Single biggest question mark facing the Steelers

[Tibs]

There's been a lot of focus on guys like Jarvis Jones, who's yet to hit his stride.

I was wondering, which is the biggest area of concern for you right now, looking at this roster? Is it JJ or someone else? Take into account the player in question, the depth behind him, as well as the effect it would have on wins-losses if things don't go as planned.

 

[BLITZ]

I said mike Mitchell but really mean both mike and shamarko. both have not done anything for us yet

 

[Tibs]

I said mike Mitchell but really mean both mike and shamarko. both have not done anything for us yet

Yeah Blitz, maybe I should have combined the two starting safety spots, as both are huge unknowns right now. Definitely my biggest concern until we see these guys hit the field. I have nothing to base this on, but somewhere deep inside I have a feeling Shamarko is going to do well. I have no idea why I feel that way, just do. The Mike Mitchell story is becoming more disturbing by the day, seeing how he had so many issues last year, Holliman has shown nothing, Will Allen is on his last legs, et al. I wonder if Tombert aren't on the look-out to make another trade for some FS/SS depth. I can't see us going into the season with Robert Golden as our starting FS.

 

[AggieSteel]

1) Jarvis
2) safeties
3) Shazier

 

[Omar10213245]

Gitcher **** tergether, jones!

 

[Tibs]

3) Shazier

Yeah I thought about adding him as well, only reason I didn't is that with Vince Williams & Spence it seems like we have enough quality depth there...

 

[ark steel]

I'd say the CB. If Jones cant do anything, Harrison is there to pick up the pieces. I think the dline, barring injuries will be better this year and allow our LBS to do a little more. That should give the CBS a break, but they are not an elite group, by any means.

 

[Steel G]

For me, it's Jar Jar.

 

[SteelerFan448]

I've been on board with the pass rush being the biggest issue this defense faces (maybe it should have been run defense, though), so Jarvis and the outside linebacker rotation is the biggest question. Even if Allen struggles as a starter, the Steelers have two solid fallback options with Gay and Boykin. I'm really not sure what this group of outside linebackers will give us.

 

[Djfan]

Our D has been built around the pressure on the opposing QB. Don't think that is changing under the new D leadership. If it is not great, the rest of the weak links look weaker.

Definitly the issue is passrush and back field pressure. Put me down for Jarvis and the OLBs.

 

[Litos]

the biggest question is in which finger will they put the 7th ring?

 

[steelhurt]

I voted Uncle Jarvis and the OLB'ers but ya know I could have felt comfortable picking any of the other choices which are all major concerns. UJ has to come through for us tis year or we may be forced into starting the kid Bud Dupree which may not be a bad thing. Afterall I pimped him leading up to the draft and was elated that we drafted him but he may not be ready

UJ was a terrible pick for us as we all know and as discussed over and over, they will not concede just yet of making a critical error with that pick until they give him every possible chance to succeed. That was a pick in 2013 that we had to hit a home run on as we all discussed at the time so this one will be hard for Tombert to swallow. Even Joey said this is on UJ this year and that the team is heavily counting on him. I've come to grips that this pick was so much like the Troy Edwards pick in that it was out of desparation and we reached for a guy that was undersized, not as strong as he should have been, slow off the ball, chronic back issues and already 23 when we drafted him. WTF! We could have taken Eifert the TE from ND and been set there for the next 10 years. I know he was injured last season but this guy is a quality TE and would have gone very nicely with Heath. OH well, can't play the what if game. I hope UJ can make his mark this year but I just do not see it happening. Yes, this is make or break time and it could be another first round OLB in next year's draft.

 

[SteelChip]

Yeah Blitz, maybe I should have combined the two starting safety spots, as both are huge unknowns right now. Definitely my biggest concern until we see these guys hit the field. I have nothing to base this on, but somewhere deep inside I have a feeling Shamarko is going to do well. I have no idea why I feel that way, just do. The Mike Mitchell story is becoming more disturbing by the day, seeing how he had so many issues last year, Holliman has shown nothing, Will Allen is on his last legs, et al. I wonder if Tombert aren't on the look-out to make another trade for some FS/SS depth. I can't see us going into the season with Robert Golden as our starting FS.

