93.7 the Fan

I don't agree with the last assessment. The only reason we look like we are closer to the Bears is because our QB position is close to the Bears than the Chiefs. We have a much more talented team than the Bears do. We really do. It is just hard to look good when you don't have a QB.

We've had worse QB play than the Bears, but have 3 more wins than them. The Chiefs have Patrick Mahomes and only 1 more win than us.... We are closer than you think.

 

Are we really tho?

This is more painting a picture of 2024:

WR is only 2 players deep, also needs a T and a G, outside of Benton and Ogunjobi this DL needs restocking, EDGE and ILB is awesome, only one quality CB and one quality S. Swiss cheese doesn't have this many holes. Greatest asset to the future is how strong of a class the 23 draft was.

 

I think you are a little off on all this talent we have. Yes the QB play has been atrocious but this team has plenty of other holes. The OL has been below average all year so you can probably say at least 2 if not 3 of those starters need replaced. WR is disappointing both of them although QB is a factor there also. Secondary besides JPJ and Minkah who is not even having a good year himself are all below average. Cam is a shell of himself and is only going to get worse next year with age. We have a couple very good outside linebackers a couple decent running backs and a decent TE when healthy. I like the rookie DTs game too. Not as much talent as you think.

 

Exactly. Imagine how many games we would have won this year with even just a marginally good QB. If we had someone who could actually pass get a pass into the endzone even once per game, consistently, we'd probably be sitting at 9-3. How many times this season have the Steelers gotten into the red zone only to settle for a FG? I don't have the exact numbers, but I'm pretty sure it's a lot. Some of that was undoubtedly on Canada's schemes, but honestly, I've lost count of how many times I've seen blatantly open receivers. There are def some average QBs in the league who I feel would take better advantage of these opportunities, despite the system.

 

With average QB play, they beat Arizona and win the second Cleveland game. They also would have been more competitive against Jacksonville. A possible win there. Hard to deny that our offense cost us two, possibly three wins. Frisco and Houston? They just got their asses kicked.

 

I don't think I am that far off. Even the best teams in the league have positional holes. It is impossible to be a "complete team" and be able to hold that together for more than a year or two... These types of teams have QB's on rookie deals, then have to start siphoning off talent as they prepare to pay their QB.

Super Bowl contenders have positions they have question marks with. I agree our secondary has a few holes, we certainly could stand to upgrade the C position, and we aren't completely done creating a perfect line... but how perfect can it really be without creating holes elsewhere? Our team has as much high end talent as contenders do. We certainly aren't as talented as the Eagles are, but no one in the league is. I guess my argument isn't that we are a top 5 talented team, but we are probably around 10th-ish, maybe 8th? This is obviously with a black hole at the most important position in the league. The offensive talent will start to bloom with just average QB play. Guys like DJ and Pickens would be 1200+ yard receivers with quality QB play. Freiermuth is a high end receiver at the TE position. We have two solid backs. We JUST need a QB. This team feels a lot like Steeler teams with Tommy Maddox at QB (and I think Maddox is probably a bit better than Pickett). We have talent. It's not perfect, but this team will blossom with good QB play.

 

We got our butts kicked, but we had like 50 total yards going into the last drive of the half vs SF. Offense floundered hard in the Texans game too. Hard to say how the game plays out if we made ourselves more competitive early on. This is why I want Cousins so badly. He would instantly make us a challenger in the conference. Imagine having our defense holding teams to 18PPG for long stretches and being able to score 24-30 points on any given Sunday? We'd be a problem for most teams.

 

Isn't the D lauded now??? It's revisionist history. Nobody on that , or any board was saying how great we were, and some were even calling Troy P not only a midget, but a bust, and talking about How it was more proof Cowher must be fired. You Guys are looking at how it turned out after We got Ben....not how it actually was within that 6-10 season. Just like if two years from Now we get a different Qb , and win the SB....20 years from now most will try, and tell You how great this team really was, and how they knew it was.

 

DJ is a head case and Pickens is not a great route runner. Pickens could still be very good with the right QB though.

 

Yes, DJ's mental game affects him from being great. He was a very good receiver with the shell of Ben Roethlisberger throwing him the ball. He continues to be one of the most open guys in the league. Pickens doesn't have to be a great route runner to be a great receiver.

IDK there's a lot to work with between those two. I'd love to see us get someone who could do something with it.

 

Yeah, yeah. Look, my mental storage capacity is reserved for important things in Steelers history. In 2004,

So there. That team was destined to go 15-1.

 

I remember Troy’s first year. It was hard for rookies to produce in Lebue’s defenses because they were so complicated. I think it took us a year to figure out how best to use Troy as well. I would definitely not say our defense is elite right now. But it’s hard to judge it with so many injuries and moving parts. I think you and I would agree we need a couple more DB’s to solidify the back end.
Obviously things always look clearer and often Natalia can skew perception when you look back on things. We certainly came together when Ben came into the picture.
One thing you can’t dispute was how loaded our coaching staff was back then.

 

No, average quarterback play doesn't beat the Cardinals. The defense did not play well. The center was horrible, which disrupted the rest of the offense. There were mistakes all over the team.

Average quarterback play beats the Browns, which would have them in much better position right now, but the other games were total team efforts at sucking.