skeptik
Member
- Feb 7, 2003
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Ah, yeah, forgot about Hamilton. Also Chad Bratzke.
Now onto Steelers news, it appears the Limas Sweed experiment in Pittsburgh has reached a conclusion. They waived him injured, along with an UDFA TE on the PUP list (acronyms ftw), to make room for some camp body DBs that nobody seems to have any hope for whatsoever, even though I don't think they're bad players. Kevin Dockery (played for the Giants for several years) and Macho Harris.
Anyway, the Steelers play the Eagles tomorrow night on Fox. If anybody is going to watch and actually give a shit, here are a couple of players that might be interesting to watch as they try to prove their worth to the team:
1. #66 Tony Hills. He will be starting the game at the RG position, but was drafted as a tackle in the '08 draft. He has up until this year never shown himself, but the coaches see something in him now. Even I have to admit that he looked fairly impressive against the Redskins last week. He played all of the 2nd quarter at LT and handle Brian Orakpo for the whole quarter for the most part. He then played most of the rest of the game at RG and looked really good, but of course this was against lesser players. He has the chance to finally prove himself.
2. #82 Jerricho Cotchery. Cotchery has according to all reports I've read looked really good in camp and should see a lot of playing time. Cotchery gives the Steelers a legitimate 5 man stable of receivers once Emmanuel Sanders gets healthy.
3. #84 Antonio Brown. Brown was a 6th round pick last year drafted almost as an afterthought, but he has not allowed the coaches to forget about him. He worked his ass off hard during the offseason and has been granted increased opportunities while Sanders is down and while Ward was recovering from his thumb surgery. He looked really good against the Redskins, catching 4 of the 6 passes thrown to him, with the 2 incompletions coming on a defensive holding call and an overthrown ball by Leftwich. His route running is much more precise and crisp from last year and he's showing some ability to block as well.
4. #23 Keenan Lewis. It's really coming down to the wire for Lewis. This is his third year in the system after being drafted in the 3rd round, and he's been in Tomlin's doghouse more often than not, making it difficult for him to earn playing time. With both starting CBs down for the game, it will be Lewis and William Gay starting off, so it's getting pretty damn near make or break time in my opinion. He seriously runs the risk of not making the team this year because Taylor, McFadden, and Gay are locks already, Crezdon Butler was a draft pick only last year and has shown potential, and Curtis Brown and Cortez Allen are both new draft picks and it's rare that a rookie draft pick doesn't make the roster. It will be interesting to see what happens with the CB position once the final roster is made. I'm kind of hoping that they just try to sneak Cortez Allen onto the practice squad for this year, but that's up to Lewis.
5. #40 Curtis Brown. Rookie third round CB that has some legitimate man cover skills, which the Steelers lack outside of Ike Taylor (and potentially Keenan Lewis). If Brown can really step up and secure the nickel spot at some point this season, that would be a big boon for the Steelers, but realistically, he would be lucky to even see the dime this year the way the Steelers are. Many in the Steelers blogosphere are high on this kid, but tomorrow will be the first look we get of him. He's been dealing with an illness and a hamstring issue most of camp and didn't play last week.
Also, I just want to comment on the absurdity of the Steelers' CB situation right now with respect to injuries. #1 CB Ike Taylor broke his thumb against the Redskins and should miss the rest of the preseason, though he might practice once the stitches heal from his surgery yesterday. #2 CB Bryant McFadden has been battling hamstring and quad injuries pretty much all of training camp. Prospectively #4 CB Keenan Lewis also dealt with a lingering hamstring issue and now has a quad issue that will hopefully be kept under control, but he has not missed any practice yet from this latest injury. #5 CB Crezdon Butler has also battled hamstring issues and injured HIS quad during the Redskins game and has already been ruled out for tomorrow. #6 CB rookie Curtis Brown had an illness early in camp and then suffered a hamstring injury that he's only now getting over and will finally get to play. On the other hand, #7 rookie CB Cortez Allen has already been ruled out as well for tomorrow, also battling hamstring/quad injuries. So out of all the CBs on the roster right now, of the top 7, only the #3, #4, and #6 CBs are healthy enough to play right now. So I'm hoping the Eagles' pass attack has an off night...
