It's upsetting to see the Steelers depth chart with Harrison and Woodley as their starting OLBS. They are an outstanding combo, among the leagues best. So what do they do in the draft? They get even better. They draft Jason Worilds and Thaddeus Gibson, giving them a quartet of pass rushing nastiness. I envy their depth at this position. While the Dolphins are hoping for starters to emerge from a mix of young talent, the Steelers have the luxury of trading Harrison or Woodley once Worilds and Gibson become starter quality. With 3 years of drafting in the books, the Dolphins regime should soon have the luxury of drafting at positions of strength. Having fewer pressing needs gives a ton of flexibility in drafting. This is why successful teams continue to be successful; and losing teams never get to that step because they are stuck in a repetitive cycle of rebuilding and regime change.
They've always valued that position and approached it this way. When Porter left, they had Harrison come in. When Harrison leaves, Worlids will come in. And the cycle continues. They have to do this because they typically don't pay high money to retain their players.
The one thing the Steelers have had that other organizations haven't is a true identity thoughout most of their existence. No matter who the coach is they draft the same type of players and have maintained the same blueprint for the type of team they want to be and consequently the type of players they need. They have stuck with this blueprint for a very long time. It's my hope that we can do the same. Establish our identity and no matter who the coach is continue to stick with out blueprint. As far as building on strengths I think this is the first year we sorta did that on our O Line. I expect to see more and more of this in the coming years!
I know that's how they operate, but I envy their talent. Harrison, Woodley, Worilds, Farrior, Timmons, and Gibson. I don't think Wake, Misi, Dansby, Crowder, and Edds are close to that level. They might get there someday, but I hope passing up on guys like Everson Griffen, Sergio Kindle, and Jermaine Cunningham doesn't come back to haunt us. I know Misi and Edds are relatively "safe" picks, but I still feel like we're short another pass-rusher, even after the draft.
