5 Areas of Improvement for Steelers in 2018

[GBMelBlount]

Most of the conversation this offseason about the Pittsburgh Steelers has centered on the bad stuff. Questions about how to replace Ryan Shazier, Le’Veon Bell’s contract and perceived lack of activity in free agency. But the bottom line is this team is better in many ways. Here are the five big ways the Steelers have improved since the end of last season.

1. No Todd Haley

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https://steelerswire.usatoday.com/20...last-season/5/

[st33lersguy]

1. Thank god. From the numerous bubble screens to start game 1 against Cleveland to his boneheaded playcalling on 4th and 1 against the Jacksonville Jackasses, Haley showed his stupidity throughout. His stupidity was the main reason they lost to the Cheats last year

2. I must disagree. This is Butler's 4th year, and he has shown very little as a DC. His defense has been gashed for the vast majority of his 3 years. He should have been canned

3. Reading this, it looks like they were talking more about depth which they got a lot of. Burnett will probably make the biggest impact, as Edmunds is raw and likely won't make the impact needed until 2019.

4. Not really subtraction, more like just an upgrade. No reason to think Washington won't make some sort of immediate impact commensurate for a no. 3 WR, and at this point they need more high character guys

5. I will agree RB depth is better. Should set them up to not have to pay $17 million a year to one man at the position

[Cyphon25]

Disagree with the majority of this article.

- First is, Todd Haley was a pretty good OC and Fichtner has never been an OC at this level. So we go from proven success to a complete unknown. The only potential upgrade is keeping Ben happy and it isn't like Ben was having bad seasons under Haley just because they didn't get along. So no, don't see this as an area of improvement.

- I partially agree with the Butler thing. Any offseason further along in a career should be of great benefit. However, one of the specific points mentioned here was communication but I am not sure how that is going to improve with so many new pieces and moving parts. Burnett is new, Davis might be changing positions, and then we have 2 rookies to throw into the mix as well.

- The best way to get me to agree would simply be to say addition by subtraction in getting rid of Mitchell, outside of that we just have no clue what this group is and it ties back to point 2.

- Again, I am only maybe 50/50 in agreement here. Yes Bryant brought drama but nobody on the team ever questioned his effort and nothing on film showed a lack of effort on Bryants part. It is always good to lose some drama but on the flipside we have traded a potentially great receiver for a rookie who has yet to prove anything at an NFL level. So again, not sure how this is an overall improvement.

- And one more disagreement to add in lol. Conner was healthy most of last season and barely touched the football because he was a liability in pass protection. So unless that has improved his being healthy right now isn't all that relevant. Samuels isn't even a lock to make the roster so his versatility might not mean anything. Even if he does make the roster I haven't found a great scenario where he sees many snaps. Who do you take off of the field to get snaps for Samuels?

[DesertSteel]

- Again, I am only maybe 50/50 in agreement here. Yes Bryant brought drama but nobody on the team ever questioned his effort and nothing on film showed a lack of effort on Bryants part. It is always good to lose some drama but on the flipside we have traded a potentially great receiver for a rookie who has yet to prove anything at an NFL level. So again, not sure how this is an overall improvement.

Really? I saw effort issues plenty last year. By the disgusting looks on Ben's face, I'd saw Ben saw them too.

[Cyphon25]

Really? I saw effort issues plenty last year. By the disgusting looks on Ben's face, I'd saw Ben saw them too.

I chalked that up to miscues, not necessarily effort. Bryant thinking the ball wasn't coming his way so he slows down or starts drifting.

Although even with that, Bryant ended the season on a strong note and seemed happier. I think having him this year playing for his next contract would have been really good for us. Not that I am against them trading him, but I don't see being without him as an upgrade either.

[ALLD]

They need more discipline and consistency. They also need to beat poor teams and stack wins early.

[st33lersguy]

Areas I see improvements in personally:

1. OC: Haley is gone, thank god. I have no idea how good Fichtner is and he may end up being an Arians clone, but at least Ben will have a better relationship and at least there is a chance we won't have an OC trying to show off how big of an idiot he is with his numerous idiotic playcalls

2. Defensive back coach: Gone is Lake, who while he may have been a great player was a terrible coach who consistently failed to develop the defensive backs. Enter Tom Bradley a guy with experience who works on tackling


3. Some baggage gone: Bryant was a cancer and a locker room nuisance they no longer have to deal with (they also no longer have to deal with his crazy girlfriend). Additionally, they don't have to deal with Mike Mitchell running his mouth while getting burned. The fewer the baggage the better off a team is, speaking of Mitchell


4. Safety upgrade: Replacing Mitchell with Morgan Burnett at safety is a BIG upgrade. There are concerns about age and injury, but at least he won't get burned as often as Mitchell did. Also out is Golden and Wilcox and in is backup Nat Berhe and rookies Edmunds and Allen. Who knows how good Berhe or the rookies will be but at the very least they can't possibly be as bad as Golden was