and yes, this is a talent to watch for. We just need him to make the most of each opportunity as fit.



Salute the nation

 

[Shane Falco]

Our defensive scheme changed suddenly vs. the Patriots. Maybe it was for only one game, but I'm intrigued. Nickel formations were very limited last Sunday. And it worked.


I still think the Steelers need a safety they can trust in cover three and man defense that can make plays on the ball. I do not think Edmunds is that guy. But he can be a good SS if his pre snap reads improve.

They’re going to have to employ a similar defensive strategy against Mr Brees. The Steelers did an excellent job of disguising their zones and man coverage against Brady.

 

[Stryker]

I think the thing that frustrates me is that every on was saying he'd go up and fight for ball turning 50/50 balls into a catch.

Have we seen that? Maybe, the opportunity hasnt been there enough.

This season he has 2 50/50 balls. One deep last week, and one short earlier. He is good at it. If he and Ben can work the back shoulder fade, that's a huge plus to this offense.