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Both sides of the ball will be better this year. BUY or SELL ?

Tomlin has yet to prove he can assemble a championship defense. I think we will get run over.
 
With Haley gone and Ben hopefully running mostly no-huddle, I'm buying the offense is better.

Defense is a pretty big question mark with a few new starters. I still see the same issues vs the run but pass defense should be improved with the departure of Mitchell...he was a huge liability there.
 
I'd like to buy, only just not yet. On paper it looks good on both sides of the ball. The offense without Haley is a wild card. On Defense, how will improve the run stop ?

These and other questions will start to be solved when camp begins.
 
Litos said:
offense will stay the same, defense will improve from **** to average
Click to expand...

That will be just ENOUGH to get us to where we are going.................... 7th heaven





Salute the nation
 
BUYING


slash, thanks for the GREAT write up, exceptional thoughts on how this plays out.



Salute the nation
 
Buying ... carefully. The defense showed that it can play man on the corners, but struggled middle of the field after Shazier went down. Bostic, Edmunds and Allen improve middle-of-the-field pass defense. Seriously, does anybody remember Mitchell breaking up a single pass? Or getting to the receiver right when the ball arrived, not after?

Further, slash makes a solid point about Samuels being a legit 3rd down back when Bell needs a break. Dude played fullback, is a hell of a receiver, and averaged 6 yards per carry. Very good skill set for a 3rd down back.

As others have noted, health is a big, big factor. If the OL can stay healthy and protect Ben, the 2018 Steelers could be damn good - again.
 
nitsuj1225 said:
With Haley gone and Ben hopefully running mostly no-huddle, I'm buying the offense is better.

Defense is a pretty big question mark with a few new starters. I still see the same issues vs the run but pass defense should be improved with the departure of Mitchell...he was a huge liability there.
Click to expand...

The real question is will the QB draw be in the playbook?
 
Offense - BUY, if healthy
Defense - Very skeptical. We are still definitely worse than we were with Shazier but we are better than we were at the end of the year. Hopefully Davis continues to get better and Burns shakes off his sophomore slump. We also need Watt and Bud to take steps forward along with Tuitt and Hargrave.
 
1) I expect Juju to experience the Sophomore slump. Teams will have plenty of film on his tendencies and there's no reason to assume he won't be targeted as the true #2 threat to stop on offense. So they'll ficus on him more.

2) The odds that the Steelers catch lightning in a bottle 2 years in a row at WR with Washington are slim. It's much more likely the rookie will play like a rookie and have minimal impact. Bryant, even playing 80% of what he did 2 years ago required coverage, a rookie who knows 2 routes and 2/3s of a route tree?...

3) Bell... Last year, despite his overall numbers - he wasn't the star back he seemed to be. It took 30+ or so more carries for him to be 3rd or 4th in yardage.
 
Buy. I think the D has to be better overall. The O should be better with Randy at the helm. Maybe there won't be as many head scratching play calls that Todd was famous for.
 
Steeler said:
Buy. I think the D has to be better overall. The O should be better with Randy at the helm. Maybe there won't be as many head scratching play calls that Todd was famous for.
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There will always be head scratching play calls as soon as a play doesnt work
 
I had a dream last night that the Steelers went for it on 4th and 1. QB sneak, and converted!!
 
This defense has gotten taken to the woodshed by no name scrub quarterbacks for too many years. When they can stop playing 10 yards off the ball and secure the middle of the field I'll be sold. The new rules will mess up a lot of teams and should help offense even more. Will the team spend time on tackling form fundamentals? That group hug arm tackling **** up high isn't cutting it.

Be prepared to lose your **** over penalties connected to the helmet rules.

It's hard to get positive when I think how we've done in the playoffs since our last super bowl appearance.
 
I'm going to sell this argument. Hard for the offense to be much better than it was in 2017. I think they will be about the same. Losing Bryant won't hurt. The defense might be better, but it is going to come down to how much the rookies play if they are put into crucial roles. If they excel and seize the opportunity, I could see the unit as average to above average. If they don't, then we might play the same as without Shazier in 2017.

Overall, no way the Steelers go 13-3 again in 2018. What we have to make up against the schedule we have is too far to overcome.
 
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