Some thoughts on the roster cuts

[BlitzburghRockCity]

We as fans live high on emotion. I know I do ! We react to players getting cut or staying the roster with extreme anger or raving disgust alot of the time. We take it upon ourselves to question the roster moves and players performance all through the year, its one of the great things about being a fan

However we aren't privy to be in all the meetings nor do we have the inside scoop on a player like the scouts and coaches do so we go on what we read in the press or what we see during the games and at camp. That's all we have to go by so we have to base our judgements on that alone.

If we look at it from a coaches perspective think of it like this...

We just won the superbowl, we didn't lose many players to FA or have any major nagging injuries to the starters that will keep them from signifcant playing time. Yes we lost Jerome and his leadership will be missed on and off the field; its yet to be determined how his replacement will fair. We have more than enough good WR's to compensate for the loss of ARE so Im not worried there. So anyways, you're returning most of your superbowl winning team, you have decent cap room for the forseeable future, and you have all these draft picks who want a shot at a 53 man roster where most of the slots have already been filled. So now you have to take all these new guys and try to find a spot for them. It's not a cap situation but more of just a numbers game unfortunately. There just isn't enough room for players sometimes no matter how good of a camp they had. It's a tough decision for the coaches to have to cut a player but when you've got starters who are still on the top of their game, and a host of backups at MOST of the positions that are playing well and can step in if need be, it makes it even harder for the young guys. If you look at it that way, you can kinda see the reasoning behind cutting some guys who had great camps but just couldnt be put on the roster.

You need to have a good mix of veterans and youth on the team to keep yourself young so you don't end up having to go through a rebuilding phase like the ratbirds and browns are doing; and like the bengals did for so long. Sooner or later veterans will start to age, cost more money, lose a step and that's when you make the call to cut them and let the next guy step up and take his place. It's just the nature of the beast.

Yes I question Duce staying on the roster, but not so much because of the RB's we have now but more so because we didn't address this enough in the draft or in FA. Willie and Verron are the starters and Im cool with that, but behind them the depth scares me to death because Duce is so fragile these days. Cobb has a big upside but is still unproven. Verron is the backup FB, so if something happens to Kreider, we're now screwed at RB so yes that position concerns me some but we'll have to wait and see.

DB's..we have quality starters and good depth..even if Clark doesnt play well at safety we have Carter and Anthony Smith waiting in the wings. McFadden is gonna be a beast for us as time goes on, I still question keeping Coc because he's so inconsistent.

QB's..I don't like carrying 2 QB's for obvious reasons so either Shane or Omar better step up their game on the PS ! Let's hope it doesnt come to that !

OL - 5 great starters, no worries there. Chris K, Essex, Okobi, and Colon are solid depth so Im not real worried there other than Colon who've unproven at the tackle spot so we'll have to watch that.

DL - 3 quality starters return... Travis, Chris, and Rodney are solid; especially Hoke, I really like him as a backup NT.

LB's - starters are fine.. backup OLB's are fine. Back ILB's though worry me some; Clint doesnt seem to fair to well in game time situations but atleast Rian Wallace is coming along nicely. The depth at ILB is a concern for me.

WR's - We're fine here too. I wish we'd have kept Morgan and cut Morey. Sean just doesnt play well at WR but Quincey does well on ST and as a backup WR. The rest of the group is fine, and its a pretty young group overall with a big upside.

TE's - Heath is a beast, no problem there. Tuman's nagging injury worries me some but that just means that Tim Euhus is going to have to earn that backup money he's getting. This position worries me more than alittle.


It's a fine line trying to keep a team competitive year in and year out, but its even harder when you return such good players.

Just my thoughts, Here we go Steelers

[Steelerlyn]

We as fans live high on emotion. I know I do ! We react to players getting cut or staying the roster with extreme anger or raving disgust alot of the time. We take it upon ourselves to question the roster moves and players performance all through the year, its one of the great things about being a fan

However we aren't privy to be in all the meetings nor do we have the inside scoop on a player like the scouts and coaches do so we go on what we read in the press or what we see during the games and at camp. That's all we have to go by so we have to base our judgements on that alone.

If we look at it from a coaches perspective think of it like this...

