Dupree gone?

[steelcountry]

Ya know.... This ^

Looking at what happened to Demarcus Lawrence after he got his big deal has me weary of giving big money to a guy who only produced in a contract year.

If we retain Hargrave, then we can roll with Watt, Tuitt, Heyward and the Grave Digger as our front 4. Chick/Skip/Ola can rotate in.

We CANNOT let edge be a distraction from the draft strategy of shoring up RB/OG/TE.

RE: the bolded - you need to keep Dupree then. Can't have the shit pile that is Chick/Skip/Ola playing starter snaps.

DTs are much easier to replace than an edge player. I get there's a risk in signing him but there's an even bigger risk in not signing him. I didn't like him before this year but you have to be willing to bet on Dupree, even if it means giving him 16M a season. All the high producers this year that are FAs - Shaq Barrett, Bud Dupree, Robert Quinn, Dante Fowler, Clowney, Markus Golden, Matt Judon, Ngakoue - are all going to get 12-15M a season, some even closer to 20M. The two Smiths that the Packers signed were only semi productive before signing their deals and one got 13M per season and the other 16.5M a season.

The cap space just doesn't exist for that.

They need to save the money for Watt. If they tie up half of their cap in Dupree and Watt, they can't assemble much of a roster around them.

I think the risk of Dupree's contract becoming an albatross is higher than the risk of having to replace him with less than stellar options.

Yes it does. Play around with Overthecap. Cut Barron, McDonald, Chickillo, Foster and Berry. The cap space increases to almost 26.5M for next year (including 3M carry over from this year). Add on an extension for Heyward and that will save you a few more. Already up to 30M.

A Dupree deal is only going to carry a 6-7M cap hit in the first year assuming a 25-30M signing bonus.

It gives you money to extend Hilton, Feiler (better be cheap), Sutton (again, cheap if you think he's ready to breakout), Juju (if you think he'll bounce back and you can get him for 10-12M a season).

And when Watt and Washington need new deals in the 2021 offseason then you extend Decastro and Nelson to give you more cap space. You could even extend Ben even if he's not going to play past 2021 to give more cap space in 2021. It's the same thing they do every year and we've never had an issue keeping the guys we want to keep (Bell notwithstanding as we got lucky).

[fractalsteel]

Many of us are wishing for the franchise tag, but is that a serious possibility?

Who can we restructure?

If Dupree walks then the offseason is a disaster already with no draft picks to replace him.

We need a RB, OL, and TE already. Not good.

Dupree has one of the easiest jobs in sports and he only looks above average.

Go find a Kevin Greene: buy low on an aging guy with skills that will know what to do on a loaded defense.

It won't be hard to talk a guy into a season or two of 10 gimme sacks before hitting free agency for one last payday.

Really?

He is more than a pass rusher. Go back and watch his play.
He sets the edge, runs plays down from the other side. He plays the run very well and can be effective in coverage. In the last two years he has added moves to his pass rush and now can beat blockers with athleticism, counter moves and a nice inside move.

Finding a 'Kevin Greene' type is harder to do than you think. Hall of Famers don't grow on trees. Since you don't think it will be hard to replace Durpree who do you suggest the Steelers seek in free agency for his replacement?

And those that want to roll with Ola and Skipper what makes you think they can replace Dupree? Maybe Ola can but he rarely sees the field except for ST's. Skipper has proven what? That he can beat preseason guys who have no chance to play in the NFL?
Durpree moves on and that leaves a big hole in the defense.

[meanjustinbarlow]

RE: the bolded - you need to keep Dupree then. Can't have the shit pile that is Chick/Skip/Ola playing starter snaps.

DTs are much easier to replace than an edge player. I get there's a risk in signing him but there's an even bigger risk in not signing him. I didn't like him before this year but you have to be willing to bet on Dupree, even if it means giving him 16M a season. All the high producers this year that are FAs - Shaq Barrett, Bud Dupree, Robert Quinn, Dante Fowler, Clowney, Markus Golden, Matt Judon, Ngakoue - are all going to get 12-15M a season, some even closer to 20M. The two Smiths that the Packers signed were only semi productive before signing their deals and one got 13M per season and the other 16.5M a season.

