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Sleeping on Steelers is a Dangerous Proposition

Change happens. It doesn't mean the Pittsburgh Steelers are taking an off year.

Cody Flavell

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Watching a football game without a trace of Ben Roethlisberger on the sidelines is going to be weird. This version of the Pittsburgh Steelers will still have Mike Tomlin at the helm; however, it will be Mitch Trubisky and Kenny Pickett generating the headlines at the quarterback position for Pittsburgh.

It is going to be an interesting season in the Steel City, without a doubt. Heinz…I mean, Acrisure Stadium will play host to a solid home schedule where the Steelers will see New England, Tampa Bay, Oakland, New Orleans, and the Jets amongst their divisional rivals as well. It won’t be easy, but the Steelers home crowd always gets up.

Despite what Roethlisberger said earlier this week about his performance, it’s clear to see that his time had come, and retirement was the best option for him. That’s what makes this season so interesting.

Trubisky, a 2017 number two overall pick, will likely take snaps under center when the Steelers offense takes the field in week one. He spent a few years in a dreadful Chicago Bears offense before they moved on from him in favor of Justin Fields. He moved on to Buffalo last season and sat behind Josh Allen in the electric Bills offense.

The Steelers don’t know what they’ll get from him. It’s his first real opportunity, so he’s going to have a chance to make a lot of noise.

He’ll potentially have a lot of weapons to use as he navigates his way through this season.

JuJu Smith-Schuster has moved on, but the Steelers still have enough firepower in the receiver room to help Trubisky out.

Diontae Johnson has a lot to prove this season. He’s without a deal for next season, and he has to prove to the Steelers - and the rest of the NFL if he hits the open market - that he is worth the money being handed out to the game’s top receivers. Chase Claypool certainly has some growing up to do, but he’s also got loads of talent if he decides to use it. Add in draft picks George Pickens and Calvin Austin III, and there are a handful of wide receivers who could make a huge difference.

Don’t forget about that tight end room, either. Pat Freiermuth arrived on the scene last year and did nothing but catch 60 passes, seven of them for touchdowns, and showed he could be the red zone tight end that the Steelers have lacked since Heath Miller.

Pittsburgh also invested their first-rounder last season in Najee Harris, a big running back out of Alabama that showed flashes of potential behind a porous offensive line.

That offensive line was added to in the offseason through the free agent wire in hopes that they can improve upon last season. Truthfully, it would be hard not to improve.

All of this goes without mentioning the highest-paid defense in the NFL.

Minkah Fitzpatrick got paid handsomely. Larry Ogunjobi was added up front to assist in the run-stopping game after the Steelers were amongst the worst against the run last season, a rarity in Steelers country.

Yet so many national pundits are counting the Steelers way out of things.

Pittsburgh is currently 10/1 to win their division and more than 3/1 to even make the playoffs. Their season wins total sits at 7.5. In many ways, we are being told to put very little stock in the Steelers this season.

There’s a real chance the Steelers can sneak into the playoffs with this roster. We have no idea if Trubisky is going to be as bad as he was in Chicago. He can’t be much worse. Hopefully, the defense will be at full strength this year, and if TJ Watt stays healthy, the defense is always better because of it. He’s a difference maker.

Even Chris Boswell has been one of the most reliable kickers in the NFL. So when the Steelers need an important three points, he’s money about 90% of the time.

There’s obviously the Mike Tomlin factor as well. The Steelers have never had a losing season under his tutelage. He’s been blessed with Ben Roethlisberger for all of that time as well. But even when the Steelers had to deal with Mason Rudolph and Devlin freakin’ Hodges as their quarterback, they did so to the tune of a .500 record.

Mitch Trubisky, and Kenny Pickett, for that matter, are better than Duck Hodges.

I wouldn’t quite count the Steelers out. I don’t think they’ll win their division. But that doesn’t mean the Steelers couldn’t compete and sneak into the playoffs as the wild card, much like they did last season.

It didn’t end well for them, but they made it nonetheless. And that team had a quarterback that was on his last leg. This one has a youthful exuberance about them that wouldn’t have me shoving them aside quite yet.

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Cody Flavell
CODY FLAVELL

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