reed20fence

Here's a stat, since drafting Haloti a decade ago our FO hasn't picked a single pro bowler in the first round until Mosley squeezed in last year. And we all saw that his contributions weren't changing any outcomes this year.

This is essentially laying the groundwork for a trade back in the first round with a team like the Texans who are QB hungry. We trade back and take a pass rusher more suitable for a late first round slot, and in return we secure their 1st rounder next year so we have two 1st round picks in 2017. This isn't a pie in the sky Madden-esque scenario. I think the Texans and Niners are going to be trying to out manoeuver each other for a QB.

Solid hires. The more experienced guys we have in the war room the better. When your brain trust consists of head coaches that have been in charge of personnel decisions, game planning, play calling, dealing with the media, guiding young athletes and making sure everyone sees the big picture and stays honed in and focused, your gonna have a solid organization. It shows humility and maturity on the part of Harbs that he sees the value in being surrounded by guys that have been in his shoes and get it. We always tend to have 2 or 3 former head coaches roaming the sidelines each year and we stay situationally aware by committee.

Uh. in the first article this website published after we drafted Perriman all you had to say was "I can't get imagine a 6' 2, 212 pound guy running that fast. That's NUTS." I'm curious because it doesn't sound like you yourself had done "your stupid homework."

A few tidbits to remember here... there are only 31 picks in the first round this year. The Pats lost their 1st rounder for deflategate. Also, Chip Kelly may not be satisfied with Kaepernick as his QB of the future. Of all teams, the one that'll be obsessively trying to read Chip Kelly are the Texans, who finally realize how badly they whiffed by not picking Bortles or Carr the last few drafts. We're in prime position. We could trade back and get 2 first rounders next year. We could stand pat and get hargreaves or ramsey (i fully expect Jerry Jones to outsmart himself yet again with Ramsey). Or we could even try to jump into the first round with our second pick and draft 2 guys in the 1st round this year (Torrey proved that having a 5th year option on a rookie contract could prove to salvage your season).

Perhaps BR.com should put a poll out there. How comfertable are you as a fan swapping the 6th overall for a mid to late 1st round pick this year and having multiple first round picks next year as a result (as well as additional picks in later rounds this year and future years)? Keep in mind that if we pick late this year we swing right back around and have the 6th pick in the 2nd round as well. I get that we want playmakers. But that's just it, we want playmakerS. Plural, not one high pick that could or could not pan out.

Our warriors and those of the Steelers have been clashing for 2 decades now. We've seen scuffles, hard hitting, broken noses, shoulders, some cheap shots (looking at Hines Ward) and general rough housing. You know what we've never seen? Refs having to form a barrier between both teams in pregame warmups. Players getting into it with the visiting teams coaches. Players harassing refs and putting their hands on them. Players head hunting opposing players to injure them. Fans throwing garbage at opposing players being carted off the field. Players exagerating their celebrations to such a degree that they run off the field into the tunnel and dissappear along with fellow players. The Steelers are the Steelers. They're aggressive. But what we saw from the Bungles tonight was unbridled bafoonery. Their coach should be ashamed of losing control so wantonly.

There should be a 'i hate both' third option in the poll. We were all thinking it.

I'd never say I'm rooting for the Steelers so let's just say I'm rooting against the Bengals. While we were the NFL's poster child this year for bad luck, misfortune or "karma" (for those still hung up on the Ray Rice ordeal), the anti-Ravens were the Cinncinnati Bengals. Not a single player of consequence on IR. Only 3 guys on IR for that matter. People will be quick to point out Andy Dalton's thumb, ok, fair point, but look how loaded the rest of that roster is. The sheer amount of good fortune the Bungles have relied on to get to the playoffs is just obnoxious. You go and take all the equivalent starters we lost during the season off of any single roster in the league and then ask yourself, "would it be reasonable to expect this team to succeed?" Nope.

Bisciotti made me smile with his astuteness in assessing the reverberating and subtle, yet profound, impact the loss of Sizz had on the defense as a whole. He practically quoted verbatim the analysis of some of the commentors on this site from very early in this season. The loss of the 2011 NFL DPOY and the dominant figure of a league leading sack duo from just last year placed a burden on the shoulders of the defense that few people truly appreciated.And I think it went underappreciated by fans because no one from the team itself dared to be seen using that as an excuse. It would have been unprofessional. But the facts didn't escape discerning eyes.

It's not rocket science. When you've only got your original starting RG and RT left by year's end, you can't blame the record on anything BUT injuries.

With a one week exception during this season I've defended Deen Pees, and that one week Harbaugh stepped up and admitted he was the culprit behind calling for blitzes with guys that couldn't create pressure and leaving our CBs on an island in man coverage. Pees is this year's Juan Castillo. No one REALLY knows how his job contributes to the product, and they pin the failure of injured and substitute players to perform squarely on his shoulders. Castillo was vindicated and so too will Pees.

