Broderick Jones

[SteelerInLebanon]

As bad as Jones has played at times, I think those wanting to call him a bust or get rid of him are being a bit shortsighted.
Very few Tackles come out of college ready to play at the highest level, particularly those with the most innate talent who were able to get by on sheer athletic ability. Those who are fully ready go in the top 5 picks. There are score of tackles who have sucked for the first few years before honing their craft to become competent. Jones does make some good plays; he just makes some very obvious bad plays when he gets lazy in his technique. Dan Moore is far less talented and had a rough beginning to his career being thrust into a starting spot. He has improved every year and has become a steady quite serviceable LT. Jones given some time and more coaching can far surpass Moore, but we need to remain patient and pray he doesn't get someone killed as he learns. Some time on the bench would have possibly helped him but Troys injury prevents that at the moment. We as fans have become way to impatient with developing players.

 

[diver]

He will be fine. This could be a big grow up year for him. Sometimes young guys need to face a little adversity.

 

[BLITZ]

The other lineman need to do the old soap and pillowcase treatment to him

 

[steelcan58]

Like I said in another post I think many of us, especially the media were expecting too much from Jones out of the gate because he was a first round pick. He was relatively inexperienced and a lot of his college success was due to his enormous size. That's something you can't teach.

You're right - we need patience.

 

[paperclip]

I remember when he was inserted into the line last year, and I thought the offense sort of came alive and he was leading the run-game.

 

[fedderone]

Maybe if he were at his natural LT position instead of RT, he wouldn't be this bad.
According to those that do it at this level, playing LT and RT is like writing with your left and right hands.
And when you're asked to do the other, it's weird and you can't do it as well.
This may be a case of that.

 

[troymania]

He needs to be at LT. Dan Moore has played well this year but Broderick Jones will be a good LT.

 

[keslerclan]

B. Jones has certainly regressed and one could argue he must have an undisclosed injury but is our only option.

One could also argue that he is playing with frustrations which are affecting his effort, right?

The problem I see is that Jones is NOT using his "punch" at all, not driving forward and latching on and bringing his hands/arms from outside angles (problem going back to college). He is trying to latch outside the shoulders of defenders and "wrestle" them into compliance, like he showed he could do at times in college. He seems to have fixed his problem of driving his head down into his opponent (losing sight and leverage) which has essentially turned him into a "soft" defender. This shows in the run and pass-pro.

One could also argue that he is no longer playing out-of-position as he has as many starts on the Right-side now as he had on the Left-side in college. He only played 4 games at LT the year prior to his last where he played 11 more...not a ton of experience.

He had a ton of upside due to his foot quickness and length BUT was labeled a "one-trick-pony" by Mike Martz who said he was terrible with his techniques in his analysis of his college tape. The coaching staff practiced him at LT and RT over the summer and evaluated his best position based on what they saw. Obviously, that was that he was going to back-up this years LT pick on the right side with Moore continuing to stay on the left. Moore has never been bad, IMO but went up against some very good players in and out of our division and still never gave up as many pressures/sacks as Jones has in half a season by comparison. We better sign Moore while we can, IMO because he will get a huge contract with someone else after this year regardless of the past PFF grades (mostly BS anyway).

Lots of talk about us needing a #2 WR and we don't even have a #2 offensive tackle...this is going to get worse with our tougher games upcoming, IMO.

 

[SteelerSask2]

I think it was stated correctly on a podcast. He got away with ****** technique in college cause he was so much more powerful. A couple things do annoy me though. He peaked late in the season and he dipped again after second training camp which is rare. He practices against the best edge in the game. How is he not getting better?

 

[steelcan58]

I think it was stated correctly on a podcast. He got away with ****** technique in college cause he was so much more powerful. A couple things do annoy me though. He peaked late in the season and he dipped again after second training camp which is rare. He practices against the best edge in the game. How is he not getting better?

As teams get more film on how Jones gets beat, it's up to Jones and the coaching staff to correct it. He has the physical tools. I think it's a matter of time before he improves significantly.

