Limas Sweed

I've been reading all the commentaries about Limas through his rookie season; after the last Baltimore game last season and through the offseason. The positive about Limas is that this guy is 6' 4" tall and had a good career at Texas. Good because he had above average years there until his senior year where he ended up with only 19 catches. The 19 catches was a decline from his Junior year because he injured his wrist and was not fully able to show what he could do. Even though he played little that year the Steelers thought they had a second round steal based on his prior workload and his favorable size. Ben would have his Plaxico Burress type receiver he could throw the jump ball to knowing he'll have a good chance of outjumping most dbs. Luckily the Steelers already had enough quality WRs last year because Limas went through quite a bit of growing pains in his rookie year.





Another reason the Steelers have had success in the Cowher and early Tomlin era; they rarely expect a first year player to contribute significantly except on special teams. These players have an aptitude to learn football languages and systems quickly, but going from college to pro is a shock to the system that some are able to adapt to and some are not. Scouts are not always correct when interpreting how college skills will translate to Pro skills. Plus, the mental makeup of these guys sometimes causes implosions and turns can't miss first rounders into major bust. I call them Ryan Leafs. Luckily, the Steelers have managed to make good decisions with their draft picks lately. You can't hit on all of them, but they've found players that fit the system and can provide backup work when necessary. So, back to Limas. Fans expect him to come in and take over the number one position and catch 100 balls his first year. It took Hines Ward a couple years to become a regular. Around the same time Hines was starting out the Steelers drafted Troy Edwards with their number 1 pick and he caught around 60 passes his first year. Louis Lipps (Looooo) was another player who had another decent first year. But immediate success is hard to come by at the receiver position, especially when you're not on the field much. So, he caught some passes during the regular season and dropped some. So did the Steelers 3rd WR last year, Nate the great, and he had already played a few years. But Nate dropped a few last year too. Then all of a sudden Hines gets injured in the 2nd most important game of the year and Limas moves up to number 3. I would say he would not be the only person in the world with a few gametime jitters. Then he dropped a surefire TD pass from Ben that would have eased some tension in a close game. But, they won without that catch as we all know and they added a 6th SB the next game. Betwee that game and now is the time that most players grow by leaps and bounds in their understanding of the game. Lamarr Woodley played well his first season. But, look what he did year 2. He was a major factor amongst alot of above average talent on the Steelers. Limas played made some great catches in the game Thursday, made one drop that could have been a first down on the eight. He's still growing though and indications are that he has improved and the game has slowed down for him. If he can provide as many catches as Nate did last year that would be a plus for this offense and maybe he'll catch a few of those jump balls. Maybe, just maybe he'll give them much more. Can't wait to see what he does.