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State of the Steelers Franchise...long article on NFL.com

Thanks for sharing Berm

This article is spot on. The Steelers are in flux. Where will the end up? I think it will be on the coaching this year to get this team ready to play. You have a better crop of FA pickups talent wise over the last few years (Nelson/Moncreif/Barron). And you have a top 10 draft pick that needs to play like a vet. So if he comes out hot and Barron and Nelson are locking down their spots, this D can be very good. On O, I'm also with the RB by committee. Get Snell and JaySam on the field every game. JaySam, especially on passing downs on 3rd and 4+.

I think the off field crap will be quieter than it has been in YEARS. That will help this team's cohesion and commitment to the opponent each week.

Another point that isn't touched on is Ben. He led the league in passing, Attempts, and completions last year. This year he has something TO PROVE without AB. I think we will see a more driven Ben this season, and I can't wait to see how he runs this offense. If he's equal in distributing the ball to everyone, this is going to be a very difficult O to stop.

Also Boz is the wildcard. If he returns to pro bowl form, we are golden. If he's shaky, he could end up costing us games, and a playoff spot, as what happened last year.
 
My two and a half cents:

Pittsburgh has a history of letting talented players like Bell leave and still finding a guy who can step in.
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I disagree with part of this. Steelers really don't let talented players leave, they lock them up. More often than not. The two B ******* were special circumstances.

* I won't touch on the Tomlin part in this thread or probably in any other. As I think we have dead horse the subject to death. We all know his weaknesses and strong suits.This is off if the team misses the playoffs, or is one and done. Then some words might be spoken.

* With lack of depth at TE I am a little leery about the Steeler ramping up his looks. With his injury past. I think there is enough pass catchers at WR and RB that they can stay the course when it comes to McDonald.

* I strongly feel there is enough pieces on D to see improvement on the field. How much of a improvement will be how well they are coached up.

* The week one cheatriot game means nothing. Well besides contributing to AFC formulas down the road. With the Steelers habitually slow starters and a lot of new pieces that will take time to be cohesive. Don't get your hopes up too high Steelernation in regards to a win. Although a win would be very welcomed.

* I think the nonsense is behind them, no need to put it behind them. It left the building when dumb and dumber exited.

* A lot will be said and watched with the WRs, but if Donte Moncrief plays as a lot of us feel he is capable of. It will do a lot to steady that group. Like Cope I need to see more from Washington before I am a believer. But they will give him every chance to show. As i said in one thread, don't read too much into his training camp performance. We will need to see it into the season.

* Good article overall
 
slashsteel said:
My two and a half cents:



I disagree with part of this. Steelers really don't let talented players leave, they lock them up. More often than not. The two B ******* were special circumstances.

* I won't touch on the Tomlin part in this thread or probably in any other. As I think we have dead horse the subject to death. We all know his weaknesses and strong suits.This is off if the team misses the playoffs, or is one and done. Then some words might be spoken.

* With lack of depth at TE I am a little leery about the Steeler ramping up his looks. With his injury past. I think there is enough pass catchers at WR and RB that they can stay the course when it comes to McDonald.

* I strongly feel there is enough pieces on D to see improvement on the field. How much of a improvement will be how well they are coached up.

* The week one cheatriot game means nothing. Well besides contributing to AFC formulas down the road. With the Steelers habitually slow starters and a lot of new pieces that will take time to be cohesive. Don't get your hopes up too high Steelernation in regards to a win. Although a win would be very welcomed.

* I think the nonsense is behind them, no need to put it behind them. It left the building when dumb and dumber exited.

* A lot will be said and watched with the WRs, but if Donte Moncrief plays as a lot of us feel he is capable of. It will do a lot to steady that group. Like Cope I need to see more from Washington before I am a believer. But they will give him every chance to show. As i said in one thread, don't read too much into his training camp performance. We will need to see it into the season.

* Good article overall
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you know another team seems to start slow also......
 
BLITZ said:
you know another team seems to start slow also......
Click to expand...



Probably because thewy will have a RED HOT POKER sticking out of their ***** to slow e'M up.





Salute the nation
 
From the article:

"The competitive urgency index is: HIGH. It's the Steelers. The expectation will forever be a Super Bowl title. There is no avoiding it. And after missing the playoffs last season, Tomlin needs to win this year."

I would re-frame that to "the 'competitive urgency index' should be HIGH EVERY WEEK..."

Even in years with the most promise, Tomlin's teams have somehow found a way to lose games they shouldn't and self-eliminate themselves from the race for HFA. They now know they can beat the Pats at home (so how did they lose to the Raiders again?).

