Overhaul Starts Tomorrow

[johngaenzler]

We need a lot and not sure how it will happen. At least half of this has to come in FA. Here’s how I see it. First and foremost, Matt Canada has to be dismissed.

Player Personnel:

1. QB
2. Center - lGreen moved to Guard
3 Tackle
4. ILB
5. CB
6. ILB
7. WR
8. RB - Super fast like Hardman or the guy who gashed us tonight.
9. S

 

[mdk2]

Nothing will change until the HC is changed.

 

[SteelerSask2]

You move forward in incremental gain. Start with Centre/nose and maybe ILB

 

[madinsomniac]

So here is the stuff that needs fixed in the off-season

1. The oline needs a stud player to anchor it… I really don’t care which position it is… you can build around any of them if you do it right… it also needs a great coach

2. I think the defensive backfield needs one fast coverage guy brought in…

3. People need to get the idea out of their head that we are going to bring in a traditional center or a runstopping ilb… unless Tomlin leaves of course… he prefers the small fast ilbs and centers

4. We need to get a special teams coordinator that can operate without a ton of specialists

5. The offense needs another top wr preferably faster than Claypool

6. The have to resolve what is happening with Tuitt… he is too talented to cut bait on if we don’t have to, but if he isn’t playing then they need to replace him appropriately

7 they need to purge the playbook of all of Fitchners plays and redo a lot of route trees

8. All the wrs need better fundamentals… either hilliard fixes it or gets replaced

9. They have to make a decision on Omar Kahn before he leaves for a GM position elsewhere

10. They have to make a decision about how the qb room is going to look next year… do they draft a guy, add a vet via trade or ufa, or stand pat

11. They need to take a look at their conditioning guy and their equipment guy… bpth have been here a while and frankly between the glut of pulled groins and all the cleat malfunctions this year, maybe its a place to adjust

12 decisions on both coordinators needs to be made… they probably won’t cut bait with canada after one season, and if they cut butler it’s probably just to promote austin, so it won’t be a real change

Our best hope to fix things is to get a high grade oline coach , which is probably more important than a OC in the grand scenario of things

 

[SteelerFan448]

Coaching Staff
-Matt Canada needs replaced and they need to do so with a real offense. There was a good article on various offensive schemes in the NFL and the Steelers need to decide on a direction (https://www.theringer.com/nfl-playo...anahan-kliff-kingsbury-bruce-arians-andy-reid). Drafting Harris last year, they fit into "The Throwbacks."
-Keith Butler is rumored to retire after the season. Don't settle on Austin as the replacement and hire from outside.
-Write a blank check for Munchak to come back as OL coach.

Quarterback
-Decide on what they want to do at QB for 2022. I don't think they'll make a big trade, so do you roll with Rudolph or make a play on UFA veteran? I take my chances on a guy like Trubisky, Winston, etc.
-Do we draft a QB early? I could see the Steelers taking a chance on a developmental guy like Willis but also go with a more experienced Howell.

Running Back
-Get a legitimate backup for Harris off the free agent market. They are a dime a dozen, find one.

Wide Receiver
-DJ and Claypool aren't going to cut it and there are too many holes to draft one early. I try to find a guy to round out the WR corps in free agency. I'd be happy if JuJu returned, I just don't see it making sense for him.

Offensive Line
-This was priority 1 last year and the Steelers went to the bargain bin to fix it. It was worse than 2020 and regressed throughout the year.
-Hire a good OL coach.
-The line needs at least two quality additions. RG and RT are open right out of the gate, but I wouldn't be upset if they replaced all five guys. My guess is Moore and Dotson will be at LT and LG to start the year.
-Move Green to the bench.

Defensive Line
-This one is tough because if Alualu and Tuitt actually return, you have a solid group when you factor in Heyward, Wormley, and Loudermilk. I probably try to make another veteran signing for depth.

Inside Linebacker
-Schobert makes a lot of money so they'll have to decide on him.
-I add another free agency (Anthony Walker Jr.) to the starting lineup.

Cornerback
-The front office botched this position last year with Hilton and Nelson. Just terribly mismanaged.
-They need to re-sign Witherspoon and add a free agent starter (maybe a guy like Donte Jackson) to replace Haden.

Safety
-You can't have Pro Bowlers at every position. I try to re-sign Edmunds to a fair deal and extend Fitzpatrick.

Priorities
1. Fix the offensive line by any means necessary. Sign a starter or two, including one stud. Draft a high-pedigree player in the first two rounds.
2. Sign a starting CB. It's a deep and talented CB draft, I just don't trust the team's evaluation and development process at the position.
3. Address the defensive line depth.
Wildcard: Quarterback, I have no idea what they plan here.

 

[diver]

Ben will be off the books. They have to take this time to fix some things and they can't do it all in the draft. They have to be willing to sign a few top tier FAs, which we all know goes against their grain. It'll be interesting for sure, I hope.

