The team today

How do you feel about where we stand as of today. I see that many of you post we were 8-8 last year, and losing what we have won't hurt the team. Others say its way too early to predict next year, and that statement I agree with. As for the 8-8 record, I can add to that, a few more plays would've made us 10-6. IMO, and its just my op, I think the 2014 season could be rough. We have some questions on offense including the WR s and who they will be? The O line next year ( although they have improved.) On D, we have many issues. The D line, which didn't do great last year, is thin, questions surround the NT and DE positions. The secondary is still dealing with age, and talent. The LBs and their lack of success due to the Dline. Overall, since the draft of Troy, there has been no bigger, more important draft than this years. The holes that surround this team are too much to overcome by the FA market, and it falls squarely in the laps of the FO. We can't have another 2008 draft flop if this team wants to remain competitive. As of today, we are truly average at best

 

Well, as of today we're in the same transition period as a lot of teams.

We have guys to step up for some of the departing players - Jones for Woodley, Wheaton for Sanders, Mitchell for Clark (presuming he goes).

D-line and CBs were always going to be addressed in the draft.

So overall, I think the team is shedding players in the right areas. I won't expect a 16-0 next season, but as you say - we had a "development" year this season, and were still a little toe away from getting to the play offs.

 

I believe 2014 is going to be painful for Steeler fans.

 

I agree with this.

We will still have a few more signings in FA (one of which could be a starter), and a draft class which could very well give us 2-3 guys that contribute right away either as starters or rotational players. We haven't gotten really any worse in the FA period, and we stand a chance to get better with some rookies winning starting jobs or rotational jobs. In all honesty, if we have a decent draft we should do better than 8-8 next season.

 

right now ..the only bright spot is mike mitchell in all other departements we are worst than last year .
bell and miller from the beginning should help

 

i'm esxpecially worried about our front seven , we have only one good dlineman (heiward ) and two good lbs (worilds and timmons) ..3 on 7 ......

 

it's a weight and sea

 

imo we haven't lost anything great. not even good. we upgraded the safety position and lost a slot receiver who we can probably replace with wheaton. if we draft well maybe bring kesiel back, I think we are fine. the oline will be better, bell is going to be better because of it, we have a number 1 at wr, and a franchise qb. to me if we can get faster on defense and we already have a good start, I think we can win division. I don't see Baltimore or cincy getting any better. again, just my opinion and I know I am in the minority cause we are losing the free agency battle so we don't have a plan and we suck

 

loss of possibly two of three wr's. loss of 3 main D-linemen.

loss of starting FS. yes we added a new one but this guy has not played in our defense yet with the way we use our SS(troy), that is quite different than most teams.

the youth at LB still. no larry foote to help them from a knowledge standpoint.

ike, troy and gay another year older. cortez allen that's never taken the spot over.

worilds playing a full 16 game schedule as the starter which he's never done before. jj playing a full 16 game schedule as a starter and not much in the way of depth behind either.

a new guy to our scheme backing up mclendon. mclendon thats not played a full season as a starter.

heyward thats not played a full season as a starter.

no depth at cb.

no backup RB.

no worthy backup at LT. an iffy RT.

two new coaches.

a new system going to be installed by our line.

pouncey now starting with the o-line coming off season ending knee surgery.

we can look at last year and say how well they did down the stretch but actually it's a quite different team, without much skilled long time starters or depth behind them. leadership. this is far from the team that finished the season last year.

 

without much skilled long time starters or depth behind them. leadership. this is far from the team that finished the season last year.[/QUOTE]

aint that the point. I mean we WERE 8-8 last year and everyone has been screaming for a change.

 

aint that the point. I mean we WERE 8-8 last year and everyone has been screaming for a change.[/QUOTE]

BF was saying how well we did down the stretch last year. i said it's a different bunch of players than we had down that stretch. how can you say they will be better because of that? it's not the same players.

 

Is the Haley, Tomlin, Colbert trio back for 14? meh

:shots: ​

 

wishful positives. highly unknown though. we have no idea how haley will play with the new coaches. we don't know how pouncey will comeback from injury. we have a new RB coach to mesh with haley and bell and munch. we don't know if jj and worilds can handle 16+ games. or bell. or williams. or beachum. or pouncey. or cortez. or mclendon. or heyward. or whomever our other DE will be. i see more questions than known commodities throughout the lineup.

