Don’t Put Failure of Archer All on Colbert

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The Pittsburgh Steelers decided to finally pull the plug on the Dri Archer experiment today. They released last year’s third round draft pick just after announcing they had claimed Jacoby Jones off waivers from the San Diego Chargers.

Archer if you remember was the NFL Combine darling of 2014. He put up solid numbers in just about every skill area and then blew the competition away when he ran a 4.2 forty. This was all very enticing and perhaps too much for the Steelers’ to have passed on as they drafted the diminutive Archer in the third round.

When you think “draft” you typically think about General Manager Kevin Colbert and while Colbert certainly is responsible for several poor selections in recent years, I don’t think we can put the failure of Dri Archer all on him.

Offensive Coordinator Todd Haley made no bones about the fact that he wanted a guy like Archer. While the head coach in Kansas City, Haley had a similar player in Dexter McCluster and he was hoping to catch lightning in a bottle twice by bringing aboard Archer. It just never clicked.

As hard as I’ve been on Colbert, the scouting department and the front office in general for this pick and many other failures, I think Haley and Head Coach Mike Tomlin are the ones who deserve the blame in this case.

After being used on offense last season, Archer never saw a snap in the regular season this year. Instead, his role was relegated to kick return duties and as Neal Coolong of USA Today pointed out, Archer was actually the 10th best returner in the league at the time of his release.

The problem for Archer was decision-making and reading blocks. Last week was a prime example when he took the kick from deep in the end zone, eventually ran backwards and was tackled at the eight yard line. Then, after the Bengals went up 16-10, Archer decided to kneel after receiving the kick just inside in the goal line. That was the exact moment he needed to be aggressive and get the Steelers as much yardage to start their final drive from as possible.

In my mind, those two instances along with the fact he was not part of the offense, led to his release today.

While I will always believe there is a way to use him offensively, Haley couldn’t figure it out or just chose not to with all the other weapons he had at his disposal. While I don’t think Archer will do much more with another team than he’s done with the Steelers, I won’t be a bit surprised to see him used in someone’s offense either and successfully.

It will take creativity and the right personnel around him but I think it can be done. What most will remember though is that the Steelers used a third round pick on Archer at a time when they could have been addressing other areas.

Blame whoever you want to for the selection but I don’t think this was on Colbert as much as some do.

11 COMMENTS

  1. Ultimately, because he has final say over the roster, Colbert is to blame. Colbert could have cut him whenever he wanted to. Tomlin and Haley decide who plays, how much and when.
    It’s not as if the Steelers didn’t give Archer chances to show his abilities. When he did touch the ball, he ran with a narrow base and didn’t have enough balance to absorb any impact at all, even arm tackles, without going down. He also lacked any viability as a receiver, unlike Dexter McCluster.
    As you just pointed out, Archer was a man without a role on a club that only has 53 slots and only 46 on game days. Archer was taking up valuable real estate and not offering much by way of contribution. The Steelers really should have acknowledged the draft mistake and cut Archer loose back in August.
    They should have taken De’Anthony Thomas. They would have gotten what they actually wanted out of the pick.

  2. We already have DHB we just picked up a carbon copy. Unless he can take some pressure off Brown returning punts. Me personally, i would have like to see a d-lineman pick up. Also I’m going to stick by my statement from last week choosing J.Jones over Eifert was a blunder. And i called it way back then, BTW Vittorio told me i had no clue as to what i was talking about.

  3. Okay fine jones is not turning so well but I would rather him over Eifert. I see Eifert as nothing more than an unnecessary player. I don’t see what is so special about him. The Bengals took him cause they don’t have a legit No.2 WR unlike the Steelers who have a No.2 and No.3 WR so why take Eifert when if they had him then Bell, Wheaton, Bryant and DHB would not be on this roster and you tell me would the team be better with Eifert or with Bell, Wheaton, Bryant and DHB?

  4. I would rather have Miller. The Bengals took him cause both Sanu and Jones really haven’t shown there that good. I have no use for guys like Eifert, Graham and Gronk cause it shows that teams can’t develop WR’s that can help out the QB. All they do is pad there stats and make pro bowls. What is it that you people see in these TE’s that you don’t see in Miller. Ben has 4 legit WR’s in Brown, Wheaton, Bryant and DHB and a reliable TE in Miller who is Ben’s security blanket what other QB can say he has those kinds of Weapons. Let’s see other Edelman what other WR is making that big of a difference in NE? How about Seattle do they have anybody that you would say is good or is a top notch weapon outside of Graham? I said it before and I’ll say it again: If the Steelers had Eifert than Bell, Wheaton and Bryant would have been with other teams and honestly would not have succeeded. I like that Ben has 4 WR’s he can throw to and not be like Cincy or NE where it’s 1 WR and a “Freak TE” and expect to win that way. Why is it that everybody wants Miller to be run out of town? What exactly did he do wrong to tick you fans off? Do you want to be like Cincy and NE where you only have 1 legit option at WR and a “Freak TE” or would you rather have not 1 but 4 legitimate options at WR? Weigh each option in hand and you tell me what sounds better. As far as this discussion, argument or disagreement or whatever you fans want to call it I’m done with this topic cause obviously most fans want Ben to have less to work with and only care about getting a TE to the Pro Bowl instead of focusing the 1 goal that matters the SUPERBOWL.

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