What’s your main concern with 2023 Steelers team?

I was curious about our red zone per centage last year, 51%, Boz had a horrible year as well, but had no attempts for FG's in the red zone. Was 8-9 20 to 39, 5-10 40-49, 7-9 50-59. I put these two stats together for a reason. Indeed our red zone O needs to produce more TD's, and we cannot rely on 3 Pts and consider that a success, but we do need Boz to get that % from 71.4 back up to somewhere where he was the previous 3 years 90 to 95%..thats asking (and expecting) a lot, but he has proven he can do it. Sustained drives that get more FG opportunities between the 20 and 40, raise the red zone TD efficiency from 51 to 60 to 62% and we are right there where Buffalo and Cincy were last year and a top 10 O. I am not dreaming on this, it is a big jump, but as you stated it is thing that needs to drastically improve.

 

Injuries to key players and offensive play calling.We must score touch downs,
FG's are not good enough against Bengals, Chiefs, Bills, Miami.

 

I see what you are saying but couldn’t they save money by having a player play multiple positions this not having to pay a second a player to play that position? Im speaking strictly from a depth perspective. You would think that would especially be the case for long snapper. Wouldn’t it be nice if your third string tight end could also long snap thus not having to dedicate a position for just LS?

 

I think KP has what it takes to be successful. Most important position on the team, biggest question mark. Hopefully the infusion of talent along the offensive line affords him more time. And a more effective running game. Canada is in the same boat he's been in since he was promoted. He has to prove worthy to be a good NFL offensive coordinator. Those two are my biggest concerns. Then with the roster turnover, you hope these guys quickly develop chemistry. The draft picks pan out in a big way and that the roster can stay relatively healthy. I'm sure other concerns and surprises by position will crop up as training camp and the pre-season progress.

 

Wasn't a free agent.

 

in theory yes it would but in reality its robbing Peter to pay Paul. No guarantee that saving money would lead to a better team just as likely to hurt as help. It would only be a matter of time before agents start catching on and telling their clients not to have multiple positions if they aren't compensated for that extra work. The news of Benton's contract deal yesterday shows that things are changing.

As far as your thinking outside the box situation with long snappers, while I agree it would be helpful I will present Bob Labriola's thoughts on the matter for why its not a good idea.

PAUL SOMERVILLE FROM HAMILTON, ONTARIO, CANADA: I have always wondered why the starting center on the offensive line cannot do the long-snapping on special teams, since they already handle shotgun snaps?
ANSWER: I have explained this many times, and I'll try once again. The skill-set required to be an NFL long-snapper is on a whole other level than being a center who is capable of executing a shotgun snap. A shotgun snap can float back to the quarterback and be outside of his imaginary "strike zone." A long-snapper has to get the ball back either to the punter or the holder on placement kicks in under 2 seconds and it has to be on target. Good long-snappers also have the ability to spin the football in such a way that the holder does not have to rotate it after catching it to face the laces toward the uprights, which is what placekickers prefer. A snap to a punter or a holder that is one-tenth of a second slow or a few inches offline can result in a blocked kick. Neither of those slight variances will have the same effect on a shotgun snap.

 

My main concern: Mike Tomlin

He's been all bark and no bite since XLV. Especially in the playoffs. He's been around longer than Cowher at this point. Time to see some damn results and progress.

 

Tomlin and his ism's.

 

I was thinking about this after I posted yesterday. We had a 51% red zone efficiency, yet we attempted no FG's in the Red Zone all year. I am just taking that from the NFL stats site I visited. I was boggled by this, the top 10 O's were between 61 and over 70% red zone (not sure if that is TD and FG), and of course that % is based on how mnay times you get in the red zone. So the % does not tell the whole story, it does show we were pretty inept at getting there, and even more so at putting points on the board. Totally agree Fg's are not going to get it done, but also know you can't leave points off the board when you have the opportunity.

 

Tomlin and Canada are my worries

 

In your research did come across how much Tomlin was overly cautious vs aggressive? I remember them settling for long FG trys or punting on the good side of midfield. I didn't feel that they were throwing caution to the wind until very late in the season with Kenny where he was beginning to will the team to 3rd and 4th down conversions.

 

The red zone were not the biggest problem for this offense last year...The lack of big play were such a major problem....I mean only 2 offensive TD outside of the red zone in 2022!

 

I honestly would not call it research, just curious on the per centage of red zone and where the Fg's came from. I know ot goes deeper, as you point out. I was just shocked that there were no Fg's even tried inside the 20. Again many variables for this, but I think it does show the O could not sustain drives, and was not effective in the red zone, which we know. Opening the play book (assuming there is something to open), better line play and KP taking the next step should improve the overall performance...I'm just trying to find that one extra TD every 60 mins that will take this O into the top ten. i have been told on here getting there is no easy task, and I can see that, but you are not going to get more points without a better game plan and execution on the field, that includes putting yourself in a position to get the FG's when drives stall, and sustaining the drives to keep the opposing O off the field.

 

Im still worried about O-line, WRs and Pickett.

 

You are the man!

 

I disagree with Bob on a lot of things, and this will be one of them. I think the main reason team centers are no longer long snappers is because of the NFL rules limiting practice time. You can't have your team starting center, who is responsible for calling the O-Line plays, practicing all day with the offense, and then coming in at night to practice special teams; this amount of practice time is now illegal in the NFL.

The Punter, Kicker, and long snapper are a 3 man unit. When it is practice time you will find these guys off on their own practicing together. All the skill that Bob talks about has to be practiced away from the offense with the Kicker and Punter. The NFL has limited the amount of time a practice can take place and that is why Long Snappers can no longer practice playing center.

 

Huh

 

This sounds accurate and complete

How did you come by it

 

You basically just added to what Bob said, not counter it. He's saying that centers aren't precise enough to do the job. You're saying because of the rules, centers can't practice enough to be precise. Kind of the same thing.

 

LOL, I am sure Philadelphia thought the same thing about Andy Reid.

 

Forgot where I read it or heard it, but I’m sure it’s very available - Bill Belecheat gave a pretty in depth answer as to why it’s such a specialized position and not a hybrid type player that does it good enough.

 

The punter is my concern since we probably won’t score much

 

Negative Nancy. LoL

 

My main concern is the nickel and dime packages on defense, Holcomb might be the only ILB who they can trust in coverage.

 

Who will be the starting cornerbacks?
Who will be the nickel back?
How will our new inside linebackers play?
Will the offensive line pick up where they left off or regress?
Will the offensive line stay healthy?
How will Pickett play vs zone this year?

there are more