02-22-2018, 12:23 PM
(02-22-2018, 11:52 AM)shanebo Wrote: I see your point, but I would argue that outside of Bell -- a consensus superstar -- the differences really aren't that significant. Shazier, like Eifert, was a potential top-5 player at his position whose career has been derailed by injuries. Tuitt is an above-average starter, which I think Jackson is/will become. Schuster and Watt, IMO, will both max out as average starters, comparable to Mixon and Dennard. Dupree and Burns are contributors, like Bernard and Fisher (assuming he comes back). The biggest bust of either group currently is Jones, although it will be Ross if he doesn't get healthy ...
In a vacuum, I'd rather have their picks than ours, but take Bell out of the mix and I'm thinking long and hard about it ... Absent Bell, I think our guys have more potential with Jackson, Mixon, and Ross (not giving up on him yet) due to the Shazier injury.
I think the primary reason for the Steelers' success is not because they've drafted particularly well in the last 5 years, but rather because they retain their best drafted players even if it means pushing the limits of the salary cap -- Roethlisberger, Brown, Bell (gonna happen), DeCastro, Pouncey, Heyward, Gilbert. In contrast, we've let some of our best players leave in free agency, citing salary cap concerns -- Whitworth, Zeitler, Jones, Sanu -- which really caught up to us this past year.
Compounding the issue is that we keep or sign sub-par guys over the better players. E.g., signing Kirkpatrick and relying on the Ogbuehi/Fisher poo-poo platter over Whitworth and Zeitler; inexplicably trying to keep Bodine; replacing Jones and Sanu with LaFell; the list goes on. Steelers seem to make the right personnel decisions more often than not -- Brown over Sanders and Wallace, letter players like Harrison, Timmons, Hood, and Woodley go at the right time ... Seems like all former Steelers suck for their next team, while all our former players do well -- wonder if that's due to coaching or evaluation??
(02-22-2018, 12:11 PM)Go Cards Wrote: Plus when they hit on a DeCastro type player they retain him opposed to Bengals who kicked Zeitler down the road.
Remember how Zeitler made Marvin and MB look like geniuses when they passed on DeCastro by trading back and getting Zeitler and Sanu out of the deal.
Then their cheapness let the great move leave the team as quickly as they came.
Hard to understand.
All Great points.
The Bengals have to do MUCH BETTER than the Steelers in Drafts just to have a chance because they are certain to do MUCH WORSE in retaining the solid players they do happen to draft.
When the Steelers are more successful Drafting on the front end PLUS retain better on the back end, then the Bengals are extra screwed.
