• 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.

Interesting Read from ESPN's Scott Brown on our 2011 Draft. This one hurts!

steelhurt

steelhurt

In Andy I trust....
Member
Joined
Apr 11, 2014
Messages
7,143
Reaction score
9,684
Points
113
The Pittsburgh Steelers could take two cornerbacks in the NFL draft for the first time since 2011 when they selected Curtis Brown and Cortez Allen in the third and fourth rounds.



Brown played primarily on special teams for three seasons before the Steelers released him last March. Allen is a huge question mark after regressing last season, which is one reason why cornerback is one of the Steelers’ biggest needs in this year’s draft.

If the Steelers can come anywhere close to replicating what the Seattle Seahawks did in 2011, it would go a long way toward shoring up cornerback.

The Seahawks took Richard Sherman in the fifth round that year and snagged Byron Maxwell in the sixth round.

Sherman is arguably the top cornerback in the NFL and what is remarkable about his ascent is that 19 teams drafted a cornerback before the Seahawks took Sherman. Four teams, including the Steelers, drafted two cornerbacks before the Seahawks landed Sherman, who has already been a three-time first-team All-Pro selection.

Maxwell, meanwhile, started the past two seasons in Seattle's vaunted secondary and parlayed that into a six-year, $50 million contract with the Philadelphia Eagles.

There were plenty of misses at cornerback in that draft but also some hits.

The Arizona Cardinals took Patrick Peterson with the fourth overall pick, and the Baltimore Ravens selected Jimmy Smith late in the first round. The San Francisco 49ers picked Chris Culliver in the third round.

One note about the Steelers selection of Allen, who showed enough promise in his first three seasons to land a four-year, $24.6 million contract last September: Julius Thomas was taken with the pick right after Allen.

The Pro Bowl tight end caught 109 passes for 1,282 yards and 24 touchdowns for the Denver Broncos before signing a five-year, $46 million contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars earlier this month.
 
I don't remember Brown or anyone else pimping Sherman, Maxwell or Thomas for/to the Steelers in 2011. Maybe there was someone, but it sure wasn't Scott Brown. Always easier to make the call after you've seen how things play out.
 
Eh, something to write about, but who knows how they would have developed if they were with the Steelers.
 
Not hindsight on my part just reporting a read on how things have turned out to date. . Of course no one can know how these guys will turn out. What would be interesting is how the so called experts rated the Seahawks draft that year vs. ours. They probably had the Steelers with a higher grade.
 
Hindsight is 20/20... every draft is a massive failure when you see who you could have had 5 years down the road....
 
It could be worse

attachment.php
 

Attachments

  • Raiders Draft.jpg
    Raiders Draft.jpg
    19.6 KB · Views: 112
That's just depressing Tape. Could you imagine Rodgers with Fitz AND Megatron? Holy Crap!!!
 
SteelBuckeye said:
That's just depressing Tape. Could you imagine Rodgers with Fitz AND Megatron? Holy Crap!!!
Click to expand...



Seems to me the GREAT aron rodgers sat for three years, with tutalage from a HOFer. How would he have developed, on a lowly raiders squad???
...........Can also ask the question of tommy boy brady, how would his career panned out with out the Cheating??

Hindsight can't answer everything, but when wanting a favorable report, always use it!!! this writer did (OP article)


Salute the nation
 
Last edited:
Drink IRON City said:
Seems to me the GREAT aron rodgers sat for three years, with tutalage from a HOFer. How would he have developed, on a lowly raiders squad???
...........Can also ask the question of tommy boy brady, how would his career panned out with out the Cheating??

Hindsight can't answer everything, but when wanting a favorable report, always use it!!! this writer did (OP article)


Salute the nation
Click to expand...

Even a lesser developed Aaron Rodgers is better than anything the Raiders have had at QB since Gannon.
 
Something to consider with the Raiders had they first drafted Fitzgerald and then Rogers whose to say they don't have a better record and the draft order suddenly looks a whole lot different going forward starting in 2006. I would think drafting those two guys would have instantly changed the outcome for the Raiders. They've had no real QB since Kenny Stabler for God's sake. Just sayin'.
 
Last edited:
steelhurt said:
Something to consider with the Raiders had they first drafted Fitzgerald and then Rogers whose to say they don't have a better record and the draft order suddenly looks a whole lot different going forward starting in 2006. I would think drafting those two guys would have instantly changed the outcome for the Raiders. They've had no real QB since Kenny Stabler for God's sake. Just sayin'.
Click to expand...

Gannon won an MVP playing for the Raiders, jfyi
 
Nice post. Hind sight is very valuable for evaluating what you thought you saw vs what was there. One thing that might be valuable to teams would be to look at all of these very successful picks and see what things they had in common and what things they had that set them apart from the failures or the not so good picks. I suspect the guys that find something that they share and others do not might just be onto something that could improve the drafting success of teams. It might be something unique to each position. It might also be something all of these players have that none of the others selected do that is not a normally ranked quality.

