Steelers Today - A Pittsburgh Steelers blog

The NFL owners and players continue their domestic dispute, so there’s no real football to talk about.  In the absence of that, one of the most popular Steelers has been making quite a name for himself on Dancing With The Stars.

This week, Hines had an amazing performance.  Rather than tell you about it, it’s easier to just show you.  This was Hines’ first dance of the night.

Then in his second, he may have even topped his first performance.

I don’t know about you, but I absolutely love seeing all of the Terrible Towels in the audience.

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The 2011 NFL Draft has now come and gone.  Now that the dust has settled, it’s time to look back and evaluate how the Steelers did.

Many websites, newspaper, and magazines like to assign letter grades to each team’s draft selections.  I don’t really like doing that.  I don’t think that it’s fair to evaluate a player until after he’s gone through training camp and then had the opportunity to show what he can do against NFL competition.  I remember guys like Ryan Leaf, Robert Gallery, Tim Couch, and Tony Mandarich all getting rave reviews after they were selected by their respective teams.  Each of them got “A+” grades as draft picks, but all of them turned out to deserve a much lower grade as players.  So I will resist the urge to grade the Steelers’ picks.

What I do know is that the Steelers were very strategic in their selections.  They had glaring needs, and they filled most of them.

Going into the draft, I did a position-by-position review of the team, and I identified cornerback, defensive line, and offensive line to be their top needs.  And coming out of this draft, they’ve filled each of those needs.  They also picked up a linebacker to replace the one that they (stupidly) let get away last year.  They also picked up a running back to potentially replace aging Mewelde Moore.  Not a bad day at the office.

I’m sure there are some fans who didn’t like the order in which the team chose certain positions.  There were some fans who complained because the Steelers didn’t take a cornerback in the first round.  Others complained because the Steelers didn’t take an offensive lineman in the first round.  But these things are purely subjective.  You can’t please everybody.  And I learned long ago that no matter what the team does, there will always be fans who complain about it.  Heck, there were fans who were saying that Mike Tomlin and Kevin Colbert should both be fired after the very first pick in the draft (obviously, they didn’t take the player that those fans thought that they should have).

The one thing that I’ve learned about the Steelers is that they tend to be long-term thinkers.  They seldom make the most expedient decisions.  The decision that helps us the most in the short-term may actually have a detrimental effect in the long-term.  So the Steelers try to make the decision that will have the greatest impact over the long haul.  That’s what I saw them do during this draft.

The only other position that I would have liked to have seen them draft would have been a nose tackle.  But we all know that nose tackle is the most difficult position to find in the draft.  There just aren’t a lot of those guys around.

Overall, I think that a defensive line rotation that includes Aaron Smith, Brett Keisel, Ziggy Hood, and Cameron Heyward is going to be very good in both the short-term and the long-term.

The offensive line now has lots of bodies to take into training camp.  It’s unclear what’s going to happen to the free agents, but I believe the Steelers are going to do everything in their power to keep Willie Colon.  However, in traditional Steelers fashion, they are not going to break the bank for him.

Finally, I like what we have going into training camp at cornerback.  I also think the Steelers are going to make a concerted effort to keep Ike Taylor.  They realize that without him, they are screwed this year.  Very few rookies have successfully broken into the starting lineup in Dick LeBeau’s defense.  I don’t foresee either rookie cornerback doing much more than playing special teams and a little bit of nickel and dime defense.  But let’s not forget that Keenan Lewis will have another year under his belt, and Crezdon Butler should now be ready to contribute.

So overall, I like what the Steelers did in the draft.  And let’s not forget that once the players and owners reach a collective bargaining agreement, there will be free agency as well.  The Steeler will sign some undrafted free agents.  Moreover, they’ll have the opportunity to sign veteran free agents as well.  The Steelers don’t sign many high priced veteran free agents, but we can alway rely on them to pick one or two out of the bargain bin.

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With the 232nd pick in the 2011 NFL Draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers select Baron Batch, a 5’9″, 200 lb. running back from Texas Tech.

7th round draft picks are highly unlikely to make most NFL rosters.  This is particularly true for a veteran-laden team like the Pittsburgh Steelers, who are coming off of a Super Bowl appearance.  But writing off Baron Batch would be a mistake.

Batch played at Texas Tech, which is a pass-happy team.  Because of that, he got lots of opportunities to catch the ball coming out of the backfield.  It’s this skill that may allow Batch to make it in the NFL.  But if he does stick with a team, he’ll likely only be used as a 3rd down back.

Some might question why the Steelers would waste a pick on a guy who will likely play such a limited role on the team.  But you have to remember that the Steelers have kept a guy on the roster for just that role.  His name is Mewelde Moore.  And he’s a free agent.  Moreover, he’s an aging veteran player who is entering his 8th year in the NFL.  His experience level means that he’s not cheap.  So it may be time to replace him with a younger (or more importantly, cheaper) alternative.

