The Blitzburgh Report

Just how well did the Steelers do in the 2007 NFL draft? Peter Schrager of FOXSports.com gives the team a “B” in his midseason evaluation:

Pittsburgh: Expected to get instant production from rookie linebackers LeMarr Woodley and Lawrence Timmons, the linebacker quartet of veterans Clark Haggans, James Farrior, Larry Foote, and James Harrison have been arguably the best unit in the league. Woodley’s come along a bit faster than Timmons, but neither rookie’s really been given the chance to soar. Third-round pick Matt Spaeth already has three touchdown receptions as the team’s second tight end. And then there’s the punter, fourth- round pick Daniel Sepulveda. The two-time Ray Guy Award winner has been a rock for the Steelers, averaging 44.4 yards per punt and nailing 12 inside the 20. Nice production from this crew so far, and it’s only expected to get better.

I have no big problems with Schrager’s assessment and think that a “B” is a fair grade so far. Though, I am not sure that the Steelers “expected to get instant production” out of Timmons and Woodley. Also, I think he could have added cornerback William Gay to his list. I can’t fault him much for that one because most outside of Steelers fans probably haven’t heard much about him. But those of us paying attention know that Gay so far has the makings of a solid player. Of course, it is all still just talk anyway because it takes multiple seasons to get a true read on a player (Kendrell Bell, anyone?).

So how about you, Steelers fans? What tentative grade would you give the Steelers’ 2007 draft class so far?

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Training Camp is over and the preseason is halfway done, here is a look at how the Steelers’ 2007 rookie class is performing so far:

1) Lawrence Timmons- Timmons’ story has been pretty well documented. He finally saw he first real practice time with the Steelers last week after missing most of the offseason workouts and training camp. He saw limited action last game against the Redskins, and actually looked OK. He needs a lot of work, but at least he didn’t embarrass himself. He has a lot of catching up to do.

2) LaMarr Woodley- Woodley has been a real bright spot. He is a hard worker and it shows. His impressive practices have translated onto the field where he has made plenty of plays. He seems to be on his way to being another successful defensive end to linebacker conversion for the Steelers.

3) Matt Spaeth- Spaeth has had a mediocre preseason thus far. He’s a big target that should come in handy in the passing game, but he has shown that his blocking still needs a ton of work. Still, he isn’t in any danger of being cut.

4) Daniel Sepulveda- So far, Sepulveda has certainly justified the Steelers using a 4th round pick on him. He is booming kicks and looks like he might finally shore up a position that has been lacking the last two years with Chris Gardocki.

5) Ryan McBean- McBean has been fairly disappointing so far. He has been slow to pick up the defensive playbook and hasn’t shown much in practice or on the field. Still, he has a lot of raw talent and could be a project. But the Steelers really could have used some insurance at back up for the defensive line.

6) Cameron Stephenson- Stephenson has had an extremely quiet offseason. I like to pretend that I know it all, but I have heard and read next to nothing on the guy- which really doesn’t bode well for him.

7) William Gay- Gay just might be the biggest surprise of all. He went from a guy most hadn’t heard of (most draft websites didn’t even have a full bio on him until well after the draft), to someone everyone has their eyes on. He’s making plays all over the field, from big hits, to sacks, to the game ending interception last week.

9) Dallas Baker- Baker is another one who has had a quiet offseason. His size is intriguing, but it was known the moment he was drafted that he would be a long shot at making the team, and he hasn’t done anything yet to show he deserves a spot on in the already deep Steelers’ receiving corp.

Coach Mike Tomlin’s first NFL draft is over, and you can definitely feel his influence on the picks that the Steelers made. They wanted to shore up the team’s pass rush, and they certainly made a move to that with both Lawrence Timmons and LaMarr Woodley. They have two tall receiving targets in Matt Spaeth and Dallas Baker. They picked perhaps the best punter in the draft in Daniel Sepulveda. They have some good potential in some project picks in Ryan McBean, Cameron Stephenson, and William Gay.

