The Thaddeus Gibson loss
As most of you know by now, the Steelers took a gamble and lost.
The team needed to bring defensive lineman Steve McClendon up from the practice squad to add defensive line depth for the New Orleans Saints game. In order to do so, they had to release someone from the active roster to make room for him. They chose to waive rookie linebacker Thaddeus Gibson, hoping that he would clear the waiver wire, and then they would sign him to their practice squad. Unfortunately, Gibson didn’t clear waivers.
Two teams claimed him; the Philadelphia Eagles and the San Francisco 49ers. According to NFL rules, if more than one team claims a player who is placed on waivers, the team with the worst record will be granted the player’s rights. The 49ers have a worse record than the Eagles, so they received Gibson.
Gibson was the Steelers’ 4th round draft pick in the 2010 NFL Draft. Gibson had been a defensive end at Ohio State, but the Steelers planned to convert him to a 3-4 linebacker in Dick LeBeau’s defensive scheme. Gibson had originally been recruited to Ohio State to play linebacker, so transitioning back to the position was not viewed to be much of a stretch for him.
During training camp this summer, Gibson immediately raised eyebrows. He showed a level of dominance during the Steelers’ famous “backs-on-backers” drills that was usually only demonstrated by James Harrison. Gibson was unstoppable, and fans and the media quickly took notice. He drew more raves during training camp than his fellow rookie Jason Worilds who had been drafted in the second round.
Some might argue that the Steelers really didn’t need to spend a 4th round draft pick on a linebacker, when they had already spent a second round pick on one. This argument would be flawed. Linebackers are the cornerstone of a 3-4 defense. Moreover, they are typically key playmakers on special teams. You can never have enough good linebackers (which might help explain why the Steelers took a third linebacker, Stevenson Sylvester, later in the same draft).
The Steelers two starting outside linebackers, James Harrison and LaMarr Woodley, are two of the best in the game. However, the Steelers had no depth behind them. Lawrence Timmons and James Farrior were planned to be the starting inside linebackers, and Keyaron Fox and Larry Foote were solid back-ups for each of those players. But the Steelers really didn’t have strong back-ups at the outside linebacker position. Thus, Worilds and Gibson were taken in the draft.
LB Thaddeus Gibson
Besides the need for back-ups, the Steelers also have an age problem on their defense, and injecting youth is critical if they want to maintain long-term dominance. We’ve talked plenty of times about the fact that Aaron Smith, Casey Hampton, and Brett Keisel (the Steelers’ entire defensive line) are on the wrong side of 30. James Farrior and James Harrison are also on the wrong side of 30. That means that over 70% of the Steelers front 7 are over 30 years old. Whether we like it or not, all of their careers are nearing their end, and we need to be grooming their successors.
LaMarr Woodley is due to sign a new contract, and the Steelers didn’t tender an offer to him during the off-season. Some speculate that fear of potentially losing Woodley is another reason why the Steelers needed to go so heavy on linebackers during this past draft. Personally, I believe that once a new collective bargaining agreement is in place, the Steelers will find a way to keep Woodley (even if that means putting the franchise tag on him).
The Steelers needed to inject more youth into their linebacker corps. And they did that. And as further evidence of what a great job Kevin Colbert did in finding young linebackers, all three of the rookie linebackers made the Steelers’ final 53-man roster.
Gibson’s absence won’t have any immediate impact on the Steelers. Moreover, fans will quickly forget about him. But his loss was big. He had more potential than most fans realize. He looked great in both training camp and preseason. He would have played a big part in the Steelers’ defense in the future.
Good luck with the 49ers, Thaddeus. Your skills and potential were both recognized and appreciated. It’s too bad that we won’t get to see you develop and reach your full potential while wearing black and gold.
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It would of nice to keep him, but with the lack of depth on the DL now, we had to cut him. Our LB corps are really talented, and we couldn’t really afford to cut anyone in the secondary, where any talent is needed. Besides, there is no guarantee that he reaches his potential, and the Steelers can’t put current needs on hold for a fourth round pick. Especially since the Steelers seem to manufacture LBs out of thin air.
With Kiesel already hobbled once and Smith out for the season, we needed more DL help.
1Arnaz Battle anyone? He’s the 6th WR and only made the team on ST. He has all of 2 ST tackles…I think we could have missed his him for a month or two. And, as Don pointed out with Smith, Arnaz is also a vested veteran and would not be subject to waivers.
This was not a smart move.
2I agree with John, Battle should’ve been put on waivers instead of Gibson.
3Good luck to him with San Francisco. Maybe he’ll be back someday.
John,
You read my mind. My first choice would have been to cut Aaron Smith. After him, I thought Arnaz Battle made the most sense. Emmanuel Sanders and Antonio Brown are already ahead of him as wide receivers, and he’s barely made his presence felt on special teams.
Another thought, though risky, would have been to cut Charlie Batch. Like Smith and Leftwich, he would not be subject to the waiver system, and Batch wouldn’t sign with anyone else. We could probably last a few games with only 2 active QB’s. Ben Seldom gets hurt.
4What possibilities are there of getting Gibson back. Would it have to be by trade, does he have to be cut by the 49ers or is there some other scenario to go by? Also what is likely yo be his role; practice squad or actually see some real playing time?
5Thanks for writing about this move/mistake by Colbert & Tomlin. You KNOW how I feel. This was another in what I believe to be a long list of bad personnel moves that has left the Steelers in a bad position on the DL (Sonny Harris is our best answer?) OL and Defensive backfield. Our draft philosophy of the ‘best player available’ seems to have left us vulnerable. We have not developed later round players well and we have not committed early picks to the above 3 positions (DL, OL & DB). Over the past 6 years(’05-’10 Drafts) in Rounds 1-3 we have chosen: 1 DL (Hood); 3 OL (Pouncey, Urbik & Essex) & 3 DB (Lewis, Reid & McFadden). All of our #1′s have been huge hits (Pouncey, Mendenhall, Timmons, Holmes, Miller, Ben & Troy). Our #2-not so good (Except for Woodley!…Worilds -TBD, Urbik, Sweed, Anthony Smith, McFadden, Colclough, & Alonzo Jackson). #3′s at 50% winners (Wallace, Bruce Davis, Spaeth, Willie Reid, Essex, & Starks.) The Steelers do not trade much (except #1 WR for 3rd Round picks) we build through the draft & the draft is a gamble. I just believe that we need players at certain positions (that we don’t have) and Gibson was one of those guys (potentially.) We can’t bank on a Brett Keisel in the 7th Round; Aaron Smith in the 4th or Chris Kemoeatu in the 6th-those are lucky. Be smart!
6Let’s keep the injury bug away so we can keep our front line on the field and keep winning.
Benny,
7I don’t think we have any chance of getting him back. We took a gamble and lost. Perhaps we’ll draft another good young linebacker next year.
John#21,
Hard to argue with your points. However, the Steelers have been one of the most consistently competitive teams in the NFL for a very long time. So they are doing something right.
I really hate the idea of us losing a 4th round pick. Particularly when it could have been avoided. But the team may have felt that Arnaz Battle was too good for other teams to pass by, and that they would have lost him if they had waived him (did I just type that with a straight face?).
Drafting Maurkice Pouncey and Ziggy Hood in the first round were both unusual moves for the Steelers. Perhaps next year they’ll take a cornerback in the first round. You never know.
8