Batch could be just the alternative that the Steelers are looking for.  He was a very productive runner and receiver for Texas Tech.  He accumulated 816 yards rushing in 2010 (4.6 yards per carry), and caught 32 passes for 226 yards (7.1 yards per catch).  2010 was actually his worst season receiving since becoming a starter.  In 2009 he had 57 catches, and in 2008 he had 45 catches.  So as you can see, he has a lot of experience catching the ball out of the backfield.

As a runner, Batch is nothing special.  He has decent speed, and runs with surprising power for such a small back (think Ray Rice, only not as elusive).  He’s unlikely to be used very often as a pure runner.  Rashard Mendenhall, Isaac Redman, and perhaps Jonathan Dwyer have that covered already.

He will have to make the adjustment of playing in an NFL offense.  In college, Texas Tech ran a pass-oriented spread offense.  So once Batch caught the ball, he had huge lanes to run down.  That’s why he was able to average 10 yards per catch in 2008, 6.9 in 2009, and 7.1 in 2010.  NFL teams don’t use college-style spread offenses, and the defenders are much faster.  Batch will have to adjust to these differences.

Batch’s diminutive size may actually help him in the NFL.  Shorter running backs like Ray Rice and Maurice Jones-Drew are often hard for the defense to pick up behind the larger offensive linemen.  So don’t assume that because he’s only 5’9″, Batch has no chance of making it in the NFL.

The one concern that I do have about Batch is his injury history.  He’s been injured quite a bit, and the NFL is significantly more physical than college football.  He had a broken ankle that ended his season as a freshman (2006).  He then had staph infections that required him to have 7 surgeries, and robbed him of his entire 2007 season.  He had an elbow injury in 2009, but didn’t miss any games.  Then he had surgery for a sports hernia prior to the 2010 season, but he didn’t miss any games.

Some might argue that the Steeler should have spent their 7th round pick on another offensive lineman or cornerback.  But I believe that the team now has enough bodies at those positions to make the competition in training camp interesting.  It made sense to go in another direction with their final pick.

This pick isn’t likely to make anyone overly excited, but it definitely fills a team need.

Analysis of all 2011 Steelers Draft picks:

Round 1 - Cameron Heyward

Round 2 - Marcus Gilbert

Round 3 - Curtis Brown

Round 4 - Cortez Allen

Round 5 - Chris Carter

Round 6 - Keith Williams

Round 7 - Baron Batch

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With the 196th pick in the 2011 NFL Draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers select Keith Williams, a 6’4″, 318 lb. guard from Nebraska.

The Steelers are a team that always selects the best player available.  Because of this, their picks sometimes leave me scratching my head.  But I’m noticing a trend this year.  The Steelers are clearly drafting based on need.  They had 3 key needs coming into this draft, cornerback, offensive line, and defensive line, and through the first 6 rounds, the Steelers have focused all of their picks on those needs.  That may sound like common sense, but it’s actually very atypical for the Steelers.

Having already selected a tackle in this years draft, the Steelers now select a guard.  So offensive line coach Sean Kugler should be a very happy man.

Keith Williams is a good selection for so late in the draft.  He comes from an excellent Nebraska program that was the 9th ranked rushing team in the country last year.  Williams played left guard on that team, and was a 3-year starter.

The most telling thing about the 2010 Cornhuskers is that they had 10 games where they rushed for over 200 yards.  That right, 200 yards rushing!  They even had two games in which they had 300 rushing yards.  When you run for that many yards, your offensive linemen are definitely doing something right.

Williams looks like an NFL guard.  He’s thick and has a very wide upper body.  He has excellent strength, and can move most offensive linemen due to his sheer bulk.  He definitely fits the description of a “road grader”.

Besides being big and strong, Williams also plays with a nasty temperament.  He’s mean and physical.  He doesn’t ease up on the man he’s blocking until the whistle blows.  He’s both a mauler and a brawler.

The one thing that I don’t like about him is that he’s not as athletic as some guards.  Florida guard Mike Pouncey, for example, is not as physical as Williams, but he’s got the athleticism to pull and block linebackers at the second level.  Williams did okay at getting to blockers in the second level in college, but I’m not sure if he’s going to be quick enough to do it at the next level.  He’s much more similar to Chris Kemoeatu than he is to Alan Faneca.  That’s not necessarily bad.  They’re just different types of players.  The two current Steelers linemen that he reminds me of most are Kemoeatu and Willie Colon.