Click each player to check out our analysis:

1 (15) Lawrence Timmons OLB Florida State

2 (46) LaMarr Woodley DE Michigan

3 (77) Matt Spaeth TE Minnesota

4 (112) Daniel Sepulveda P Baylor

4 (132) Ryan McBean DE Oklahoma State

5 (156) Cameron Stephenson G Rutgers

5 (170) William Gay CB Louisville

7 (227) Dallas Baker WR Florida

It was an interesting draft and opinions are split (but really, when aren’t they?) on a lot of the picks. But the Steelers are no longer Bill Cowher’s team and that means things will be done a bit differently. A lot of the defensive picks seems to be suited for both the 3-4 and the 4-3, so a hybrid or 4-3 defense might be closer then we think.

With the offensive line trouble, the team might have done itself a service to pick up a lineman before a Stepehnson, and taking a TE with the 3rd round pick was a bit of a shocker. Dallas Baker was a pretty solid pick for the 7th round.

It should be fun to see how all these players develop and what new coach Mike Tomlin does with them.

The Steelers took Florida wide receiver Dallas Baker with their last selection of the 2007 NFL Draft.

NFL.coms’ positives and negatives:

Positives: Shows adequate muscle definition and a long frame that could carry at least another 15 pounds of bulk … Shows good initial quickness and above average balance throughout his route progression … Has the long arms and reach agility to extend and catch the ball at its high point … Has better acceleration than his top speed indicates … Minimal rep type who shows good field vision and awareness … Mature and vocal leader who competes until the whistle …

PHOTO: Tim Casey / Alligator Sports

Has the short-area explosion to get into his route and enough moves to elude … Uses his size and long arms effectively to beat the jam, demonstrating enough strength to bump at the line of scrimmage … Very smooth in his running stride, showing the plant-and-drive agility to get in and out of his cuts … Has the body control and functional quickness to get to his break point … Keeps his pad level down and can drop his weight to settle into the soft areas … Conscious of the sticks and adjusts his body well to avoid the defender when working through a crowd … Best when used on short and controlled routes, where his lateral agility lets him bounce off the second level defender … Plays with good energy and is generally in control throughout the patterns … Has natural hands and good leaping ability to time his jumps and compete for the high tosses along the sidelines … Does a good job of adjusting his body to the ball in flight … Compensates for a lack of timed speed with his leaping ability and sure hands to get to the off-target throws … Looks very comfortable catching the ball over his outside shoulder … Has good leg strength to break the initial tackle … Relies on crisp change of direction agility to avoid after the catch … Has the functional strength to pester second-level defenders when blocking in the open field … Has a very impressive arm length to get to the high throws (35 7/8-inches).

Negatives: Has functional strength, but needs to add more bulk to his frame since he is generally ineffective as an in-line blocker, getting pushed back into the pocket or rush lane when working along the line of scrimmage … Bit high cut and a long strider, preventing him from generating a second gear or up field explosion needed to separate (better in the short area) … Built more in the lines of a track sprinter (small bubble, marginal lower body muscle tone) … Minimal rep type, but did struggle with academics earlier in his career (Prop 48, 11/18 Wonderlic score) … His long legs prevent him from building to top speed in a hurry … Has some looseness in his hips, but not enough to consistently ride up on the defender and elude … Will sit down in coverage and adjust to the action, but seems to lose his concentration and be hesitant to go after the passes in a crowd (questionable courage) … Does not have the quickness to challenge the deep secondary and stretch the field … Has natural hands to reach and extend, but will short arm and body catch when he has to go after the ball over the middle (hears the defenders’ feet) … Needs to assert himself in traffic, as he doesn’t care to go after the tough passes … Shows good maturity now, but did have one off-field incident earlier in his career … Older prospect who will turn 25 during the 2007 season.

Dallas Baker seems to be a big WR that wasn’t a bad pick up in the seventh round. He has Plaxico Burress and Fred Gibson size, but let’s just hope he turns out to be more of a Plaxico (talent-wise) then a Fred Gibson.

The Steelers took Louisville cornerback William Gay with their second 5th round selection.

SI.com’s analysis:

40 time: 4.67
Projected: Early 7th round

BIOGRAPHY: Three-year starter who also played with the first team as a freshman. All-Conference selection last season after totaling 60/6/13.

POSITIVES: Tough, feisty cornerback with marginal speed. Displays good instincts, locates the pass in the air and has a decisive move defending the throw. Displays a sense of timing and shows a burst of closing speed. Gives effort defending the run.