I get that Tomlin is a dead horse as slash noted. However, he's also the elephant in the room who now clearly runs the defense. He has been a horribly weak link with game management and challenges. Rooney had to step in and assign him some help this year. He really is the headline this year, and the eyes are squarely on him with the most to prove in a contract year.
 
For perspective's sake, I read on another board that the Steelers thus far from 2010-2018 have the 14th best record in any decade for any team since the merger:

"With a season yet to go, the Steelers have the 14th best record ever for a decade in the post-merger era.

So that would mean five full decades (70s, 80s, 90s, 00s, 10s) for 26 teams, four for the Bucs and Seahawks, two for the Panthers and Jaguars, two for the Browns (or Ravens), and one for the Texans.

So there are 143 such full seasons - - being 14th overall would make this 2010s run for the Steelers a top 10% team all time for a decade.

And yet of the 13 teams ahead of this decade's Steelers (which include the 70s and 00s Steelers), only two (80s Raiders, 70s Rams) made just one Super Bowl, and only two (70s Rams, 70s Vikings) didn't win a Super Bowl. There have also been only four division titles this decade, which would tie the 80s Redskins for the least for teams ahead of them."


Dickens' words are apropos:

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, (playoffs) we were all going direct the other way—in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only."
 
The offense will be fine. I still say they did little to improve the defense and ST's, both from personnel and coaching standpoints.
If I'm running the team there is no way I give Shades an extension.
 
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Ron Burgundy said:
The offense will be fine. I still say they did little to improve the defense and ST's, both from personnel and coaching standpoints.
If I'm running the team there is no way I give Shades an extension.
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Adding Nelson, Bush, Barron, Buggs, Justin Layne don't count as adding to the D?

I am far more concerned that we have inept coaches as the bigger problem.
 
Cope said:
Also Boz is the wildcard. If he returns to pro bowl form, we are golden. If he's shaky, he could end up costing us games, and a playoff spot, as what happened last year.
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If he's "shaky" I want him run out of town like an illegal immigrant by "MAGA" hat wearers! I don't feel sorry for him. Either get your act together or beat it. Audi 5000.
 
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Ron Burgundy said:
I still say they did little to improve the defense
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Bush, Nelson, and Barron were pretty big moves as well as the depth they added to ILB via the draft. Expect at least one or two of those guys to make big contributions with the special teams coverage units.
 
Where the article gets it wrong is where it says Mikey Sunglasses is a good coach. Mikey Sunglasses is an average coach with an abundance of talent. Mikey keeps letting the team look past teams they should destroy and it keeps biting them in the ***. If Mikey was a good coach we would win more playoff games and have at least two more Super Bowl wins.
 
Bobby Bufford said:
Adding Nelson, Bush, Barron, Buggs, Justin Layne don't count as adding to the D?

I am far more concerned that we have inept coaches as the bigger problem.
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The rookies are unlikely to make a big impact especially since Tombert's draft record on defense is bad. I hope they're good but i'll wait and see. I'm happier about the FA signings. Agree that the D coaches mostly suck.
 
regarding the Conner's point in the article, indeed he is such a great find by the scouts/FO, at the moment I thought they picked him a round too early and was I wrong or what?. Makes me pause a second and give them the benefit of the doubt regarding Snell and Diontae J, maybe they do know what the hell they are doing lately.
 
Ron Burgundy said:
The rookies are unlikely to make a big impact especially since Tombert's draft record on defense is bad. I hope they're good but i'll wait and see. I'm happier about the FA signings. Agree that the D coaches mostly suck.
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Agreed, but Bush will make an impact quickly, he better.
 
Ron Burgundy said:
Let's hope so. Watt did. Worilds, Jones, and Durpee not so much, to name but three.
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As it turns out, those 3 didn't do anything early OR very much later. (Jones NEVER was worth more than tassels on Granny Mac's shoes.)

I think the majority of us have higher expectation for Bush than the others you mentioned. He is a top 10 pick. And he is already impressing the
vets with his speed and quick grasp of the play book. He's a rookie, he will have bumps in the road. But rookie ILBs have excelled in this league
previously, including our own Kendrell Bell (9 sacks as a rook).
 
greenleader said:
Using Audi 5000 in the third person is a dead giveaway
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They stopped making Audi 5000s in 1983. How would a 17-year-old know anything about them?

Sometimes I wonder if some of you think less than Aunt Irene while she's having a rusty nail in the backyard.

Peace. Duces. Audi 5000.
 
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