And there you have it...my vote

Unheralded Shamarko Thomas starting at SS
Constantly-injured Mike Mitchell starting at FS

I can't see us going into the season with Robert Golden as our starting FS.

Even that idea may be a ship that has sailed...we'll have to wait and see...
http://www.Invalid Link - Check SN ...oung-safeties-might-have-shot-at-roster-spot/

 

[bermudasteel]

Picking option one was obvious; but, I still don't understand why Landry Jones has a job on this team...

 

[Coach]

There's been a lot of focus on guys like Jarvis Jones, who's yet to hit his stride.

I was wondering, which is the biggest area of concern for you right now, looking at this roster? Is it JJ or someone else? Take into account the player in question, the depth behind him, as well as the effect it would have on wins-losses if things don't go as planned.

I would say the secondary in general, outside of William Gay. Jarvis is a question mark, but Harrison is better, and we have good looking rookies.

 

[oicu8ad]

Conventional wisdom says LBs, the CBs, but I'm going Safety.

We have no idea what we have in Shamarko. Mitchell has shown us nothing (but ****** play) and blames that on playing injured with groin injuries. If it was bad enough to hurt your play, GTFO and next man up!! Now a hamstring?? I'm hoping to be pleasantly surprised and hope he bounces back.

For the OLBs, I have a feeling that Moats will impress a lot of people and hope that Jarvis comes out like he did last year and stays healthy. Can't wait to see what Bud can do. The arrow is pointing up.
For the ILBs, I'm excited about Shazier / Timmons and glad we have quality backups in Williams / Spence.

For the CBs, I'm liking the Boykin pickup and I think / hope that Allen bounces back ala Ike Taylor. I also think our DL will apply some more pressure and cover up some of the flaws in the secondary.

So, I'm going safety. Can't be much worse than last year though.

 

[Steel Ballin]

1) Jarvis
2) Cortez
3) safties
4) Shazier

...in that order. If the first 3 don't step up then this team goes nowhere.

 

[xjx]

Jarvis and Mitchell are the biggest weakness on defense. Jarvis has not proved anything and he get manhandled easily. Mitchell commits personal fouls regularly. These two will cost us games. I hope the coaches make some changes.

 

[SteelerAl]

To me the answer is simply injuries. We need the O-line and the Big 3 on offense to stay healthy and threaten to score 30 points / game. That will give the defense the opportunity to rush the passer and get turnovers. I think we will get enough QB pressure out of our 4-man rotation at OLB, given that the defense will be different this year --- we're going to turn Tuitt and Heyward loose on the QB so we're not completely dependent on the OLB for sacks.

 

[tapeANaspirin2it]

it has to be Jarvis and the OLBs. Pass rush is everything in the NFL now because it is practically illegal to have tight coverage. That means even a talented secondary needs a pass rush or they are dead.

Shazier should be very involved in coverage. Mitchell should be healthy. Boykin is an upgrade. Gay is solid. The secondary should be good enough if there is a decent pass rush.

You also have to consider the steeler offense should be putting up lots of points. This means the defense will probably face a lot of passing as team try to catch up. That makes pass rush an even bigger need. They need a rotation of fresh pass rushers.

 

[stillwright]

I picked JJ and the OLB spots also. I am curious how our DLine preforms their new duties. Will them forcing pressure help free up our LBers? I am hoping they can create pressure themselves at times and create TO's. TO's will be the key for us.....we need to start seeing some.

 

[keslerclan]

IMO, the OL depth is by far the most tenuous situation. We will undoubtedly be relying on our offense to win games this year as nobody really has anything to go on regarding how our D will perform.

