Sorry it took so long to comment today, but I'm on vacation this week and have been spending every day at the ball field.
Anyway, the Steelers had a busy day, signing three more draft picks and releasing six other players, among them California University of Pennsylvania QB Kevin McCabe.
The three draft picks signed were wide receiver Mike Wallace, defensive end Ra’Shon Harris and center A.Q. Shipley. All were given three-year deals.
Wallace was the second of the team's third round picks. The speedster finished his career at Ole Miss ranked third all-time in touchdown receptions and fifth in receiving yards. Wallace also holds Ole Miss records for single game, season and career kickoff return yards. He was the second-fastest player at this year's combine.
Harris was a sixth-round pick. He played in 36 career games at Oregon, recording 65 tackles (39 solo) and four sacks. He's seen as a project.
The undersized Shipley (6-0, 298) was the first of the team's two seventh-round selections.
Wallace, Harris and Shipley bring the total number of signees among the Steelers’ 2009 draft class to six. Cornerback Keenan Lewis, cornerback Joe Burnett and running back Frank Summers all signed last week.
The six players released were: defensive end Jeff Bradley, long snapper Mark Estermyer, wide receiver Jayson Foster, wide receiver Cedric Goodman, quarterback Kevin McCabe and fullback Ryan Powdrell.
The release of Estermyer means the Steelers are confident that long snapper Greg Warren is fully recovered from the torn ACL that ended his season in 2008.
20 comments:
I was looking at shipleys measurements from the combine and don't see the tiny little guy the media always talks about.
Is the inch here and pound there really an issue?
If he were 5'-4" and 130lbs it would be o.k., as long as he can do the job. Period.
He's barely 6-0 and has very short arms.
The Steelers also signed David Johnson today as well. That's seven draft picks in the fold.
He also benched 225 lbs thirty times, and he's fast for a big man. He might be a little guy, but he's mean and plays with fire.
At the combine, Shipley measured at 6'1'', 304 lbs., with 29.75 inch arm length. The height and weight is okay for a center.
I'm worried less about the short arms than if he can block Ngata, Shaun Rogers and the other big nose tackles that Hartwig can't.
I'm reserving judgement until I see him in pads during camp and in the preseason games. It's all useless talk until the pads go on.
If it wasn't an issue he would've been gone long before round 7. 6'1 is on the low end, but acceptable. 29.75" arms however are extremely short. The average arm length for a starting center in the league is 32.5", the very shortest being 30.75".
the short arms are also probably indictive of the high bench reps. Not saying he is not strong or he didn't deserve the numbers, but putting up 225 an extra 3 inches, for larger lineman, can't help.
You hit the nail on the head, Patrick. Guys with shorter arms are almost always the best bench-pressers -- they just have a shorter distance to go. Like you, I'm not denying his strength, but it has to be taken with a grain of salt.
You'll see a lot of massive, extremely strong tackles put up uncharacteristically low bench numbers. Scouts tend to dismiss those numbers, noting instead their 35" arms.
I'm hopeful Shipley can develop into a starting center, but he looks like an overgrown fullback.
Colon has short arms too and he's strong as hell. what were his draft bench press measures?
Colon's campus numbers were: 34" arms, 10.25" hands, and repped 28 times.
wow the difference between Colon's arms and Shipleys is huge. Thats amazing.
Colon has long arms for his size.
what are Max Starks then? i know he has a huge wingspan
"what are Max Starks then?"
36.5"
"Hi I'm a dead horse, please beat me more"
ok then horse, so if Shipley and Starks stand with their arms spread out, Starks is going to have over a foot longer on him? (6.5 inches on each side).
I know I'm making a bigger deal of this than it is, but thats pretty drastic.
Yea....EVERYONE "said" James Harrison WAS UNDERSIZED as well. :ROLLEYES:
And look at what a friggin BEAST he's turned into !!
I'll take a player with Hines Ward's heart and drive over the prototypical "sized" player ANYDAY!!!
There is a reason Shipley dropped to the 7th round. That said, the guy has a shoot he is just going to need all the drive and technique he can get.
I could care less if Shipley's arms are 30 inches or 45 inches. The bottom line -- can the kid play football?
Dale,
Have you heard anything about Shipley long snapping?
He hasn't really done any here that I've seen.
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