Re: The Official 2012 NFL Draft Talk Thread
 

..I can't think of any

Re: The Official 2012 NFL Draft Talk Thread
 

I'm excited to see where Nebraska's Lavante David ends up and when he will be picked.

Re: The Official 2012 NFL Draft Talk Thread
 

Re: The Official 2012 NFL Draft Talk Thread
 

Has a chance to be picked in the second, but I see him going at earliest in the third.

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Stephen what did you think of Dontari Poe? That guy is a beast!

Re: The Official 2012 NFL Draft Talk Thread
 

A guy that big shouldn't be able to move like that. It simply isn't fair. He's raw though (from watching him on film) and needs to be coached up. That being said, I don't think he falls out of the top 15, but definitely a boom or bust player. Personally, I think the perfect landing spot would be with the Chiefs, who have the 11th pick, although I could see him going as high as six to Washington (unlikely) or eight to Carolina (entirely possible).

Re: The Official 2012 NFL Draft Talk Thread
 

He definately shot up the draft order with his showing at the combine. He'd be an amazing fit for the Steelers, but the odds of him lasting till 24 are slim to none at this point.

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Scott, any truth to the rumor that the Steelers are going to cut ties with Hampton and slide Ziggy Hood inside? If true, that could allow the Steelers to draft a five-technique guy like Fletcher Cox or Devon Still (if he's still around). If DeCastro happens to fall in your laps, you guys have to take him, right?

Re: The Official 2012 NFL Draft Talk Thread
 

They're looking for Casey's heir apparent, Stephen. Poe was going to be that guy before the combine happened.
I think Hampton has one year left on his 3 year deal that included a lot of guaranteed money. At the end of that deal he'll have been around for 12 years. That's probably a little long in the tooth, no? I'm not sure what the life expectancy is for a nose tackle, but that seems about right.

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He's also coming off a third acl surgery, no? Not to mention his backup Chris Hoke retired. That Steel Curtain looks to have a lot of rust on it...

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Talking about the lack of defense yesterday in the Big XII and Casey Hampton today, it reminded me of those Longhorns teams back in the late 90's early 2000's that had both Shaun Rogers and Casey Hampton as their starting DT's.

Re: The Official 2012 NFL Draft Talk Thread
 

Yup. And Aaron Smith will likely retire. He needs neck surgery and the docs told him one hit in the right spot and he'll be coming off the field on a board and be peeing in a bag for the rest of his days.
Evidently that diagnosis has eased, because I haven't heard anything about his retirement.
The Steel Curtain is definately rusty. Despite their ranking last year, their numbers were way off from the year before. We're used to fielding a suffocating D and a marginal offense. That has always worked. With this new crap where we don't need a halfback and we want to sling the ball and make people go "Whee!!!", I really don't have any idea what kind of identity Pittsburgh is looking for.
You can't do it all under the cap.
If we're planning to have no o-line like we have for years, and no substantial D, I guess we'll just settle for Ben throwing to Wallace twice a game so we can go "Wheeee!!!"
I really have no idea what they're doing, my friend. If you can figure it out, you need to tune me in. They're driving me nuts.
If Hines Ward isn't back this year, and Heath Miller for some reason no longer shows up, I really don't have much left to root for.

I should mention that Casey may or may not be ready for camp. He may start the season on the PUP.

Re: The Official 2012 NFL Draft Talk Thread
 

I could never see this happening. I know it's a what if scenario; however, there are so many teams that need interior lineman help and DeCastro is the best guard prospect we've seen in the last decade.

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Eh, there's been lots of guards who were held in similar regard, and were even thought more of because of their potential to play multiple positions along the line (Mike Iupati/Branden Albert/Mike Pouncey immediately comes to mind). DeCastro doesn't offer that; what you see is what you get (albeit a talented guard). So even if DeCastro is a better player, because he plays a position that frankly is about the least important position on the team, he's not going to be drafted relative to his (perceived) talent. Does that make any sense?

*edit* And I'm not saying that DeCastro will assuredly fall to the Steelers. I will say, though, that's he much more likely to fall to the Steelers than he is to get drafted in the top 15.

Re: The Official 2012 NFL Draft Talk Thread
 

It's not just me who thinks this kid is special. Also where did you see that DeCastro is only stuck in one position?

These were just a couple of the first mock drafts that I pulled up. Each one had him going in the top 11.

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Not saying that he isn't a good guard project. But being the best guard project is akin to being the tallest midget. In other words, elite offensive lineman aren't wasted (relatively speaking) at guard. I went looking, and the last guard to get drafted in the top ten was Chris Naeole back in 1997. I don't know much about the two guys drafted in the top ten in 1986 to comment (Brian Jozwiak/John Rienstra). Because he doesn't have the feet/hips to play outside. Woe unto the quarterback whose team drafts this guy and tries to make him a tackle.


Not intending to be mean-spirited, just passing along some of the things I've learned over the years watching/playing/coaching football. Hey, to show there's no hard feelings, if DeCastro does end up getting picked in the top ten, I'll send you a nice fiver to celebrate.:)

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Oh no man, no hard feelings at all! Just discussing some football is all! I hope you didn't think anything I said was mean spirited.

We will differ on our opinions on a lot of things, but that's ok it makes things more interesting to talk about.

No need to send a fiver brother! :)

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Come to think of it you and shilala both will be sending me a 5-pack at the end of baseball season. :r

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I looked around a bit, and there's a lot of hack talk about the Steelers picking up a Tight End at 24. Specifically, Cody Fleener.
It never occurred to me that we could use a tight end to work with Heath, but that'd be a huge move, offensively.

I do know that we have kids from last year that should be ready to go this year on the o-line. There were a number of season-ending injuries at camp. I have no idea what the Steelers have in the bag defense-wise, maybe they think they're solid enough to play shootout ball now?
Once again, it's a lot of guessing. I have no earthly idea what they're doing or what direction they're heading. They're been heading towards an all-pass offense with Ariens, so they hire a coach who likes to run. Mendenhall is broke down, Moore in an unrestricted free agent as is another one of our rb's (I forget which). That leaves us John Clay. Who's John Clay? Exactly. :lr
If someone has any clue, I would LOVE to hear what you got. I don't even care if you're clueless, at least if you have an idea, that's somewhere to start. It's more than I have. :D

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Scott says he's the man when it comes to fantasy baseball. I haven't played in nearly a decade so I know someone's gonna be having a smoke on me come September.:r

Funny, but I think the key to the entire 2012 NFL draft is Matt Kalil.