Ignoring coaching problems for a sec, did we have the talent?

And you forgot where the biggest lack of talent is.... OL

Steelers are OK at Center and RG.... but the other 3 need upgraded.

 

We need to see the tackles at their normal spots with a new OL coach first.

 

It's not exactly cracking the Da Vinci code to say they needed more talent on offense. Stunted WR room, two questionable QBs, season-ending injuries to their starting RT and RG, etc.

I'm glad that guy shined a light on things.

 

I get sucked into all the Talking Heads and the ton of articles and speculation they put out there. I've read a lot that say the Steelers have good talent. I do not see it except for a handful of players. I watch other teams have men go down and they have decent back-ups who get the job done. Lions had a lot of injuries this season. And we sure the hell don't have a great QB. Maybe we have had a better one with an O-line.

This begs the question, if the Steelers have low level talent then Mike Tomlin is a damn good Coach

 

I just don't understand how the Steelers could not beat one of the elite teams. When they were playing so well. I just don't get it.And yes we had one great player all year THE OF Boz

 

I wonder if that is why Tomlin gets touted as such a good coach by many media folks. Mediocre talent for quite a few years, but manages to make the most of it and have winning seasons, but gets shellacked when up against teams with far superior talent. Another question that gets begged, however - is this due to his lack of ability to develop talent, both in players and coaches? Is his staff able to teach the players what they need to know and further develop what talent they have? Rough Tough to know.

 

In today's game, the top teams have a top QB. I'm happy for my buddies that are mostly all Commander fans. They finally have a good QB and will have one for the next decade Lord willing.

For this reason, the Steelers will not make it deep in the playoffs unless this is rectified somehow.

 

6th round pick. I do not really know the Rams line up, but the D has been built through the draft and many of those are lower round picks. Philly will be a big test for them, but building, or retooling it shows what good structure from top to bottom in the front office and coaching can so. How many Coordinators on both O and D have they gone through?

 

Worry about his longevity. He is very small.

 

He's 6'4" and weighs 210. So yeah he is kind of on the thin side.

 

Right, they both took their teams to a superbowl…and nearly won both of those games. With a suspect O-line. That’s my point.

The Job of a top tier QB isn’t just to be a good QB. They have to be a force multiplier making others better. And cover gaps in the roster…since they eat up a large % of the salary cap.

There are really only two consistent paths to chase championships in the modern NFL. Good to great young QB on a rookie deal to surround him with great players on both sides of the ball (see Brock Purdy or Burrows Super Bowl run). Or a top tier QB who can overcome roster deficiencies (see Mahomes or Brady’s last 4 SBs).

The one anomaly I can think of currently are the Eagles. Paying top tier QB money and still have a stacked roster. I think a lot of their studs on D are still on rookie deals though (Jalen Carter etc.).

 

Missed assignments, continued to stubbornly rush four even when werent getting to the Qb. Playing the corners 5+ yards off the receiver even though they were both strong man coverage guys. On offense it didnt seem like there was any effort to help Moore at LT or try to stretch the defenses. Then the overall sense of urgency seemed lacking in this last month. Just my perception, but this team is sorely lacking in scheme and prep department. They had enough talent to go 12-5 this year with a decent showing in the playoffs.

 

Lamar Jackson is 6'2" listing at 215lb. Not much of a difference plus the dude is shifty

 

The QB's are average at best Fields has the physical tools , size , arm strength, running ability. But has no touch on the ball and slow to read defenses.
Wilson has a nice deep ball. I could end it right there. He has zero pocket awareness he doesn't seam to have the clock in his head, by the count of 3 the ball needs to be gone. Offensive line is a work in progress , WR room is one quality fragile emotionally challenged WR1. Running game goes as the Oline goes.

Its really hard to evaluate talent and not consider coaching. Minkah was something special 2 yrs ago now anyone could stand 30 yds downfield on most plays is that his talent has declined or they don t use him properly. Witherspoon played a great game for the Rams so did Dotson. Coaching ?