We just won the superbowl, we didn't lose many players to FA or have any major nagging injuries to the starters that will keep them from signifcant playing time. Yes we lost Jerome and his leadership will be missed on and off the field; its yet to be determined how his replacement will fair. We have more than enough good WR's to compensate for the loss of ARE so Im not worried there. So anyways, you're returning most of your superbowl winning team, you have decent cap room for the forseeable future, and you have all these draft picks who want a shot at a 53 man roster where most of the slots have already been filled. So now you have to take all these new guys and try to find a spot for them. It's not a cap situation but more of just a numbers game unfortunately. There just isn't enough room for players sometimes no matter how good of a camp they had. It's a tough decision for the coaches to have to cut a player but when you've got starters who are still on the top of their game, and a host of backups at MOST of the positions that are playing well and can step in if need be, it makes it even harder for the young guys. If you look at it that way, you can kinda see the reasoning behind cutting some guys who had great camps but just couldnt be put on the roster.

You need to have a good mix of veterans and youth on the team to keep yourself young so you don't end up having to go through a rebuilding phase like the ratbirds and browns are doing; and like the bengals did for so long. Sooner or later veterans will start to age, cost more money, lose a step and that's when you make the call to cut them and let the next guy step up and take his place. It's just the nature of the beast.

Yes I question Duce staying on the roster, but not so much because of the RB's we have now but more so because we didn't address this enough in the draft or in FA. Willie and Verron are the starters and Im cool with that, but behind them the depth scares me to death because Duce is so fragile these days. Cobb has a big upside but is still unproven. Verron is the backup FB, so if something happens to Kreider, we're now screwed at RB so yes that position concerns me some but we'll have to wait and see.

DB's..we have quality starters and good depth..even if Clark doesnt play well at safety we have Carter and Anthony Smith waiting in the wings. McFadden is gonna be a beast for us as time goes on, I still question keeping Coc because he's so inconsistent.

QB's..I don't like carrying 2 QB's for obvious reasons so either Shane or Omar better step up their game on the PS ! Let's hope it doesnt come to that !

OL - 5 great starters, no worries there. Chris K, Essex, Okobi, and Colon are solid depth so Im not real worried there other than Colon who've unproven at the tackle spot so we'll have to watch that.

DL - 3 quality starters return... Travis, Chris, and Rodney are solid; especially Hoke, I really like him as a backup NT.

LB's - starters are fine.. backup OLB's are fine. Back ILB's though worry me some; Clint doesnt seem to fair to well in game time situations but atleast Rian Wallace is coming along nicely. The depth at ILB is a concern for me.

WR's - We're fine here too. I wish we'd have kept Morgan and cut Morey. Sean just doesnt play well at WR but Quincey does well on ST and as a backup WR. The rest of the group is fine, and its a pretty young group overall with a big upside.


It's a fine line trying to keep a team competitive year in and year out, but its even harder when you return such good players.

Just my thoughts, Here we go Steelers

Excellent post! I do try to get past all the emotion but it is next to impossible for me. I start in April and go a few years back. As you stated we are not privvy to the meetings, (thanks God) we do NOT really know the why and wherefores that perfectly capable guys are let go and ones who are taking up our air are allowed to remain on the roster. Noone can arguw with the success of last year. Here is hopimg it continues.

[BlitzburghRockCity]

If it wasnt for the fans using our emotion we'd be just a bunch of boring people but I know what you mean Im the same way alot of times

[AZ_Steeler]

Grat writeup BRC! Looking at the team on paper there aren't many holes really. I just hope they aren't labeled as "Paper champions"

The DB situation is definitely looking the best it has in years and I can't wait for Smith to take over the starting job! The dude was awesome this preseason.

I couldn't agree more about the 2 QB's especially with the latest news. I've always been for carrying 3 because you just never know what can happen (ie the Jets last year lost their starter and backup within a handful of plays).

Excellent post though!

[BlitzburghRockCity]

I knew this whole 2 QB thing was going to bite us in the ass at some point. Thank goodness its not worse, he'll probably only miss this game...this week and next week is more than enough time to heal up, but damn now we gotta look for a QB. St Pierre is definately an option !