Possible win totals and why?

What do you believe the best and worst case scenarios are for number of wins? And why?

Now that the Tomlin veil of mediocrity has been lifted, and all new everything, I can see a wide disparity in the upcoming seasons win/loss totals.

Worst case: If the players have a hangover from drinking the cool aide for all these years, and the coaches don't mesh, we could lose more than we win. Maybe 7-10

Best case: If we get through the first five games with two or three wins, and the team starts to come out of the Tomlin haze, I can see this talent, along with a fresh approach, resulting in ten or eleven wins. Maybe more?

 

Steelers have enough talent to win 8-9 games by default. Problem is... the ceiling is probably 10 wins and floor is 7 wins. Not a "deep playoff run" caliber roster.

 

Best case scenario is that Rodgers turn back the clock and make the steelers great again

Worst case scenario,this is a another 9-10 wins season with low ceilling and don't draft high enough.This is possible that the steelers have a worst record that 9-8 but the worst case scenario in the long run is a middle of the pack season,especially if our young QB don't play much

 

This is pretty much where I'm at if Rodgers stays healthy.

If he gets hurt, especially early, I think it could be a 4-5 win team on the low end.

But I haven't looked into anything like strength of schedule.

Competing for a WC spot again. I think it's more likely that we miss the playoffs than make them...which is also what I've thought the last two seasons.

If the good QBs in the division can stay healthy (which has been a problem for both of them), then I could easily see us at 7 wins or something.

Who knows if it stays true to form, but MM is kind of the anti-Tomlin in that he almost always beats bad teams, but doesn't do very well against good teams (at least that's what I remember being reported on Scout's eye when he was hired re: records against teams above / below 500...maybe it was above 10 wins?). If Lamar and Burrow stay healthy, both those teams will be good teams. We probably need at least 4 wins in the division to go to the playoffs IMO (unless we get lucky re: other team's injuries like last year).

 

I can see a scenario where we do make a deep playoff run. If the players start to buy into the new system and forget about the past ten years, I can see the HOF veterans stepping up and bringing the team with them.

 

Here are some possibilities as i see it:

1. MM goes 8-9 so Rooney fires him and rehires Tomlin to get that all important 10-7 with a blowout playoff loss and his non- losing streak continues.

2. Steelers win their first game so the browns buy Ben a motorcycle and demand a steroid test from James Harrison until someone reminds them both players retired years ago.

3. Steelers win their second game so the bengals re-sign vontaze burfict to injure our WRs.

4. Heavy rain turns heinz field into a muddy cow pasture so the NFL schedules us against the Miami dolphins every week so some team can eventually win the game 3-0 again.

5. Pittsburgh post gazette sports section goes out of print and Gerry dulac confesses that all these years he’s been waiting until their stories to come out to copy their stories and he will now have to actually go to Steeler practices and games.

6. It leaks that Art II is just a placeholder until Dan Rooney finishes his business degree and takes over the team then Art II goes back to second grade to start his education over again and learn to keep his mouth shut.

7. the steel mills start up again so many families move back to the area and we get some good home grown players again.

8. they rename the Lombardi trophy the Joe Greene trophy since Greene won more super bowls than Lombardi did and is responsible for more quality football for longer than Lombardi.


9. They re-name the LargeMouth bass the Ray Lewis bass.

 

10 wins doable. Better than that would prove Tomlin was holding us back.

 

Have you had a look at the other teams in the conference? Particularly the other QBs?

I like AR and it was nice to watch a team with around average QB play last year. But there are so many good QBs in the conference. Including young QBs that look good in Maye and Nix.

 

That's true but it doesn't change what I said. " I can see the HOF veterans stepping up and bringing the team with them." if Watt, Heyward, Rogers, and a few of the other studs step up, it's very possible.

 

If Steelers win 11 or more games.... I will eat a big plate of crow.

I don't think crow is gonna be on the menu any time soon.

 

Can I cook it?

 

I'll happily share that plate with you if we get to 11 wins.

 

If we get over 11 wins McCarthy needs to be coach of the year!

 

I can cook enough for two.

 

For the record, I hope that you're right.

And I've under-predicted our win total the last two years.

 

I'm honestly surprised with the general belief that we will struggle big time. I have never been a homer, I have always been able to be realistic, but maybe I am just overly excited at the prospect of seeing someone on the sidelines who is capable of getting more than a love affair out of his players.

I truly believe that as time goes on there will be more and more from the players about how bad Tomlin was, even the guys who said they never wanted to play for anyone else.

 

This.

 

Don't you believe that if things get through the season and the veterans start to see a new light at the end of the tunnel, which is not a train, that they could go deep? It's all about getting hot at the right time.

 

Hope is a powerful thing. That said, it must be paired with clarity. As it stands currently, there are a lot of logicistal parts moving; both in scheme and personnel.


A whole lot would have to go right for this team to exceed 10 wins. Chief among them is of two parts;


1.) How quickly can this Offensive Line gel together?!


2.) Will Payton Wilson finally take that next step?!



So far so good based on the reports for 2. Point number 1 though is much harder to project; doubly so with Iheanachors injury.

 

Better be A 10 win year.Because I bet the over 8.5

 

My optimistic outlook:

Steelers win 9 or 10 games and the OLine looks like it's finally coming together. Probably not enough to make the playoffs, but a quality season nonetheless.

My pessimistic outlook:

Steelers win 4 or 5 games with injuries plaguing the team and neither Howard nor Allar step up. The aging defense folds like a tent more often than not

Realistic outlook:

7 or 8 win season. OLine has growing pains, but actually grows up allowing this offense to look the most competent since Ben, but the aging defense prevents us from having a good season overall.

 

There's always 9?

 

Not at the Rivers Casino

 

Why? Do they round up?

 

I’d love to be very optimistic but players have little difficulty lately of blocking TJ Watt Cameron Heyward will more than likely meet Father Time. Aaron Rodgers will have his moments but once again show his immaturity at times. Jaylen Warren is very good but not elite. Our WR group is average at best. Overall the Steelers will probably be average at best but the rest of the division looks pretty weak so I could see 9 or 10 wins probably wins the division. I see the Steelers going 8-9 though and missing the PO’s. I just am not very impressed with the HC selection. I would love to eat crow though so if they win 11 or 12 y’all better make a giant pot.