View topic - Looking back at the 2008 Draft

[DirtDawson Profile]

They say you can start measuring the success of a draft around 2 years down the line. So here it is.




The Steelers' 2008 draft was one that was filled with blunders, missed oppurtunities, and just overall poor decision making.




I'm not the first person to say that Mendenhall will be mediocre at best. Because it sure seems that way. Bruce Arians and Mike Tomlin thought they were getting a power back to complement Parker. But Mendenhall's power clearly doesn't translate at all to the NFL level.

He gets stuffed constantly by linebackers, defensive ends. And his speed isn't much to harp about either, as he never really has the speed to attain separation in the open field.


And keep in mind, the player who was passed up in favor of Rashard Mendenhall. (hint: he broke 2,000 yards rushing last year).




In the second round, we took Limas Sweed, who I thought was going to be a good pick. And unfortunately I was wrong. He's clearly a bust.



Bruce Davis...third round pick...gone.



Tony Hills, Mike Humpal, Ryan Mundy. They get the benefit of the doubt for being later round picks. But still, nothing to harp about.



Dennis Dixon may be the only decent value we got out of this draft. And that says alot.



In conclusion, it was probably one of the worst drafts of Tomlin's tenure.

[thesteelhammer Profile]

the draft has gone down hill under colbert.
his day 2 picks flat out suck.

[No l Gravity l Profile]

If you think 2008 was bad, you must have forgotten 2009's class of rejects:

Evander Hood - reports of him tearing up OTA and training camp are similar to stories bigfoot and leprachauns hiding gold at the end of rainbows. Hood went MIA for the entire preseason and much of the season last year when filling in for the injured Aaron Smith. Wonder why we were so bad on 3rd and long? Other than guys like William Gay and Tyrone Carter, guess who else was out there...
Kraig Urbik - so bad in his rookie year he was getting blown up by our 3rd string DEs and OLBs like Kirschke and Patrick Bailey at training camp. He later proceeds to get beaten by UDFA Ramon Foster and released after his first year.
Keenan Lewis - I had hope in this guy but it was shortly crushed after seeing him get schooled by Kyle Orton and Denver's mediocre receiving core.
Joe Burnett - looked like an undersized nickel. Now looks like an undersized nickel who can't catch balls thrown at his chest.
Frank Summers - I was horrified at this pick on draft day. Useless and fat describes him pretty well. Whiffed on absolutely every lead block he's taken.
Harris - everyone was high on this guy too for no apparent reason.
AQ Shipley - midget arms gets released just to sit on Reid's bench. Another useless pick.

Thank GOD for Mike Wallace. Notice Ziggy and Lewis are the only two left of this class after a single year. Usually give them a few years in case they are slow learners. I think this speaks volumes to just how bad nearly all of these guys are.

[steelwest Profile]

problems like this are killers. every draft needs to provide talent upgrades at mutiple levels. ours have been very spotty. maybe this year's crop will be a positive move. however, most of those guys get a free pass so we won't know for a couple more years. on the positive side, pouncey, sanders, and a. brown all look like players. at least we may have that.

if there is one recent pick that is killing us now, it is the urbik pick. terrible. you announce you ae trading down because of all the depth of talent available and then you take a guy that cannot play even a down for you and is cut before year two. these are the types of decisions that lose champoinships and playoff opportunities. add tony hills to this and it is amazing we can even compete given the poor o-line.

[steelandblood Profile]

I'm not saying he's as good as Johnson but Mendenhall has showed he's not a bust. Whatever alternate universe you're watching games in I'd love to visit there. With no real QB or passing game, Rashard had 22 carries for 120. Including the all-important 50-yard busting when our first four games are postseason games. Hate him all you want. Mendenhall has produced.

[DirtDawson Profile]

the draft has gone down hill under colbert.
his day 2 picks flat out suck.

Agreed, definitely.



Wow, looking at post game, can't help but notice the huge eye bags under Tomlins eyes.


What a stressfull game for him, for sure. Hard fought win though, I give em that.

[steelandblood Profile]

Mendenhall may not be the next "great" Steeler RB but he showed mettle today and that while he may not have been the absolute best choice at RB he's got the tools to get us where we need to be, in a backfield by committee, which we can definitely run with the depth we have. I'm proud of this team today, warts and all because the passing game was deeply flawed but the D, O line, and running backs helped us get it done.

[DirtDawson Profile]

I'm not saying he's as good as Johnson but Mendenhall has showed he's not a bust. Whatever alternate universe you're watching games in I'd love to visit there. With no real QB or passing game, Rashard had 22 carries for 120. Including the all-important 50-yard busting when our first four games are postseason games. Hate him all you want. Mendenhall has produced.

He had good stats because of that ONE RUN in OT. Aside from that he was pretty ineffective. He was 21 carries for 70 yards.



And that final TD run shouldn't even be credited to him. It should be credited to David Johnson, making the greatest offensive block of the game.

[steelandblood Profile]

I'm not saying he's as good as Johnson but Mendenhall has showed he's not a bust. Whatever alternate universe you're watching games in I'd love to visit there. With no real QB or passing game, Rashard had 22 carries for 120. Including the all-important 50-yard busting when our first four games are postseason games. Hate him all you want. Mendenhall has produced.

