Even more football stuff

[homesystem]

Looks like this douche is staying in our division..

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/thehuddle/post/2010/02/donte-stallworth-to-land-with-ravens/1

Nice to see Baltimore's continuing their trend of hiring criminals.. maybe ol' Stabby can help him find God.

[$1.50]

So the Ravens got Stallworth and the Bengals signed Matt Jones, now we just need to wait and see what bargain basement ex-criminal the Browns go after.

[Tank Decker]

So the Ravens got Stallworth and the Bengals signed Matt Jones, now we just need to wait and see what bargain basement ex-criminal the Browns go after.

last week on Sportscenter they said that the Bengals were looking at PacMan Jones

[homesystem]

Jesus- what the hell is the problem with the rest of the AFC North?

[Nye]

They need to hire thugs and rapists and anti-semites to try and intimidate us, but they forget that our team is from Satansburgh.

[Tha_Professa]

.... and it's a Great Day in Satansburgh!

[homesystem]

It'd be a better day of Satansburgh hadn't frozen over... like hell.

[Jeebas]

http://www.behindthesteelcurtain.com/2010/2/17/1311776/the-2010-old-school-steelers

Interesting look at "what if" the Steelers could only have 11 people on their roster

[Nye]

Looks like we're keeping El Snackerino and Skippy.

[Tha_Professa]

Yup.

Hopefully this will be an enjoyable season of football watching (Especially considering the very real possibility there won't be any in 2011.)

[Jeebas]

The good news is they made the a deal with Hampton and didn't tag him, so there won't be any of this "they tagged me, I'm gonna hold out from training camp BS" that it was seeming like he was gonna pull. And they tagged Reed instead, which is good because he turned down a gracious offer at the end of camp last preseason, and was probably expecting a sweet deal after Sebastian Janikowski got that monster of one from the Raiders and now he isn't guaranteed to get that, at least not this year.

[pnickers]

Also, Reed was questionable at times this year, on and off the field.  If he has a good season and can stay out of the news, he will have a chance at a better contract when it comes up next season. 

[$1.50]

The good news is they made the a deal with Hampton and didn't tag him, so there won't be any of this "they tagged me, I'm gonna hold out from training camp BS" that it was seeming like he was gonna pull.

Now you just have to worry about the fact that 1 year of his 3 year deal will likely be spent doing nothing. They will still have to address NT in this year's draft, so by 2012 Big Snack may not even be the starter or with the team.

It will be interesting to see how this deal is structured.

[homesystem]

The good news is they made the a deal with Hampton and didn't tag him, so there won't be any of this "they tagged me, I'm gonna hold out from training camp BS" that it was seeming like he was gonna pull. And they tagged Reed instead, which is good because he turned down a gracious offer at the end of camp last preseason, and was probably expecting a sweet deal after Sebastian Janikowski got that monster of one from the Raiders and now he isn't guaranteed to get that, at least not this year.

I think that it'd be a little crazy for anyone to expect the Steelers to do anything because the Raiders did it.. but I suppose this is Jeff Reed we're talking about.

[Jeebas]

The good news is they made the a deal with Hampton and didn't tag him, so there won't be any of this "they tagged me, I'm gonna hold out from training camp BS" that it was seeming like he was gonna pull. And they tagged Reed instead, which is good because he turned down a gracious offer at the end of camp last preseason, and was probably expecting a sweet deal after Sebastian Janikowski got that monster of one from the Raiders and now he isn't guaranteed to get that, at least not this year.

I think that it'd be a little crazy for anyone to expect the Steelers to do anything because the Raiders did it.. but I suppose this is Jeff Reed we're talking about.

I said it before, aside from missing those clutch kicks in two games and miffing on tackles on special teams, Reed had a statistically sound year - he was 27 of 31 with an 87% completion rate. Of those 4 misses, 2 were 50+ yards (0 of 2), 1 was 40-49 (4 of 5) and 1 was 30-39 (15 of 16). Also, 50% of the time he is kicking at Heinz Field which is notoriously tough to kick accurately at. His off-field issues are embarrassing though annoying at best. In the end, he's a great kicker, but I'm glad he got tagged instead of the Steelers having to work out a crazy long term contract with him (I only mention Janikowski because when he got his contract, Reed's agent said they would be shooting for around the same figures)

[newefezziwig]

Yup.

Hopefully this will be an enjoyable season of football watching (Especially considering the very real possibility there won't be any in 2011.)

?

[Tha_Professa]

If a new CBA can't be reached by then, there is a good chance there will be a lockout.

[$1.50]

Which means rather than paying Big Snack 7 million to play this year and then go, they're paying him at least 11 million to play this year, sit around for a year and then maybe play in 2012 when he's 35.

And before anyone says that there might not be a lockout, Charlie Batch said it's gonna happen. You have to believe Charlie Batch!

[Tank Decker]

Which means rather than paying Big Snack 7 million to play this year and then go, they're paying him at least 11 million to play this year, sit around for a year and then maybe play in 2012 when he's 35.

And before anyone says that there might not be a lockout, Charlie Batch said it's gonna happen. You have to believe Charlie Batch!

