2019 NFL off-season thread

It is not addition by subtraction. Look at the production. Even with the bullshit, that's a lot to replace. Also, he was still drawing the double teams last season. Let's see Smith-Schuster beat those consistently before we assume he can be a true No. 1.

 

Yeah by every account in the world he was a monster in practice and in perfecting his craft and producing on Sundays and was even seemingly well-liked in the locker room...but you know it doesn't fit all the convenient stereotypes and being lazy is the most convenient of all.

 

These are the Steelers opponents.

Home
Baltimore Ravens
Cincinnati Bengals
Cleveland Browns
Buffalo Bills
Indianapolis Colts
Miami Dolphins
Los Angeles Rams
Seattle Seahawks

Road
Baltimore
Cincinnati
Cleveland
Arizona Cardinals
Los Angeles Chargers
New England Patriots
New York Jets
San Francisco 49ers

Right now, there's seven more than likely wins there -- Cincy twice, Cleveland once, Buffalo, Miami, Arizona and the Jets.

Where are the other 3?

 

Baltimore once, 49ers. Then maybe the Colts at home. That’s a manageable 10. And that’s giving every team the same standing as last year. Guys will get hurt, Patriots will get suspended. All depends on when you catch the team.

 

It's a Mike Tomlin team, so they will lose at least one of t hose seven.

The next most likely victories are the Jets, 49ers and Ravens. There is a chance the defense continues to improve, but I don't think most people get just how valuable Brown was to that offense. It wasn't just the production, the spectacular plays he made for them. It was the double teams he constantly drew, allowing Smith-Schuster and others a lot more room to operate. The offense looked like crap against an awful Bengals defense in Week 17 last season. They made excuses about the Brown issue disrupting things, but it sure seems like the issues go beyond that. That offense always gave them a shot against any opponent. That is no longer the case.

But yeah, picks in the third and fifth round are just as good.

Way too many Steelers fans are saying good riddance right now. They are going to be changing their tune in September.

Edit: Here is what Steelers GM Kevin Colbert said about a week ago.

"We will only make a trade if it benefits the Pittsburgh Steelers. He knows that, his representation knows that and we're willing to take a look. ...

"Anything we do has to benefit us. If it doesn't, then we won't [make a trade]," Colbert continued. "If you lose a player like that, if you decide to take a player like that off your team, you best have the compensation that'll justify removing that player and that would be significant compensation in the form of a draft pick or picks or a player and picks, just so you can try and balance off the great loss that will happen if you lose a player like that."

NFL Trade Grades: Antonio Brown, Raiders huge winners, Steelers don't get close to fair value

So much for that load of bullshit.

 

It’s a huge win for the Raiders if they get 2015 Antonio. There is no way he will be a top-10 receiver in two years. PFF had him graded out as the 26th best receiver in the league last year. There were a ton of times early in the season it just seemed like he ran the wrong route.

It’s a huge win if Carr is able to get him the ball when he is open. Just wait for the tantrums if he isn’t getting his 12 targets and 8 catches for 100 plus yards and a touch each week.

Brown is motivated by his personal stats. Sometimes that’s great. Sometimes it’s not.

 

PFF had Blake Bortles graded higher than Mitch Trubisky last year. Their rankings are not a be-all, end-all.

 

Much of the success of Brown and Roethlisberger was built on improvisation after initial routes failed to get anybody open. The problem last year was that Brown was improvising early in his routes more and more often and he and Roethlisberger were reading the coverage differently. That led to some interceptions and some balls thrown to no one.

Basically, Brown freelanced a lot. Sometimes it worked for big plays. Sometimes it led to big mistakes.

Brown was still extremely productive in 2018. He was still over 100 receptions despite sitting out a game. His last game as a Steeler was Dec. 23 at New Orleans, a dominating performance in which he caught 14 passes for 185 yards and two touchdowns. He wasn't the best receiver in the game, as he had been the three or four previous seasons, but he was still easily in the top five. Other than Hopkins and Thomas, who is better?

Smith-Schuster caught more passes, but that was with Brown drawing most of the double coverage. Don't let the total number of receptions fool you.

 

It's the Patriot way
Dolphins and Rams don't count

Lions find slot receiver, sign veteran Danny Amendola

 

As long as the Steelers have that offensive line, they'll be able to find receivers who can get open. They had the No. 1 line according to PFF, while the Raiders were down near the bottom. James Washington will be asked to step up. He was a 2nd round pick last year, so they obviously saw something in him. If nothing else, the Steelers have been damn good at finding wideouts -- whether it's Martavis Bryant, JuJu, Brown or Emmanuel Sanders (who obviously had more success elsewhere). I'm just not that worried about them finding production at wideout. I'm more worried that their defense can't cause turnovers.

2018 NFL Offensive Line Rankings: All 32 teams' units after Week 17 | NFL Analysis | Pro Football Focus

To hell with diva wide receivers. They should all be put on the same barge and given a Viking funeral. You never win anything with them.

 

Damn... that's a great hot take.

A diva WR has never won a SB.

Michael Irvin...

Others? I'm sure I'm missing someone.

 

Keyshawn got a ring with the Bucs and I hate even typing that my coffee tastes like bile now