NEGATIVES: Lacks top-end speed and struggles staying downfield with opponents. Undersized, and is easily blocked from the action.

ANALYSIS: Taking his game to another level last year, Gay showed enough skill and ability to get consideration as a zone cornerback in dime situations.

There isn’t a whole lot of information on Gay. He seems like a role player type. He is a bit undersized and slow, two things you don’t typically like in a defensive back. He’s another player that was projected to go much later then where the Steelers selected him. But defensive backs are supposed to be Coach Mike Tolmin’s specialty, so for now we might just need to trust him on this one.

With their first 5th round selection, the Steelers take Rutgers guard Cameron Stephenson. He is said to be a Sean Mahan clone, the lineman who recently signed with the Steelers.

NFL.com’s positives and negatives:

Positives: Has a thick frame with wide hips, good muscle mass and very good lower-body strength to anchor … Lacks timed speed, but in the short area, he has soft feet and good lateral movement to break down in space … Tough and competitive drive blocker who has excellent strength and explosion … Can play with leverage and generates good pop coming off the ball … Efficient trap blocker who could shift to tackle at the pro level because of his ability to move off the snap to explode into defenders … Shows good arm extension to seal off the edge rush … Maintains position and knows how to go low to take defenders off their feet …

Effective moving in the short area … Positions himself properly to wall off his man and follow through in run blocking … Slides his feet and mirrors the rusher’s moves in pass protection … Uses his big hands forcefully to get control in the trenches … Simply man-handles the pass rushers with his brute strength … Works well with his center pulling on sweeps, but needs to keeps his balance better going after second-level defenders … Shuffles his feet and extends his arms properly dropping back in pass protection … Generates very good power behind his good hand punch to redirect his man … Adequate at handling the speed rush, getting proper arm extension to wall-off and lock onto the blitzers … Knows how to use his size to lean, push and engulf the smaller defenders … Shows decent knee bend and kick slide setting up in pass protection.

Negatives: Lacks foot quickness needed to be effective pulling on long sweeps, laboring at times to maintain balance in the open field … Has a very strong hand punch to shock and jolt, but needs to use them with better consistency … Will get his hands out of his framework, leaving his body exposed … Despite his strong base, he struggles at times getting movement vs. two-gap defenders … Needs to be more consistent bringing his feet setting up to protect the pocket … Will get high in his stance, losing leverage in the process … Must do a better job of keeping his feet under him when on the move … Could play tackle, but lacks ideal size and arm length for that position.

Sounds like another project type offensive lineman for the Steelers. He seems like a solid pick, yet the Steelers already have a lot of these lineman projects on the team, without much to show for them yet. The Steelers’ offensive line needs some big help and we wonder if the 5th round wasn’t a little late for them to start addressing it considering how immediate the need will be.

With their second pick in the 4th round, the Steelers have chosen Oklahoma State defensive tackle Ryan McBean. Bean is said to be able to fit into both 3-4 and 4-3 schemes, thus seems like another one of these hybrid players that the Steelers have seemed to be focusing on in this draft.

NFL.com’s positives and negatives:

Positives: Has a tall, angular frame that can easily carry another 20 pounds of bulk … Has the play recognition skills and instincts to flow to the ball with ease … Shows decent knee bend and flexibility in his stance, demonstrating the short-area acceleration to string plays wide and take away the ball carrier’s outside rush lanes … Has the quickness to give chase up field, showing the functional agility and loose hips to redirect … Has the power to stack and hold the pile at the line of scrimmage … Shows proper use of hands to gain leverage and the foot agility to generate a quick surge through the gaps … Can locate the running plays working through trash and keeps his pads down and arms properly extended to wrap tackle …

When he keeps his hands inside the frame, he can stuff and shed quickly … Decisive in pursuit and goes low in his tackles to stop ball carriers at the line … Displays impressive power behind his hits and has the initial burst to knife into the backfield and the acceleration to zero in on the quarterback once he penetrates … Hard worker in the weight room … Maintains body control on the move and has an explosive first step off the snap … Has enough arm strength to reach out and drag the ball carrier to the ground … His best asset is shooting the gaps, as he has the quickness to pressure the pocket consistently … His hand quickness is evident by the activity he shows with them when executing counter moves … Alert to play-action and it is rare to see him get fooled by an erratic snap count … Keeps his head on a swivel to locate the ball and has a quick spin move to slip off the lineman and clog the interior rush lanes.