I do not remember a long list of names but the history of the NFL is full of players that became stars that were unexpected to do so. It might be something to see if an individual could begin looking for the existence of a possible common denominator and if found maybe try and use it. I suspect it might be something that teams do not look at now.
 
Wingman said:
Nice post. Hind sight is very valuable for evaluating what you thought you saw vs what was there. One thing that might be valuable to teams would be to look at all of these very successful picks and see what things they had in common and what things they had that set them apart from the failures or the not so good picks. I suspect the guys that find something that they share and others do not might just be onto something that could improve the drafting success of teams. It might be something unique to each position. It might also be something all of these players have that none of the others selected do that is not a normally ranked quality.

I do not remember a long list of names but the history of the NFL is full of players that became stars that were unexpected to do so. It might be something to see if an individual could begin looking for the existence of a possible common denominator and if found maybe try and use it. I suspect it might be something that teams do not look at now.
Click to expand...

Dejan provided a blurb on his site about how the Steelers are just now (last year's draft ?) beginning to incorporate analytics/metrics into their draft strategy. I think it was in his "Tuesday 12 Questions" section. Apparently there was some resistance to this approach all around for a long time. In the past Tomlin has bristled at the idea and Colbert preferred the old fashioned "eye test". So, I guess we'll see if the incorporation of analytic data in the draft process helps to yield better results.
 
SteelBuckeye said:
Dejan provided a blurb on his site about how the Steelers are just now (last year's draft ?) beginning to incorporate analytics/metrics into their draft strategy. I think it was in his "Tuesday 12 Questions" section. Apparently there was some resistance to this approach all around for a long time. In the past Tomlin has bristled at the idea and Colbert preferred the old fashioned "eye test". So, I guess we'll see if the incorporation of analytic data in the draft process helps to yield better results.
Click to expand...

Sounds interesting who is the driving force behind it and who is the person on the team that is in favor of it? if you know or have opinions on those points.
 
Wingman said:
Sounds interesting who is the driving force behind it and who is the person on the team that is in favor of it? if you know or have opinions on those points.
Click to expand...

He didn't name names, just said he had a discussion with a "high ranking team official" and that Tomlin no longer "shoots lightning bolts out of his eyes" when the subject of analytics is brought up. At least in connection with the draft. I believe he also stated that they still don't use analytics in connection with evaluating potential FAs. That would go right along with Colbert's statement about not attending the vet combine because "we have tape on these guys and can see what they've done against" NFL competition.

Personally, I'd guess the movement would have had to have been spearheaded by someone younger in the FO. Who that is, I wouldn't hazard a guess, but I just don't see the old guard suddenly deciding to try something "new".
 
While hindsight probably makes every team look bad when looking back at past drafts, I can't say that any recent draft by Colbert has proven to be a good one. Hopefully, last year's will prove to be an exception but the 2010-2013 drafts didn't provide much.
 
SteelBuckeye said:
He didn't name names, just said he had a discussion with a "high ranking team official" and that Tomlin no longer "shoots lightning bolts out of his eyes" when the subject of analytics is brought up. At least in connection with the draft. I believe he also stated that they still don't use analytics in connection with evaluating potential FAs. That would go right along with Colbert's statement about not attending the vet combine because "we have tape on these guys and can see what they've done against" NFL competition.

Personally, I'd guess the movement would have had to have been spearheaded by someone younger in the FO. Who that is, I wouldn't hazard a guess, but I just don't see the old guard suddenly deciding to try something "new".
Click to expand...

I would look at their track record and say it is definitely time for something new
 
The Steelers real problem isn't the 2011 draft, but rather not many of our 5th and 6 round picks ever get much playing time.
We actually have done better in the 7th.
 
insaniti said:
Gannon won an MVP playing for the Raiders, jfyi
Click to expand...

Yes he did and Trent Dilfer was the QB with the Ravens when they won their first SB. Point being that Gannon had a couple nice seasons out there in Oakland he certainly won't go down as an icon in Raider lore. He had a pretty decent career but was pretty much a journeyman for most of it until Gruden took him under his wing.
 
SteelBuckeye said:
I don't remember Brown or anyone else pimping Sherman, Maxwell or Thomas for/to the Steelers in 2011. Maybe there was someone, but it sure wasn't Scott Brown. Always easier to make the call after you've seen how things play out.
Click to expand...

I was a huge Richard Sherman fan. With his length and speed I thought he'd be a nice CB to match up against the bigger receivers of the NFL. I also was a huge Stanley Jean-Baptiste fan last year for the same reason though he has not yet panned out.
 
What sucks is that Sherman went in the FIFTH round and we wasted two earlier round picks on scrubs. Could have had Sherman late in the 4th and other players with those other picks. This is a tough draft to review.
 
Sherman was not a top prospect. He split time between WR and CB at Stanford. Harbaugh himself passed on Sherman multiple times which tells you something about how he was viewed, a project player who had to be in the right scheme.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top