"Who's the #1 pick to not rape someone? THIS GUY!"So despite the retards on the local messageboards BAWWWW'ing over the picks taken in this year's draft, it looks like the Steelers did a good job of plugging holes not filled by trades.
Round 1: Maurkice Pouncey - C, Florida
He's going to be playing guard for a couple of years, but he's an immediate upgrade in a position needing it the most. Not only couldn't the team run for shit last year, Ben was sacked 50 times as well. Wow. I just realized that might be the first time in 3 months someone mentioned "Ben" and "sack" in the same sentence and it wasn't sexual. But I digress. When even the owner was saying how the team has to go back to being a more consistent running team, you knew the first pick was going to address the O-line. There's been grumbling that they didn't go for a CB, but Haden was the only guy worth taking over a lineman, and he was gone. People are already wanting to compare him to Webster and Dawson, which is insanely stupid and sets Pouncey up to fail (who could live up to that ideal?). The kid's got what it takes to be a solid starter for the next decade, no need to be disappointed if he doesn't become the BEST EVAH~!
Round 2:
Jason Worilds - DE, Virginia Tech
He's going to be converted into an OLB in the Steelers' system, which sounds risky but if anyone can do it, they can. For now he's going to carry on the tradition of being a special teams guy while learning the ropes. We need all the help we can get in that aspect of the game, as the footage of the Steelers' special teams coverage in 2009 is best set to "Yackety Sax". He's got all the tools to be another standout Steeler LB, let's just hope he handles the transition to a new position well.
Round 3:
Emmanuel Sanders - WR, SMU
No surprise here, we needed depth at WR after Holmes was shipped out in the dead of night like a container of jockstraps from the Baltimore Colts facilities. At the very least he can be a #4 or #5 WR and provide some special teams help, most likely he could move up to #3 on the charts quickly if Limas Sweed continues to have hands of stone.
Round 4:
Thaddeus Gibson - DE, Ohio State
Has all the earmarks of another trademark Steeler pass rusher, hopefully he can step up and fill the void that will exist at DE when Aaron Smith's body finally gives out for good and explodes like the Death Star. I like this pick, not so much for filling immediate needs the team may have, but for the acknowledgment the current starters won't be around forever and will need to be replaced sooner than later. One potenital Achilles heel of the defense was the age of the D-line starting to creep up, and that was surely the motivation behind some of the picks this year.
Round 5:
Chris Scott - OT, Tennessee
Crezdon Butler - CB, Clemson
Stevenson Sylvester - LB, Utah
Scott will have every opportunity to start, and will most likely be a backup at worst. As stated before, the line last year was nothing to brag about, so even if he only succeeds at lighting a fire under some of the lazy asses who currently start it will be a bonus.
Butler was drafted to add depth at the corners, another position that didn't light the world on fire in 2009. The Steelers seem hesitant to cut bait on the picks from last year who by and large washed out, but we may see some guys who started last year looking for work (Ike Taylor, I'm looking at you, you INT dropping sonofabitch).
Sylvester looks like an insurance pick in case Farrior's rapid skill decrease continues into 2010 as many believe it will. They seem hesitant to cut ties with the guy since he's been a defensive captain for what seems like forever, but he clearly was a step (or more) slower than anyone else on the field last year in a lot of instances.
The Steelers had another pick this round that was traded, so in essence we ended up trading Holmes to get Bryant McFadden back. All things considered, that isn't too bad a deal. McFadden will be able to contribute more right off than a fifth rounder will, and now the Holmes deal looks like less of a fleecing.
Round 6:
Jonathan Dwyer - RB, Georgia Tech
Antonio Brown - WR, Central Michigan
No word on if Dwyer's any relation to Bud, but if the O-line plays like they did last year, he may take the same way out. Actually, any RB the Steelers acquire is only going to be filling a spot relief role helping take the load off Mendenhall, so there won't be any expectations of him being the featured back immediately.
Brown seems to be a future pick, as Ward will be retiring either after this season or next at the latest. It's not too early to start preparing for that reality so when the time comes, we're not left with nothing to fall back on.
Round 7:
Doug Worthington - DT, Ohio State
Seems to be largely one of those "no one wanted to trade for this pick so we had to take someone" choices. When you hear a guy described with such praise as "has potential but needs to work on fundamentals" you know he's going to be bagging groceries by late August. Still, those late rounders sometimes surprise everyone so who knows.
