Something that seems unnoticed here

[thumper]

Everyone is assuming our DBs are bad. I don't disagree
that we should draft a CB or two. BUT...

The following seems to be ignored.

1.) Gay is a good slot CB. He is fine. When he struggles
it's when he was forced to play out of position on the outside.
Had he not been forced to play on the outside, we would be
signing his praises not condemning him as sucking. If we
keep our 1 & 2 CBs healthy, Gay is a positive for this team,
not a negative. He is fine.

2.) The reason Gay kept having to play outside is because
McFadden was hurt most of the year. He had both hip and
ab injuries. What could be worse for a CB than those? Are
you kidding? Try to back peddle and switch to running forward
while doing it on a bad hip. Nearly impossible. He kept trying
to grunt it out and kept having to be taken out of the game.
A healthy B-Mac is a good CB. He has been solid his entire
career. Not an "elite" CB but not a bad one either. Get him
healthy and not only will he be fine, but so will Gay, who
will be allowed to play in the slot.

3.) Polamalu may have been on the field down the stretch
and in the play offs, but he wasn't right. He was a shadow
of himself. If he completely heals from his Achilles he will
be a difference maker again. He was not his "difference maker"
self in the Super Bowl. Had he been, we could have easily
had won. He was simply not near 100%

Considering the above, Pgh might not need as much help in
the backfield as most of us are assuming. If we lose Ike, then,
yes, it would be a bigger concern, but not the end of the world.
Butler may be ready to contribute in 2011. And we will spend
a high pick on a CB.

That is all.

[Fire Arians]

good points. we are solid when healthy but because a couple of injuries made our pass D fall apart, that just shows that db depth is a major issue. that can be fixed with the combination of lewis/butler stepping up and drafting a couple quality cb's. this year's draft class is deep when it comes to corners, we need to capitalize on it.

i also have been saying gay isn't a bad nickel corner. as a #2 he's not though. we need someone to step up and take the #2 spot, and i think it needs to be someone better than b-mac

butler and lewis, their opportunity to crack the starting lineup is now so they better come into training camp with their game faces on.

[pete74]

i think troy was healthy and only got taken out of the game because he had to play deep

[Fire Arians]

and to add to my post, we need a #4 corner to combat today's modern passing attacks. anthony madison should never see the field if it's not on special teams.

[Dino 6 Rings]

Originally Posted by thumper

Everyone is assuming our DBs are bad. I don't disagree
that we should draft a CB or two. BUT...

The following seems to be ignored.

1.) Gay is a good slot CB. He is fine. When he struggles
it's when he was forced to play out of position on the outside.
Had he not been forced to play on the outside, we would be
signing his praises not condemning him as sucking. If we
keep our 1 & 2 CBs healthy, Gay is a positive for this team,
not a negative. He is fine.

2.) The reason Gay kept having to play outside is because
McFadden was hurt most of the year. He had both hip and
ab injuries. What could be worse for a CB than those? Are
you kidding? Try to back peddle and switch to running forward
while doing it on a bad hip. Nearly impossible. He kept trying
to grunt it out and kept having to be taken out of the game.
A healthy B-Mac is a good CB. He has been solid his entire
career. Not an "elite" CB but not a bad one either. Get him
healthy and not only will he be fine, but so will Gay, who
will be allowed to play in the slot.

3.) Polamalu may have been on the field down the stretch
and in the play offs, but he wasn't right. He was a shadow
of himself. If he completely heals from his Achilles he will
be a difference maker again. He was not his "difference maker"
self in the Super Bowl. Had he been, we could have easily
had won. He was simply not near 100%

Considering the above, Pgh might not need as much help in
the backfield as most of us are assuming. If we lose Ike, then,
yes, it would be a bigger concern, but not the end of the world.
Butler may be ready to contribute in 2011. And we will spend
a high pick on a CB.

That is all.

Some good points, the only problem is I don't think Gay can actually cover a TE, he cant' out muscle or jump the TE, he was exposed in the NE Game at the nickle position by the Tight End. He does great as the 3rd CB when he's on the slot, but not when he's on a TE. Horrible.

McFadden let me down big time this year. He was supposed to be an upgrade over having Gay as the #2, and he didn't get it done. Bottom line he was a really weak link on the outside. Ike is Ike, he's gonna deflect a ton of balls, maybe catch one for an INT at some point, maybe, but he's not gonna get us killed in a game.

Both Gay and McFadden got us Killed, and with Troy's injury, we were also beaten a few times deep when Safeties, both Troy and Clark didn't get into the right position.

We had some secondary issues, no doubt. Quick fix in the 1st round? I highly Doubt that is possible.

[thumper]

Originally Posted by Fire Arians

i also have been saying gay isn't a bad nickel corner. as a #2 he's not though. we need someone to step up and take the #2 spot, and i think it needs to be someone better than b-mac

butler and lewis, their opportunity to crack the starting lineup is now so they better come into training camp with their game faces on.

But I repeat: B Mac has been solid his entire career and
he is not old. The hip and ab injuries must have been
a factor. How do you cover elite world class athletes
with a bad hip and abs?

He kept on having to leave games after he tried to play
with those injuries - many, many games.

[thumper]

Originally Posted by Fire Arians

and to add to my post, we need a #4 corner to combat today's modern passing attacks. anthony madison should never see the field if it's not on special teams.

[Fire Arians]

Originally Posted by thumper

But I repeat: B Mac has been solid his entire career and
he is not old. The hip and ab injuries must have been
a factor. How do you cover elite world class athletes
with a bad hip and abs?

He kept on having to leave games after he tried to play
with those injuries - many, many games.

well we still need adequate replacements. if he goes down again and we have no good backup plan, then the same thing will happen again.

b-mac isn't a terrible #2, but an upgrade to that position would make me tons more confident in a 7th world title.

with the cb depth available in this draft, I think we should take advantage of it.

[Neil-Still-Rules-14]

I agree with all your points. Gay is as good as they come for nickelbacks. And the trio of Taylor, (healthy) BMac, and Gay is as good as it gets (imo). And yes Polamalu did ZERO during the playoffs. Have to think injuries played some part.

[thumper]

Originally Posted by Dino 6 Rings

Some good points, the only problem is I don't think Gay can actually cover a TE, he cant' out muscle or jump the TE, he was exposed in the NE Game at the nickle position by the Tight End. He does great as the 3rd CB when he's on the slot, but not when he's on a TE. Horrible.

McFadden let me down big time this year. He was supposed to be an upgrade over having Gay as the #2, and he didn't get it done. Bottom line he was a really weak link on the outside. Ike is Ike, he's gonna deflect a ton of balls, maybe catch one for an INT at some point, maybe, but he's not gonna get us killed in a game.

Both Gay and McFadden got us Killed, and with Troy's injury, we were also beaten a few times deep when Safeties, both Troy and Clark didn't get into the right position.

We had some secondary issues, no doubt. Quick fix in the 1st round? I highly Doubt that is possible.

I repeat: B Mac was hurt most of the year