I do agree the drafting has been terrible some yrs Tomlins always wants to pick tweeners he is a good safety and a good corner No He is not either. We have had some drafts where 5 years after the draft there is not one player on the team.
Once you miss on a draft or two then your playing catchup and drafting for need not for best player available like they used to.

1 st rd draft picks should be starters
2 nd rd draft picks should be seeing the field by the second half of the season
3 rd and 4 th round should be playing if someone gets injured
5 th through 7 th rd players that might develop in time .

The talent isn't there and the depth is not there and it takes time to build it back up.
Some recent drafts we have gotten some quality players and if that continues we could improve but miss one draft badly and your behind the 8 ball.

I hate the cheatriots but during their run I looked at the roster and in one year they drafted 7 and signed 7 more undrafted players . One was cut , One was injured, one was placed on the practice squad and 11 made the 53 man roster . That's 20 % of the roster .
It all starts with the draft.
The Steelers have improved but if they lose Weidl that might be a huge mistake.

 

By your answer, which I agree with, your answer good talent and bad coaching.With good coaching, a 12-5, 11-6 team, divisional winners and a first round winner.

 

didnt seem like he made the most of it when Ben and killer B’s were around.

 

Nobody except some optimistic fans would think this team could go 12-5, they have one good CB, WR, DL.

 

They didn't get de-pants by the Bengals, but it was a game they should've won.

 

Rams draft and develop players better under McVey. Much better than Steelers. Obviously.

 

lets talk about CB, Jackson was regarded as one of the better man coverage guys before he came to pitt. So what happened? Seems like Khan was doing his job, but Austin? Most plausible reason to me is he wasnt used correctly and or other DB’s weren't doing their job and were making him look bad. Seems the fault lies more with Austin and probably Tomlin too.

 

Jackson sucks did you watch him get beat often?

 

Yes, the team was talented enough to win a post-season game. Our defensive front 7 was very close to being the top front 7 in the league. Heyward was a first team All-Pro. Benton had a solid season. TJ Watt is an All-Pro, Highsmith and Herbig are quality ancillary pass rushers. Queen is a really nice player (started slow, but was really good to end the season imo) and Wilson showed some promise at the position. JPJ had some penalty issues but is a talented player, Jackson had a good season for us, Minkah is still a quality player despite reduced production and Elliott was great for us this year. Our offense is definitely less talented than the defense, but we have a young future stud in Frazier. McCormick turned out to be a nice player early on. We have a top 15 talent at WR in Pickens, Muth is a solid TE, Warren is one of the best 3rd down RB's in the league (and probably should be the team's starter, but I digress)... While Russ fell apart to end the year, both him and Fields are better players than all of Pickett, Trubisky, and Rudolph...

Idk. It is really hard for me to sit here and blame the roster. Multiple teams that drafted in the top 5 last year made the playoffs. One of them won a playoff game. Are those teams supremely talented? No. The Texans did the same thing in 2023. Sometimes a coach/QB comes in and changes the team. They get more out of their talent. This team had enough talent to win a playoff game. They were 4-3 against playoff teams in 2024... They just didn't win. Again. For the 6th time in a row we lost our playoff game. But when you lose 5 straight postseason games in blow-out fashion and then extend your head coach for 3 years, then this is what you willingly signed up for. The message to the players and fans is that we, as an organization, are excited to win just enough games to be relevant and then get blown out when it matters. We will see more of the same for the next two seasons, and if Tomlin wants to keep coaching... the Rooney's will keep extending him.

 

i saw him playing 6 or 7 yards off Tee Higgins from inside the 10 yard line. How do you defend against that? Its your Austin and Tomlin that suck. Just my honest opinion. Austin was bounced by Marvin lewis for a reason, and Tomlin has gotten way too complacent and comfortable after his initial first few years of success. Then he spent the next eight years riding Bens coattails.

 

Its the ongoing saga, nearly every D has some issue, the good coordinators find ways to solve or at least cover this /These) issues when doing their job..which is coordinating. This celebrated and over paid D has had the same core issues for years now, draft picks, FA's, trades, and the problem still exists. It starts at the top...he gets paid the big bucks to make the decisions and fix the problems, it has not been accomplished.