***OFFICIAL Steelers 2008 Offseason Thread*** (1 Viewer)

[CrossEyed]

Lots of emotion after a loss like last night, but an objective look is in order.

I think the Steelers were an average team that took advantage of a really weak early schedule. A good team gets stronger as the season goes on, but the Steelers did the opposite, especially on defense. Over the past 6 games, the defense really collapsed. They allowed an average of 28 points over that span. You can't win football games giving up 28 points. Their biggest problem was that they didn't pressure the QB enough. Woodley and Timmons need to make big strides before next season and become the pass rushers they were drafted to be. Getting Aaron Smith back will help. A healthy Troy will make a big difference too. Some offseason help here is needed, but isn't the highest priority. Another good db would help, along with some depth at d-line.

On offense, the Steelers have the skill position players in place to be a great offense. Roethlisberger, Parker, Holmes, Ward, Miller, etc., are good enough to get the job done. But if they don't make significant progress on the o-line it won't matter. Mahan has to go. I know we've been spoiled at center. I've watched Webster, Dawson and Hartings anchor the Steelers o-line over the past 33 years, and you won't always have a center of that quality. But they need someone better, and they need him now. Because without Faneca next to him next year, Mahan will look even worse. Their first 2 or 3 draft picks in April need to be o-linemen.

Special teams were a complete embarrassment. Both coaches should be gone. The scary part is how much Tomlin stressed special teams from day one. What would they have looked like if they didn't work on them every day? They need to find a return man. Rossum looked good early, but overall he really didn't impress me. Willie Reid should be cut.

Tomlin performed about how you would expect a rookie head coach to perform. He had his good days and his bad days. Overall I'm still impressed. But he needed to have a veteran offensive coordinator next to him. That was painfully clear with 3 minutes to go in the playoff game. Brutal play calling there. Not sure if I'd bring Arians back. But maybe you give him another shot. Lebeau can stay as long as he likes. He's earned that, and continues to do a fine job.

Disappointing end to the season, but 20 other teams were home watching the playoffs, so I can't be too upset.

And hey, the Pens have won 15 of their past 20.

 

[ceisenhower66]

I agree with almost everything you said. On offense, the O-line needs major work. On defense, they need to rediscover how to pass rush. The special teams are a mess. It's going to be an interesting offseason. And looking at the schedule for next season, I think it will be two years before the Steelers make the playoffs again.

Unfortunately, I'm a little too burned out to add anything else right now.

 

[Sheriff66]

 

[Sheriff66]

Big Ben says first year under Tomlin proof NFL offensive trends aren't passing Steelers by

Thursday, January 17, 2008

By Ed Bouchette, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Ben Roethlisberger likely would be on a beach somewhere by now with the Steelers' season ended. Instead, he continues to work out at their UPMC facility on the South Side.

That's what happens when you still have to play one more football game.

Roethlisberger continues to prepare for his first Pro Bowl, which will be played Feb. 10 in Honolulu. He has recovered from the arm soreness and sprained ankle that bothered him late in the season.

"I feel great, which is awesome, as good as I've ever felt," Roethlisberger said.

He said he hopes 2007 turns out to be a defining season in his career and that of his offense.

"This year was a solid year for us offensively -- not great, not bad, solid. It was kind of a turning point for us."

Roethlisberger finished second to Tom Brady in the NFL with a 104.1 passer rating and his 32 touchdown passes set a team record after his miserable 2006 marred by various physical ailments. His interceptions dropped from 23 in '06 to 11 last season.

The Steelers, under new coach Mike Tomlin and coordinator Bruce Arians, deployed a more wide-open passing game in 2007 and put more responsibility on Roethlisberger to call protections and to help devise the game plan.

"We're kind of keeping up with the league," Roethlisberger said. "The league is always evolving and offenses are always changing. Right now the offenses around the league -- in terms of who wins -- are pass-dominant offenses. We have started to turn that corner a little bit.

"I'm not saying that we're going to throw the ball 80 times a game, but we have turned that corner in terms of keeping up with the league."

One area of the passing game that did not improve was Roethlisberger's protection. He was sacked 47 times, one more than in 2006 and the second most in team history. The quarterback absolved his offensive line for some of that and blamed himself in part.

"You have to look at it in perspective. You have to look at it as there are times I'm holding the ball too long because I'm trying to make plays. Sometimes when I can throw it away, I'm going to try to prolong a play. Coach Tomlin and I had that talk in that [end of the season] meeting -- you have to live with those sacks sometimes because sometimes I'm going to double pump.

"The sack total to me is skewed. If I threw it away or get it out of my hands right away like I should, then the sack number drops.

"I'm trying to make plays and we live by that sword and we die by it as well. We may lose 10 yards but we might get how many touchdowns by it as well."

The Steelers used the no-huddle more often in 2007, and Roethlisberger sees them doing so more frequently, perhaps even becoming a signature of their offense.

"That's only going to get better. We started doing it more in the second half of the year when we realized we had to. And we realized that's kind of our identity.

"I had that talk with Bruce and Mike a lot, that our identity is kind of going toward this no-huddle -- not super fast, but speed it up a little bit. Throw the ball, mix your runs in because Willie [Parker] is a great sprint-draw guy, a screen guy; hit him real quick and use draws and stuff.

"We realize that's probably the way we're going to go and I don't mind that. I think we have the explosiveness for it and I think we have the personnel for it."

Roethlisberger believes Tomlin, 35, had a good start to his coaching career with the Steelers after replacing Bill Cowher, who resigned after 15 seasons on the job.

"He let his coordinators coordinate, and he got a lot of respect from the guys for that. Nothing against Bill, but it's nice when your coordinator's telling you he's not scared about the ramifications of a coach yelling at him.