 

Too many holes and a lack of depth. We are hurting at RB,WR,CB,DL,OLB,and ILB. On the DL we have McClendon, Hayward, and a very average Thomas. Outside of them we've got squat. Arnfelt? Please. He played against scrubs in preseason and saw all of 2 snaps in the regular season. Nick Williams? Give me a freaking break. We were told he was a freaking project after being drafted and he didn't even make it out of preseason before winding up on injured reserve.

At RB we've got Bell and some waiver wire fodder. At WR the only proven player we've got is Brown. I've got high hopes for Wheaton, but the only thing he's shown is fragile fingers. At TE we've got an aging Miller and Spaeth. It would have been great to see a jump in development from Paulson last year, but he was largely a disappointment. Drafting a TE isn't a priority, but we could use an upgrade over Paulson and an heir to Heath's throne

At CB we have Taylor, Gay, and Allen. As you know Allen and Taylor struggled in a big way last year. Taylor's best days are behind him and Allen has to show major improvement and an ability to stay healthy for a whole season. They will probably address CB at some point in the draft, but the odds are against seeing an immediate impact from the draftee. Mitchell might be an upgrade over Clark, but it's possible that 2013 was a fluke for him. Overall he had a decent year, but he still missed 18 tackles. Additionally Clark and Troy had a great rapport which allowed Troy to be Troy. Clark had a crappy 2013, but don't discount his value to the Steelers.

At OLB we have an unproven Jones and Worilds. Let's not forget how very mediocre Jones was in 2013. Yet once again Worilds couldn't avoid the injury bug. Outside of those two we've got nothing. Sylvester? LOL Carter? At ILB we have Timmons and a decent rookie campaign from Williams. Garvin? meh

And on top of all of that we have the giant question mark that is the Steelers offensive line.

 

I agree we know none of that but neither does 31 other teams. every team has holes and every team has injuries. I mean everyone loves what the pats and broncos have done but the pats have a corner with injury history and the other one is missing 4 games. the broncos are adding so many new players who knows if the will mesh.

 

From what I see, there are two different ways of looking at the 2014 season here on the board...

Optimistic Fan: Bell will continue to improve his skill set, and have a big season. The OLine under Munchak will steadily improve over the season. JJ gets stronger over the off season and begins to put it together at ROLB, and Worilds plays like he is getting paid. Heyward turns the corner and turns into a high caliber DE, we draft a couple guys who contribute right away. Ben plays the way he is capable of, and Wheaton and our other (non-AB) receiver plays solid. We don't sustain substantial injuries during the season. Division winner, and a playoff team.

Pessimistic Fan: We butcher the draft horribly, and find out that Mitchell can't play at all. Bell can't find a hole, and JJ not only doesn't improve, he gets worse. Worilds transforms into Woodley, puts on 15lbs and pulls a hammy in pre-game warm ups week 1. Pouncey doesn't recover well from his surgery, and the rest of the OLine struggles to get better under a elite caliber coach. We sustain a myriad of injuries to not only our best players, but also the players in positions where we have little depth. Heinz Field collapses Dark Knight style, and we earn a top 5 pick while our entire FO and coaching staff gets fired.

Realistically it will be somewhere in between these two scenarios lol We are quickly transitioning from an older team on the back end of a Dynasty into a younger team that has a lot of guys in their first or second year starting. Whenever this happens, there are going to be questions. IMO we do have some things to be excited about with Heyward and Bell's future looking bright, and hopefully we will add a few more guys to get pumped about in this year's draft. We can't stay SB contenders every year. The NFL isn't structured that way. We are doing this the right way, and I have faith that we will be back atop the AFC North in a short time... We could even pull it off this year maybe.

 

we just have alot that has to come together quickly. i do prefer us bringing along guys like heyward and worilds and cortez. thats what we used to do. have guys learn then take over for starters. we have alot of guys though that have not been here very long though that have to step into these roles. that is not something we are used to doing. the broncos are coming off a SB, and are adding some pieces. when you have a solid core that makes it much easier. we are not at that point here. ours are just mostly unknown.

 

Missed that one... I don't see many "Patient Fan" types on here though haha

 

All we need is a good draft and they will win the AFC North.