Are the Steelers improved from last year?

QB - Same, Rudolph, should be a better back up than Dobbs, and Roethlisberger throws less picks.
RB - Same, the question is will Conner have the same production as Bell did in 2017. The talent is there.
WR- No, but there is enough talent to replace AB in the aggregate.
TE- No, Grimble will not be a Jesse James. (It would be cool if Gentry made a catch in the opening of the zone for a 1st down and fans chanted Jesse).
OL - Same, losing Munchak is tough, but the core group is the same.

DL - Same
ILB- Yes, definitely with Bush, Barron, and improved depth
OLB- Same, Dupree and depth could move the needle to yes.
CB - Yes
S - Same, Edmunds should still be getting better, so could move to a yes. Better ILB and CB play will help make position less stressful.

ST - Remains to be seen. Boswell has to prove that he is better; punting and return looks like it will be the same.

Coaching - Remains to be seen.

2 yes, 6 same, 2 No, 2 remains to be seen. I could see this team going 12-4 or 9-7. The overall depth is better, but injuries could still cause this team to "leak oil." I am excited for Steelers football.

 

Agreed. What we do have going for us this season is motivation and hopefully lessons learned from the top down. As long as it’s not lip service and guys actually come through with their actions,we could have a nice season. Injuries at TE and or S could be troubling. I see improvements on D and the O has the potential to still be one of the best if play calling and execution are consistent. IMO.

 

I think less drama makes the team better to begin with. The whole LBell thing overshadowed a lot last year, then AB's hysterics came to light. The talent level may be less, but the team chemistry seems to be better. That alone of course is not enough, but overall I think the D and ST's have superior talent than last year, the O has dropped a bit, but still capable of being top 10 or higher. I do not think it is fair to put expectations of Bell's performance on Conner. In fact his stat line was actually better in some cats vs. LB comparing 2017 to 2018. Better YPC, more TD's, better yards per catch. Conner had 2 more fumbles (on less carries) so he has to remedy that.

James was not a world beater, he only had 30 catches for 400 plus yards and 2 TD's, that is replaceable just do not know if Grimble is the guy who can do it.

In past years the team (on paper) looked impressive, yet always seemed to need last minute heroics to get a win. In 2017 that worked, last year it did not. What team shows up this year?

 

The defense should be better, especially if Dupree can be even a little better. Safety is still a problem, though Kelly seems like he can provide depth they have lacked. The tough thing about no starters playing in the final preseason game is we don't really know the status of Haden and Davis.

Boswell is another big question mark. Maybe he's gotten over whatever got in his head last season, or maybe he will have the yips again as soon as the season starts. If the Boswell who was one of the best in the game shows up, that alone is a big boost compared to last season.

They need to be better on defense and special teams because the offense is going to be weaker. I know everybody loves to talk about addition by subtraction, but the loss of Brown is going to hurt. There is no one on the roster who can make some of the plays he makes and nobody other than Smith-Schuster at receiver who has proven they can be a consistent producer.

 

It seemed every season when we had AB and LB we were predicted to go to Super Bowl. We were told we had the greatest offense in the NFL. We know how that turned out. I 100% believe the turmoil last season was the reason for the collapse.

As for this season I really am unsure. JuJu will be covered like AB was covered which will mean Ben will need another receiver to step up. Conner should be decent. Ben has to stay healthy, should he go down early it won't be pretty. I do believe our defense will be better but the new NFL favors offense way to much for my liking. Tomlin needs to keep the players ego in check.

All in all I can see season going either way. I just hope it's the right way!!

 

Very good question , That is what I always ask myself during draft period.
Did we improve our team? Are we making the necessary decisions
both players and coaches to improve our team?

I would say we have at ILB and cb and DL depth.
We will find out soon enough,The AFC is tough our division is going to be tough.
I picked the Steelers to go 10-6 I hope that will be enough to qualify for the playoffs
and see what happens and we can get hot and go on a run.

 

They have improved defensively.

 

Agree with similar productivity from skill positions but will be spread out more evenly. Wouldn’t surprise me if we have 3 WRs with 800 yds receiving or more. Still some concern about red zone scoring without AB and James. However...

Defense. Can Butler game plan? Do we have talent to jam slots and tight man to man on 3rd down? I fear drafting Bush Will leave butler believing he can sit in a soft cover 2 or quarters.

Can Boswell hit the clutch FG?