Round 1: Maurkice Pouncey - C, Florida
He's going to be playing guard for a couple of years, but he's an immediate upgrade in a position needing it the most. Not only couldn't the team run for shit last year, Ben was sacked 50 times as well. Wow. I just realized that might be the first time in 3 months someone mentioned "Ben" and "sack" in the same sentence and it wasn't sexual. But I digress. When even the owner was saying how the team has to go back to being a more consistent running team, you knew the first pick was going to address the O-line. There's been grumbling that they didn't go for a CB, but Haden was the only guy worth taking over a lineman, and he was gone. People are already wanting to compare him to Webster and Dawson, which is insanely stupid and sets Pouncey up to fail (who could live up to that ideal?). The kid's got what it takes to be a solid starter for the next decade, no need to be disappointed if he doesn't become the BEST EVAH~!
Round 2:
Jason Worilds - DE, Virginia Tech
He's going to be converted into an OLB in the Steelers' system, which sounds risky but if anyone can do it, they can. For now he's going to carry on the tradition of being a special teams guy while learning the ropes. We need all the help we can get in that aspect of the game, as the footage of the Steelers' special teams coverage in 2009 is best set to "Yackety Sax". He's got all the tools to be another standout Steeler LB, let's just hope he handles the transition to a new position well.
Round 3:
Emmanuel Sanders - WR, SMU
No surprise here, we needed depth at WR after Holmes was shipped out in the dead of night like a container of jockstraps from the Baltimore Colts facilities. At the very least he can be a #4 or #5 WR and provide some special teams help, most likely he could move up to #3 on the charts quickly if Limas Sweed continues to have hands of stone.
Round 4:
Thaddeus Gibson - DE, Ohio State
Has all the earmarks of another trademark Steeler pass rusher, hopefully he can step up and fill the void that will exist at DE when Aaron Smith's body finally gives out for good and explodes like the Death Star. I like this pick, not so much for filling immediate needs the team may have, but for the acknowledgment the current starters won't be around forever and will need to be replaced sooner than later. One potenital Achilles heel of the defense was the age of the D-line starting to creep up, and that was surely the motivation behind some of the picks this year.
Round 5:
Chris Scott - OT, Tennessee
Crezdon Butler - CB, Clemson
Stevenson Sylvester - LB, Utah
Scott will have every opportunity to start, and will most likely be a backup at worst. As stated before, the line last year was nothing to brag about, so even if he only succeeds at lighting a fire under some of the lazy asses who currently start it will be a bonus.
Butler was drafted to add depth at the corners, another position that didn't light the world on fire in 2009. The Steelers seem hesitant to cut bait on the picks from last year who by and large washed out, but we may see some guys who started last year looking for work (Ike Taylor, I'm looking at you, you INT dropping sonofabitch).
Sylvester looks like an insurance pick in case Farrior's rapid skill decrease continues into 2010 as many believe it will. They seem hesitant to cut ties with the guy since he's been a defensive captain for what seems like forever, but he clearly was a step (or more) slower than anyone else on the field last year in a lot of instances.
The Steelers had another pick this round that was traded, so in essence we ended up trading Holmes to get Bryant McFadden back. All things considered, that isn't too bad a deal. McFadden will be able to contribute more right off than a fifth rounder will, and now the Holmes deal looks like less of a fleecing.
Round 6:
Jonathan Dwyer - RB, Georgia Tech
Antonio Brown - WR, Central Michigan
No word on if Dwyer's any relation to Bud, but if the O-line plays like they did last year, he may take the same way out. Actually, any RB the Steelers acquire is only going to be filling a spot relief role helping take the load off Mendenhall, so there won't be any expectations of him being the featured back immediately.
Brown seems to be a future pick, as Ward will be retiring either after this season or next at the latest. It's not too early to start preparing for that reality so when the time comes, we're not left with nothing to fall back on.
Round 7:
Doug Worthington - DT, Ohio State
Seems to be largely one of those "no one wanted to trade for this pick so we had to take someone" choices. When you hear a guy described with such praise as "has potential but needs to work on fundamentals" you know he's going to be bagging groceries by late August. Still, those late rounders sometimes surprise everyone so who knows.
It should be noted the Steelers had 2 picks this round and traded one to Tampa to get Bryan Leftwich back. The question begs to be asked, why didn't they give them the other one too?
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