He had good stats because of that ONE RUN in OT. Aside from that he was pretty ineffective. He was 21 carries for 70 yards.



And that final TD run shouldn't even be credited to him. It should be credited to David Johnson, making the greatest offensive block of the game.

Wowsers! 3 yards plus a little more a pop behind that crew when no one on the field respects the passing game? Of course it's science! Mendenhall is garbage!

[DirtDawson Profile]

I'm not holding an extreme of an opinion as you're putting me to, which makes it easier for you to disagree with me.



I didn't say Mendenhall was a bust, or that he was "trash". I said he'd be mediocre at best. I dont think he'll ever make a Pro Bowl. But he's not horrible.



And yes, on that one play in OT, it was more about the key block than about Mendenhall's running ability.



It's not like Mendy's running was in any way impactful throughout the entire time of regulation...He had a pair of 1st down spirts, that's about it.

[No l Gravity l Profile]

I'm not saying he's as good as Johnson but Mendenhall has showed he's not a bust. Whatever alternate universe you're watching games in I'd love to visit there. With no real QB or passing game, Rashard had 22 carries for 120. Including the all-important 50-yard busting when our first four games are postseason games. Hate him all you want. Mendenhall has produced.

He had good stats because of that ONE RUN in OT. Aside from that he was pretty ineffective. He was 21 carries for 70 yards.



And that final TD run shouldn't even be credited to him. It should be credited to David Johnson, making the greatest offensive block of the game.

Hard to be effective when you have 9 players stacking the box because nobody respects your quarterback's ability to throw the ball down the field. Mendenhall is a good back. Light years better than Parker ever was.

[DirtDawson Profile]

Hard to be effective when you have 9 players stacking the box because nobody respects your quarterback's ability to throw the ball down the field. Mendenhall is a good back. Light years better than Parker ever was.

True, I'll give you that point.


Willie also got to play back when we had 2 pro bowlers on our OL and one alternate. Mendy has the swiss cheese O line to work with.


I'd be more optimistic about Mendenhall if our O line was better, or continues to improve.

[steelandblood Profile]

Hard to be effective when you have 9 players stacking the box because nobody respects your quarterback's ability to throw the ball down the field. Mendenhall is a good back. Light years better than Parker ever was.

True, I'll give you that point.


Willie also got to play back when we had 2 pro bowlers on our OL and one alternate. Mendy has the swiss cheese O line to work with.


I'd be more optimistic about Mendenhall if our O line was better, or continues to improve.

My apologies for embellishing your connotations without clarification. Mediocre is definitely a better word than, for example, "sack of shit." I know you don't think Mendenhall is garbage, the difference is merely that I think he's a good back. I do concede he may not become elite. But a backfield by committee is something I've pushed for since the Bus retired and I think he can be a fine asset in that role with Moore, Redman and/or Dwyer giving him a spell every so often.

[DirtDawson Profile]

Hard to be effective when you have 9 players stacking the box because nobody respects your quarterback's ability to throw the ball down the field. Mendenhall is a good back. Light years better than Parker ever was.

True, I'll give you that point.


Willie also got to play back when we had 2 pro bowlers on our OL and one alternate. Mendy has the swiss cheese O line to work with.


I'd be more optimistic about Mendenhall if our O line was better, or continues to improve.

My apologies for embellishing your connotations without clarification. Mediocre is definitely a better word than, for example, "sack of shit." I know you don't think Mendenhall is garbage, the difference is merely that I think he's a good back. I do concede he may not become elite. But a backfield by committee is something I've pushed for since the Bus retired and I think he can be a fine asset in that role with Moore, Redman and/or Dwyer giving him a spell every so often.

Fair enough, I can see that happening too.


Isaac Redman really needs to get more touches, for sure. Even though he biffed that one 3rd and short run, he also had a nice plunge earlier in the game, broke alot of tackles up the middle for about an 8 yard gain I think.

[MDSteelersFan Profile]

Dogging Mendenhall when he posted over 1,100 yards in what was effectively his rookie season is a bit harsh. Here are the RBs taken in the first 2 rounds of the '08 draft ranked by rushing yards per game played:

Draft # - Player - YPC - YPG - TOTYDS
1(24) - Johnson - 5.3 - 105.5 - 3,376
2(44) - Forte - 3.8 - 67.2 - 2,217
1(23) - Mendenhall - 4.5 - 61.24 - 1,286
2(55) - Rice - 4.8 - 61.20 - 1,836
1(13) - Stewart - 4.8 - 60.0 - 1,981
1(22) - Jones - 6.4 - 47.1 - 989
1(4) - McFadden - 4.0 - 36.6 - 951

OK, Johnson is clearly the winner over the first two seasons. But, I think it is easy to make the argument that Forte, Mendenhall, Rice and Stewart are all big success stories. Even Jones in his part-time role might be judged a very good pick thus far. And McFadden is hardly a bust, though clearly not living up the the #4 pick (yet).

All in all, this is a pretty incredible crop of RBs. Any of these guys (with the exception of Jones IMO) could rise to the top of the list after 5 seasons are done. Mendenhall included.

[Fire Arians Profile]

limas peed, who peed the bed as a toddler, and still does.