 

[Black & Gold Bleeder]

Wondering about the timeline for Fautanu's return. Daniels gets put on ir out for the season.. Fautanu, was speculated as coming back for post season play.
IDK why im wondering about this. Just smells of uber vagueness. Maybe im just wishful thinking that he can / will return and this line will get better. His timeline was just never really laid out,, . .

 

[slashsteel]

Wondering about the timeline for Fautanu's return. Daniels gets put on ir out for the season.. Fautanu, was speculated as coming back for post season play.
IDK why im wondering about this. Just smells of uber vagueness. Maybe im just wishful thinking that he can / will return and this line will get better. His timeline was just never really laid out,, . .

That what was said possible postseason. Long inactive play to be just throwing him back out there in a critical matchup. I would be more in favor of him being the backup at that point in time if available. But I think his return this season is unlikely.

 

[steelhurt]

Here’s my take and strictly my opinion.
He was a very young guy when he came out of Georgia barely 21 who didn’t have a ton of starts but was immensely talented but raw. All he knew was LT but now he’s a pro being asked to be a RT.
Must be difficult adjustment since Dan Moore can’t seem to make the move.
I think he’ll be fine, I really do. This experience will only help him and next year he can settle into the LT spot when Moore is gone.

 

[bigben]

As bad as Jones has played at times, I think those wanting to call him a bust or get rid of him are being a bit shortsighted.
Very few Tackles come out of college ready to play at the highest level, particularly those with the most innate talent who were able to get by on sheer athletic ability. Those who are fully ready go in the top 5 picks. There are score of tackles who have sucked for the first few years before honing their craft to become competent. Jones does make some good plays; he just makes some very obvious bad plays when he gets lazy in his technique. Dan Moore is far less talented and had a rough beginning to his career being thrust into a starting spot. He has improved every year and has become a steady quite serviceable LT. Jones given some time and more coaching can far surpass Moore, but we need to remain patient and pray he doesn't get someone killed as he learns. Some time on the bench would have possibly helped him but Troys injury prevents that at the moment. We as fans have become way to impatient with developing players.

Jones has given up the most sacks in the league and is nothing short of a penalty machine.
Weren't you beating the drum with similar posts about not giving up on Kenny Pickett about this time last season?

 

[Punxsutawney]

The "being played out of position" excuse doesn't hold much water considering he played pretty well on the right side as a rookie.

It's possible he's playing through an injury, but it's also possible his focus and effort has declined after a year of seeing his bank account inflated, which unfortunately happens with a lot of young players.

We've heard coaches aren't happy with his work in practice, and it's reflected in his sloppy technique during games.

It's still a bit too early to declare him a bust, but I think if we're honest with ourselves, it's starting to look that way.

 

[SteelerInLebanon]

Jones has given up the most sacks in the league and is nothing short of a penalty machine.
Weren't you beating the drum with similar posts about not giving up on Kenny Pickett about this time last season?

Is Dan Moore vastly improved today from where he was 2 years ago?

 

[NYSteel]

It's starting to feel like a Jamaine Stephens type situation..... To me anyway...

 

[MT~Forged]

I think You have to look at Moore’s play, he is getting better as the games get played. Now look at Jones’ play, is he showing improvement each game? I am just not seeing improvement.

So you have to ask why.
a - If Moore can’t make the switch to the other side, why is Jones EXPECTED to be able to?
b - Rumor has it he is not working as hard as they want him to. Maybe he hasn’t matured enough to realize the life doesn’t always go your way, and is sandbagging it
c - Maybe his injury/ies is worse than we are being told, and is hampering his play

 

[Punxsutawney]

I think You have to look at Moore’s play, he is getting better as the games get played. Now look at Jones’ play, is he showing improvement each game? I am just not seeing improvement.