Negatives: More of a push rusher than one who displays technique … Has good quickness, but tires late in games and then reverts to leaning into blockers rather than trying to battle them … Can disappear for stretches, struggling to disengage when challenged by double teams (when he fails to extend his arms and keep his hands active, he will get tied up on blocks and lacks the bulk to split multiple blockers … Best making plays on the move, as he can get run over at the line of scrimmage at times due to a lack of ideal lower body strength … Has improved his pad level, but when he gets high in his stance, he leaves his chest too exposed … Gets out of control at times and tries to club blockers, making him late getting off blocks … Can be taken down by low blocks, as he doesn’t use his hands to protect his body … Adequate wrap-up tackler, but needs to do it with better consistency (will collide or arm tackle on the move and bigger backs can bounce off those hits) … Has good leaping ability, but poor timing (with his reach, he should be knocking down more passes than he has).

The Steelers really seem to be focusing on the players in the box. We’re not sure yet where McBean figures to fit into the Steelers’ plans. Looks like he might be a solid pick for Coach Tomlin to groom.

The Steelers moved up to pick 112 in the 4th round to take possibly the best punter in the draft, Baylor’s Daniel Sepulveda. They traded with Green Bay, swapping 4th round picks and sending their 6th round pick. We think this was a good move. The Steelers probably would have preferred to not have to trade for him, but they didn’t want to risk losing him as he was the best punter left available.

NFL.com analysis:

Positives: Former linebacker, and looks the part with good chest thickness, muscular arms, tight waist, tapered thighs and calves … Has excellent leg strength to kick the ball for good distance … Good coverage support specialist who has excellent quickness to get down field ands prevent the long return … Shows very good leg extension and overall body flexibility … Has large, soft and natural hands, making proper adjustments to the off-target snap …

Holds for placements and field goals … Adjusts to pressure well and can improvise when his protection breaks down … Three-step kicker with an average of 1.21 in his touch-to-toe mechanics … Gets very good rise and turnover behind his kicks … Strikes the ball with power, but needs to improve the height on his kicks (prone to long drives) … Has solid control with good hang time (4.2 second average) and is efficient at getting the ball to bounce right in order for the coverage team to get down field and keep the ball inside the 20-yard line … Shows accuracy placing his attempts near the sticks and is a mentally tough sort who is not afraid to run with the ball … Shows functional aggression getting downfield to lend support for the coverage unit … Has good lower body flexibility and hip rotation with flexibility in his ball release … Well-coordinated and shows solid control and mechanics in attempts to angle his kicks … Shows good hand mechanics fielding the ball and getting it ready for the place-kicker while serving as a holder.

Negatives: Has all the intangibles, but will on occasion kick across his body, causing his ball position to be off a little bit … Tends to rush his kicks at times when pressured, losing his adequate height and causing the coverage unit to not be in position to prevent the return … Relies too much on his leg strength and will punish the ball, causing him to out-kick his coverage unit … Needs to show better leg extension and toe direction in his kicks (sometimes goes off the side of the foot) … Hang times are just adequate, as he has the leg strength, but fails to generate consistent trajectory.

Sepulveda is a big guy (6-2, 229 lbs). He actually started out playing linebacker before moving to punter. He is known for having a really strong leg and he had the best average in college football last year (46.5 yards). Given the Steelers late round pick history, a 6th round pick might not have been too much to give up. Plus, this gives the team a chance to unload Chris Gardocki and save a bit of cap room while giving a nice boost to their special teams.

In a bit of a shocker, the Steelers selected Minnesota tight end Matt Spaeth with their third round pick. The pick could symbolize the Steelers moving to more two tight end sets on offense. One thing that can be said about Spaeth is that he is huge. He is 6-7, 267 lbs. Though, he is known more for his blocking then his pass catching.

Yahoo.com has some highlights up of Spaeth.

