Predicting the season

Predicting the season. My old board takes too long to post so by recomention I am give this fine web site a try.

Let's start with the good. Our defense is grade A and for once has good starters at DL and DB with good depth at both units. This will be our best unit of DB in 5 years. Our DL has been upgraded with two good run stuffers...our best run defense in years. We won't be pushed around. Wilson is ready to be a star LB. Of course our pass rush is elite. We have the right pieces to play situational football in all phases and do it well. A top 5 defense I predict.

Our special teams feature a top 3 kicker in the NFL in Boswell. Our punter has a big leg. Let's hope he ironed out his consistency. Our kick return units suck but with the NFL rule changes moving kickoff up 5 yards, and Big legged punters being the norm... the NFL punters have greatly diminished the returners impact on the game. Coverage units remain good especially with these new NFL rules.

The offense. Oh my. Fragility lingers at multiple spots. QB, WR, and OL. And the RB spot looked to be unproven during the pre-season. Neither Rodgers or Metcalf played a snap during the pre -season. Both are new players for the offense. I suppose the players will find the chemistry once the regular season starts because they sure as heck did not during the preseason. On the bright side R Wilson looked and played like a good receiver.


Coaching. It matters more now than in the past with the players wearing raidos. The best QB's tend to have good head coaches. We have neither. Tomlin has not won a playoff game in 8 years and counting...I would have fired him years ago...Art Smith runs the offense. Yet he was under handcuffs by the head coach and will surely be the Tomlin fall guy. Rodgers is like a coach on the field and radio opinion guy off it. He is a strange cat and starge seldom works at QB.



Now for the season prediction. Our schedule is very easy. I will break it down into 1/3's.

We will start out well. We play new QB's and bad teams for the first five games.

In the mid season, we play better teams and will split the next games ( 6-12 ).

In our close we are over matched and the fragility of our players is a factor. Rodgers will likey be out. He tnd to get rid of the ball so he will not be hit. And Tomlin's teams tend to slump. The song remains the same and we won't win a playoff game for nine years and counting. ****
9-8 is my call, thanks the a cupcake schedule and our defense

The defense and special teams should carry the team through an easy schedule, but offensive fragility and coaching limitations likely prevent a playoff win, leaving the team in draft purgatory for 2026.

The good QB prospects tend to go in the first 15 picks.

 

9-8 is actually my floor while 12-5 is my ceiling for the team. I do see either 11-6 or 10-7 once again. Aa far as which positional group carries the fate of the 2025 Pittsburgh Steelers?!


Look no further than the Offensive Line. Quite a bit of investments made into that line. Moreover to the point is this is both Broderick Jones' and Pat Meyers last chance. If it doesn't work this year for either, it's simply not gonna work at all ever.

 

Something I heard on FSR this week and just googled, only 2 QBs over 40 have won in NFL playoffs (Brady and Favre}, 2 more made the PO's without wins (Moone and Flacco).

The FSR said this was in the history of the NFL, I'm not going to go back and look it up. That said, while this team can certainly do it history is not on the teams side.

 

True.


Brady and Farve had some seriously loaded rosters when they went; doubly so in Bradys case. Rodgers finally has a Defense that is elite but his Offensive Line is still a major question mark. His weapons sans D.K. Metcalf are also something that isn't clear cut either.

 

History also shows that if You haven't went to a SB with same HC, and Qb in the 1st 5 years, or so You won't go. So by this definition then Lamar, or J. Allen won't be going this year .

 

I honestly think one of those two go this year. KC seems to be on a bit of a downward trajectory after the SB.

 

They seem to be able to win about 10 games no matter who is behind center, so I will say 10 games. 11 if they are lucky, 9 if they aren’t.
Don’t know how much gas Aaron has left in the tank but if he is good, they win. If not, they have a better draft position to get “The Guy”.

 

So...50/50 chance?

 

They haven't played since the SB.

 

10-7 is my ceiling and 6-11 is my floor. You do not need to be a genius to predict that Rodgers will get hurt this year. And we are not a top 15 team with Rudy or rookie.

Yes-- I called 9-8, but I am a Steeler fan.

 

Where is that Nostradamus "Mikey"
He knows everything.

 

10 wins , + / - 2 either way

#7 seed, one and done again.

first early part of schedule is gettable, can get off to a decent 3/4 of the season start. Decent - nothing earth shattering.

Can see another hard crash the final 1/4 of the year.

 

I stand by my 7-10 prediction. And before anybody makes a smart aleck remark... I picked the Steelers to go 11-6 in 2023. I was only one game off.... Steelers ended up 10-7.

 

Never knew Moon was that old. I liked the guy as long as he wasn't going against us.

 

Yep, I have zero faith Rodgers last all 17. I'd love to be wrong. If Steelers can have minor injuries I think we will have a decent season. I agree that we start strong but we have seen how that can be a mirage in years past.

 

I'm just saying if You go by history. That's all.

 

So I believe since I've been on the board I've only missed twice, and both times by a tie. Once we had a tie, and I didn't pick it, and once we didn't have a tie, but I picked a tie. 11-6 this year.

 

Funny though, people keep saying that, but Rodgers played all 17 games last year......yet Fields, and Wilson both missed games with injuries.

 

Welcome a board, Joel!

I know many of our vets didn't play in preseason but I watched the first 2 games and attended the 3rd one in Charlotte. Nothing I've seen from this defense has even remotely sparked optimism on my end. Maybe once the entire group of starters are on the field it may be a different story. Currently they showed they are the same "bend-don't-break defense that can't get off the field. This robs a young and unexperienced offense of more opportunities.

I do believe our LB group is the best since the Cowher days. health is the issue. Herbig, Highsmith, and to a point Watt can't seem to stay healthy. Note: both Herbig and Highsmith have already missed time in preseason. I am very grateful we drafted Cap't Jack, I think he will be a valuable player in time.

The offense on the other hand doesn't give me much hope. Rodgers should have appeared in a few gams but didn't. The OL pass blocking is not too shabby but their run blocking is in the toilet.

Art Smith still concerns me, are we going to use Mt. Washington more? Just mindboggling that we don't, especially in the red-zone. I am a little optimistic that A-Rod will use the middle of the field, especially if he can get a repore going with DK.

My prediction is 9-8 or 10-7 at best.

 

You guys might want to put a big "L" again up for the Overseas game in Ireland. I was watching my shows today and they were talking about the game in Ireland and said once again the Steelers will be choosing to arrive late for their overseas game. Minnesota will be arriving on Wednesday, and the Steelers will be arriving on Friday. I thought Tomlin and company learned their lesson last time they had an international game about trying to arrive late and expect your players to be ready to go on short notice.

I can't help but wonder if this is a Rooney decision, to keep costs down. Minnesota will have to pay more for the 2 extra days so they can have their team over there early. I just can't believe the Steelers learned nothing from the last time they got beat overseas. The Rooney's are really some cheap ass bastards.

I would definitely pencil in a big fat "L" for the game against Minnesota this year, as the Steelers will once again still be dealing with Jet Lag come gameday.

 

KC seems vulnerable - their DIV is getting much better, won't be a cake-walk like its been for years.

 

Doesn't Minnesota play 2 games, Ireland and London, back to back this year? With that much distraction makes sense to get that early start.

 

I've come to learn the NFL could give a crap about scheduling as long as it makes them money.

 

Going to be interesting, last year 12 of their 15 wins were one score games. The NFL is often that close, having Mahomes is an advantage, but that certainly is something to keep an eye.

 

This is the year the bottom falls out of the clown car. 6-11 is my prediction.