So you have to ask why.
a - If Moore can’t make the switch to the other side, why is Jones EXPECTED to be able to?
b - Rumor has it he is not working as hard as they want him to. Maybe he hasn’t matured enough to realize the life doesn’t always go your way, and is sandbagging it
c - Maybe his injury/ies is worse than we are being told, and is hampering his play

That is the big issue with the Moore analogy as it pertains to Jones.

Moore has shown steady progress from year to year while Jones started out well, but has regressed big time.

The most troubling thing is the apparent lack of effort on many plays. It may be at least somewhat attributable to Jones either playing through injury, being unhappy about playing on the right side, or a combination of the two.

Though it might explain it to a certain degree, it would no way justify it.

 

[SteelerInLebanon]

I think You have to look at Moore’s play, he is getting better as the games get played. Now look at Jones’ play, is he showing improvement each game? I am just not seeing improvement.

So you have to ask why.
a - If Moore can’t make the switch to the other side, why is Jones EXPECTED to be able to?
b - Rumor has it he is not working as hard as they want him to. Maybe he hasn’t matured enough to realize the life doesn’t always go your way, and is sandbagging it
c - Maybe his injury/ies is worse than we are being told, and is hampering his play

That is the big issue with the Moore analogy as it pertains to Jones.

Moore has shown steady progress from year to year while Jones started out well, but has regressed big time.

The most troubling thing is the apparent lack of effort on many plays. It may be at least somewhat attributable to Jones either playing through injury, being unhappy about playing on the right side, or a combination of the two.

Though it might explain it to a certain degree, it would no way justify it.

I think but absolutely don't know for sure that the injured elbow is greatly affecting him, and he is toughing through it but struggling to punch.

 

[FordFairLane]

He’s also playing out of position. In that draft class I would have preferred doubling up on tackles with Dawand Jones to be our RT. D. Jones is a power tackle and force in the running game. B. Jones is more of a finesse guy. And for a guy who never played RT to start in the NFL is a big learning curve. I do worry how much this will hinder his development.

 

[Fiji Mariner]

A right arm injury, if indeed the situation is lingering, is further exposed when playing on the right as most of his blocking is going towards that arm.

I have no clue of his health, but it would explain a lot as he obviously is playing worse than last year.

It wouldn’t be the first time a player was gutting it out playing through an injury and receiving much criticism from the fans when he could just be soft and “rest up” on the bench.

An injury can factor in a lot of different ways, but he has not looked to be there mentally this year for whatever reason.

We as fans do expect too much too fast most of the time, it’s our nature when someone flashes some ability…which he did last year.

Next year will be a big year for his future with the team.

 

[slashsteel]

A right arm injury, if indeed the situation is lingering, is further exposed when playing on the right as most of his blocking is going towards that arm.

I have no clue of his health, but it would explain a lot as he obviously is playing worse than last year.

It wouldn’t be the first time a player was gutting it out playing through an injury and receiving much criticism from the fans when he could just be soft and “rest up” on the bench.

An injury can factor in a lot of different ways, but he has not looked to be there mentally this year for whatever reason.

We as fans do expect too much too fast most of the time, it’s our nature when someone flashes some ability…which he did last year.

Next year will be a big year for his future with the team.

Mark me down in the group that next year on the left and healthy his play will be rock solid.

 

[SteelerInLebanon]

The clue to his health was a statement he made early in the season about his elbow being as good as it is going to get this season. Meaning it is an injury he was going to have to live with this year. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him have a cleanup procedure on it after the season. Again pure speculation based on a lot of circumstantial evidence.

 

[Fiji Mariner]

Mark me down in the group that next year on the left and healthy his play will be rock solid.

Hope so too, just don’t know if that’s my GA Bulldog glasses telling me that…always root for my Dawgs

Gotta bad feeling we overpay Moore and then due to his salary he is entrenched at LT, hope I’m wrong about that.
I’m not against resigning Moore at a fair price (bottom 1/4 of the league tackle money) BUT
Sure as hell wouldn’t pay him more than that or go beyond a 2-3 year deal for him.