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Ask Ed: Should Steelers Sign Top-Tier Corner?

By Ed Bouchette
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 8 years ago

Good morning,

Welcome to the longest February in four years. Some Stuff and then we’ll get to your questions in Ask Ed:

--- If you missed DeAngelo Williams’ as a USAA military correspondent at the Pro Bowl, here he is.

--- I was going to watch the Pro Bowl and then forgot as I caught up on my recordings of Pawn Stars. Who won, the East or the West? I mean the AFC or the NFC? How many catches did Antonio Brown have? And how did that play call by Jay Glazer work out?

--- Should the NFL get rid of the Pro Bowl? Not if enough people keep watching and enough players keep playing.

--- But here is one problem with the Pro Bowl. The status of “Pro Bowl” player has been forever reduced to meaninglessness. Five of the top six quarterbacks backed out, so you now have, what, the best seventh through 11th best quarterbacks in the league, presumably? As a Hall of Fame voter, it used to mean something when a candidate had a bunch of Pro Bowls next to his name. It has become so watered down that Pro Bowls on a resume have been rendered nearly meaningless in that vote. And that is a shame for someone such as Alan Faneca, who earned every one of his nine Pro Bowls.

--- The more important statistic for a player if, like Faneca, he does not have many stats, is All-Pro. Faneca made six of those. If he does not make it to Canton in his first try on Saturday – and guards usually do not make it on their first try, no matter how good – he will eventually make it.

--- Heard this on the radio the other day from a Steelers fan: He can’t stand Cam Newton because of his celebrations. Asked how he felt about Antonio Brown: Loved him. It all depends on what side you’re on.

--- Now, Ask Ed:

--- YOU: One day Steelers offensive linemen are saying "no one can move" Big Dan McCullers and then he’s not playing much at all---your thoughts?

ED: My thoughts are that Steve McLendon is better than many fans give him credit for and you can only play one nose tackle at a time. McCullers played more very early in the season and in the middle than he did late. He had 105 total snaps on defense to McLendon’s 379. But in the final three games, McLendon was on the field on defense a total of just eight times. The use of a nose tackle has gone out of favor somewhat as teams go away from the run. Combined, McLendon and McCullers played half of the 976 snaps that Cam Heyward played on defense. We will find out soon how much value the Steelers place on both McLendon and McCullers as McLendon approaches free agency in March.

--- YOU: In reading Ray’s blog on the DL, it occurred to me that perhaps McLendon could be a rotational player at end in addition to NT. This would utilize him for more that those 34% of the snaps they use an NT for. Is this something the Steelers may consider going forward? I know he must be re-signed before something like this is an option.

ED: They did use him a little at left end when Stephon Tuitt was hurt during a game,  but it’s still asking a lot of a player to play both positions on a rotational basis. Better they find a good No. 3 defensive end to do that.

--- YOU: I've lost track of what the Steelers will have for picks in this year’s draft with all the "giveaways" over the last year or two. Can you let me know, better yet, maybe write something about their picks and potential FA picks now that Mr Rooney has given the green light to looking at Free Agency as a way to fix some issues.

ED: The Steelers have one pick in each of the first four rounds. They traded away their picks in the fifth and sixth. They have two in the seventh, one extra for trading their punter. Compensatory picks usually are announced in March. Free agency does not start for another month and a half and teams can sign their own free agents before then, taking them off the market. We will write about free agency the closer we get to it to have a better understanding of who is available.

--- YOU: Would think the best longer term way is to move up high enough in draft to grab a top CB, at least you know you'll have him for 4 to 5 years. On the other hand, given their picks, FA might be the best way to be sure you get a guy who can play. Comment ?

ED: As much as the Steelers need a cornerback, moving from No. 25 to “high enough in the draft to grab a top CB” would be pricey. Moving a few spots up might do it, but remember the lesson of the Cleveland Browns and cornerback Justin Gilbert. He was the eighth player drafted in 2014, a player the Steelers would have snapped up that year had he fallen to them. But he has been so bad with the Browns, he does not even play. It’s not where you draft them always, but who you draft and what you do with him once you do.

--- YOU: Any chance they try to pick up a talanted corner instead of developing one? Strike while the iron is hot... It looked like it worked for the Pats when they picked up Revis.

ED: There’s always a chance. It’s not like they never signed good free agents in the past, just that once they put together one of the best teams in the league over a 10-year period, they had committed all of their salary cap to those teams and had no room nor no real need to pay big money for free agents. But remember, they did sign the likes of James Farrior, Kevin Greene, Will Wolford, Jeff Hartings, Ryan Clark, Mike Mitchell, Kimo von Oelhoffen, etc. None of those were in Revis’ company as free agency acquisitions at the time but you also saw that New England could not afford to keep him for long. I would expect no Revis-like contract for a free agent in their future, but it does not mean they cannot find a good, young corner on the rise who could be a nice fit for them.

--- YOU: I was just curious what you think The Steelers top 3 position priorities will be this off-season? Here are mine; 1.) Cornerback. 2.) Defensive Line. 3.) Backup QB. What are your Top 3?

ED: We think alike in the fist two. My third would be safety. Backup QB would not be high on my list because I think you can always find one, if you don’t already have him in Landry Jones. I think tackle may be more important than guard, especially if they do not re-sign Kelvin Beachum. 

--- YOU: What do you think the Steelers plan is going forward at LG, C.Hubbard, Free Agent, Draft, or try & resign R.Foster? I hope it's not an early Draft pick, since we need those picks for the secondary.

ED: All those are possible. You won’t have to worry about them drafting a guard in the first two rounds.