Steelers Sign Safety Ryan Clark; Chris Hope to leave!

PensFanBryan · Post by **PensFanBryan** » Wed Mar 15, 2006 2:00 am

The Steelers signed a contract with Safety Ryan Clark, who played opposite of Sean Taylor for the Washington Redskins last year. The signing means the end of the Polamalu / Hope era for the Steelers.

http://news.steelers.com/article/63226/

I personally am very disappointed. I thought Chris Hope was a very good compliment to Polamalu. I was hoping Chris Hope would be back, but apparently the steelers were able to snag this guy at a substantially lower price.

They also re-signed Bret Keisel which might be the better news of the day. Keisel will fill in quite well for Kimo. Although Kimo will be missed, Keisel will make for a good replacement.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2368849

Post by **the wicked child** » Wed Mar 15, 2006 7:42 am

I liked hope too, but when you win the super bowl, the prices are going to go up, and I'm not sure Hope was worth that. I don't know much about Clark, but he was part of a pretty good defense the past few years, so hopefully he can fit in well.

The Kiesel signing was excellent news, as it would have spelled disaster if both he and Kimo signed elsewhere. I feel more comfortable with them giving the money to the younger guy in this case though.

DelPen · Post by **DelPen** » Wed Mar 15, 2006 11:40 am

I liked Hope but it seemed he had a penchant for bad penalties because he was sometimes too aggressive. The money would be better spent on other areas than keeping a player like Hope considering the replaced him with a guy who is more than adequate.

Post by **Sam's Drunk Dog** » Wed Mar 15, 2006 11:43 am

Now we need to either resign Haynes and Morgan or bring in guys to replace them.

If Deshea leaves they're gonna need a CB too.

ExPatriatePen · Post by **ExPatriatePen** » Wed Mar 15, 2006 12:19 pm

I'm a the only one who's a bit disappointed they didn't upgrade a secondary that is probably their biggest defnsive weakness?

Bowser · Post by **Bowser** » Wed Mar 15, 2006 12:35 pm

Going into this season, I would start Ike Taylor and Bryant McPhadden on the corners. I'm not real sure about new acquisition Ryan Clark. I know he went undrafted from LSU and has a whole 3 INTs over a 4-year career. I'm guessing the Steelers could look at FSU's Antonio Cromartie at corner in the first round.

Overall, I think the Steelers are ok in the secondary and can wait until the later rounds to address the depth.

Post by **Draftnik** » Wed Mar 15, 2006 1:06 pm

Clark seems to be a very good run support defender. He played SS with the Skins since all-world FS Sean Taylor was there, but played FS at LSU. The way I see it Polamalu will obviously get a big $$ deal and Ike Taylor will as well if he has another good season, so the Steel can't sink big $$ into every DB.

It was obvious from the tender they gave Hope last year as a RFA (salary soooooo small all they would have received if he signed with another team and they didn't match was a 3rd round pick) that the Steel thought he sucked. For comparative purposes they gave Ike a tender requiring a 1st round pick this season if he gets an offer sheet, so it is obvious which players they value by their actions.

ExPatriatePen · Post by **ExPatriatePen** » Wed Mar 15, 2006 1:17 pm

Draftnik wrote:
Clark seems to be a very good run support defender.

I didn't know that about Clark. Given that, does anyone have any opinions regarding the differences in the way Kimo and Brett play? ie. Is Brett a better pass rusher than Kimo? Are the Steelers maybe thinking teams will be less apt to pass on them early in games next year?

Post by **Draftnik** » Wed Mar 15, 2006 1:57 pm

ExPatriatePen wrote:
Draftnik wrote:
Clark seems to be a very good run support defender.
I didn't know that about Clark. Given that, does anyone have any opinions regarding the differences in the way Kimo and Brett play? ie. Is Brett a better pass rusher than Kimo? Are the Steelers maybe thinking teams will be less apt to pass on them early in games next year?

Keisel's sack totals are remarkable IMO given his limited playing time and the nature of a 3-4 DE being a 2 gap player and not an edge rusher. That said, Kimo also rushed the passer well IMO, but the guy is 35 years old so you can't give him the coin the Jets did. I think Kimo holds the point of attack better in run defense with his lower center of gravity, but Keisel is not a weak link in that area. The new primary backup at RE (Kirshke?) will probably rotate in on some obvious running downs.

I read in John Clayton's ESPN Insider blog that Hope wanted $4M per year. Good luck to him in ringing the cash register, but that is way too rich a deal IMO for a guy that is the 9th or less most important defender on the team.

larry · Post by **larry** » Thu Mar 16, 2006 10:40 am

hope and polomalu both are pretty poor tacklers and a lot more flash than substance. at least troy makes up for some of it with the occasional big play. I'm glad the steelers didn't break the bank on hope or randle el, but coming off a super bowl does color things a bit. before the super bowl win, I would have said a quick c ya to either, but now it does sting a little.

dboss · Post by **dboss** » Fri Mar 17, 2006 12:38 pm

Clark should be a good compliment to Troy. Safeties in this league are a dime a dozen, with the notable exceptions of players like Troy and Ed Reed. We already have a great safety in Troy so Clark's responsibility will be to not give up the big play, plus Tyrone Carter seems to be a very adequate back-up after his play last season. I must be in the minority however in thinking that their secondary is one of the strengths of their team. Given that they have Troy, newly signed Clark (seemed to play very well with Sean Taylor in DC), McFadden (excellent rookie year), Taylor (potential shut-down corner), and Colcough (2nd-round pick, but needs to gain a better understanding of the D scheme this off-season).