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2009 bloggers’ mock draft: pick #32

March 26, 2009 By: Admin Category: Draft/Free Agency

Steelers Today has hooked up with 31 other NFL bloggers from around the country to do a bloggers’ mock draft. All 32 NFL teams are represented in the mock draft.

The mock draft is sponsored by Cleveland Browns blog No Logo Needed. For more details on the bloggers’ mock draft, click here.

With the 32nd pick of the 2009 NFL Draft the Pittsburgh Steelers select……

Fili Moala, Defensive Tackle, USC

I had a hard time with this pick. Everyone knows that the Steelers need offensive line help. However, all of the offensive tackles that I was interested in are gone. William Beatty was borderline, but I ultimately decided that he didn’t deserve a first round selection. The only interior lineman that I thought was worth a 1st round pick was Alex Mack, but he was taken by the Philadelphia Eagles (curse you!!!!). I did think about Duke Robinson, but I just couldn’t justify taking him here.

I looked hard at defensive backs. I absolutely love Sean Smith, and he would have been my selection had I not taken Moala. I got a lot of feedback from readers asking me to select Alphonso Smith, the CB out of Wake Forest. I know that Smith has great ball skills, but I just don’t think that a cornerback who stands slightly less than 5’9″ tall is what the Steelers need. Dick LeBeau requires his cornerbacks to be strong in run support, and Alphonso Smith just can’t do that. Besides, how many starting cornerbacks are there in the NFL who are under 5’9″? See my point?

Darius Butler out of Connecticut also got a lot of support. But he has similar problems as Alphonso Smith. Butler has great ball skills, but he only weighs 178 lbs. He has a very thin frame, and he eschews contact. The word “physical” is not in his vocabulary. He might make a good Cleveland Brown, but he wouldn’t make a good Pittsburgh Steeler.

The Steelers lost Bryant McFadden in free agency, so CB is a need. However, backup William Gay is ready to start, so that need isn’t as pressing as it may seem. We definitely need depth at both CB and safety, but we can take care of that later in the draft.

I was ecstatic when the Arizona Cardinals took Beanie Wells with the 31st pick. Now I won’t have to explain not taking him to Steelers fans who are dying for a “power back”. Besides, we took Rashard Mendenhall last year. 2008 was essentially a redshirt year for him.

Ultimately, I couldn’t overlook the fact that all of the Steelers’ defensive line starters are over 30 years old. Aaron Smith will be 33 this season. His days are winding down, and Dick LeBeau’s system is complex. Few players start on the Steelers’ defense in their first year. We need to bring in Smith’s replacement now to give him a year to learn, and prepare him to take over in 2010.

Fili Moala is a 6’4″, 303 lbs. defensive tackle who has started 38 games in one of the best programs in the country (USC). I have Moala rated as the 3rd best defensive tackle in the draft. However, I have him rated right below Tyson Jackson as the 2nd best 3-4 defensive end in the draft.

Here is part of Moala’s scouting report from NFL.com:

“A more valuable contributor than his yearly average production (26 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss and 3.0 sacks) would indicate, Moala isn’t going to fill the stat sheet, but his presence inside forced opponents to double-team him often, opening up opportunities for his playmaking teammates.”

USC has 3 linebackers who may be drafted in the first round; Rey Maualuga, Brian Cushing, and Clay Matthews. Those are the “playmaking teammates” that the scouting report is talking about. Without Moala, those guys are not first rounders.

Moala’s knock as a defensive tackle is that he is more of a run stopper than a pass rusher. He just doesn’t get enough sacks. However, he is lauded for his rare size, strength, and his ability to collapse the pocket and make tackles despite fighting off double teams. Hmmmm, a 300 lb. run stopper who can handle double teams, collapse the pocket, and open up lanes for his playmaking linebackers. Sounds like a 3-4 defensive end to me. Aaron Smith’s successor has been found

By the way, I haven’t heard Moala’s name being tossed around on any Steelers messageboard, or seen it on any mock draft. So I know that I’m on an island here. But when you look at what he does, he’s perfect for conversion to a 3-4 DE.

