NFL Team Previews: Pittsburgh Steelers
With the second team in the AFC North, I will be doing the Pittsburgh Steelers, coached by Mike Tomlin. With the team GM Kevin Colbert put together, Steeler nation is definitely feeling the belief that they will be a Super Bowl Contender this season. Despite losing star running back Le'Veon Bell to injury, the Steelers still managed to get into the postseason and sneak past the Bengals in the first round. However, with a late injury to WR Antonio Brown, it was too much for them to overcome the eventual champion Denver Broncos. This year, they look to obtain home field advantage throughout the playoffs.
DRAFT RECAP: The Cincinnati Bengals knew what they were doing when they selected CB William Jackson III right before the Steelers selected, who the Steelers definitely had their eyes on. With no more Cortez Allen or Antwon Blake, CB became a need for the Steelers, and they still used their first rounder on CB Artie Burns. However, the Steelers have Mike Tomlin (who started off coaching secondary) and he should be trusted with this selection. He adds to the young crop of corners, since they drafted Senquez Golson in the second round last season. Speaking of the secondary, the Steelers went on to select S Sean Davis, a tackle-first safety, and he could be starting next to S Mike Mitchell. DT Javon Hargrave was selected in the third round, and he will be battling Dan McCullers-Sanders for the starting job at nose.
FREE AGENCY: Not a lot of players were brought in outside of the draft to help this team, but the one that caught a lot of people's attention was former San Diego Charger tight end Ladarius Green. Green is in line to replace Heath Miller, and it's a little weird seeing this since he was originally supposed to replace future Hall of Famer Antonio Gates in San Diego. Nonetheless, Steeler fans should be happy to have him, as he is a solid pass catching tight end and should be even better with Roethlisberger as his quarterback. The other big signing was LT Ryan Harris from the Denver Broncos, and although many Steeler fans like what former military man Alejandro Villanueva did in ten games last year, Harris is the better football option.
PLAYERS LOST: LT Kelvin Beachum left for the Jaguars for a huge contract, and he was the starter for six games until he got injured. Harris and Villanueva should have no trouble replacing him. DT Steve McLendon went to the New York Jets, and that could leave a temporary hole in the middle of the defensive line. Hargrave should be capable of providing solid snaps from the position, but he is a rookie and will make some mistakes. Backup inside linebacker Sean Spence and CB Antwon Blake went to the Tennessee Titans, but they are more players who are easily replaceable. Fullback Will Johnson went to the New York Giants, but nobody really uses them anymore anyway. Also, WR Martavis Bryant is suspended for the season, but Darius Heyward-Bey and Sammie Coates should be able to fill that void as well.
STRONGEST POSITION: At this point, I think it's running back, and if that's true, the Steelers better get ready to pay Le'Veon Bell or watch him walk, as he requested $15 million in a recent rap song. Anyways, he spent most of the season injured and suspended, but the year before he had probably the best season by a running back. In the six games he played last year, he put up some pretty good stats to, and he should build off that this season. In Bell's absence, RB DeAngelo Williams was the bell cow, and provided almost 1300 total yards and 11 rushing touchdowns in Bell's absence. Those two together for a full season, plus the passing game that is already in place, makes this Steelers' offense deadly.
WEAKEST POSITION: The Steelers have no true positional group weaknesses. They have two open for competition spots on defense that they need someone to step up in, but it's not like the competition outside linebacker will have where the Steelers would be fine with whoever does best in camp. The big one that I see is the nose tackle, where it's Dan McCullers-Sanders or third round pick Javon Hargrave. McCullers-Sanders is a third year pro with a career total of 10 tackles, so my money is going to be on Hargrave. That said, it wouldn't be surprising to see him get significant minutes. The other position that I see that is pretty open is at safety next to Mike Mitchell. It's between second round pick Sean Davis, Shamarko Thomas and Robert Golden. The Steelers are going into the offseason knowing that if Sean Davis does not win the battle, it is his position in the future after they invested a second rounder in him. It's his to lose.
FIVE MOST IMPORTANT PLAYERS TO THE STEELERS SUCCESS: QB Ben Roethlisberger, RB LeVeon Bell, WR Antonio Brown, ILB Lawrence Timmons, OLB James Harrison. Roethlisberger, Bell, and Brown are some of the best, if not the best, at their position, and the Steelers' success ultimately resides with these three players, and keeping them all healthy for most of the season. Lawrence Timmons is the leading tackler and leader of this defense, and James Harrison is the spirit. The Steelers' need James Harrison's sworn affadavit to the NFL about the Al Jazeera report being false to be a true statement or they lose their OLB depth, which is their strongest position on defense.
PREDICTION: With all of the nice things I've said about Pittsburgh, I still like the Bengals at this point as the division winner. That said, the Steelers are one of the top 3 in the AFC, along with the Bengals and Patriots, and should finish with about a 12-4 record. This also means they will likely be getting the AFC South winner, and possibly have a shot at knocking off the Bengals (and likely Marvin Lewis) in Paul Brown stadium on the way to the Super Bowl.