NFL.com’s Positive and Negatives:

Positives: Has a tall, long frame with very good arm length, large hands and shows better muscle development since adding 10 pounds to his frame prior to the 2006 season … Shows good chest thickness, functional upper-body strength and some thickness in his thighs and calves …

Has good ball-adjustment skills, using his long arms to catch away from his frame and secure the pass at its high point … With his frame, he is very effective at posting up the middle and uses that frame to shield defenders from the ball … When he lowers his pads, he is good at moving the chains … If used on stop, out, shallow crossers and comeback routes, you can get decent production from him …

Negatives: More of a short-area target due to his imposing size, but also because of his marginal speed that makes him a liability in deep routes … Little too stiff in his hips to generate fluid lateral movement and is best when running straight-line routes than when having to cut and redirect … Would like to see him get more aggressive when having to take on defenders as a blocker and his overall strength needs to be improved … Has to rely more on his hand punch and size to defeat the press … Struggles vs. the larger defenders when he fails to get his hands up quickly to push off his opponent … Lacks suddenness coming off the snap and does not have good moves to get into his routes cleanly … Has some short-area acceleration to settle in the soft areas, but needs to be quicker getting position as a blocker … Lacks precision in and out of his breaks and is best served settling in underneath than trying to take the ball up the seam … Needs to do a better job of selling or conning on his route progression, as he lacks a top burst coming out of his breaks … Does not show the savvy moves needed to set up the defender and must be more physical to escape, as his lack of change-of-direction agility will not let him surprise a defender … Check out NFL.com for the full analysis.

Could the Steelers still have gotten Spaeth in a later round? That remains to be seen, but some projections had him going as late as the 5th round. This draft was pretty thin at TE, so that might have raised his stock a bit. However, the Steelers have far more pressing needs then to take a TE with their 3rd round pick. To paraphrase one Steelers fan’s comments: ‘the Steelers still don’t use Heath Miller right. The Steelers haven’t used a tight end right since Eric Green. Why are they using a 3rd round pick on another tight end?’. We tend to agree. Hopefully this pick fits into some bigger plan. This is not to say that Spaeth isn’t a talented player (his size is actually very intriguing), we’re just still surprised the Steelers pulled the trigger on a TE in the 3rd round with all the needs that they have.

The Steelers made another defensive pick when they went with Michigan defensive end LaMarr Woodley for their second round pick of the 2007 NFL draft. Woodley was a three year starter at Michigan, one as and outside linebacker and the last two as defensive end. The Steelers plan to use him as a strong-side linebacker. Woodley was voted a consensus first-team All-America last season, and rivals.com voted him the defensive player of the year.

So let’s see some highlights of Woodley. Check out this play where he sacks the quarterback, forces a fumble, then recovers the fumble:

Click here for more Woodley highlights.

NFL.com has some positives and negatives of Woodley:

Positives: Has a shorter-than-ideal frame, but shows good upper-body thickness, wide hips, good bubble, muscular arms and very good straight-line speed … Aggressive and physical edge rusher who plays with a high motor and a very competitive nature … Will go until the whistle and demonstrates the upper-body power to stack, shed and press off coverage … Hard worker in practices and the training room and takes well to hard coaching (will do whatever the staff asks, evident by playing a different position in each of his years at Michigan) … Excellent edge rusher who constantly beats the blocker with his initial quickness …

Negatives: Can be neutralized by double-team blocking, as he struggles to hold his ground vs. the larger blockers … Because of all the position moves, he has not had time to develop solid read/react ability and plays more on instincts … Needs more than several reps to retain plays and might struggle in a complicated system (best when freelancing) … Might have the size and experience at linebacker, but even when playing that position, he was pulled in obvious passing situations (struggles getting good depth in his drops) … Has a great motor, but will sometimes get too out of control and over-pursue … Even with his strength, he can get washed out of the play when trying to work through the trash … Lacks ideal height and bulk to play in a base defense, but has the speed to cause problems playing wide off the edge … Has good lateral range, but looks sluggish opening his hips through transition. Check out NFL.com for the full analysis.

The Steelers seem to have really focused on getting a strong pass rush with both Lawrence Timmons and LaMarr Woodley. Coach Mike Tomlin said in an interview on ESPN yesterday that they are focusing on trying to improve getting off the field on third down- something that has been a HUGE frustration for Steelers fans for years. Woodley should be able to help immediately as a pass-rushing specialist.