View topic - Smizik's Colbert Commentary

[McLovin Profile]

Smiz went on the defense this morning of Colbert's draft day record. McLovin agrees that his first round picks are good. Would Urlacher have been a better choice than Burress? Maybe but LB wasn't as dire of need to find WR after Troy Edwards was deemed a bust. Round 2 McLovin liked his picks of Marvel, Kendrell, Woodley, McFadden, and Randle EL instead of Antonio Bryant. Alonzo Jackson obvious bust but who knows how much influence Cowher had on that or any pick Colbert made. Easy to second guess now but '06 trade to get 2 3rds from Minnesota looking bad with Willie Reid cut and Anthony Smith stuck in Tomlin's doghouse. Smiz pointed out the few second day picks that Colbert has hit upon like Haggans, Keisel and Ike. McLovin has a more select memory of bad picks like Fred Gibson who went one pick ahead of Dallas starter Chris Canty a 6'7 3-4 DL who should've been properly scouted at UVA since Steelers selected Heath in first round from same school. How do you draft Willie Colon from Hofstra and not see the potential of Marques Colston while you're scouting Colon? Granted other teams made same mistakes but if youre a scout youre there scout everybody not just one player. As for Willie Parker, he was a Rooney brother find not a Colbert find. This year's draft not making an early impact, but McLovin did not argue the choices that were made given the way the OT's didn't fall the Steelers way. All that said, McLovin agrees with Smiz in that too many fans need to enjoy the success of the Steelers on the field. Their record speaks for itself. So are you a Colbert lover or hater?

[Steeledge Profile]

So are you a Colbert lover or hater?

Hater - without question...

He doesn't seem to have the capacity to understand that NFL football, and especially Steeler football, is won and lost in the trenches.

Sure, we have a glut of skill players right now, but none of them have truly been able to shine because Colbert has neglected the lines on either side of the ball ever since he got here, and now our deficiencies are really starting to be exposed.

We've got the firepower to have a better offense than last years' Patsies, yet our star quarterback has to make everything happen while running for his life. Doing so not only makes his job a lot harder now, but if it continues and he keeps taking the beating he's been taking, it will likely shorten his career.

We've also got the LB and DB skills to shut down any offense in the league, but if our aging, key DL players once again go down with injury, we could be in for some major problems again - reference, among others, both of the Jags games at the end of last year.
We've been fortunate this year that the backups have really stepped it up much better when they've had to, but that's been against opposing OLs that happened to be ailing at the same time. I don't think we can say confidently that that's always going to be the case.

Look, I agree that it takes a couple of years for a drafted lineman to produce starter-quality play, especially one drafted in later rounds. That being the case, we're already a couple of years behind, and our urgent situation will only turn to emergency if the neglect by Colbert and Co. of the O and D lines continues.

It also makes Tomlin look like a fool when he promises to "inject some youth into both of these lines" and nothing of the sort happens.
That alone erodes confidence in our HC, and isn't good for morale.

[StillMill Profile]

So are you a Colbert lover or hater?

Hater - without question...

He doesn't seem to have the capacity to understand that NFL football, and especially Steeler football, is won and lost in the trenches.

Sure, we have a glut of skill players right now, but none of them have truly been able to shine because Colbert has neglected the lines on either side of the ball ever since he got here, and now our deficiencies are really starting to be exposed.

We've got the firepower to have a better offense than last years' Patsies, yet our star quarterback has to make everything happen while running for his life. Doing so not only makes his job a lot harder now, but if it continues and he keeps taking the beating he's been taking, it will likely shorten his career.

We've also got the LB and DB skills to shut down any offense in the league, but if our aging, key DL players once again go down with injury, we could be in for some major problems again - reference, among others, both of the Jags games at the end of last year.
We've been fortunate this year that the backups have really stepped it up much better when they've had to, but that's been against opposing OLs that happened to be ailing at the same time. I don't think we can say confidently that that's always going to be the case.

Look, I agree that it takes a couple of years for a drafted lineman to produce starter-quality play, especially one drafted in later rounds. That being the case, we're already a couple of years behind, and our urgent situation will only turn to emergency if the neglect by Colbert and Co. of the O and D lines continues.

