Some interesting (at least to me) sour grapes from one of the Steelers' premier beat reporters in regards to Hightower re-signing with New England.
By heading back to New England, Dont'a Hightower does the Steelers a favor
After making valid points that Pittsburgh had other positions of far more pressing needs, Bouchette lands this shot that needs to go up on the bulletin board when the Pats host the Steelers next fall:
Hightower is overrated and overhyped, partly because he made two key plays to help the Patriots win two Super Bowls, partly because he was a first-round draft pick and partly, well, because he played in New England.
But if he was so valuable to the Patriots, why didn’t they sign him to an extension last year, and why did they let him test free agency?
News flash: Hightower and the Patriots could not agree to terms last year. Apparently Bouchette believes the Patriots should have given him whatever he asked for, no questions asked? Since when does a successful organization such as the Patriots - or Steelers - do that?
Hightower is an inside linebacker, and the Steelers lost one of the best at that position when Lawrence Timmons signed with the Dolphins for two years and $12 million. But with Ryan Shazier and Vince Williams,
they still seemed to be set at their inside starters for 2017.
Would Hightower been an improvement over Williams? Maybe, but maybe not much. Certainly, it would have been a luxury you’d think a team like the Steelers couldn’t afford.
Wait, what? Vince Williams is as good as Hightower? He has been good on special teams, but has all of six starts due to injuries in the last three years. Sure he performed well in very limited opportunities, but Bouchette is getting way ahead of himself here.
Perhaps the Steelers thought they could use Hightower on the outside, since Bill Belichick moved him all around in New England’s defense. But there is little to show that he would have flourished out there, and he’s certainly not one to cover receivers as James Harrison and the other Steelers outside linebackers must.
Are you seriously suggesting that a 39 year old James Harrison is superior in pass coverage than Hightower, who is 12 years younger?
Bouchette then denigrates Hightower based on his career sack totals, which completely avoids the difference between New England and Pittsburgh's defensive schemes. Hightower is also dissed for missing a handful of games (though the same rationale does not apply to Ryan Shazier, who is a demi-god in Pittsburgh).
Then there is this doozy:
The Steelers would have been better off signing Timmons to the deal Miami gave him instead of throwing money at Hightower, who at 27 may have his best years behind him.
Woah, what?! This statement is the ultimate head scratcher that left me literally shaking my head. Why? Timmons is about to turn 31! If Hightower is over the hill then what is Timmons? Or for that matter, Harrison?
I could understand if Bouchette felt Timmons is a better fit than Hightower to Pittsburgh's defense; that would be logical reasoning. But in what universe does a 27 year old linebacker "
have his best years behind him", so therefore the team is better off signing a 31 year old player?