What we know is our offense has the ability to score more points than we're used to. With one or more of our starting OTs, we will enter the "Mike Adams Zone"...this is scary.

What we know for sure about our defense is that we have SOME average performers in positions which require better than average performers. Historically, we have had those better than average performers. This year is different. If we lose our starting ROLB, we actually IMPROVE at the position. If we lose Shazier, we might also improve over what he has put on tape so far by playing his replacement. If we lose a CB and are forced to play his back-up...we might actually get better. It won't be too hard to improve on the play of both of our Safeties performances from last year.

Obviously, Ben and his crew are paramount but we know we will have an immediate drop of talent without them. On this defense, nobody (short of Timmons, Heyward and Harrison) has put enough "gotta have that guy" performances on tape to be missed. Hell, we might even get a pleasant surprise. This D has it's work cut out for it but nobody knows what to expect from most of the starters, let alone their primary back-ups. The OL is a different story. We've seen what they can do when healthy and an injury to a critical position like LT will immediately put either a historically below-average performer in his place or a guy who was chasing the Taliban around the desert not so long ago at LT.

 

[ark steel]

IMO, the OL depth is by far the most tenuous situation. We will undoubtedly be relying on our offense to win games this year as nobody really has anything to go on regarding how our D will perform.

What we know is our offense has the ability to score more points than we're used to. With one or more of our starting OTs, we will enter the "Mike Adams Zone"...this is scary.

What we know for sure about our defense is that we have SOME average performers in positions which require better than average performers. Historically, we have had those better than average performers. This year is different. If we lose our starting ROLB, we actually IMPROVE at the position. If we lose Shazier, we might also improve over what he has put on tape so far by playing his replacement. If we lose a CB and are forced to play his back-up...we might actually get better. It won't be too hard to improve on the play of both of our Safeties performances from last year.

Obviously, Ben and his crew are paramount but we know we will have an immediate drop of talent without them. On this defense, nobody (short of Timmons, Heyward and Harrison) has put enough "gotta have that guy" performances on tape to be missed. Hell, we might even get a pleasant surprise. This D has it's work cut out for it but nobody knows what to expect from most of the starters, let alone their primary back-ups. The OL is a different story. We've seen what they can do when healthy and an injury to a critical position like LT will immediately put either a historically below-average performer in his place or a guy who was chasing the Taliban around the desert not so long ago at LT.

Good points. It only took one season of a healthy OL to get spoiled.

If Pounce or Foster go down, Wallace can hold down the fort for a few games and, I think, we are still OK. At OT, we are, definitely, in trouble, if Beachum goes down. If it is Gilbert, we can add a TE to help and still do something. Probably, limits the O a little. Not sure about DeCastro going down. May also just change what we CAN do, but able to do some other things OK.

 

[swal75]

Mitchell threw up such a bad performance last year that I think it has to be him. Hated the signing when it happened, hate it even more after watching a year of his ****** and reckless play. Always a step slow for a "burner" on the 40 yard dash. Always headhunting which is not going to fly under current rules. He sucks and I guess they didn't want to throw the money away on him that they had already spent, but c'mon. Why is he back? Would already be on my Mt. Rushmore of most hated Steelers. There's a reason he was a street free agent the year before we gave him money. And when that great day comes and we finally man up and cut him, he'll be a street free agent again.

 

[stillwright]

Mitchell threw up such a bad performance last year that I think it has to be him. Hated the signing when it happened, hate it even more after watching a year of his ****** and reckless play. Always a step slow for a "burner" on the 40 yard dash. Always headhunting which is not going to fly under current rules. He sucks and I guess they didn't want to throw the money away on him that they had already spent, but c'mon. Why is he back? Would already be on my Mt. Rushmore of most hated Steelers. There's a reason he was a street free agent the year before we gave him money. And when that great day comes and we finally man up and cut him, he'll be a street free agent again.

Well he did play with 2 torn groin muscles last season.