Or it could be crickets those first few days of FA. I get it about not spending money foolishly, but to just do what they have been doing and try to depend on the draft will not work anymore, IMO. Unless they get so bad for a few years they are drafting in the top 5-10.

 

[MTC]

So here is the stuff that needs fixed in the off-season

1. The oline needs a stud player to anchor it… I really don’t care which position it is… you can build around any of them if you do it right… it also needs a great coach

2. I think the defensive backfield needs one fast coverage guy brought in…

3. People need to get the idea out of their head that we are going to bring in a traditional center or a runstopping ilb… unless Tomlin leaves of course… he prefers the small fast ilbs and centers

4. We need to get a special teams coordinator that can operate without a ton of specialists

5. The offense needs another top wr preferably faster than Claypool

6. The have to resolve what is happening with Tuitt… he is too talented to cut bait on if we don’t have to, but if he isn’t playing then they need to replace him appropriately

7 they need to purge the playbook of all of Fitchners plays and redo a lot of route trees

8. All the wrs need better fundamentals… either hilliard fixes it or gets replaced

9. They have to make a decision on Omar Kahn before he leaves for a GM position elsewhere

10. They have to make a decision about how the qb room is going to look next year… do they draft a guy, add a vet via trade or ufa, or stand pat

11. They need to take a look at their conditioning guy and their equipment guy… bpth have been here a while and frankly between the glut of pulled groins and all the cleat malfunctions this year, maybe its a place to adjust

12 decisions on both coordinators needs to be made… they probably won’t cut bait with canada after one season, and if they cut butler it’s probably just to promote austin, so it won’t be a real change

Our best hope to fix things is to get a high grade oline coach , which is probably more important than a OC in the grand scenario of things

Steelers gotta lot of work to do. I don’t think one offseason is going to fix it

 

[black and gold apex]

Tomlin will not change a thing, he will not admit the players he has brought in are not very good.. The line would not make the practice squad of many teams. He will not hire coaches that have a past and know how to improve players because he will not allow the light to shine anywhere else. He could throw his sideline garb in the trash can and actually act as if he knows what is going on.

 

[steel dino]

Good summary 448...

This may sound crazy but this team has bigger needs than QB...
Mason gets his shot...re-build from the middle out..

 

[SteelerFan448]

Top free agent offensive linemen:

-Terron Armstead, LT
-Duane Brown, LT
-Eric Fisher, LT
-Orlando Brown, Jr., OT
-Riley Reiff, OT
-Trent Brown, RT
-Morgan Moses, RT
-Laken Tomlinson, LG
-Connor Williams, LG
-Andrew Norwell, LG
-Brandon Scheff, RG
-James Daniels, RG
-Austin Corbett, RG
-Alex Cappa, RG
-Ryan Jensen, C
-Ben Jones, C
-Brian Allen, C

 

[SteelerFan448]

Good summary 448...

This may sound crazy but this team has bigger needs than QB...
Mason gets his shot...re-build from the middle out..

This team has a lot of needs, but QB is by far the biggest.

 

[SteelerInLebanon]

Nothing will change until the HC is changed.

 

[str8liner]

This team has a lot of needs, but QB is by far the biggest.

And with what its going to take to fix the line, they need one with mobility.

That means we will get a statue who has to have both feet firmly planted on mother earth to complete a pass most likely.

 

[MT~Forged]

This team has a lot of needs, but QB is by far the biggest.

No, it isn’t. Until the line is fixed, it doesn’t really matter who plays QB. With the money available, the team needs improvement first. Next year you can play ”Cap Number” gymnastics on a QB if truly needed. Until Rudy gets a complete off season devoted to him, I don’t cut and run. Ben has been the focus, and Rudy is not a Ben type QB.

 

[SteelerFan448]

And with what its going to take to fix the line, they need one with mobility.

That means we will get a statue who has to have both feet firmly planted on mother earth to complete a pass most likely.

Tomlin has all but said he wants a QB with mobility, which basically eliminates Carson Strong.

 

[SteelerFan448]

No, it isn’t. Until the line is fixed, it doesn’t really matter who plays QB. With the money available, the team needs improvement first. Next year you can play ”Cap Number” gymnastics on a QB if truly needed. Until Rudy gets a complete off season devoted to him, I don’t cut and run. Ben has been the focus, and Rudy is not a Ben type QB.

Every NFL team would take a QB over the OL. Roethlisberger won a Super Bowl with a garbage offensive line. The Chiefs made it to the Super Bowl with a bad offensive line. Get your QB and you can fix the OL after that. If the right QB isn't available, build the OL first.

 

[MT~Forged]

Every NFL team would take a QB over the OL. Roethlisberger won a Super Bowl with a garbage offensive line. The Chiefs made it to the Super Bowl with a bad offensive line. Get your QB and you can fix the OL after that. If the right QB isn't available, build the OL first.