This offseason is about two primary themes, playmakers in the passing game and pressure creators in pass defense. We've got guys that do that for us now, unfortunately both of them are waaaay on the wrong side of 30. If you still need a hint, both tore their achilles'es's this season. We've got the 6th overall pick in the 1st and the 2nd round (which is practically still 1st round talent), let's nail this thing. To quote Rod Blagogevic "It's a 《bleeiping》valuable thing!"

It's not too complicated. We were within 1 score of each game we played prior to Flacco getting Kerrigan'd by our own left tackle. You add one game changer like Suggs back to the equation and you've got completely different possibilities. The entire dynamic of the game changes when you can create pressure with just the front 4. We couldn't do it and no GM in this league has ever gone into a season PLANNING to lose a marquee pass rusher like that. All you can do is try to coach up his replacements quickly. The real pitfall this offseason would be overreacting. We know where the needs are. Just stay the course. Don't get too reactionary. Stick to the board. It'll be alright.

Headline could easily have read Ravens Fans Proud of Their Team's Fight Despite Frustrating Season.

Good news is that the organization approaches free agency and the draft on a week by week basis. Now you can turn the full focus of every member of the front office towards roster retooling, scouting and scheming. We kinda whiffed on the 2013 draft (in no small part because we lagged a month behind in research and draft prep on the majority of the league due to the Super Bowl run) but in 2013 we missed out on the playoffs and that produced a 2014 draft class that features Mosley, Jernigan, Brooks, Gillmore and Urschel, all key role players. Now that we not only have top 10 slots is each round but a bevy of expected compensatory picks combined with extra weeks of prep and for once ZERO coaching departures, let's see what kind of product we can produce for 2016. I for one am excited.

There were 3 other defensive lineman taken before we picked Suggs in his draft. In fact I think Polamalu came out in the same draft and was picked somewhere in the 20s. I think fans should take pause after cosidering the above and also 2 other recent happenings. Chip Kelley's firing and Clowney's no. 1 selection. College football is college football. The analogy of talent applicable in the NFL is only somewhat accurate. You never really know how it'll translate and there are a million other variables at play when determining if a player was worth his draft spot- something that you can really only assess years down the road. Not the least of the variables are aspects like -- the drafting team's development, training, and coaching prowess; the positions situation on that team (will they new guy rotate or have a chance to sit and learn); can he stay healthy; does the supporting cast of players around him allow his talents to come to the fore, is he at the top end of his talent or is there a sizeable gap between his raw athleticism and what he can be coached; how quickly does he learn and does he repeat mistakes; can he stay out of trouble on and off the field etc etc.

How Mallet looks in a non-Bellichick-ian scheme with this grouping of skilled players in Trestman's offense is now a matter of public record. A lot of what we saw last Sunday was one-read passing and quick releases. He did a great job on 3rd downs of pre-snap reading and adjustment. Now the real assessment starts. Who does Mallett like to look to in certain downs and distances? Which plays does he likes to check to in certain pre-snap looks? What looks force him to check the ball down? How does he react to A-gap, B-gap, C-gap pressure (which Cincy constantly keeps changing up). Cincy is desperate for a bye week to get Red back in the roster and not have to play Wild Card weekend with a hurt backup or worse yet, Keith Wenning. So they'll be throwing everything they have at Mallett. Should be a great one to watch for this young man. Throwing him to the tigers in the jungle.

Gotta love all the folks just willy-nilly saying "yeah, sign KO or franchise him." Ok, who do we cut in order to afford the tag price? You can't just tag a player and violate the cap. You have to stay under the cap at all times. And if you find a way to afford the tag price but gutting the team of key role players, what if it takes all offseason to get a deal done? That means every single penny of cap space is tied up in his tag while the rest of the league is signing all the key free agents we can't afford cuz our money is tied up. The likelihood that KO is gone is more probable than not. So we just have to get used to reality.

Jokes on him. If he doesn't retire this offseason this guy has a bullseye on his chest on every-single-punt-return for the rest of his weasley little life. Enjoy that career son!

All I hear is that I can score season tickets for showing up topless to home games. No?

Not sure why someone negged you for saying this. Hoping he signs doesn't mean we don't know that he's priced out of our range. Us starting him at LT is 1, a matter of necessity given Munroe's injury, and 2 - to help him earn the highest payday in Free Agency. Win-Win for everyone.

The ultimate troll would be to call the week 17 version of this article "What the Steelers Missed... the Playoffs."

I know people that routinely do that to make a profit off of their seats behind the visitor's section and spend a little bit of it back to go sit in the cheap seats. They're still fans and they're still there for their team... just being smart about it at the expense of someone else's desire for a memorable vacation. I mean $500 a seat for 3 hours of a non-playoff game? Seriously?

I had Cowboys fans gleefully thank me for flip flopping draft spots with them with our win over Pittsburgh. I didn't have the heart to remind them that their GM is Jerruh Jones. Which begs the broader point for anyone that feels down for slipping down the draft board... the teams ahead of us are there because they routinely screw up their picks and fail to develop high-end talent to its full potential.