But I know that Steelers fans are a vocal bunch. So let me know what you think. Just keep it civil. My readers know that I don’t tolerate name calling. If you disagree, tell me why you disagree, and explain who you would have taken. Don’t just write in to call me a “moron”, or to tell me that I’m “stupid”. If you do that, I’m just going to delete your comment. We only allow intelligent conversation around here.

The draft results so far are shown below. Click on the individual pick to read each blogger’s rationale for his selection.

1. Detroit Lions: Mathew Stafford, QB (Georgia)
2. St. Louis Rams: Eugene Monroe, OT (Virginia)
3. Kansas City Chiefs: Aaron Curry, LB (Wake Forest)
4. Seattle Seahawks: Michael Crabtree, WR (Texas Tech)
5. Cleveland Browns: Rey Maualuga, LB (Southern California)
6. Cincinnati Bengals: Jason Smith, OT (Baylor)
7. Oakland Raiders: Jeremy Maclin, WR (Missouri)
8. Jacksonville Jaguars: B.J. Raji, DT (Boston College)
9. Green Bay Packers, Brian Orakpo, DE (Texas)
10. San Francisco 49ers, Everette Brown, OLB (Florida State)
11. Buffalo Bills, Clay Matthews, OLB (Southern California)
12. Denver Broncos, Malcolm Jenkins, CB (Ohio State)
13. Washington Redskins, Andre Smith, OT (Alabama)
14. New Orleans Saints, Brian Cushing, OLB (Southern California)
15. Houston Texans, Michael Oher, OT (Ole Miss)
16. San Diego Chargers, Eben Britton, OT (Arizona)
17. New York Jets, Tyson Jackson, DE (LSU)
18. Chicago Bears, Darrius Heyward-Bey, WR (Maryland)
19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Percy Harvin, WR (Florida)
20. Detroit Lions, Aaron Maybin, DE (Penn State)
21. Philadelphia Eagles, Vontae Davis, CB (Illinois)
22. Minnesota Vikings, Mark Sanchez, QB (Southern California)
23. New England Patriots, Knowshon Moreno, RB (Georgia)
24. Atlanta Falcons, Clint Sintim, LB (Virginia)
25. Miami Dolphins, Larry English, LB (Northern Illinois)
26. Baltimore Ravens, Kenny Britt, WR (Rutgers)
27. Indianapolis Colts, Peria Jerry, DT (Mississippi State)
28. Philadelphia Eagles, Alex Mack, C (California)
29. New York Giants, Hakeem Nicks, WR (North Carolina)
30. Tennessee Titans, D. J. Moore, CB (Vanderbilt)
31. Arizona Cardinals, Chris Wells, RB (Ohio State)
32. Pittsburgh Steelers, Fili Moala, DT (USC)

The Detroit Lions are on the clock.

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Tags: 2009 bloggers mock draft, 3-4, Fili Moala, Pittsburgh Steelers, Southern California, USC

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Scouting Matt Cassel

November 28, 2008 By: Admin Category: Lists, Pre-Game Analyses

This week, the Steelers must face the New England Patriots, led by surprising quarterback Matt Cassel. Prior to this season, many fans had probably never heard of Matt Cassel. When Tom Brady went down with an injury, most fans probably wrote off the Patriots. But Matt Cassel has played extremely well, and passed for back-to-back 400+ yard games. More importantly, the Patriots are 7-4, and are in contention for a wildcard playoff spot.

Most Steelers fans are probably asking “who is this Matt Cassel guy? Isn’t he a scrub who hadn’t started a game since high school”? Well, the answer to that question is “yes and no”. It IS true that prior to this season, Matt Cassel hadn’t started a game since high school. However, it is not necessarily true that he is a scrub.

Coming out of high school, Cassel was ranked as one of the top 10 quarterbacks in the country. As a result, he was recruited by Pete Carroll to play at USC, one of the most prestigious programs in the nation. Cassel probably would have become a starter if he had chosen to attend any other school that recruited him other than USC.

While at USC, Cassel spent his entire career as a backup to Heisman trophy winners. Cassel started his college career as a backup to Heisman Trophy winner Carson Palmer. He ended his college career as backup to another USC Heisman Trophy winner, Matt Leinart.

Despite having never started a game in college, pro scouts recognized Cassel’s potential. At 6’4″ and 230 lbs., he had nice size. More importantly, he had a strong arm. Ultimately, he was drafted in the seventh round by the New England Patriots.