Williams is definitely more comfortable in run blocking than he is in pass protection.  But that makes sense, since Nebraska had such a high powered rushing attack.  Run blocking plays to his strengths.  He’s much more comfortable pushing his man forward than he is moving backwards.

Some have questioned his work ethic.  There have also been rumors that he’s a little hard-headed and tough to coach.  But the Steelers obviously think that they can get the best out of him, or they wouldn’t have selected him.

Williams is definitely going to need some coaching and development from Sean Kugler.  But he’s a big, mean, guy who plays with an aggressive attitude.  That’s a pretty good thing to acquire with a 6th round pick.

Analysis of all 2011 Steelers Draft picks:

Round 1 - Cameron Heyward

Round 2 - Marcus Gilbert

Round 3 - Curtis Brown

Round 4 - Cortez Allen

Round 5 - Chris Carter

Round 6 - Keith Williams

Round 7 - Baron Batch

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With the 162nd pick in the 2011 NFL Draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers select Chris Carter, a 6’1″, 248 lb. outside linebacker from Fresno State.

This is an excellent pick by the Steelers.  Like LaMarr Woodley and many other past Steelers outside linbackers,  Chris Carter was a defensive end in college.  But in the Steelers’ 3-4 defense, he is going to be converted to a rush linebacker.

If it had been based only on his production, Carter would have been drafted much earlier than this.  He had a highly productive college career.  He had 5 sacks and 13 tackles for a loss as a junior, and then surpassed that by accumulating 11 sacks and 16.5 tackles for a loss as a senior.  Von Miller, the first linebacker selected in this year’s draft (and the 2nd overall pick) had very similar numbers.  He had 10.5 sacks, and 17.5 tackles for a loss.  Those are almost identical numbers.  To further illustrate the point, Akeem Ayers, the second linebacker drafted in this year’s draft had 4 sacks, and 10 tackles for a loss.  Bruce Carter, the third linebacker drafted had 2.5 sacks and 3.5 tackles for a loss.

So since Carter’s statistics were as good or better than the aforementioned linebackers, why did they all go in the 1st or 2nd rounds, while Carter lasted until the 5th round?  The answer is simple.  Carter is only 6’1″ tall.  Most teams view that as being too short for a linebacker in the NFL.  Fortunately, the Steelers have a guy named James Harrison who happens to be 6’0″.  As far as I can tell, that hasn’t hurt Harrison very much.

I’m not saying that Chris Carter is going to be the next James Harrison.  I’m merely saying that he is being penalized too severely for his height.

Carter was really a one trick pony in college.  But that trick is a very good trick.  He specialized in getting to the quarterback.  He reminds me a lot of Jason Worilds when he came out of college.  Both are very fast rushers, and their picks make it clear that defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau wants to put pressure on the quarterback.

Carter has great explosion off the line.  He’s a strong, muscular player, and he tackles well.    However, because he played defensive end in college, he’s going to have to learn a lot of new skills.  He’s used to playing with a hand on the ground.  He’ll have to change that.  He also has no experience dropping into coverage.  That’s always a difficult adjustment for players who aren’t used to doing it.  Both James Harrison and LaMarr Woodley struggled with dropping into coverage initially, but they’ve both become very effective at it.

He did tend to rely too much on his fantastic speed in college, and so he didn’t develop a full array of moves.  He’s going to need to develop those if he wants to beat NFL offensive tackles.  He’s also going to have to improve his run stopping capabilities.

While Carter’s height clearly hurt him, I believe that the Steelers probably played more attention to what he showed on film.  For example, he absolutely abused Wisconsin offensive tackle Gabe Carimi (a first round pick in this year’s draft) when Fresno State played Wisconsin in 2009.   In addition to his very productive college career, he had a great performance at the East-West Shrine Game.  He also ran a 1.59 10-yard split at the NFL Scouting Combine.  I usually don’t pay much attention to workout performances at the Combine, but in this case, it does indicate that he has the potential to get to the quarterback pretty quickly.

Chris Carter is a relentless player whose motor never stops.  He will do whatever is necessary to get to the quarterback.  He’s also a great character guy.

Overall, Chris Carter is unlikely to get any playing time this year at linebacker.  His contribution (if he makes any) is going to be on special teams.  But based on what he does on special teams, he can earn an opportunity to show the Steelers what he can do at linebacker.  That worked out pretty well for guys like James Harrison, Keyaron Fox, and Stevenson Sylvester who all worked themselves into the linebacker rotation after first distinguishing themselves on special teams.

Analysis of all 2011 Steelers Draft picks:

Round 1 - Cameron Heyward

Round 2 - Marcus Gilbert

Round 3 - Curtis Brown

Round 4 - Cortez Allen

Round 5 - Chris Carter

Round 6 - Keith Williams

Round 7 - Baron Batch

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