Are we heading for a fall from grace?

A lot of negatives goig on...

Keith Butler is heading to Indy. evidently because the shot he thought he had in Pittsburgh won't be there because LeBeau is staying...indefinitely. Bad news for the defense. Love LeBeau and all he's meant for this team, but it was evident in Denver that he's lost it.

Ben wants a chat with Art. Where's the offense going? Who's going to run it?

Big Snack is done.

The Steelers' secondary needs help.

The Steelers' o-line needs help.

I am no longer sold on the younger players on defense. But that could change.

James Harrison is getting old and even after having several weeks to rest up, looked slow and incapable of getting any kind of pressure on the QB.

Mendenhall is coming back from knee surgery. Who's the Rb (RBs?) Rooney wants to shoulder this "blue collar" mentality on offense?

And amidst all these, we have a weak head coach who doesn't seem to be able to make decisions.

I'm a little concerned, folks.

 

I don't agree with all your points of concern, however I think you make some good points. I see the team being positioned to either restructure a little and achieve success again, or fall into rebuild mode for a little while. I know what direction we all hope it goes, but there are certainly a lot of question marks. But hey, I thought we were poised to dominate this past season with all the veterans and hardly any player or coaching turnover. Look how that turned out... I knew it was going to be a long season after the Rats game. Yeah we finished 12-4, but it was not at all a convincing 12-4.

 

Any thing is possible. We've still got quite a few older guys that are going to lose yet another "step" on defense. I'm sure pre-season predictions will have us as a borderline playoff team this upcoming year. New OC, injured RB 1st half of season, retired def linemen, ongoing OL problems.

That being said, it's not a whole lot different from years past, and we've overcome some things. I guess we'll have to wait and see how training camp shapes up.

 

I think that the current situation is bringing to light the fact the Tomlin is not Head Coaching material and that the Rooneys made a poor decision by placing him in that position before he was ready.

 

I don't think so? I think we are going to have changes like never before,but We must overcome them,the younger guys must step up,and The Rooneys must bring in the right people.We have to draft well.

 

Offensively, I think we're heading in a positive direction. Ben will man up, we have plenty of depth at RB going into next season, our new OC will (hopefully) re-establish the offensive philosophy that Rooney wants. The OL needs to be addressed in the draft.

Defensively, a lot is up in the air right now. Our young players haven't proven themselves yet and losing Butler and eventually LeBeau will both hurt us. If we nab a stud for NT and a smart ILB, I think we'll be able to make a smooth transition.

Special Teams, we'll continue to see steady improvement.

 

The Steelers will have more success in 2012 than they did in 2011. I guarantee it.

Stop the panic at the disco, everything will be alright.

 

plus Bruce is gone. :?

 

The sky is falling!!!!!!!

 

Does anyone have an extra tin foil helmet I can use?

 

That's some funny **** right there. I don't care who you are.

 

On defense, probably.

Troy is nearing the end and there's no replacing Troy. 3/4 of the secondary, really, is getting old. Harrison is, too. Hampton is probably done. Hoke is done. Smith has been done for three years. Keisel isn't young, either, but he's got a few years left. Ziggy, Heyward, Woodley, and Timmons are the "young" core, the rest of the positions either need improvement or someone waiting in the wings. The problem is, there really isn't a lot of time left to do that.

Offense should be fine for a long time if they resign everyone.

 

I agree with you. That's why I say Denver was a bad day at the office for him. Pass rush has been lacking. But this is LeBeau we're talking about. I'm sure he makes the appropriate adjustments in the off-season. Think about it: What mayhem can LeBeau cause now that he knows he has CBs that can hold up in man coverage?

 

if everyone resigns we'll have nobody left.

 

Re-sign.

 

The more I'm reading about Butler going to Indy, the more I'm thinking that this is a serious blow to the coaching staff and a real statement about the situation. Butler was contacted and I think even interviewed for the DC position with the Cardinals. He declined so he could stay with the Steelers, with the idea of soon taking over as DC. It was evident that waiting to take over for the Steelers was much more desirable.

But now, a year later, it's NOT as desirable?

What's changed?

 

Look, as big of a fan as I am, I don`t ALWAYS look thru Black - n- Gold glasses...
Yes, we have issues...
What team in the league doesn`t?
Even the so-called best of the best this year, New Orleans, and Green Bay, Didn`t make it to the dance...
We are consistentley one of the most competitive teams in the league, year in and year out...
I don`t see that changing, despite some signifigant assistant coach/co ordinater changes, and some probably signifigant veterans not coming back next year.
I`m not saying "just trust the Rooney`s with blind faith, everything will be ok, because it has been for a long time"...
But...
Arians being replaced SHOULD be a huge plus, given a competent replacement, and Ben accepting it,
Mendy having surgery is not THAT big of an issue, given the depth behind him,
Same with Smith, possibly Ward, and some of the other vets.
Yes, I am concerned about the nosetackle position.
With McClendon, being very likely the only TRUE nosetackle with any experience, that is a legit concern, but I do still have faith in the defense to adapt and overcome.
LeBeau is welcome here, in my book, as long as he wants to be.
Tomlin is still learning, and still young.
I would like to see some improvement in the in game management/adjustments, and clock management, but I don`t feel(as some others do), that he is "in over his head", or "weak", etc...
We see lots of posters every year, question whether "the window is closing", or how well we can possibly compete next year, given all the "issues" we are faced with...
And nine times out of ten, we post a winning record, and usually at LEAST make the playoffs...
I`m betting we will again, next year, also...
Here We Go... STEELERS! Here we go!!!

 

It's certainly not a time to panic but I see some similarities to the mid and late eighties when Noll held onto veterans too long when they should have been replaced. It makes the transition more definite as opposed to gradual when you keep guys who are past their primes and allocate so much cap space to them.

 

How stupid will the team FO look if the Steelers defense tanks and DL decides it's time to retire next season. Fans will explode.

 

You're right. He hasn't had any success at all since he's been here.