It also makes Tomlin look like a fool when he promises to "inject some youth into both of these lines" and nothing of the sort happens.
That alone erodes confidence in our HC, and isn't good for morale.

Damn!! Print Edge's post, frame it, and savor it. A tremendously written post. Extremely well done by Edge.

Smizik, whom I usually like, did a lot of fawning over quite a bit of nothing. "2001: Chukky Okobi, occasional starter, fifth round; Rodney Bailey, backup, sixth round." Okobi started RARELY, and when he was given the chance to win the job, he faltered badly. Bailey was a scrub that did very little.

continues Smize:

2003: Ike Taylor, multi-year starter, fourth round. (and, uh, NO ONE else on day 2)

2004: No one (Gee, you think that fact is something to be proud of? No one ??!!)

2005: Rian Wallace, backup, fifth round; Chris Kemoeatu, starter, sixth round. Wallace sucked ass and did NOTHING. 1 guy, Kemo, on day 2.

2006: Willie Colon, starter, fourth round. (and, uh, again NO ONE else on day 2)

----------
2002 was acceptable, but since then Colbert has been asleep during Day 2, and it's shown.

[McLovin Profile]

So are you a Colbert lover or hater?

It also makes Tomlin look like a fool when he promises to "inject some youth into both of these lines" and nothing of the sort happens.
That alone erodes confidence in our HC, and isn't good for morale.

McLovin' agrees completely with everything Edge said at least about Colbert neglecting the lines. Mid-round picks that didn't develop into quality starters such as McBeam and Essex as well as the insane $7 mil signing of Starks have set both lines back. The best and maybe only solid move that Colbert has done for the OL is the signing of Hartings when he first took the GM job. McLovin's question to Edge is who would you rather Colbert selected in this draft other than Mendenhall and Sweed to address the O and Dlines? McLovin sat and watched Carolina trade a couple picks in front of the Steelers to grab Otah. At that point wasn't Mendenhall the easy pick? Did you want Colbert to reach for 2nd/3rd round talent in Duane Brown and Sam Baker in round 1? Another poster lobbied for DE Kendall Langford instead of Sweed...6 months after the draft and only after Sweed not getting on the field. McLovin's point is you can't take what isn't there. Sure Tomlin looked foolish with his boasts to get young and violent on both lines but do you really think morale is hurting because of it? I'm sure Hines and Troy called Tomlin on draft day to say how down they were that there were no lineman picked...give McLovin a break. If morale is down then Steelers doing a good job of hiding it going 4-1 to start the season. Now McLovin no Colbert fan either, but if he couldn't make a trade up to get a first round tackle then he did the right thing in going BPA and who are we to argue that Mendenhall and Sweed weren't the best players. Its easy to play hindsight now that theyre not performing. Edge is totally correct that Colbert's neglect of the lines since '02 has put this team in the hole and it will show in this offseason when Marvel, Kemo, Essex, Starks are all FAs and Colbert has nothing but his token OL pick Tony Hills to replace them. Maybe Colbert will put us all out of our misery and jump ship for the Detroint job. That aside Smiz has proven by our postings that there is a faction of Steeler "fans" who would rather bitch than enjoy the success the team has had under Colbert.

[catesinator Profile]

Only two teams in the NFL have won more games this decade (Pats-94 wins/Colts-92 wins/Steelers 86 wins) than the Steelers and only one team has more superbowl rings.

The results say the Steelers are at least the 3rd best team in the NFL during the Colbert era.

So how is it the Steelers were able to achieve this with an idiot for a GM and two dumbasses for head coaches?

Grow up and get over yourselves. Colbert is a solid GM. The results speak for themselves.

[McLovin Profile]

Grow up and get over yourselves. Colbert is a solid GM. The results speak for themselves.

That was Smiziks point exactly

[StillMill Profile]

Only two teams in the NFL have won more games this decade (Pats-94 wins/Colts-92 wins/Steelers 86 wins) than the Steelers and only one team has more superbowl rings.

The results say the Steelers are at least the 3rd best team in the NFL during the Colbert era.

So how is it the Steelers were able to achieve this with an idiot for a GM and two dumbasses for head coaches?

Grow up and get over yourselves. Colbert is a solid GM. The results speak for themselves.