I just couldn't see the Steelers agreeing to something like that... Is it possible that they agreed to pay him in 2011 only IF there is a season? Otherwise, they are facing the very real possibility of him showing up to 2012 camp in Refrigerator Perry-like form

[Tha_Professa]

I'm not sure how that works with the players.
I have read that the various networks will still pay the NFL over a billion (combined) dollars to NOT show football if there is a lockout.

[$1.50]

I don't think that they have to pay him the non-guaranteed part of his deal for 2011 if there is no football. He still has 11 million guaranteed on his contract though, so they have to pay him that no matter what.

[Tank Decker]

I don't think that they have to pay him the non-guaranteed part of his deal for 2011 if there is no football. He still has 11 million guaranteed on his contract though, so they have to pay him that no matter what.

huh, so I take that as a $4 million bet that there will be football in 2011. Not a bad move, could pay off. Either way, I think he's gone after that season.

I also don't see them developing a NT as I believe that they will be going to a 4-3 eventually.

[$1.50]

I also don't see them developing a NT as I believe that they will be going to a 4-3 eventually.

We've still got at least another 4 or more seasons in a 3-4 before they could make that switch. Timmons and Hood are the only young players in the front 7 that I could really see working in a 4-3.

Draft a nose tackle to play in a 3-4 this year and worse comes to worse you let him go when his rookie contract is up.

[$1.50]

Although Colbert has been saying that this draft is really deep in D-linemen. So let's see what type he drafts.

Also, the linebacker coach turned down a D Coordinator job this off-season because the expectation is there that he will replace LeBeau. I'm willing to bet that he would also run a 3-4.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10015/1028525-100.stm

[Bull]

a good 3-4 nose tackle are rare.

Which is probably why they are keeping Hampton. It's a big position to fill. Literally.

[Tank Decker]

According to this SI mock draft, some dude named Pouncey might pique the Steelers' interest. Wonder how that is pronounced...


http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/don_banks/02/25/mock-draft-2/index.html

[homesystem]

I'm sure we'll here them pronounce it come draft time.

[Jeebas]

Why would they switch to a 4-3? A 3-4 has been working for them (since 1982) and keeping them (for the most part) dominant defensively. Here are their team total defense rankings (based on fewest yards per game average) for the last 40 years.

Ranking in Total Defense (average yards per game) 1970-2009
1970 - 14 (out of 26)
1971 - 18
1972 - 8
1973 - 4
1974 - 1
1975 - 4
1976 - 1 (out of 28)
1977 - 7
1978 - 3
1979 - 2
1980 - 12
1981 - 22
1982 - 17 (switched to 3-4 defense)
1983 - 3
1984 - 5
1985 - 6
1986 - 18
1987 - 13
1988 - 28
1989 - 19
1990 - 1
1991 - 22
1992 - 13
1993 - 3
1994 - 2
1995 - 3
1996 - 2 (out of 30)
1997 - 6
1998 - 12
1999 - 11 (out of 31)
2000 - 7
2001 - 1
2002 - 7 (out of 32)
2003 - 9
2004 - 1
2005 - 4
2006 - 9
2007 - 1
2008 - 1
2009 - 5

Now taking into account that they ran the 4-3 from 1970 (well for a lot longer before then I just didn't feel like looking up all the years back to 1933) - 1981 and their average total defense rank during those years was 8.

Now looking at 1982 - 2009, their average total defense rank was 8.178571429, almost the same. Also during the 3-4 era the Steelers have been #1 in total defense 5 times, been in the #1-5 defenses 13 times, and have been in the #1-10 defenses 19 times.

Now this isn't really a fair comparison because the number of years of each defense aren't the same (12 for the 4-3 and 28 for the 3-4) and the fact that during the 70s they had stellar players and they were the blueprint for every defense in the league at the time. But if we break it down to three 12 year increments (and then the last four years), the average rankings in total defense look like this -

1970-1982 - 8
1982-1993 - 12.33333333
1994-2005 - 5.416666667
2006-2009 - 4

So one could argue that they struggled defensively for the first 12 years after the switch in 1982, got better at it from 1994-2005 and darn near mastered it in the last four years.
         
IMHO it would be borderline insane to switch now, they have the personnel/players set up right now to run a 3-4, the front office scouts/recruits/signs defensive players based on fitting the 3-4. Plus imagine the "rebuilding" time necessary for switching schemes - we would be talking about at least a few years before all the parts were in place and working together properly. Although that's not to say that teams can't switch and be effective - Green Bay just moved to a 3-4 last year and everyone expected them to be horrible, but they ended up being the #2 defense this year.

The top 5 teams in total defense for 2009 were 1) Jets 2) Packers 3) Ravens 4) Bengals 5) Steelers. Now it is embarassing that those 4 teams finished ahead of us but #5 in the league is not horrible (stats don't tell it all obviously, for however OK the defense looked statistically this past year, the "only playing 45 minutes" stuff cost us 6 games; the Cleveland away game was all on the offense). The fact that the Steelers were #3 against the run but a measley #16 against the pass highlights the big defensive problem - the secondary.

[Nye]

SNORE

[Tha_Professa]

Yup.

Hopefully this will be an enjoyable season of football watching (Especially considering the very real possibility there won't be any in 2011.)

?

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/F/FBN_NFL_LABOR?SITE=PAPIT&SECTION=SPORTS&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

Sounds like they're still not making any real progress.