Steelers Today - A Pittsburgh Steelers blog

April 26, 2009
By Donald Starver

With their third pick in the 3rd round, the Steelers selected Keenan Lewis.  Lewis is a 6’1, 198 pound cornerback out of Oregon State.

Like Mike Wallace before him, this pick comes as a surprise.  Few scouting reports had Lewis rated this high.  Most had him listed as being between the 12 - 30th best cornerback in this draft.

Lewis has exceptional size for a cornerback, and I’m sure that is what attracted the Steelers to him.  Lewis is a solid defender who benefits from having played in the pass-happy PAC-10.

Best in bump and run coverage, Lewis likes to get his hands on receivers and use his long arms to jam them.

He is good in run support,  though he sometimes avoids contact.  He tends to duck his head when tackling, so he misses some tackles that he should probably make.  Nevertheless, he is a willing participant in run coverage, and can be coached in this area at the next level.

Because of his height and long arms, Lewis gets his hands on a lot of passes.  He reads and reacts quickly.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fcoBGwovZU

On the negative side, Lewis is a long-legged strider who doesn’t change directions quickly.  He lacks great athleticism and has only average speed.  He doesn’t have soft hands, and sometimes drops interceptions.

A solid week of practice at the Senior Bowl probably helped raise Lewis’ stock.

When you look at Lewis’ size and athletic attributes, he almost projects better as a safety than as a cornerback.  It will be interesting to see how the Steelers choose to utilize him, since safety is also a team need.

To read about the Steelers’ previous pick, click here.

To read about the Steelers’ next pick, click here.

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April 26, 2009
By Donald Starver

With their second pick in the 3rd round, the Steelers selected Mike Wallace.  Wallace is a 6’0, 180 pound wide receiver out of Mississippi.

This pick came as a surprise.  Few (if any) scouting reports had Wallace rated this high.  Most had him listed as being between the 25th - 34th best wide receiver in the draft.

When you talk about Mike Wallace, the first word that comes to mind is speed.  Wallace is one of the fastest players available in the draft.  He ran a 4.3 in the 40 yard dash.  Former Tampa Bay coach John Gruden said that they timed him at a blazing 4.28 seconds.  The kid is fast.  Super fast.  He is much faster than Nate Washington, Santonio Holmes, or Limas Sweed.  He is immediately the fastest receiver on the Steelers, and will challenge Willie Parker for team honors.

Wallace is capable of impacting the game in a number of ways.  He was one of the most dangerous kick returners in the country last year, and the Steelers will be able to utilize this aspect of his game immediately.  He averaged 23.2 yards per kickoff return, and returned two kickoffs for touchdowns.

Wallace’s speed was also apparent at the wide receiver position, where he led the SEC in yards/catch for two consecutive seasons.  He averaged 18.8 yards/catch during his junior year, and improved it to 20.1 yards/catch last year.

Despite his blazing speed, Wallace is more of a track star than a football player.  His hands are suspect, and he is very thinly built.  He has mostly straight line speed, and is not particularly good at changing directions.

Wallace catches the ball with his body, and is going to have to learn to extend his arms and catch with his hands.  More importantly, Wallace is going to have to eliminate drops.  His speed will get him separation, but he has to hold onto the ball.  Moreover, he won’t be able to rely on pure speed at the next level.  Wallace will have to run crisper routes to elude savvy NFL defenders.

Wallace will also have to become more physical.  He is easily jammed at the line, and shows little desire to fight through it.  He also is not a willing blocker. However, spending time with Hines Ward will surely change this.

“He’s a burner”, said Steelers’ offensive coordinator Bruce Arians.  “He hasn’t gone over the middle a lot, but he’s an outside speed guy who’s an excellent return guy.  We really, really like him”.

Wallace will have an immediate impact in the Steelers return game.  However, his impact on the passing game may not be felt until year 2 or 3.  He must develop better hands and better route running skills.  But he has speed to burn, and that can’t be taught.

To read about the Steelers’ previous pick, click here.

To read about the Steelers’ next pick, click here.

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April 26, 2009
By Donald Starver

With their first pick in the 3rd round, the Steelers selected Kraig Urbik.  Urbik is a big guard from Wisconsin.  Urbik stands 6’5″, and weighs 328 lbs.  Like I said, he’s big.