The cap space just doesn't exist for that.

They need to save the money for Watt. If they tie up half of their cap in Dupree and Watt, they can't assemble much of a roster around them.

I think the risk of Dupree's contract becoming an albatross is higher than the risk of having to replace him with less than stellar options.

Yes it does. Play around with Overthecap. Cut Barron, McDonald, Chickillo, Foster and Berry. The cap space increases to almost 26.5M for next year (including 3M carry over from this year). Add on an extension for Heyward and that will save you a few more. Already up to 30M.

A Dupree deal is only going to carry a 6-7M cap hit in the first year assuming a 25-30M signing bonus.

It gives you money to extend Hilton, Feiler (better be cheap), Sutton (again, cheap if you think he's ready to breakout), Juju (if you think he'll bounce back and you can get him for 10-12M a season).

And when Watt and Washington need new deals in the 2021 offseason then you extend Decastro and Nelson to give you more cap space. You could even extend Ben even if he's not going to play past 2021 to give more cap space in 2021. It's the same thing they do every year and we've never had an issue keeping the guys we want to keep (Bell notwithstanding as we got lucky).

Ok. So there is space and then what happens at tight end? They need to draft JK Dobbins in the 2nd and get a guard in the 3rd.

Is there space to keep Vannett and snag another vet in this scenario?

[RemoAZ]

I agree about McDonald. They've almost completely abandoned the TEs. The TE screens they've run look like something they never practice. It's almost comical. They never throw the ball down the middle of the field where McDonald could be running over DBs. I like both out TEs. They only problem with McDonald is he can't stay healthy.

Hard to throw over the middle when you field a QB that can’t see over his O-Line.

A bit of an exaggeration I know. However, either he’s terrified to do it, isn't seeing the open guys, or we aren’t running many routes through there. Could be all three.

One would think as much as that portion of the field had been vacated we’d find a way to take advantage.

One would think...

That's what I'm saying. I don't understand why they aren't scheming the TEs into the game plan a lot more. How much of a safety net was Heath always for Ben, especially when he was young? All they did to try to get McDonald the ball is those damn screens that they could not execute for some unknown reason. A big chunk of those first 15 or so plays everybody supposedly scripts should have been getting the TEs in the game plan. Huge miss for a coaching staff that has to get a shit ton more out of the passing game to beat any team with a pulse.

[955876]

Jibbs: Hey Randy, what do we got for 3rd and 7+ yards this week??

Sphincter: I got some screens to McDonald and Vannett.

Jibbs: But those have been getting stuffed.

Sphincter: Ya but we just haven’t been executing.

Jibbs: That’s exactly what I thought. Let’s put em in. That and some wildcat.

[Jobu]

Jibbs: Hey Randy, what do we got for 3rd and 7+ yards this week??

Sphincter: I got some screens to McDonald and Vannett.

Jibbs: But those have been getting stuffed.

Sphincter: Ya but we just haven’t been executing.

Jibbs: That’s exactly what I thought. Let’s put em in. That and some wildcat.

3rd and 7 or longer...TE quick screen
3rd and 3 or shorter...Chuck it 30 yards downfield

[RemoAZ]

I don't remember a Steeler team or any team for that matter being so bad at running screen plays.

[955876]

Jibbs: Hey Randy, what do we got for 3rd and 7+ yards this week??

Sphincter: I got some screens to McDonald and Vannett.

Jibbs: But those have been getting stuffed.

Sphincter: Ya but we just haven’t been executing.

Jibbs: That’s exactly what I thought. Let’s put em in. That and some wildcat.

3rd and 7 or longer...TE quick screen
3rd and 3 or shorter...Chuck it 30 yards downfield

Yep. That’s our O