Position group analysis and regular season roster prediction...... O-line

Games are won or lost up front, so naturally, I'll start with the o-line...... In all my decades of watching football, I've never seen an NFL team turn over all 5 starting spots in one off-season... Until now .... From AV leaving and going to the ravens (and not doing so well reportedly), matt feiler leaving at left guard (even though he was more effective rt but the coaches stubbornly kept him at guard, even after they learned that Dotson could play, but that's a conversation for another time)... Pouncey's retirement (which really was 2 yrs too late).... Decastro's lingering injury and subsequent release, to chuks okorafor moving to the left.. a new player will be at every spot.,... Naturally, that brings question marks.... First off.. if the line performs well then coach Adrian klemm will be due a huge raise or someone else will snatch him away from us... Next comes the rookies and free agents and any holdovers from last yr.... Do we have the horses or don't we???? Lets take a look individually..

LT:

Okorafor:. Started at rt when Zach Banner went down in week one.. his pass blocking gave some hope for the future, but his run blocking left a lot to be desired (nicest way I could put it)... Now he gets to protect Ben's blind side (or does he???)... He's in a 2 man battle for the spot and rumor has it that that his competition has looked slightly better (especially in the run game).. history tells us that in a tight battle, coach Tomlin will always side with the veteran whether right or wrong, so chuks it is for the moment.... That could change as early as week 6 if he's not effective.. now on to his primary competition..

Dan Moore: the rookie is reportedly growing by the day in his technique, and is already a better run blocker than okorafor.... But the main measure of a LT is the ability to keep a franchise qb's uniform clean... I hear that he's grown by leaps and bounds in this area also...
How can he not improve when facing Cam Heyward, Alex highsmith and Melvin Ingram on a daily basis...... He's had 2 altercations with Heyward... Heyward generally, gets in fights with o-linemen when he can't get around or through them, so that's a good sign... It's also a good sign of his aggressiveness, which was something he initially lacked, according to his draft profile.. I've already mentioned Tomlin's affinity for veterans, so we know Moore will start the season on the bench, but I fully believe that he will be the man no later than midseason.

Joe Haeg: if Haeg is the starter, than something has gone horribly wrong... He was a turnstile in Tampa bay and lost his job there to a shiny new rookie.... I think he probably makes the team (because,veteran.... Duh), but is inactive


LG
Kevin Dotson: was forced into action early last yr on both sides due to injury and proved to be, IMHO, our best lineman... Of course when the starter was "healthy", he went back to the bench because,,,, Duh, Veteran..... Now he's the veteran, and after some camp drama, is now comfortably back in the starting lineup where he belongs.... The only thing that could hold him back now is injury, so if he remains healthy, than I truly believe that a pro bowl nod is in store for him


BJ Finney: when Finney returned to us, he was told that the center spot was his to lose..
From the first depth chart, it was clear that's exactly what he did, and is now the 2nd string guard, which he has proven in the past, is his best position at the NFL level.... I'm more than comfortable with him at this spot, and confident in his ability here if someone goes down to injury on either side

RG
Trai Turner: a former multiple time pro bowler, that's still on the young side at 28...
He's coming back from some injuries, but has said that those issues are behind him and is ready to return to his pro bowl days.... If he is back to form, then we would have a top 5 guard tandem in the league

Rashaad Coward: in a position known for its tough guys, having a name like Coward is rather unfortunate... However, this is far from a coward and is more than serviceable at the position, and I'm confident with him as the backup

RT
Zach Banner: won the job outright in camp last yr, but went down in the first half of week 1 with a heartbreaking acl injury.... Banner is a huge specimen and is easily the character of the group.... If one were to go down with an acl, week one is definitely the time for it, so he got lucky from that standpoint.... If he is healthy, than we have a very solid player here..

C
Kendrick Greene: a surprising draft pick, but one that was necessary.... Hassenaur is listed as the starter on the depth chart, but its been Greene with the one's throughout camp and preseason... One of the few spots that coach Tomlin is going to side with the rookie over the veteran, and with good reason, since we all got to see hass last yr... Greene plays with a mean streak, but also needs to get better at anchoring against the bull rush, which seems to be his only weakness... Greene has big shoes to fill following pouncey's retirement, and wears pouncey's old number.... He even resembles him and could pass for the 3rd pouncey triplet..... Coach klem will work with him on his anchoring, and if that's improved, than this lump of coal will turn into a diamond in short order...... We have a keeper here.

JC Hassenaur: will be the backup, and will get some minutes throughout the season, but is average to mediocre at best... I don't see him on the team in 2022, but for now, he's a serviceable backup and will stick around due to his experience because ..... Duh,.... Veteran


I know I left out a few names, but that is due to knowing exactly what we are going into the season with..... Anyone else at these positions is strictly camp fodder and possible practice squad players..... Overall, I think we have a very good group here... All the question marks are only because of the turnover... The key, of course, will be having these 5 Individuals playing as a unit, and if that happens, then look out

Next up:
QB

 

Nice analysis blackandgoldpatrol. Practices most probably had greater commitment to running the ball this year also. That should have our guys be better prepared.

 

You should e-mail this to Ben, pretty sure he'd be interested.

 

Alex Kozora on SteelersDepot has highlighted a couple instances - one vs. Philly, a couple vs. Alualu - that exhibit Green's biggest weakness: power rushers. They get their long arms in his chest and put him on skates. He's going to have to work on his hands and learn to chop away those punch moves or he'll be in the backfield more often than he should.

EDIT: Looks like Alex isn't alone:

https://stillcurtain.com/2021/08/19/time-start-worrying-steelers-center-kendrick-green/

 

not much different then pouncey though.

 

Pouncey wasn't great with it, either, but I don't remember it happening so much as a rookie.

 

it was always one of his problems. even more so with the early knee and ankle troubles pouncey had to start with. at least this kid doesn't have to deal with that. something to watch for sure though. pouncey's greatest strength was his ability in the run game, being able to hit multiple targets at different levels of the defense. this will require a chip from the guards, which isn't out of the ordinary since a lot of centers are smaller then nose tackles.

 

Lots of interesting thoughts. Good write up. Agreed with a lot Here.

 

You had me at "Games are won or lost up front..." Nice write-up. I'm not as positive as you are about how good this group "is." Could they gel and become a top 15 group, run or pass? Doubtful. But could they gel and give Ben and Najee a chance to do some damage? Yes. And that's really all we need, or should ask for at this point.

I'm encouraged for next season's OL and what they and Klemm can do with a year under their belts. Having the core of this group battle through this season and come back healthy next season will be exciting. Hopefully, we'll have a QB worthy of a top 10 OL, and a top 5 defense.

 

Ben is worthy.

 

There is a pretty broad range of outcomes for this group imo. We really have no idea what it’s going to look like on the field and it’ll make it break the season to an extent.