Urbik was probably the best offensive lineman still available at this spot, and he represents good value.  More importantly, he meets a need for the Steelers.  The team has finally gotten around to addressing their porous offensive line.

First, lets look at the good aspects of this pick.  As I mentioned earlier, Urbik is a big, strong kid.  He comes from a quality Wisconsin program that has produced a stream of successful NFL linemen.  Urbik has a good motor and plays until the whistle blows.  He is tough, has good football intelligence, and is a very hard worker.

Urbik is a road grader who is very hard to move.  He is very hard to bull rush.  He will not be overpowered, regardless of who he faces.

Despite being a guard, he nevertheless emerged as a team leader on the Badgers.  He missed some games last season due to a knee injury, and the team struggled in his absence.  They lost 5 of 6 contest while Urbik was out, but then rallied to win 3 of their last 4 when Urbik returned.

Urbik started 50 games during his career at Wisconsin, including a few at right tackle, so he does provide some versatility.  He is a road grader who should excel in run blocking.

On the negative side, Urbik is not particularly quick, and he may struggle in pass coverage.   Urbik’s lack of quickness is frequently exposed by speed rushers.  During drills at the NFL Combine, this weakness was exposed as Urbik constantly had to hold speed rushers who had a good swim move or spin move.   Urbik struggles in open space, and is easy to get around.  Moreover, Urbik doesn’t have the speed to get out an pull.

Aside from his quickness problems, Urbik also has flaws in his technique that are going to have to be addressed at the next level.  He must work on his footwork.   His hand quickness will also need to be developed.  Lastly, he must sustain his blocks longer than he does.

Urbik will probably do better as a right guard than as a left guard due to his quickness problems.   While he did play right tackle at Wisconsin, this is not an option for him in the NFL.

The bottom line is that Urbik should see time immediately with the Steelers.  He should bump Darnell Stapleton out of the starting line-up.  However, he immediately help the running game.  However, he is not the answer to Big Ben’s sack problems, since pass blocking is his weakness.

For previous pick, click here.

For next pick, click here.

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April 25, 2009

With the 32nd pick in the 2009 NFL draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers select Evander Hood, DT, Missouri.

Hood is a 6’3″ 300 lb. defensive tackle.  Despite his large size, Hood is quite athletic.  He plays with a constant motor and never gives up on a play.  Hood displays a variety of pass rush moves.

Evander "Ziggy" Hood

Hood doesn’t jump out at you on film, but he is a solid player who doesn’t have any glaring weaknesses.  He had a very good showing at the Senior Bowl, which may have elevated his status.

Hood is too small to play NT, so the Steelers probably project him as a DE.  While he is a tad short, I had him as the 4th rated 3-4 DE in the draft.  I felt that Tyson Jackson, Fili Moala, Robert Ayers, Ziggy Hood, Sen’Derrick Marks, and then Jarron Gilbert were the top six 3-4 defensive ends in this draft.

Hood was a 4-year player at Missouri.  He got progressively better throughout his career.   As a senior, he had 62 tackles.  Eight of those tackles were for a loss.  He also had 5 sacks during his senior year.

This is a good pick for the Steelers.  Yet, they still have more needs on the defensive line.  All of their starters are over 30 years old.  I wouldn’t be surprised if they picked up either Fili Moala or Jarron Gilbert in the 2nd round (if either is still available at pick #64).

Of course, the Steelers have other needs as well.  I would guess that defensive back will be a consideration at #64 as well.  The Steelers must come out of this draft with a safety.  Their need for a CB is still there, though it is less pressing since they signed Keiwan Ratliff yesterday.

To read about the Steelers’ next pick, click here.

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April 24, 2009
By Donald Starver

This is part 4 in a series.  If you haven’t read  the previous installments, please click below.

part 1

part 2

part 3

part 4

In the previous installments in this series, we’ve looked at all of the offensive line positions and the tight end.  Now we’re going to take a look at the wide receiver position.

