are we on the upswing

its interesting what the steelers could do with Burrow or LJ. I think it depends on how good our line can pass and run block. If AR is given time i still think he can make the right reads and pick defenses apart. Really Burrow or LJ are not much different (there is no Elway like ability among these guys). If the line gels we can be a playoff team, i dont know about contender.

 

not a new position but a new side. same position. not to mention they all played the new spot in college.

 

When I first clicked on this post, I was expecting to see green font or maybe a cartoon of our head coach on a child's swing set.

Have to disagree. We are not on the upswing. Sideways momentum at best.

We do not seem to be graduating from a fringe playoff team into at least more serious contender. Sorry, just don`t see it.

 

Upgraded the coaching staff? Check.

Upgraded the wide receivers? Check.

Upgraded the running backs? Check.

Upgraded the cornerbacks? Check.

It looks like we had a good draft.

No offical predictions until camp is about to end, but this looks like a 11 win team!

 

Have you given up on Fautanu?!

A bit too early no?

 

Most of those vets the Browns had on the OL are gone.

 

Troy is okay. But I just can’t figure out why they moved him to left tackle. Cook was excellent in that role for 4 games. Now Cook starts at Right Tackle and Troy at Left Tackle. Why experiment at Left Tackle?

i tend to doubt Troy has the movement skills to play left tackle well. Troy needs to show his skills early in camp. It would not surprise me to see Cook move back to Left Tackle.

 

Also I think the Ravens are on a downswing. Harbaugh did a lot of things well. Now maybe the new hire is that rare head coach who hits it hard year one, but I think chances are he's going to learn on the job in his first season and he's probably looking at transitioning to a new QB. Who is probably not on the roster. I'll be very surprised if they're anywhere near the playoffs. Betting they will be in the mix for the draft QB lottery in December.

Bengals the guy drawing up the offense is capable, they have a good QB and two deep threats in the pass game. Their defense was a sieve and their big addition was Dexter Lawrence. I mean c'mon man. They're obviously the biggest threat to the Steelers in the North, but they don't scare me at all.

Browns have talent but they've had talent for years, they lost Garrett on defense, and they're gonna want to be drafting high for QB in the 2027 draft. Oh and of course they also have a new coach.

Not trying to disregard our rivals here, but from where I'm sitting this division is going to be there for the taking.

 

You mean they have the Steelers the #3 ranked team in the NFL?! That's insane.

 

Someone on this board told me it's very important they play their 'natural position'...

 

i think the only guy that has changed positions is dunker.

 

I read that as well although no one offered a reasonable explanation of what that is

 

The opposite of whatever Tomlin asked a player to do.

 

I'm surprised that you think getting rid of a coach you clearly think was JV level will only result in one more win (with a roster you seem to think is better than last year).

I guess we agree that the players are more important than the coaches!

 

Didn't he play LT all through college?

I don't think your boy is going back to LT (outside of bad things happening health wise).

 

We actually upgraded at WR, RB, and CB in free agency, which is nice for once. And yeah, I think McCarty and the new staff are a clear upgrade over last year’s circus.But let’s be real. Last season we got a little lucky. We feasted on some truly awful quarterbacks and lived like kings on the turnover chart. The moment we faced good QBs? They dropped 30+ on us. That is why we won 10 games. An easier schedule.

This year the offense should be better and we added some coverage guys for the defense.

So right now I am feeling 11-6.

 

Dylan Cook played right tackle during his time at the Montana where he did not get good coaching. Unless of course one thinks the Big Sky is = to the Big Ten or SEC on coaching. JV vs. Varsity stuff.

 

My comment was about you referring moving Troy to LT as an experiment.

While he hasn't played there in the NFL, my understanding is that he played there in college.

Sorry, I should have bolded that part of your comment so it was more clear what I was talking about.

 

If by "lucky", you mean that our end result was better than the talent on the team (particularly at QB), I think that's been true since Ben was injured.

Some might argue that there's a particular reason why a team might consistently finish better than their talent level over a fairly long time span.

 

I really hope that you're right.

And that it's a strong looking 11 win season and we go into the playoffs as a legit contender looking to win one (or at least do some damage in the playoffs) on AR's last ride.

Sadly, I don't think that's reasonable. But I really, really hope that I'm wrong (as I have for every season since Ben got hurt).

 

You do know we have won 10 games 3 years in a row.

 

You are exceeding his system capacity

 

Burrow cant stay healthy, and the LJ/Ravens window may be closing in a year or two. I agree that the coaching change may be preparation for that.

its not a stretch at all to say we’ll all be in the mix down the stretch for the division title, we ourselves have an aging Qb behind a line thats being reshuffled and hasnt gelled yet so no one is running away with the title.

 

Amazing how a team can be "lucky" and still get "humiliated" and "embarrassed" in their playoff loss.

It is like watching people argue with themselves in the same post. Fascinating.

 

Except for maybe the Cleveland game (where we just cratered at the end of the season), we were the much worse team in all of our recent playoff games IMO.