First off, let's not forget the irrationality of comparing total wins among teams in DIFFERENT DIVSIONS. Few divisions in football have been as feeble and laughable as the AFC North during Colbert's time span. The Ratbirds had their 1 good season in '00 and shot their wad. (Yes, they had a couple double digit win totals in what was a total paper tiger) The Bungals have been a mismanaged band of thugs and hooligans. The Browns -- who were a brand new team in 1999 -- have been exceeded only by the Pgh. Pirates in terms of front office ineptitude. The division during the start of his tenure was the old AFC Central, which was far from a huggernaut.

So how is it the Steelers were able to achieve this with an idiot for a GM and two dumbasses for head coaches?

Correction -- there been only 1 dumbass for a head coach. Jury is still out on Momlin.

Let's not forget that THE BEST pick Colbert ever made was a gift from heaven.....BenRoth slipping the way he did in the '04 draft. Were it not for the stupidity of the drafters in front of him, Colbert would have quietly settled on some solid, but non descript, player.

Lastly, Colbert has been living nicely during his tenure, courtesy of players acquired well BEFORE his arrival. Hines. Townsend. Faneca. Porter. Bettis. Plex. And so on.

Colbert is a solid GM....but let's not fawn over the guy like he's the guru of GMs....

[thesteelhammer Profile]

Put me down as a Colbert hater.

Yeah, he is OK in rounds 1 & 2. (who couldn't be?)
But he sucks on day 2.

His veteran free agent signings aren't much to speak of either.

[McLovin Profile]

Put me down as a Colbert hater.

Yeah, he is OK in rounds 1 & 2. (who couldn't be?)
But he sucks on day 2.

His veteran free agent signings aren't much to speak of either.

Good acknowledgement by Mill about Ben being a gift. Cleveland and Detroit passing on him early for Winslow and Roy Williams just stupid picks by stupid men in Butch and Millen. McLovin's point in commenting on Smizik's article was in fact to refute Smiz in that although the Steelers are a solid, winning organization Colbert is not without flaw. Colbert's lack of FA signings although probably related to the cap and the Rooney philosophy to pay your own rather than his lack of ability to recognize FA talent is still not acceptable. The holes on the Offensive line last year not to mention the DL when Smith went down cost us a run in the playoffs. The holes on the line could cost us our gift franchise qb this year. McLovin would like to see more James Farrior and Jeff Hartings signings and less Sean Mahan, Ryan Clark, and Justin Hartwig signings. Not here to whine about the Steelers and their winning ways just think more should be expected of Colbert.

[Homer J Profile]

Don't love him. Don't hate him.

He's had a helluva run on first rounders -- and that's like winning the big game. Or being Mr October in baseball.

He's not done so well in later rounds -- but seems to have made up for it somewhat with undrafted free agents -- such as Stapleton and Parker. By the by, I agree with the piece in the P-G today. Stapleton was the key to an overlooked but terrific offensive line at Rutgers when Rice ran wild. He's done a terrific job off the bench this year, and he's gonna be a part of the rebuilt Steeler OL of the future.

Clearly Colbert has had his draft problems in the third, fourth, and fifth round - especially - where you often get the bricks and mortar that hold your team together. These aren't necessarily the superstars at the skill positions, but they're the everyday players who have to pan out better than Fred Gibson or Ryan McBean.

But drafting anyone is a crapshoot. And he's done well with the most important picks, and has managed to paper over his failures with some decent UDFA's.

If I had to choose between today - with lotsa of great first rounders at skill positions - or the Steelers of my youth, when they drafted losers like Bob Ferguson and Gary Glick in the first round (passing on Jim Brown) and had lots of tough guys in the trenches, I'd certainly choose today's team. But it galls us all that a Pittsburgh Steelers team's weakness is in the trenches. And I guess it's Colbert who - while deserving credit for the strengths - must take the blame for the weaknesses.

[McLovin Profile]

[

[color=#400040][color=#800000]If I had to choose between today - with lotsa of great first rounders at skill positions - or the Steelers of my youth, when they drafted losers like Bob Ferguson and Gary Glick in the first round (passing on Jim Brown) and had lots of tough guys in the trenches, I'd certainly choose today's team. But it galls us all that a Pittsburgh Steelers team's weakness is in the trenches. And I guess it's Colbert who - while deserving credit for the strengths - must take the blame for the weaknesses.