Many fans thought it was a fluke when Cassel passed for 400 yards against the New York Jets two weeks ago. When he followed that game up with a 415 yard passing game against the Miami Dolphins last week, suddenly Cassel could no longer be taken lightly.

Most Steelers fans would probably agree that Steelers’ quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is a franchise quarterback. Nevertheless, Roethlisberger has never thrown for 400 yards in an NFL game. Cassel has done it twice in the past 2 weeks. In fact, Cassel leads Roethlisberger in almost every statistical category this year.

Cassel is 8th in the NFL in passing yardage with 2,615 yards. Roethlisberger is 17th with 2,233 yards. Matt Cassel is ranked #10 with a passer rating of 90.5, while Roethlisberger is ranked 21st with a passer rating of 80.5. Cassel has thrown 13 touchdown passes this year. Big Ben has 11. Cassel has completed 66.3% of his passes. Roethlisberger has completed 61.6%. Cassel has thrown 24 passes this year that were for 20 yards or more. Big Ben has only thrown 20 passes for 20+ yards. The only important category that Big Ben leads Matt Cassel in is interceptions. Big Ben has thrown 11 interceptions, while Matt Cassel has only thrown 8. Oh wait, that’s bad, isn’t it? Ummmm, forget that last one.

Since Big Ben is a franchise quarterback, and Matt Cassel’s statistics are better than Big Ben’s, Matt Cassel must also be a franchise quarterback, right? Moreover, since Cassel’s stats are better than Roethlisberger’s he must be a better quarterback than Big Ben. Make sense? Actually, no. It doesn’t make sense.

Let’s look at Matt Cassel’s accomplishments a little closer. Matt Cassel has never faced a passing defense that was ranked in the top 1/3 of NFL. The best passing defense that he’s faced is the Indianapolis Colts, and he lost that game. The best defense that he has actually beaten is the 6-5 Buffalo Bills’ defense. The Bill’s passing defense is ranked #16 in the NFL (out of 32 teams). That means that they are just barely in the top half of NFL passing defenses.

The Bills’ defense gives up 211.5 passing yards per game, and they have a total of 18 sacks. By comparison, the Steelers defense is ranked #1 in the NFL against the pass and against the run. The Steelers allow a measly 168 passing yards per game, and they’ve accumulated a total of 37 sacks. Translation: Matt Cassel has been playing against JV defenses. This Sunday, he’ll be facing his first varsity squad.

While many teams were unprepared for Cassel, after two consecutive 400+ yard passing performances, the Steelers will not take him lightly. Coach Dick LeBeau will have his defense ready to teach Cassel a thing or two. The Steelers are likely to try to confuse Cassel by constantly shifting their defensive looks right up to the time of the snap. More importantly, the Steelers have one of the few cornerbacks in the league who has the size and speed to shadow Randy Moss. With Ike Taylor taking away some of the advantage that Moss usually enjoys, it is going to make Cassel work much harder for his yards than he usually has to.

With his home run target partially neutralized, Cassel is going to have to spend more time searching for his second and third passing options. This will give the Steelers’ pitbulls, James Harrison and LaMarr Woodley, time to get to Cassel. Cassel has already been sacked 34 times this season. That’s even more sacks than Big Ben has taken, and we all know that Ben gets sacked waaayyyyyyy too often. So while Matt Cassel will enter the game with 34 sacks, he’s not likely to leave the game with 34. 36 or 37 is far more likely.

The one X-factor that might change the complexion of the game is Patriot’s coach Bill Belichick. For those of you who don’t know, I don’t like Bill Belichick. Besides being a cheater, Belichick is also a Steelers killer. He has a knack for creating perfect game plans for facing the Steelers. There is little doubt in my mind that Belichick will have Cassel and the rest of the Patriots well prepared for this game. The fact that the game is being played in New England won’t help either.

The bottom line is that Matt Cassel is a decent young quarterback. However, he has never faced a defense like the one that he’s going to be facing this weekend. Bill Belichick will have him well prepared, but it won’t make a difference. The Steelers are going to beat the Patriots. The only quarterback who can potentially change that outcome is Ben Roethlisberger, not Matt Cassel.

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