Happy Friday to you yinzers and non-yinzers!
Can you feel the start of the 2018 NFL league year right around the corner? The legal tampering period starts on Monday and that means we’ll have plenty of things to talk about the next few weeks as free agency gets underway on Wednesday.
The Pittsburgh Steelers will announce a few transactions in the coming days and definitely by Wednesday afternoon. We’ve already seen a few trades and cuts around the NFL the last few days and a few have been minor surprises.
As usual, I have five equation for all of you faithfuls to answer on this Friday night, the last one of the 2017 league year, and I hope you have time to do just that in the comments below. Have a great weekend and please be safe.
Peace and love, peace and love!
1 – What are your first thoughts of the Cleveland Browns trading for wide receiver Jarvis Landry on Friday?
2 – Now that it looks like safety Mike Mitchell is gone, who will be the next whipping boy of the Steelers fan base?
3 – True or false: Now that he has officially been given the franchise tag, running back Le’Veon Bell will ultimately sign a long-term contract with the Steelers prior to the July 16 deadline.
4 – The Steelers will likely announce their restricted free agent tenders very soon. Should they tender rehabbing wide receiver Eli Rogers at the right of first refusal level of $1.907 million, or let him test free agency?
5 – True or false: One of these 10 players listed below will ultimately be the Steelers first-round draft pick this year:
Justin Reid
Rashaan Evans
Leighton Vander Esch
Mike Gesicki
Harold Landry
Ronnie Harrison
Jessie Bates III
Josh Sweat
Sam Hubbard
Hayden Hurst
Recap of 2018 NFL Scouting Combine Friday Night Questions:
Question 1 – As a group, we were all over the place as to what position the Steelers would likely pick in the first-round if not an inside linebacker or safety. Running back (perhaps because of the Bell contract situation), cornerback, quarterback, wide receiver, defensive line, & offensive line were all mentioned by more than one respondent. However, outside linebacker had the most with nine mentions. Edge rusher was also mentioned by three. Which caused me to wonder what is the difference between an edge rusher and outside linebacker? Do the Steelers even contemplate having a pure edge rusher if they are asking outside linebackers to drop in coverage more on passing downs? Do the Steelers have an edge rusher on the current roster? Is the 235-pound defensive end on the Steelers futures list Darnell Leslie designated to convert to outside linebacker or be a pure edge rusher? This question also led to a passionate debate about how the Best Player Available philosophy should be defined.
Question 2 – I never thought of Kevin Colbert as a loquacious speaker but, other than five respondents, most found parts of his remarks at the combine interesting. Of those, 75% found his remarks about the quality & depth of inside linebacker group compared to outside linebackers very interesting. His, “Outside linebacker-types are good. Inside [linebackers], not so much” comment.
Question 3 – 96.6% believe the Steelers will continue the trend of selecting their first pick from a Power-5 Conference.
Question 4 -86.7% correctly predicted that the Steelers would issue a franchise tag to Le’Veon Bell before he signed a long-term contract. Now the question is will Le’Veon Bell sign a long-term contract before training camp starts.
Question 5 – 72.4% are for changing the defensive pass interference from a spot foul to a 15-yard penalty. Many commenters pointed out that while the change could hurt the offense; it might help the Steelers defense. If the change is made, it will be interesting to see how referees adjudicate the hand fighting that often takes place downfield.
