2004 Draft Retrospective - AFCN

[lamberts-lost-tooth]

Originally Posted by Livinginthe past

For sure.

I have written it in other threads - I have the Steelers pencilled in for the postseason, most probably as a wildcard.

Of all the Mags that I have studied...Noone has us making the playoffs BUT Three of the Football magazines state that Pittsburgh can make the playoffs (and one states they could be North champs) if Ben plays like he did in 2005.

[Livinginthe past]

Originally Posted by lamberts-lost-tooth

Of all the Mags that I have studied...Noone has us making the playoffs BUT Three of the Football magazines state that Pittsburgh can make the playoffs (and one states they could be North champs) if Ben plays like he did in 2005.

I dont really understand the thought process of some of these predictions - the Steelers remain solid across the board and have a potentially excellent QB/RB combo.

2005 form shouldn't be too difficult to attain - the Steelers were erratic the whole regular season before hitting a hot streak at the right time.

Of course it goes without saying (almost) that if Ben were to play like last year, the Steelers will end up with a losing record - I see no real reason to imagine he will though - the factors that led to his crisis last year have long since faded.

[lamberts-lost-tooth]

Originally Posted by Livinginthe past

I dont really understand the thought process of some of these predictions - the Steelers remain solid across the board and have a potentially excellent QB/RB combo.

2005 form shouldn't be too difficult to attain - the Steelers were erratic the whole regular season before hitting a hot streak at the right time.

Of course it goes without saying (almost) that if Ben were to play like last year, the Steelers will end up with a losing record - I see no real reason to imagine he will though - the factors that led to his crisis last year have long since faded.

Excellent points.....once Ben got healthy we went on a tear at the end of the season. Look at our Superbowl year ...and the change in personnel. We will be younger at several positions (such as CB, Safety, LB, and WR) ...and other than a much underappreciated Chris Hope, most of those changes are upgrades ...i.e. Holmes over El

[CantStop85]

Originally Posted by Livinginthe past

Ha. I enjoyed that.

Thanks for your thoughts, specifically the extra details on the Bengals - its all good info!

You are probably correct - maybe the Browns should be downgraded slightly, because its pretty clear that the Bengals had the best draft in 2004.

The surprising part was the Ravens...not a single player they drafted was even worth a roster spot.

The Steelers also had a pretty good draft...a franchise qb, a starting tackle, and a cornerback who's in the rotation. I just expected their lower round picks to make more of an impact than they did.

The Browns draft was actually much better than their drafts in prior years. Surprisingly, this was actually before Phil Savage was put in charge as the GM.

[CantStop85]

Here are some of the notable picks from the second day of the draft that year:

7th round
245 Oakland Courtney Anderson TE San Jose State
216 Dallas Patrick Crayton WR N.W. Oklahoma
209 San Diego Shane Olivea T Ohio State

6th round
191 Tennessee Troy Fleming FB Tennessee
188 San Francisco Andy Lee P Pittsburgh
174 Miami Rex Hadnot C Houston
167 Arizona Nick Leckey C Kansas State

5th round
163 Carolina Drew Carter WR Ohio State
157 Seattle D.J. Hackett WR Colorado
156 New Orleans Mike Karney FB Arizona State
154 San Diego Michael Turner RB Northern Illinois
143 N.Y. Jets Erik Coleman SS Washington State
141 Indianapolis Jake Scott G Idaho
136 N.Y. Giants Gibril Wilson SS Tennessee
137 Jacksonville Josh Scobee K Louisiana Tech
138 Tennessee Jacob Bell T Miami, O.

4th round
125 Indianapolis Jason David CB Washington State
126 Kansas City Jared Allen DE Idaho State
117 Cincinnati Robert Geathers DE Georgia
111 Tampa Bay Will Allen FS Ohio State
110 Chicago Nathan Vasher CB Texas
105 Kansas City Samie Parker WR Oregon
98 San Diego Shaun Phillips OLB Purdue

I would have to say San Diego had some impressive picks with Shaun Phillips in the 4th, Michael Turner in the 5th, and Shane Olivea in the 7th.

[SteelCityMan786]

Originally Posted by lamberts-lost-tooth

Of all the Mags that I have studied...Noone has us making the playoffs BUT Three of the Football magazines state that Pittsburgh can make the playoffs (and one states they could be North champs) if Ben plays like he did in 2005.

I could also see it happen if he plays like he did in 2004 to.

[Godfather]

Steelers should have the highest grade based on your own analysis...Ben is by far the biggest impact player of the group.