5 Players Whose Stock Has Gone Down
In the world of the stock market, it’s best to sell stock when it’s high and to buy it when it’s low. Well, after looking at the low stock value on some of the players for the Pittsburgh Steelers, one may think it would be best not to invest one red penny into them. The recent shortcomings of the Steelers so far this season could be accredited to many of its personnel.
This is the worst team that the Steel City has seen within the last 45 years. Pittsburgh’s run offense is 29th in the NFL (three places worse than last season), the offensive line has surrendered 15 sacks in a four-game span (tied for third worst in the league), and the offense has given the ball away 11 times while the defense has yet to force a turnover.
In addition to the defense, they have only recorded four sacks (tied for the worst in the NFL) and are a far cry from their No. 2 ranking from last year against the run (currently 29th). Even the Steelers’ special teams has been unable to make impact plays.
After overseeing the entire spectrum of the first quarter of Pittsburgh’s 2013 season, it’s not hard to figure out why they are one of the four teams in the league that are sporting a 0-4 record. As I mentioned previously, many players are to blame for the Steelers’ terrible start, but I have pinpointed the top five players on this roster whose stock is getting lower and lower by the day.
Clyde A. Speller is an NFL writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @ClydeASpeller, or add him to your network on Google+
5. Felix Jones
The sudden arrival of running back Felix Jones looked promising. He looked good in the preseason despite limited knowledge of the playbook, and beat out running back Jonathan Dwyer for a spot on the 53-man roster (who ended up re-signing with the team). Though Jones is the team’s leading rusher with 74 yards (which isn’t saying much) the return of rookie running back Le’Veon Bell has instantly changed his luck. At least he’ll get significant time as the team’s kickoff returner.
4. Zoltan Mesko
Pittsburgh thought they made a good choice in going with Zoltan Mesko over Drew Butler as punter. Turns out they were wrong. Mesko has been below average so far this season with a 41.9 yards per punt average (28th in the league) and a 37.6 net average (26th). In addition, only two of his 20 punts have landed inside the 20-yard line.
3. Jason Worilds
Entering the final year of his contract, linebacker Jason Worilds was primed to have a big year so that he could cash in on a big deal in the offseason. Well, that will be hard to do now that he’s been supplanted from the starting lineup by rookie linebacker Jarvis Jones. Worilds has only eight tackles and zero sacks in the first four games, which puts him on pace for 32 tackles on the year. Numbers like that won’t get him re-signed with the Steelers or get him a big-time free-agent contract with another team.
2. Isaac Redman
Things were looking great for running back Isaac Redman in the preseason when he was named co-starter in the Steelers’ backfield. Unfortunately, an injury kept him out of the preseason and out of the starting lineup for the regular season. The 10 times Redman did touch the ball this season, he only managed to gain 12 yards with a fumble in the red zone during Week 1. Now that Bell, Jones, and Dwyer are above him on the depth chart, chances are that Redman won’t see much of the field for the rest of the year.
1. Mike Adams
The play of offensive tackle Mike Adams had not only made his stock plummet, but it has also placed him on the bench. Adams has by far been the worst lineman on Pittsburgh’s offensive front and could possibly not be in the starting lineup for the black and gold ever again. Things have gotten so bad for Adams that the Steelers traded a conditional draft pick to the Arizona Cardinals for offensive tackle Levi Brown. Pittsburgh is probably regretting their use of a second-round pick on the potential bust.