As a business owner myself, I have to disagree with your approach. I get your thinking, it is just not the direction I would take. I have found that without infrastructure you can not succeed long term. Everyone has different approaches.

 

[SteelerFan448]

As a business owner myself, I have to disagree with your approach. I get your thinking, it is just not the direction I would take. I have found that without infrastructure you can not succeed long term. Everyone has different approaches.

I can see that and I think the Steelers could've been a year ahead in that process if they actually addressed the offensive line in a real way last year, but they didn't. I just will never pass on getting a Roethlisberger, Mahomes, Allen, etc. if I think he is available to build the offensive line. If you don't think that type of player is there you don't force a QB.

 

[thesteelcity]

Do what you need to do to draft Linderbaum, sign Trubisky and they can start building the biggest holes through FA and the draft. They have cap space to start plugging some of their bigger needs.

 

[bkwheat28]

Every NFL team would take a QB over the OL. Roethlisberger won a Super Bowl with a garbage offensive line. The Chiefs made it to the Super Bowl with a bad offensive line. Get your QB and you can fix the OL after that. If the right QB isn't available, build the OL first.

Interesting dilemma. Kind of like picking Harris last year. If the guy you like is there at the value/round do you just pull the trigger? Gonna be interesting. Even more so with Colbert on way out. Personally with us extending Mason I fully expect him to be first option next year. The other thing though is we have more cap than possibly ever, so how do we handle that?

 

[SCSteeler4life]

Every NFL team would take a QB over the OL. Roethlisberger won a Super Bowl with a garbage offensive line. The Chiefs made it to the Super Bowl with a bad offensive line. Get your QB and you can fix the OL after that. If the right QB isn't available, build the OL first.

The Chiefs have Patrick Mahomes a league MVP. No QBs in this draft are in his league. Next 2 years QBs look better. I agree with fixing the line first. If there were QBs with Mahomes talent I would take him but this is a weak draft for QBs in my opinion.

 

[MT~Forged]

I can see that and I think the Steelers could've been a year ahead in that process if they actually addressed the offensive line in a real way last year, but they didn't. I just will never pass on getting a Roethlisberger, Mahomes, Allen, etc. if I think he is available to build the offensive line. If you don't think that type of player is there you don't force a QB.

But by your own admission, that QB is not there in this year’s draft.

 

[livingthrudying]

Tomlin will not change a thing, he will not admit the players he has brought in are not very good.. The line would not make the practice squad of many teams. He will not hire coaches that have a past and know how to improve players because he will not allow the light to shine anywhere else. He could throw his sideline garb in the trash can and actually act as if he knows what is going on.

While i am not the biggest fan of Tomlin i am not 100% sure the hiring of the coaching staff always being cheap and from within is his issue. I honestly think some or most of this is coming from above him. I think he has been limited in hiring. I could be wrong but judging from how some of the hirings and firings (retirements) and knowing what little we do know about how the front office works i just dont think tomlin has ever been truly allowed to hire his own staff as much as other coaches are allowed to.

 

[SteelerFan448]

But by your own admission, that QB is not there in this year’s draft.

I don't know if that guy is in the draft and I am not GM of the Steelers.

 

[TDX27]

How anyone can't have DL at the top of our list is absurd. We have some young guys on OL that will improve. We need a starter in FA and a draft choice starter in Rd. 2. Alualu will be back at some point but is getting up there and may only have a year or two left. Heyward may only have a couple years left. Tuitt is gone in my mind. We need multiple starting DL to start next season. We need a legit monster in the middle that can play most downs and occupy double teams (have been saying this since Big Snack left) We haven't addressed the D-line since Tuitt's 3rd round pick in 2014. That is ridiculous and it showed by us getting gashed for 200+ yards on the ground. Same as OL, we need a FA starter on DL. We need a 1st round talent DL. We then need to double dip on at least one, if not both of the DL and OL in the draft. All the other pieces are secondary. We saw what happens this year when our OL sucks and when our DL sucks - nothing else works and our coaches have no clue what to do. They just throw "the next man up" in there and hope he can swim. Our top needs are DL, OL, ILB (will need at least one and maybe 2 before the end of 2022 if not sooner), WR (we have no legit No. 1 and still need someone to truly step up to be No. 2), OLB depth, CB (have a lot of young guys but need a starter in FA to bolster the unit with Hayden leaving. Witherspoon must be signed), S (need depth although Killebrew should get a shot. The dude is a special teams freak and can't be any worse than Edmunds has been). Oh, and we also need a legit backup RB to Najee. Snell and Ballage tried to make an impression yesterday but did nothing all year long and McFarland is done. He has shown nothing. We need a complimentary speed guy back there and another bruiser that can gain a yard when needed.