I like this Steelers team being under the radar…

If you listen to all the “talking heads” and so called “experts” on NFL Network and ESPN you would think the Steelers are completely irrelevant and will win maybe 4 or 5 games. I just don’t get what people are seeing in this Steelers team that leads them to believe that this is not gonna be one of the top 5 teams in the AFC. Now granted Ben is another year older and fell off a cliff at the end of last season. But overall he can still play at a high level I believe and we saw what he is still capable of last night in the Lions game. This offense if this O-line can protect Ben consistently which I believe they can is flat out scary and just loaded with weapons. Ben now has 7 legitimate receivers he can throw the ball too on every down if need be in Claypool, Ju-Ju, Johnson, Washington, Ebron, and now the two big additions of Friermuth at TE in the red zone who seems to have Velcro for hands, and Najee catching the ball out of the backfield on check down plays or screens. Who is gonna be able to stop this offense if it’s clicking consistently??

And the defense has improved too with the additions of guys like Schobert and Ingram at linebacker and Highsmith who has been an absolute monster in pre-season so far. The secondary still has some questions marks but overall from top to bottom this is still a top 5-10 defense in the league.

So while the Browns and Ravens are getting all the attention and the picks of everyone to win this division I just don’t see how you can’t include the Steelers in that list as well. Neither of those teams is gonna run away with this division and the Steelers I feel can stay right with both of them the entire season.

So while I’m not gonna sit here and predict the Steelers to go to the Super Bowl out of the AFC this is still a team that I feel can win the AFC North and can win I think either 11 or 12 games. Hopefully all the under the radar talk with this Steelers team continues going into the regular season because I feel this is a team that is still very very dangerous and can make a lot of noise in the AFC and will be there come late December early January when the playoffs start.

 

Its partly recency bias, those losses at the end of the year are all people remember, then the embarrassing loss against the Browns etc.

Then you have all the personnel losses on the OLine, Villanueva, Feiler, Pouncey and Decastro all gone along with Bud, Hilton and Nelson. A third of the starting team is gone in off offseason.

Its yet to be seen how good or bad this new team is going to be, and I can understand the skepticism to an extent. It should also be mentioned that the schedule is brutal this year, they play all the best teams, which wasn’t the case in 2020.

If the OLine settles and keeps Ben safe and the team stays relatively injury free this year I think they are certainly a playoff caliber team. The defence should still be pretty good, it’s the offence that will determine things. They were horrible at times last year, continually in third and long, stalled drives, putting the defence back on the field with no rest etc. That has to change.

 

It's all on the OL. There were times last night when there were complete breakdowns and they're going to face better fronts than the Lions.

 

I agree with Maddog it is all coming down to that O-line. I think Harris is for real real but there will be times when even his magic won't make up for terrible blocking. Same goes for Ben, he will need decent protection most of the game or we be hurting.

If the O-line can get it done most of the game this team could surprise the NFL. Last years collapse and that thing called a Playoff game is what the talking heads are basing their predictions on and let's face it, our division is strong.

 

We will find out soon enough, the Bills defense will be a challenge for the Steelers o-line.

 

The demise of the Pittsburgh Steelers has been greatly exaggerated.

 

I'm very impressed with Highsmith. He brings it every play and reminds me of Harrison. Sorry SDOT. Steelers are gonna need Watt and Highsmith to post double digit sacks because secondary is gonna get torched by the better QBs.

 

They have some weapons on both sides of the ball, and Colbert has done a pretty decent job of addressing areas of concern. However, I still think they are a 9-8 club. Asking too much of a 39 year old QB to remain healthy and upright behind an offensive line with more questions than answers. Believe me I'm hoping for much better than a game over .500. At this time, I just don't see it.