Those will be keys to season and difference between 8/9 and 11 wins

 

Offense and defense switched. No complaints

 

Yeah, it makes me think of a while back when Ben knew he could extend plays, so he’d ignore the RB in the flat and force something long or get sacked. Now, he gets rid of the ball much quicker, for the better.

What I’m hoping is a similar thing happens where, rather than forcing it to AB because he was the biggest playmaker, he doesn’t focus on one or two guys and spreads the ball around. While we will no doubt miss the playmaking ability if AB, there are benefits to be had from a deep receiving corps.

 

Vast improvement . Cancer has been cut out and Ben is happier and it will be hard but I believe he will surprass his success from last year. Could be his best year yet even. Defense is looking quick and fast to ball which is always a blessing. Cornerback improvement with Nelson being opposite of Haden. Haden gets a very good contract and will play more lights out then he already does. This is a team without the "i" and will take all of the pieces to do well. I think they are hungry and motivated which will propel them to win this year.

 

I feel like overall this team is better. I like what we have going on defensively. Both Conner and Samuels look great. No AB, but with the emergence of JW depth at WR should be strong. I think Ben will be able to spread the ball around a lot more this season. I love the no drama aspect of this team right now. I think this team is going to surprise people.

 

I see vast improvement on the defensive side of the ball. Defensive line gets younger, Outside Linebackers have more youth, Inside is the fastest and most explosive it has ever been and the Corners have dramatically improved. The safety spot gives me some pause for concern personally but not so much Terrell Edmunds nor the newfound depth in Kameron Kelly. Sean Davis is the issue here.



For a guy who wants a big contract extension, being in the tub is not helping. I do hope Kameron Kelly does play more in the box as that would be more beneficial for him. Asking him to play Single High is asking for easy long touchdown strikes.




Offensively?! Minus tight end, I feel just as good as I did back when "Mr. Third and Fifth" got dealt. Depth at Tight End still needs addressed though.

 

I know the narrative that Roethlisberger was forcing the ball to Brown when he should have been looking for other receivers is comforting, but it is just as likely he was forcing it there because other receivers weren't open. If nobody was open, Roethlisberger knew Brown could still just beat his guy and take the ball away at least some of the time. I think many of those plays that led to forced throws a year ago will still lead to forced throws. Now they just won't have Brown turning any of them into big plays.

That said, Smith-Schuster certainly has the ability to win on 50-50 balls and turn questionable throws into big plays, but who else on this team can do that?

 

At least in preseason Washington has shown he can win on 50/50 balls.

 

I'm hopeful that what we saw in the preseason from Washington is real, but last season, it wasn't. It certainly isn't something the Steelers can count on until he proves it when the games count.

 

I'm hopeful too on Washington, with him being in better shape, and understanding the offense better in his second year.

 

Wr2 & Wr3 will be paramount this year for Ben. They will need 120+ catches between them.

 

I think your discounting the additional
catches the Te and RB's should make.

 

I would take what they had last year. About 50 catches each. 120+ catches on top of the two 50s.

 

The key to the offense is Ben being consistently sharp. He doesn't have to worry about AB coming to the huddle ...saying, I was opened. He can freely spread the ball around. But, in that same aspect, he doesn't have that security blanket. When the game is on the line. So, Ben was the key then and he's the key now. No excuses

 

It’s not really about being comforting - not sure what comfort I would get from it? - but the game film shows examples when it happened. I don’t think it had anything to do with AB demanding it, more that Ben zeroed in on him to make the big play.

We saw in the preseason - for what it’s worth - a short passing game when Ben was in, fairly patient and choosing the right moment to go long. If Ben spreads the ball about well, there’s potential in that to do some good things. Of course, it’s only preseason, so can’t really read too much.

 

Being at the games, as opposed to TV, you can see the whole field. Often, what you stated was the case.

 

The Head Coach should have been released. Everyone in Pittsburgh knows it & truth be told - Mike Tomlin knows it. The only recipe for a meaningful run toward another Lombardi is hiring a tough, no-nonsense Head Coach that won't hand out participation trophies for decent efforts.

 

Does Roethlisberger have the patience to dink and dunk down the field? That is the ultimate question. The other thing is defenses are evolving to put 8 or 9, sometimes 10, players in the box, so it makes it more difficult for the QB to read the defense, who is blitzing, whether zone or man, etc.