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LOL, anyone listening to the fan, Kordell apologists will like this.

Coryea

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Andrew Filliponi on the fan just said that Kordell played like an upper echelon QB 4 or 5 seasons here, WTF was that dude watching?
Not sure why they were talking about this, missed the beginning of the segment, but it was a good laugh.
 

ark steel

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I think it was Chan Gailey that got the overall best results from Kordell. Was it him or someone else?
 
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Ha! Maybe he was top 10 for 2 seasons. His first year as a starter and I think 2001 or so he was in the pro bowl. I think his first year as a starter Chan was the coordinator. I think 2001 might have been Mularkey?
 

SteelerAl

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I believe he had a good year for an inexperienced QB getting his first extended playing time in 1997 under Chan Gailey but then Gailey took the HC job with the Cowboys and Kordell entered into the 1998-1999 stinkfest. We brought in Kent Graham in 2000 and had a ****** start to the season but then Kordell took over and did a decent job getting us to 9-7 (but missed the playoffs for the 3rd straight season). He was steady but certainly not spectacular. He best season came in 2001, we went 13-3 and he went to the Pro Bowl. But then he followed up that good season by being absolutely terrible to start the 2002 season and we moved on to Touchdown Tommy.

That's the whole story right there. I'd say two strong seasons (1997*, 2001), one decent season (2000) and a couple bad ones (1998-1999) [so bad we brought in Kent Graham]. It's also strange that he followed up his best season as a mature QB (2001) by absolutely ******** the bed to start the 2002 season...that is the year we started 0-2 when the Patriots and Raiders spread our defense out and threw the ball on every play.

* 1997 was strong in the context that it was he first season as a starter
 
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ark steel

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Ha! Maybe he was top 10 for 2 seasons. His first year as a starter and I think 2001 or so he was in the pro bowl. I think his first year as a starter Chan was the coordinator. I think 2001 might have been Mularkey?

I think, also, it was his first year after having been a WR and, presumably, still had those teachings fresh in his mind and, maybe, was still attending those meetings. I'd imagine that was a pretty good help in communication with the WR. In addition, I think Chan (or whoever it was that got the overall best from him) played to his strengths rather than trying to force an Offense onto him.

All that could just be faded memories, though.
 
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Kordell had a couple of good years, but his skills as a passer were never really up to par.

Now.

SOME of that can be attributed to Ray Shermsmoker and Kevin Killdrive. They were HORRIBLE coordinators.

SOME of his regression can be traced to having Troy Edwards and Courtney Hawkins as his starting WRs.

But the team around him improved and he didn't. Ultimately he never learned how to hit what he was shooting at, for whatever reason.
 

SteelerAl

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I think, also, it was his first year after having been a WR and, presumably, still had those teachings fresh in his mind and, maybe, was still attending those meetings. I'd imagine that was a pretty good help in communication with the WR. In addition, I think Chan (or whoever it was that got the overall best from him) played to his strengths rather than trying to force an Offense onto him.

All that could just be faded memories, though.

Chan Gailey is an under-rated offensive coach. Of course he sucked as a head coach and it's difficult to win in Dallas with GM Jerry Jones handing you dogshit for talent and also undermining you. Gailey did a nice job as the OC for the Jets this year. He was also Cowher's choice to be his replacement here.
 

strat68

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He was OK until they tried to make him a pocket passer. His threat as a runner made him dangerous.
 

Stainless

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Kordell was the ****, and so is the authentic Kordell jersey that I bought.
 

LeXX75

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SteelerAl

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He was OK until they tried to make him a pocket passer. His threat as a runner made him dangerous.

We got screwed because the Cowboys hired Gailey. It happened very late which meant all the decent offensive coordinators had already found a home. We got stuck with Ray Sherman who was incompetent. Cowher took away play-calling duties from Sherman before his first season was over and then canned him. Kevin Gilbride wasn't a good fit for Kordell at all --- his system is 100% geared to a pocket passer.

I'd say we had ****** luck in losing Gailey when we did and then made a big mistake (fit-wise) in hiring Gilbride. Mularkey is the guy who got Kordell back on track in 2001.
 

Troglodyte

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Did the other commentators rip into him?

I once heard the guys on the DVE morning show agree that the trade that sent the No. 1 pick to Atlanta (Michael Vick) and netted San Diego with Drew Brees AND LaDanien Tomlinson was a "draw".

WTF?
 

AggieSteel

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He played like one of the best QBs in the league in 2001. I don't remember him ever being as good as he was that year, but I remember we had something like a top 2-3 offense and defense in the league and then got cheated out of the big game
 

steelcan58

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I always thought he should have remained a WR. Probably one of the best athletes we ever had. Frustrating as hell as QB. Wildly inconsistent to say the least. And he didn't have the capacity to quickly shake off his mistakes.
 

Coach

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Andrew Filliponi on the fan just said that Kordell played like an upper echelon QB 4 or 5 seasons here, WTF was that dude watching?
Not sure why they were talking about this, missed the beginning of the segment, but it was a good laugh.