The wide receiver position is one of the glamour positions on the football team.  When we think of wide receivers, we think of players like Randy Moss, Terrell Owens, Larry Fitzgerald, Steve Smith, and Chad Johnson.  A game-breaking wide receiver can change the course of a game in one play.  Think about Santonio Holmes’ game-winning catch in Super Bowl XLIII, or David Tyree’s catch in Super Bowl XLII.

Typically, teams will use two wide receivers.  One is referred to as the X receiver or split end, and the other is called a Z receiver or flanker.  The split end lines up on the weak side (the side opposite the tight end) of the offensive formation.  He is usually lined up at least 10 yards away from the rest of his teammates on the line of scrimmage.  Because he is split from his teammates, he is called a split end.  The second receiver, the flanker, actually lines up behind the line of scrimmage.  While the split end and tight end must line up on the line of scrimmage, the flanker will draw a penalty for lining up on the line of scrimmage.

Some teams will actually use 3 or even 4 wide receivers in some formations.  However, since these formations are not typical, we will not look closely at them.  The one thing that is worth noting is that the slot position used to be the stepchild wide receiver position, and was usually manned by a player who was smaller and slower than the flanker or split end.  However, Wes Welker has done a lot to redefine the slot position.  Welker makes more catches and gains more yards from the slot position than most split ends produce.

When looking for wide receivers, scouts look for a number of attributes.  First and foremost, a wide receiver must have good hands.  He must also have good speed, be strong enough to beat press coverage, and have the size and leaping ability to be a threat in the red zone.  Few receivers have all of these attributes, but ideally, you’d like a receiver to have as many of them as possible.  But even if a wide receiver were 6’6″, ran the 40 in 4.2 seconds, and had a 40 inch vertical leap, it would all be for naught if he didn’t have good hands. 

We often see teams fall in love with a player at the combine because he has blazing speed in the 40.  I believe that teams need to pay much more attention to his game speed, and his ability to get separation from his defenders.  Hines Ward is a great example of this.  Ward has very average speed.  However, he has good game speed.  He also runs precise routes and has great hands.

Another attribute that teams often over-value is height.  Steve Smith was the most dominant receiver in the NFL for several seasons, and he is only 5’9″ tall.  Meanwhile, the Steelers’ Dallas Baker is a 6’4″ practice squad player.  So just how important is height?

The Steelers lost Nate Washington in free agency, so they are likely to select a wide receiver at some point during the draft.  They selected Limas Sweed in the second round last year.  Hopefully, he will step up and produce this year.  But even if he does, the Steelers will still need to add another receiver for depth. 

The class of 2009 has a number of talented wide receivers.  While no wide receivers were drafted in the first round in 2007, there will probably be at least 3 taken in the first round this year.  Lets take a look at a few of the wide receivers in this year’s draft class.   

Wide Receivers:

Michael Crabtree (6’3″, 208 lbs.), Texas Tech.  Crabtree is not a speed burner, but he is a big, strong receiver who catches anything that comes his way.  He is not afraid to make catches in traffic, and he holds onto the ball even after taking a hard hit.

Jeremy Maclin (6’1″, 200 lbs.), Missouri.  Maclin was highly productive as both a receiver and a return man.  He has speed to burn.  He is a threat everytime he touches the ball.

Darrius Heyward-Bey (6’2″, 206 lbs.), Maryland.  Heyward-Bey has great size.  He was also the fastest player at the NFL combine.  Heyward is so fast that he tends to rely purely on speed rather than developing good route running skills.   That probably won’t work at the next level.  He is going to have to work on his route running in the NFL.

Percy Harvin(5’11″, 195 lbs.), Florida.  Harvin is one of the most elusive players in this draft.  Anytime he played this year, he was the most electric player on the field.  He also excels as a return man.  Many scouts say that he is reminiscent of Steve Smith.

Kenny Britt (6’4″, 205 lbs.), Rutgers.  Britt became the Big East’s all-time leading receiver despite leaving after his junior year.  He has great height and runs good routes.  He will have to work on eliminating dropped passes, but his height will be too much for teams to pass on.

Hakeem Nicks (6’1″, 210 lbs.), North Carolina.  A very good athlete who had a very productive college career.  He displays excellent body control and good hands.  He has all of the tools to be productive at the next level.  He didn’t run a great time at the combine, but just watch film of him.  The guy can play.

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