"I think he did good. He had to walk a fine line, being a younger guy and trying to be friends but not be friends, trying to be strict but not too strict. He had to walk a fine line his first year. I think it's only going to improve and the relationships he's going to have and the respect guys are going to have will get better. He's going to learn from everything too, just like we do."

 

[Sheriff66]

Steelers Notebook: Colbert -- 2007 season a first step for Tomlin

Saturday, January 19, 2008

By Ed Bouchette, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Mike Tomlin received another thumbs-up for his first year on the job as Steelers coach. Not two thumbs-up, though.

Kevin Colbert, the team's director of football operations, felt 2007 was a good first step for Tomlin and that the organization was positive about it -- to a point.

"We are what we are," Colbert said. "We're a 10-6 team, there's no hiding that. It's all well and good but it's not good enough. This season, we knew it was going to be a new season for everybody. I guess you could say that it was a season of transition. We went from a very successful head coach to a brand new head coach and we still have a lot of players left over."

Having those players left over from their 2005 Super Bowl championship, however, should not hypnotize people into thinking they can live in the past.

"We're not the team of 2005," Colbert cautioned. "We're two years removed from that now. We're new, we're different, we have to keep getting new and keep getting better.

"We had to go through a whole year -- me personally, I'm learning Mike and Mike's learning what we do. And every day, every event was something new. Now we've come to an end of that. We will have completed that whole cycle. We've gone through free agency, we've gone through draft preparation, [spring practices], minicamps.

"Now we see where we are. We're not happy where we are, let's take the next step.''

Stepping ... backward?

Last year, Colbert said one area the Steelers needed to improve over 2006 was their pass rush, noting it was a personnel issue and had nothing to do with the defensive scheme.

The Steelers had 39 sacks in 2006. After a fast start, that number dwindled to 36 in 2007. They went backward, not forward.

"Being that we did not improve, that's unsatisfactory," Colbert said. "I always said that it was a personnel issue. I said we're not happy with our pass rush and that to me is a personnel issue."

Fewer sacks on defense and more on offense is not a good combination -- Ben Roethlisberger was sacked 47 times, one more than in 2006 and the second most of a Steelers quarterback.

Big Ben makes picks

Roethlisberger broke no new ground when he predicted Tom Brady and the New England Patriots will win another Super Bowl. But his heart lies with Brett Favre.

"There's a difference between who I like and who I want to win," Roethlisberger said. "I want Brett Favre to win it all, that would be the ultimate. I'd imagine 90 percent of the population has to."

Roethlisberger picked Favre's Green Bay Packers, coached by Greenfield native Mike McCarthy, to beat the New York Giants in tomorrow's NFC championship game, and the Patriots to beat the San Diego Chargers in tomorrow's AFC championship game and then win the Super Bowl.

The Steelers quarterback did not meet Favre until the Steelers played a preseason game against Green Bay in Heinz Field last summer.

"I asked him on the field if I could get an autograph," Roethlisberger said. "He said if I sent him a jersey, he'll sign it for me."

The jersey will soon be on its way, and so, too, are the New England Patriots, Roethlisberger said.

"When you watch the Patriots, you don't ever see them play a bad game," Roethlisberger said. "You don't see a weakness. If the do play bad for a quarter, they step it up for the rest of the game."

Parker starts rehab

Willie Parker returned to Pittsburgh last week to begin rehabilitation after breaking his right fibula Dec. 20 at St. Louis.

Colbert said Parker should be as good as new before too long.

"That injury will heal. It's not the weight-bearing bone," Colbert said. "All indications are that he should be fine. Had he done that early in the season, we would not have put him on injured reserve because he could have, at some point, come back."

Colbert compared Parker's injury to San Diego fullback Lorenzo Neal's fractured fibula, which was broken Dec. 9. Neal is expected to play in tomorrow's AFC championship game.

 

[CrossEyed]

I think we need to merge to 2 Steeler offseason threads.

Mods, a little help here?

 

[Evilgrin 72]

Mods, can you merge this thread into this ***OFFICIAL*** one?

 

[Bill Young]

My first post in QUITE A LONG TIME!!!

I fear that the Steelers long run of excellence may be coming to an end. I hope that isn't the case. The reason I feel this way is the personnel decisions appear to be not as good as in previous years (despite the picks of people like Jermain Stephens, Ricardo Colclough, and Scott Shields). And if that remains the case...

The imminent loss of Alan Faneca will further weaken what already was the weakest point on the offense. I agree that Sean Mahan is at best a stop-gap player at center. We can only hope that help for the o-line comes from the draft, with at least 1 if not 2 early picks to help address the issues at left guard and center.

I think the next alarming position that needs addressed is free safety. Yes, Troy Polamalu and his backup Tyrone Carter are just fine at strong safety, thank you. But Anthony Smith has the looks of another high draft pick bust at safety. I didn't like the looks of the pre-draft analysis on him, and it appears to be correct: he'll hit you, but can he cover?!?! Ryan Clark is OK, but he isn't as good as Chris Hope was, and an upgrade via another high draft pick looks to be needed.

So, if the top 3 draft picks (C, G, S; not necessarily in that order) are already taken, what other help could we use?

The eventual replacement for James Farrior would be nice. The eventual replacement for Deshea Townsend would be nice. Not that I think that Bryant McFadden won't be fine there, but another backup corner would be nice. These acquisitions could also go toward strengthening the special teams while they learn their positions.

As far as the return game goes, I like the pick up of Jeremy Bloom to fill the roles that Allen Rossum and Willie Reid have manned. I hope that can work out.

Otherwise, I don't think the Steelers are that far away from maintaining their status as one of the stronger teams in the league. But only if the personnel issues are corrected.