Future bright or dim?

Not dim .... dark and gloomy!

 

Agree for the most part. I'll term their future "murky".

Besides the positions you mentioned, I'll add that QB is a big question mark. We have no idea how Ben will play when he comes back. He was already entering the potential downside of his career if completely healthy. Add an elbow injury and the level of uncertainty increases markedly.

 

Ravens also acquired 3 good tes to compliment Jackson, no one ever talks about that.

 

Baltimore's FO is by far better than the Steelers. It sucks to admit that.

 

Dim until Mason learns to throw from under center.

2 TEs, QB under center, single back, play action pass.
This is a formation that Mason must master to be successful this season.

 

Their coaching staff is, not so sure FO is?

 

Roethlisberger's salary is a problem, but if I remember correctly, they are done with Brown's dead money after this season.

 

Yes. I was corrected on that. I thought Steelers were on the hook for 2 years for AB's dead money... but it was only 1.

 

so does that mean we can start planning the parade or na?

 

No... Steelers are still broke and won't be a big player in free agency. They will be lucky to have enough cash to pay their draft picks.

 

I’m going with dim until the long-term QB situation is resolved. It certainly isn’t resolved at the moment.

 

They need literally ever skill position on offense. They do have Ben hopefully, if not, thats an immediate need. So is RB. The starting RB is averaging a fumble every 86 touches and his hurt if the wind changes directions. I'm not ready to say JuJu isnt a #1 receiver as he has no QB to get him the ball this year. But receiver depth sure as heck is an issue. FB? lol. We aint using a FB anyways. TE? Glass McDonald has been disappointing, but see JuJu. Offensive line looks like it regressed like Biff in the future in Back to Future.

So yeah offense aint in good shape.

 

McDonald has actually been relatively durable last season and this one. The Steelers foolishly went into the season with nothing behind him, but that's not his fault.

They have a fullback if he can get healthy again. It's not a position I would use significant resources to fill, but losing Nix has hurt the offense this season.

 

As an eternal pessimist I really believe Ben is done. Career over. I do not think Mason is going to be anything special. I also think Baltimore and Cleveland will finish ahead of us for some years to come.

Now that said, watch Ben be comeback player of the year in 2020 leading the Steelers to the playoffs.

 

Baltimore will rule the division but Steelers should be right behind for a couple years

 

Graph Wins 2 years ago, then last year, then forcasted for this year. Draw a line from these win totals 2017 to 2019 and note direction line is going and this should answer your question

 

Are you referring to something like this?

 

the question is... will this be an 80's purgatory, or 90s-2003 purgatory

 

Mason looks bad right now but may be able to pull out of it. Has a Neil O'Donnell feel to me
Could win games with the right Defense (Smart QB)

Duck does not have an NFL arm and just does not look like an NFL QB. Has a very Tommy Maddox feel to.
Had a habit of taking over a game by scoring points for the wrong team. (Fearless QB)


God, I use to hate "WrongWay" Tommy Madsux games.

 

Hey AQL.

Like I have stated before the "O" and the "D" have seemingly switched places overnight as which one was the team's strong point. The loss of BBB and B for Bryant (I did like him a lot) killed the "O". Add in the invisible TEs. O-Line somewhat backsliding. Wow the "O' just seemed to deteriorate overnight. To many parts gone and not enough quality "Next Man Up" personnel. NOT EVEN CLOSE.

So many fans I know thought that Connor and JuJu would seamlessly replace Brown and Bell's production.... WRONG!!! I tried to tell them over the summer. Very few listened to me. As the saying goes: "The Proof is in the Pudding". "O" Talent gone, "O" Chemistry gone, Tomlin still here. Yes, now there is a reliable constant.

STEELWINDS AKA The East Side Kid

 

Mason can be an average qb....just run the damn ball!

Let’s get back to Steelers football and run the ball!

 

Ah yep, I think that is very much what I was envisioning.

 

There are great O lines with great running backs(minus sanders) that cannot run the ball when they are stacking 8-9 guys in the box. Our O line could barely run block even when Ben was at the helm with a deep threat pass. Mason can't throw deep, short, intermediate lol. they are run blitzing like 10 guys, we cant run... mix in running backs that are subpar or hurt and well 5-5