 

While the schedule is tough I don’t think it’s as tough as some are making it out to be mainly because how it sets up for the Steelers which is very good the first 9 games. The Steelers play 6 of their first 9 games at home at Heinz Field and after their trip to Buffalo opening weekend they most likely will only get on an airplane one time in the next 9-10 weeks until the weekend of November 21st when they go to LA to play the Chargers and that is for the game in Green Bay on October 3rd. Their only other road game in between then is at Cleveland on Halloween which is a bus trip. So these guys are gonna he playing a lot of games at home the first two months of the season and will be sleeping in their own beds a lot which I think can make a huge difference. They have 6 home games against quarterbacks like Derek Carr, Joe Burrow, Drew Lock,Andy Dalton or Justin Fields and Jared Goff with Russell Wilson and Seattle thrown in that mix as well.

I see a lot of winnable games in that 9 game stretch to start the season with most of if not all of those home games where it won’t surprise me if they are something like 6-3 or even 7-2 when that stretch is complete in mid November right before Thanksgiving.

 

I suspect peak I-told-you-so time for Ben fans will be around Oct 15. Early in the year, he’ll look sharp, he’ll be as mobile as he can be. But as the season wears on, defenses figure out the Steeler O, young and untested OL get exposed or get injured and replaced by even more marginal guys, and Ben’s cummulative aches and pains mount up, we’ll see a 39 yr old, league average QB or worse. By Jan 1, I’ll bet most fans here will want Ben to retire. And talk of benching him will be common.

 

7-2 with no major injuries at that point would do just fine.

The big problem down the stretch last year was a whole raft of injuries that all came together and all the Covid schedule changes. It led to a beat up weary team struggling to get anything done on the field.

@Blast Furnace i hope you are right about the OLine and I am somewhat hopeful as well. They don’t need to be a top 5 unit, they just need to not be a liability. There are bound to be some issues but hopefully they grow together as the season goes on.

 

This. Thing is they will bring it… honestly it’s a subpar secondary but insane front 7 if healthy. Tuitt, cam, milk, alu, highsmith watt, Bush, schmoe… that’s amazing on paper. Mink will be there waiting for the mistakes and Edmunds will be… so yeah that’s a good core there.

If Ben can throw a deep ball everything else will be golden

 

Fun facts: last year Ben three 40.5 passes per game. Yesterday 10 passes in less than 1Qt.
last year the Steelers threw 63% of time, Yesterday when Ben was in they threw 62.5% of the time (10 of 16).


Maybe Fredos request that they run more will happen. Maybe Wile E Canada (Super genius) will impose his will on Ben, when the season starts. But the start was more business as usual. But as Ben would say: I’m scoring pts my way, you want me to stop?

 

The usual spots of concern are just that. I really like Green and Moore but this new OL will struggle often this season. Oko is bad but the Steelers tend to be slow admitting things like that. Outside of Dotson, the other vet OL options also need to gel. Add to that implementing a new offense with rookies playing a lot at RB and TE. There will be weeks where we struggle to put up points. That said, the offense should be really good but it's a big work in progress.

On D, TJ's situation needs to get resolved very quickly or it could become a problem. The CBs don't look great either. For all the Sutton talk, he looks decent inside but I still don't love him outside. All the Layne and Pierre blather better be right but I have doubts about that.

 

I think it's going to come down to whether or not the run game is good enough to keep Ben from getting worn out from passing way too much. At least partly.

 

I know a lot of people are whipping on the online, but this past week of training camp was the 1st full week where.

Chuks, Dotson, Green, Turner, and Banner played together and the pre-season game was the 1st game type action the line has seen.

 

No doubt. We have to give these guys some time to practice together, gel as a unit and get familiar with Ben and the scheme etc. The amount of change on that line on one offseason is simply unheard of. It was never going to be smooth sailing.

Bills game is fast approaching and the preparation thus far really isn’t ideal but it is what it is.

 

The Steelers secondary scares me a lot more than the O line does. Through 3 games it has not been good.

 

I don't think its been bad, add in Tuitt and Watt, and the push rush is gonna be nasty.

Highsmith looks super and thrown in Ingram to spell the guys, and I think that will help the secondary.

Haden almost had a pick in the pre-season game.

 

Winner

 

Haden, and Fitzpatrick are the least of my worries.
It's everyone else back there