View topic - Sweed

[Pommah Profile]

Who thinks Sweed is going to step up next year?

This is an important issue, with Nate gone. We know next to nothing about Baker's capabilities.

Sweed was hurt his senior year at Texas - not sure how much playing time he actually got? Then he moves up to the NFL, and under-performs expectations, fumble-itis in pre-season, dropped passes in the regular (with very limited PT).

My take is, it's like taking a good AAA prospect, who hasn't played for a year due to injury, moving him up to the bigs, and expecting him to bat .300 as a pinch hitter. Doesn't happen.

The guy could at least get open, and IMHO, he was able to put distance between himself and the coverage on deep routes better than Nate did. He didn't get enough PT to build confidence to overcome a slow start in pre-season. There was a reason we were able to get this guy as a 2nd-rounder after all. His height, his speed, if he had had a good Sr. season, he'd have been a Top 10 pick.

My vote is, he will.

[hschultz Profile]

he'll make 25-30 catches next year. let's hope the other 20 or so go to the ever under-utilized heath miller.

if we're in a 4 receiver set (ward, holmes, sweed, miller) i like our chances.

[Snockered Pedestrian Profile]

The FO has too much invested in Sweed; hopefully he has learned to look at the ball
instead of the Jumbotron--the hit on Corey Ivy, I'd like to think, may be an indication.
There will be a WR drafted 2nd day (Domonique Edison?);as well as some tall guy named
Nance with whom BR7 has some familiarity. Baker/Nance will have to show more than
they have so far.

[toomuchmerrilhoge Profile]

I've got high hopes for Sweed. I think he'll get better with time and give us some much-needed options inside the 5 yd line, where our offense struggled all year. With his size you can just throw it up there and let him out leap any DB.

[steelcitymetal Profile]

sweed will get better... (can't get much worse)

he will be more involved with the offense and looks to be very motivated to put that epic drop behind him.

he couldn't replace santonio or ward, but he can fill nate's shoes

[McLovin Profile]

Following Sweed's meltdown against the Ravens in the title game I was more than down on Sweed. His infamous drop of a sure TD was indicative of his play all year long as he displayed poor hands and even worse concentration. To me it all comes back to Bouchette answering questions about Sweed the exact same way in his chats..."He practices EXACTLY like he plays." I want Sweed to succeed. I was pleased when Colbert selected him as a BPA type. But Now if Bouchette's comments hold true you have to think that the coaches have a clue if he will be able to step up next year. Will they look to provide Sweed with better competition than Martin Nance and Dallas Baker? With Nate gone, the Steelers need a deep threat/#3 wr to step up. The one positive about Sweed is that he did show the ability to get deep. To hedge their bets about Sweed, I look for Colbert to draft a WR once again in the top 3 rounds. The WR I've been touting since the senior bowl is Brian Robiske--the anti-sweed...GREAT hands... but after the combine his stock has skyrocketed to the point I've seen mocks with him going at the end of round 1. No way the Steelers can take a WR that high...not with the needs at OL, DL, and possibly DB should McFadden leave. It looks like fans of Sweed may get their way and see Sweed get his chance. I only hope that he comes through.

[Steel Holiday Profile]

I'm very optimistic about Limas. Bouchette's point about Sweed playing like he practices is interesting. So Sweed who does next to nothing in the games, does next to nothing in practice. Intriguing. The Steelers don't traditionally expect much from players drafted out of round 1. I'm currious if anyone can come up with any prospects. I mean guys drafted after round 1 who play immediately...

It might be wise to reserve any complaints about Sweed until he practices like he knows 30-40% of the plays(or whatever Nate's share was) the Steelers run he will have direct influence on. I'm very excited to watch this player develop.

[steelcitymetal Profile]

he probably means that he doesn't put much effort into his practices... but when you know you're not going to play much, it's probably harder to get into running routes on a field in latrobe.

we all saw what he did after that epic drop. a tough 3rd down catch, a monster hit, and broke up an interception in the endzone that helped us get an important 3 points. that drop gave him the motivation to prove himself.

with nate gone, sweed knows he'll be getting more playing time. hopefully the superbowl win and long off-season doesn't make him lose that motivation.

with most players, it will depend on the head he's got on his shoulders. if he's a douche-bag who thinks he's the best thing since sliced bread, then he probably won't work too hard and he'll be gone soon enough. but if he's a good egg, and really cares about bettering himself and this team, then maybe he'll be tapping his toes in the corner for ring #7.

[PSUPERCY Profile]

Drops and fake injury aside, has anyone else noticed how good of a blocker Sweed actually is? I'm not just talking about crushing Corey Ivy either. Check it out, this kid is a really solid and willing downfield blocker.

[Witchblade Profile]

Sweed is going to be good.

[First to Six Profile]

I remember Barry Foster flubbing a kick-off against San Fran and then becoming a force at RB in the years to follow.

Sweed's been a rookie bust, but it's not wise to give up on any Rd1, Rd2 or Rd3 pick before Year 2 is in the books.

Just think of how everyone thought Timmons was a quasi-bust after Year 1. He'll be a starter at the start of Year 3 and should be a force in the middle for years to come.

[lloydrules Profile]

Most rookie WRs struggle mightily their first season. Sweed was no different. I expect him to be light years ahead of where he was. I think the speed and hard hitting freaks out rookie WRs. The only rookie who came in gang busters was Moss. Virtually no other rookie WRs did much. Oh, and Colston, who has since regressed a lot.

If Sweed looks similar to what he did as a rookie this year, then he is a bust. But this is the year that we will see what we have. He has shown he can get open; now he just has to keep his eye on the ball until he has caught it. He was looking upfield at the last split second as a rookie.
(So what Holmes until December)

[McLovin Profile]

I'm very optimistic about Limas. Bouchette's point about Sweed playing like he practices is interesting. So Sweed who does next to nothing in the games, does next to nothing in practice. Intriguing. The Steelers don't traditionally expect much from players drafted out of round 1. I'm currious if anyone can come up with any prospects. I mean guys drafted after round 1 who play immediately...

:

A guy that I had hoped would slide into round 2 was Darius Heyward-Bey...I was way off...round 1 for sure... I read that he showed great hands and was able to run all the routes asked of him at his pro day. He already had the blazing speed. Now I see him as the Ravens first pick as they already have him scheduled for a personal workout with Flacco...Bey chasing down Flacco's bombs would scare the hell out of me. As for the Steelers getting a receiver after round 1 I was eyeing Pat White in round 2-3. I liked the fact that White came out and said he wanted to be a Steeler. But I think he screwed himself by not running any pass routes at his pro day yesterday. NFL networks Path to the Draft showed Colbert and Tomlin standing in attendance and you know they weren't there to watch White throw the ball...they have Ben and Dennis Dixon. Mid round guys I like are Mohamed Massaquoi...ran poorly and inconsistent hands but living in Atlanta and going to Bulldog games I have soft spot for him...he was Hines like with clutch catches and good blocks...tremendous leader who benefited from single coverage thanks to AJ Green...a top 10 pick within 2 years. Another 4-5 round pick I like is Louis Murphy from Florida...as a rule Florida wrs aren't too great in the NFL but this kid is over 6'2 solidly built and ran a 4.3 at the combine. Marko Mitchell a big fast. but raw wr from Neveda another 4th round type that has the size and speed the Steelers should consider to add depth to the wr corp