Good post...couldn't agree more.

[Still Diesel Profile]

I agree with the assesment that he is a solid GM but not a guru. That said he is better than most and I have to imagine the Lions wished they kept him and gave Matt Millen a swift kick in the rear out the door. In addition, he has not committed the cardinal sin of blowing it on a 1st round pick. In addition, Bryant McFadden is making his round 2 haul look a little better. (though Ricardo and 'Zo Jackson still haunt me)

[McLovin Profile]

Yeah McFadden looking good too bad he's a FA and no word on whether they'll even attempt to sign him...we can only hope. The thing that is hard to assess about Colbert's selection of Ricardo and Zo is the Cowher factor. Cowher was said to love both of those guys they even traded up to get Ricardo. So who knows if Cowher had final say on draft picks during his tenure.

[Steel Keeper Profile]

So are you a Colbert lover or hater?

Hater - without question...

He doesn't seem to have the capacity to understand that NFL football, and especially Steeler football, is won and lost in the trenches.

Sure, we have a glut of skill players right now, but none of them have truly been able to shine because Colbert has neglected the lines on either side of the ball ever since he got here, and now our deficiencies are really starting to be exposed.

We've got the firepower to have a better offense than last years' Patsies, yet our star quarterback has to make everything happen while running for his life. Doing so not only makes his job a lot harder now, but if it continues and he keeps taking the beating he's been taking, it will likely shorten his career.

We've also got the LB and DB skills to shut down any offense in the league, but if our aging, key DL players once again go down with injury, we could be in for some major problems again - reference, among others, both of the Jags games at the end of last year.
We've been fortunate this year that the backups have really stepped it up much better when they've had to, but that's been against opposing OLs that happened to be ailing at the same time. I don't think we can say confidently that that's always going to be the case.

Look, I agree that it takes a couple of years for a drafted lineman to produce starter-quality play, especially one drafted in later rounds. That being the case, we're already a couple of years behind, and our urgent situation will only turn to emergency if the neglect by Colbert and Co. of the O and D lines continues.

It also makes Tomlin look like a fool when he promises to "inject some youth into both of these lines" and nothing of the sort happens.
That alone erodes confidence in our HC, and isn't good for morale.

Damn!! Print Edge's post, frame it, and savor it. A tremendously written post. Extremely well done by Edge.

Smizik, whom I usually like, did a lot of fawning over quite a bit of nothing. "2001: Chukky Okobi, occasional starter, fifth round; Rodney Bailey, backup, sixth round." Okobi started RARELY, and when he was given the chance to win the job, he faltered badly. Bailey was a scrub that did very little.

continues Smize:

2003: Ike Taylor, multi-year starter, fourth round. (and, uh, NO ONE else on day 2)

2004: No one (Gee, you think that fact is something to be proud of? No one ??!!)

2005: Rian Wallace, backup, fifth round; Chris Kemoeatu, starter, sixth round. Wallace sucked ass and did NOTHING. 1 guy, Kemo, on day 2.

2006: Willie Colon, starter, fourth round. (and, uh, again NO ONE else on day 2)

----------
2002 was acceptable, but since then Colbert has been asleep during Day 2, and it's shown.

Good god. While I agree Colbert has made some mistakes in the draft, he is not atrocious. You brush over the fact that he has not made a mistake in the first round, usually selecting later in the round. You probably think that only idiots miss on first round picks, but I remember people here calling to draft Matt Jones, luckily we didn't have to deal with that cluster****. Busts are taken in all the time so don't write off successful first round picks like they are a birthright. He's been pretty good in rd. 2 and average on the second day. Not bad, average.

My only problem with Colbert's drafting is his consistent ignoring of linemen later in the draft.

We won a Super Bowl 3 years ago won the division last year and look to do so again this year. Be grateful.

He's made mistakes, but he is one of the better GMs in the league.

[Scalaid6 Profile]

These guys are drafting on hindsight. Colbert is not. I will challenge ALL YOU COLBERT HATERS. To post your draft selections in ALL rounds at draft time and I will keep them and we will see who draft best, the BIG MOUTHS, or Colbert the professional. I love shutting up this idiots