Steelers reportedly pick up Patriots running back in trade

[Prosdo]

Steelers reportedly pick up Patriots running back in trade

Friday, September 01, 2006
By Ed Bouchette, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The Steelers today acquired rookie running back Patrick Cobbs from the New England Patriots for an undisclosed draft pick, according to the Patriots' web site.

A spokesman for the Steelers would not immediately confirm the deal.

Cobb is a 5-9, 210-pounder who played at North Texas.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06244/718325-66.stm

Credit to troyisabeast43 for telling me the news.

[Troyisabeast_43]

That pretty much all but signals the end of Duce Staley with the pickup of Cobbs from the Pats. He has had a very good preseason from what I have heard and seen. Im close with a few Pats fans and they told me that Belichick liked him a lot and that he is going to be a very good back. Good move to do this and most likely cut Duce. Cowher pretty much put the writing on the wall earlier this week when he said he wasnt sure if Duce was on the roster or not.

[Prosdo]

I have to agree. This move looks like it seals the deal on Duce's playing days with Pittsburgh. Maybe they will still try and trade Duce no clue. Hopefully this guy can help us out.

[Prosdo]

Position: RB
Height: 5-9
Weight: 210
Born: 01/31/1983
College: North Texas
NFL Experience: Rookie

A little info on the guy

[PITT23]

I dont really know what to say, I've never seen this guy play. it has to be better than Duce's unimpressive and uninspired performances. It would have been nice to try to get something in return for Duce though.

[BlitzburghRockCity]

Yep this is the writing on the wall for Duce...one thing that's alittle odd is that they didn't go after a bigger power back more the size of Duce or Jerome. The fact that he is a rookie must say alot about what they think of him because if we cut Duce, our experience at RB will consist of Willie, Verron, and the rookies Humes & now Cobb. Plus Kuhns may fit into this as well.

This is a gamble that will hopefully pay off for us.

[shimmysteelerfan]

the only thing worth as much as duce is a dirty diaper......imo

[Troyisabeast_43]

Cobbs has had a very good preseason. I have watched him run and he is very tough and will add some good depth for us behind Parker and Haynes. A lot of Pats fans thought Cobbs was going to be the 3rd running back behind Dillon and Maroney and that Patrick Pass would be released. So a lot of them were pretty high on Patrick Cobbs. I think this is a very good move. I trust this front office and Kevin Colbert. They know how to evaluate talent and when to get rid of players as well. I think in the end this will be a very good pickup. As for Kuhn I see him making the 53 man roster and Humes either getting cut or put on the practice squad to start the year.

[Koopa]

good we need more texans on the steelers lol......to bad ut is gonna kills his school tomorrow lol........i've never seen the dude play though, well i might've but not knowingly.....now we can chunk a duece to duce

edit
ok this dude is slow......i'd just keep duce's fat slow ass lol



"Patrick Cobbs RB Cobbs (5-8, 206) ran a 40 in 4.71 seconds with the wind and 4.94 against the wind. He also ran the short shuttle in 4.24 and the three-cone drill in 7.10. In additon, he had a 32-inch vertical jump, a 9-foot-6 broad jump and 20 bench presses."



http://www.nfl.com/draft/analysis/individual_workouts#notex

[AZ_Steeler]

Here are his stats from this preseason, he had a few catches as well but nothing worth posting. Also, here is a little write up I found: http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/football/sunbelt/2005-08-14-north-texas-sun-belt_x.htm

My office mate is a Pats fan and he said that Cobb is super quick. That's all I really know about him, but this does sound like the end of Duce... Although why would the Steelers replace Duce with a rookie?????

RUSHING ATT YDS AVG LG TD
--------------------------------------
P COBBS 5 25 5.0 11 0 (against ATL)
P COBBS 8 26 3.3 5 0 (against ARI)
P COBBS 13 92 7.1 36 2 (against WAS)
P COBBS 12 45 3.8 11 1 (against NYG)

[BlitzburghRockCity]

If Duce does go, they must have alot of confidence in Verron to be the main backup and split time in short yardage with Willie. Verron is also the backup FB to Kreider too, so look for us to maybe grab a FB for the practice squad.

[House of Steel]

Interesting fact. I was gone all day, working and shopping with the wife. I am shocked, although, Duce is going to be sent packing.

[SteelersfaninPhilly]

What is duce's cap hit for the year?

[AZ_Steeler]

What is duce's cap hit for the year?

I'm not sure of the exact hit, but this guy does a really awesome job with keeping tabs on salaries for the Steelers. Here is Duce's page: http://www.geocities.com/steelersalarycap/DuceStaley.htm

Plus I still don't understand picking up a rookie to replace a veteran like Duce??? If this is the scenario that plays out...

[Prosdo]

Steelers | Humes released from team
Fri, 1 Sep 2006 21:57:29 -0700

Ed Bouchette, of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, reports Pittsburgh Steelers RB Cedric Humes has been released from the team.

http://www.kffl.com/player/13779/NFL

Maybe they wanted a young guy to try and bring up? Maybe Duce isn't gone after all? It's going to be interesting.

[BlitzburghRockCity]

That's an interesting turn of events, especially since they were so high on Cedric after they drafted him. From what I heard Humes didn't show much in camp and perhaps he had character/work ethic issues that they felt just didn't fit the team so they wanted to get another young back to groom with maybe a better upside fit for the team.

We'll find out real soon what status is of the players for the 53 man roster.

[House of Steel]

Man, that shocked me, I thought Humes would be on the practice squad. Boy, things are getting weird in the Burgh.

[Black@Gold Forever32]

I like this Cobbs kid. I remember reading about him when he was in college. He seems to be a fast back with some power. I saw he had 7 catches during the pre-season with the Pats. So it sounds he has some hands for a RB.