Really? Andrew Filliponi should get himself check out quickly.
 

Shane Falco

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We got screwed because the Cowboys hired Gailey. It happened very late which meant all the decent offensive coordinators had already found a home. We got stuck with Ray Sherman who was incompetent. Cowher took away play-calling duties from Sherman before his first season was over and then canned him. Kevin Gilbride wasn't a good fit for Kordell at all --- his system is 100% geared to a pocket passer.

I'd say we had ****** luck in losing Gailey when we did and then made a big mistake (fit-wise) in hiring Gilbride. Mularkey is the guy who got Kordell back on track in 2001.

They were both wise to play to Stewart's strengths. Cowher did his part in screwing the kid up to.
 

wig

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Enter Wig. (Vader waits in the wings with a big hammer.)

Kordell Stewart was among the most gifted athletes to ever play football. Not that he was physically more talented than others specifically. There was a long history of players who had played iron man football or who had played a couple positions, but Stewart did something really unique. He played Slash. And more importantly, he did it well. He was a gifted runner, a talented receiver, and an adequate passer. When lined up in a formation that disguised him in such a way that he could do any one of the three things, it was extremely difficult for defenses to know what to do. Even when he was limited to either passing or running he was hard to contain. As a receiver he was still completely capable, and the Steelers used him in ways that allowed him to potentially catch screens and throw from behind the line.

Before he converted to a quarterback, Stewart was one of the most difficult players for defensive coordinators to plan for. He was to defensive coordinators what Troy Polomalu would later become for OCs. I once read an article about Stewart written at the height of his popularity just as he became the starting full-time quarterback of the Steelers in 97. It was unsurprisingly a fluff piece talking about all the things Steward did that caused headaches and had been compiled by talking to offensive and defensive coords around the league. Interestingly, the consensus among those coordinators was that Stewart was an exceptional athlete and he was good in any of the skill positions, but if he had a weakness in any of them, ironically it was at the Quarterback position.

Obviously we all know how it unfolded. Clearly Stewart wasn't able to read defenses well enough to excel at QB. Pete Carrol learned at the end of 97 during the playoffs how to beat Stewart. Basically you spy him with your most athletic linebacker and dare him to beat you throwing. (Carrol and his Patriots didn't beat the Steelers in that Wildcard game, but they played them to a 6-7 loss. and held the high-scoring and record-breaking Stewart to a season low in rushing and passing yards.) As it turns out, once Stewart begins to run, that's it. Unlike McNair or McNabb, he lacked the ability or forethought to make a throw after he began to scramble. So once Stewart broke from the pocket it was safe for the most part to abandon coverage and converge on him. That took away any advantage of his running ability and clearly his passing ability was never top shelf anyway. Between complicated defensive schemes that he couldn't quite read and the linebacker to keep him from scrambling, Stewart was a one or two read QB at best. If a receiver couldn't get open quickly, Stewart wasn't going to excel.

Now with a guy like Brown, who could run precise routes and get separation - Stewart may have been able to put up some good numbers, but he still would never have been able to be a top tier QB. Had Stewart remained "Slash" he likely would have gone down as one of the most loved Steelers of all time, rivaling Hines Ward. Ironically, his choice to convert to QB likely cost him fame and probably even some money over the long run. It may have even cost the team a championship or two.

At the end of the day, he simply wasn't meant to be a pure QB. He was supposed to be Slash.
 
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slashsteel

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easy on Kordell


he was pro bowl caliber at the


"slash"

position


hi
 

21STEELERS21

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Yancey Thigpen got the best results from Kordell. I think he was only here for 1 of Kordell's QB years, but
those two did have some chemistry together. I always thought that if the Steelers had resigned Thigpen,
Kordell would have had a better QB career.
 

wig

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People work hard to forget that before Maddox and Ben came along Stewart held team records for season completion percentage and I believe ironically he still holds the record for the longest completion. (Course it was all RAC and to Bobby Shaw of all people...)

Stewart was an odd duck. I suppose that makes sense. He threw enough of them. It's really too bad. A couple contracts of Slash with Hines and a good solid speed receiver on the outside. That would have been something. 3rd downs would have been a BLAST! Bettis, Ward, Stewart, Burress (with stickum)...
 

SteelerSask2

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Slash is the same story that has played out many times in the NFL. The quarterback is not an athletic first position. As these players develop they put skills in their tool kit so to speak. If they spend too much time with the run and then gun, they don't really get the footwork and balance to be the very accurate passer you have to be in this league. Furthermore, they don't learn to read defense which is just as important. Instead they break down a defense with their athleticism. Once you get a few years of film you start to learn the guys go to escape. The defensive ends and outside linebackers are equally good athletes, and it is over.
 

Stainless

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did you change the name on back to Bryant...yet

I have not. Kordell was really good, for a little while. For a year or two, he was the player to have in our fantasy football league.
 
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