Now onto Steelers news, it appears the Limas Sweed experiment in Pittsburgh has reached a conclusion. They waived him injured, along with an UDFA TE on the PUP list (acronyms ftw), to make room for some camp body DBs that nobody seems to have any hope for whatsoever, even though I don't think they're bad players. Kevin Dockery (played for the Giants for several years) and Macho Harris.
Anyway, the Steelers play the Eagles tomorrow night on Fox. If anybody is going to watch and actually give a shit, here are a couple of players that might be interesting to watch as they try to prove their worth to the team:
1. #66 Tony Hills. He will be starting the game at the RG position, but was drafted as a tackle in the '08 draft. He has up until this year never shown himself, but the coaches see something in him now. Even I have to admit that he looked fairly impressive against the Redskins last week. He played all of the 2nd quarter at LT and handle Brian Orakpo for the whole quarter for the most part. He then played most of the rest of the game at RG and looked really good, but of course this was against lesser players. He has the chance to finally prove himself.
2. #82 Jerricho Cotchery. Cotchery has according to all reports I've read looked really good in camp and should see a lot of playing time. Cotchery gives the Steelers a legitimate 5 man stable of receivers once Emmanuel Sanders gets healthy.
3. #84 Antonio Brown. Brown was a 6th round pick last year drafted almost as an afterthought, but he has not allowed the coaches to forget about him. He worked his ass off hard during the offseason and has been granted increased opportunities while Sanders is down and while Ward was recovering from his thumb surgery. He looked really good against the Redskins, catching 4 of the 6 passes thrown to him, with the 2 incompletions coming on a defensive holding call and an overthrown ball by Leftwich. His route running is much more precise and crisp from last year and he's showing some ability to block as well.
4. #23 Keenan Lewis. It's really coming down to the wire for Lewis. This is his third year in the system after being drafted in the 3rd round, and he's been in Tomlin's doghouse more often than not, making it difficult for him to earn playing time. With both starting CBs down for the game, it will be Lewis and William Gay starting off, so it's getting pretty damn near make or break time in my opinion. He seriously runs the risk of not making the team this year because Taylor, McFadden, and Gay are locks already, Crezdon Butler was a draft pick only last year and has shown potential, and Curtis Brown and Cortez Allen are both new draft picks and it's rare that a rookie draft pick doesn't make the roster. It will be interesting to see what happens with the CB position once the final roster is made. I'm kind of hoping that they just try to sneak Cortez Allen onto the practice squad for this year, but that's up to Lewis.
5. #40 Curtis Brown. Rookie third round CB that has some legitimate man cover skills, which the Steelers lack outside of Ike Taylor (and potentially Keenan Lewis). If Brown can really step up and secure the nickel spot at some point this season, that would be a big boon for the Steelers, but realistically, he would be lucky to even see the dime this year the way the Steelers are. Many in the Steelers blogosphere are high on this kid, but tomorrow will be the first look we get of him. He's been dealing with an illness and a hamstring issue most of camp and didn't play last week.
Also, I just want to comment on the absurdity of the Steelers' CB situation right now with respect to injuries. #1 CB Ike Taylor broke his thumb against the Redskins and should miss the rest of the preseason, though he might practice once the stitches heal from his surgery yesterday. #2 CB Bryant McFadden has been battling hamstring and quad injuries pretty much all of training camp. Prospectively #4 CB Keenan Lewis also dealt with a lingering hamstring issue and now has a quad issue that will hopefully be kept under control, but he has not missed any practice yet from this latest injury. #5 CB Crezdon Butler has also battled hamstring issues and injured HIS quad during the Redskins game and has already been ruled out for tomorrow. #6 CB rookie Curtis Brown had an illness early in camp and then suffered a hamstring injury that he's only now getting over and will finally get to play. On the other hand, #7 rookie CB Cortez Allen has already been ruled out as well for tomorrow, also battling hamstring/quad injuries. So out of all the CBs on the roster right now, of the top 7, only the #3, #4, and #6 CBs are healthy enough to play right now. So I'm hoping the Eagles' pass attack has an off night...
