Joe Starkey: Despite massive losses, Kevin Colbert has Steelers in good position

[polamalubeast]

Most franchises would be devastated. Three of the NFL’s biggest stars, still in their primes, suddenly lopped from the roster?

Who survives that?

The Steelers will. The heavy lifting for this offseason is finished, and the depth chart looks contender-capable. Maybe not 1978 Steelers-capable, but certainly good enough to make this team one of a handful with legitimate designs on the Super Bowl.

That is largely a testament to general manager Kevin Colbert, who, despite drafting from the nethermost regions of every round, nearly every year, has cobbled together a quality roster.

Nobody wants to hear that. The focus tends to drift toward the failures, and there have been more than a few of those at certain positions. Namely cornerback and outside linebacker aside from T.J. Watt (although the Steelers seem to view Bud Dupree the way the Penguins view Dominik Simon; which is to say, far more favorably than the population at-large).

Generally speaking, all things considered? Colbert has the Steelers in excellent position.

Think about the players they lost in barely a year …

— Ryan Shazier was a rising star linebacker, a legitimate Defensive Player of the Year candidate, when he sustained a devastating injury.

— Le’Veon Bell was one of the better running backs in the league when his contract issues exploded, ultimately landing him in New York.

— Antonio Brown was arguably the best wide receiver in football when his contract-motivated conniption turned him into “Mr. Big Chest” and landed him in Oakland.

Let me ask again: Who survives that?

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https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/...er_PGSportsNow

[Edman]

I fully expect the Offense to take a step back this year. Even quite a few steps back. AB and Jesse James are gone. The personnel isn’t there anymore to be slinging it 40-50 times a game like last year.

The question here is, will the Steelers chase passing statistics or run an offense that works?

But at the same time, the Defense should improve. On paper at least.

[polamalubeast]

I fully expect the Offense to take a step back this year. Even quite a few steps back. AB and Jesse James are gone. The personnel isn’t there anymore to be slinging it 40-50 times a game like last year.

The question here is, will the Steelers chase passing statistics or run an offense that works?

But at the same time, the Defense should improve. On paper at least.

That's the key ... If steelers try again to be the greatest show on turf, they will have no chance...Even when our offense was loaded, they were not close to winning anything special.

I think steelers will survive if they have the right mindset, on and off the field.This roster is far from bad, but they need to have the right mindset and have the focus at the right place.

[steelreserve]

They left Munchak off the list ... If his replacement isn't up to par, that's like losing 2 or 3 good players. DeCastro and Pouncey turn into "good individual players on a bad line," the other starters turn into liabilities, and your backups and your mid-round draft picks for all eternity become imbeciles who shouldn't even be on a football field.

[Edman]

That's the key ... If steelers try again to be the greatest show on turf, they will have no chance...Even when our offense was loaded, they were not close to winning anything special.

I think steelers will survive if they have the right mindset, on and off the field. This roster is far from bad, but they need to have the right mindset and have the focus at the right place.

This game perfectly encapsulates the failed Killer B Era of Steelers football.

http://www.espn.com/nfl/game?gameId=400999181

At absolute full strength (Ben, Bell, Brown, Bryant, Juju, O-Line), the Steelers Offense lost a shootout with Grocery bagger Blake Bortles at home. Nothing more needs to be said. Looking back, Should we really be shocked everything fell apart in 2018?

They left Munchak off the list ... If his replacement isn't up to par, that's like losing 2 or 3 good players. DeCastro and Pouncey turn into "good individual players on a bad line," the other starters turn into liabilities, and your backups and your mid-round draft picks for all eternity become imbeciles who shouldn't even be on a football field.

Shaun Sarrett was under Munchak for a couple years, so the O-Line shouldn't see that much of a dropoff.

[El-Gonzo Jackson]

They left Munchak off the list ... If his replacement isn't up to par, that's like losing 2 or 3 good players. DeCastro and Pouncey turn into "good individual players on a bad line," the other starters turn into liabilities, and your backups and your mid-round draft picks for all eternity become imbeciles who shouldn't even be on a football field.

Lets just face that very few O line coaches will be up to par with Munchak. Still, the group is a veteran one and his understudy may have gleaned sufficient knowledge from him to be a very good O line coach. If not, then he will likely be replaced in a season or 2, but I am hopeful that guys like Chuks, Gray, Feiler, RJ Prince, Hawkins etc, continue to become better with his coaching.

I think a solid O line like this, with a good QB and enough receiving and running threats around can still make this a productive offense. I hope Fichtner improves his situational playcalling too. Defensively, the talent pool just got better IMO, with Nelson, Bush, Barron, Buggs, Gilbert III, Layne and Sutton. Lets just hope Keith Butler doesn't put Buggs on the other team's slot receiver.

[polamalubeast]

This game perfectly encapsulates the failed Killer B Era of Steelers football.

http://www.espn.com/nfl/game?gameId=400999181

At absolute full strength (Ben, Bell, Brown, Bryant, Juju, O-Line), the Steelers Offense lost a shootout with Grocery bagger Blake Bortles at home. Nothing more needs to be said. Looking back, Should we really be shocked everything fell apart in 2018?

For me, it's the most embarrassing loss in steelers history...I know, the Tebow game is another, but I do not think the 2011 Steelers was a true contender.

The loss in 2017 against the Jaguars was a big big shame, for many reasons, since the steelers had 9 pro bowl in uniform for this game, the jaguars were the second worst team in this decade after the Cleveland Browns and the focus on a few players and coachs like Tomlin, Mitchell,Bell and etc were on the Patriots or others things.

Too many ME first players in this team and it was just a matter of time before this team implode.

[pczach]

For me, it's the most embarrassing loss in steelers history...I know, the Tebow game is another, but I do not think the 2011 Steelers was a true contender.

The loss in 2017 against the Jaguars was a big big shame, for many reasons, since the steelers had 9 pro bowl in uniform for this game, the jaguars were the second worst team in this decade after the Cleveland Browns and the focus on a few players and coachs like Tomlin, Mitchell,Bell and etc were on the Patriots or others things.

Too many ME first players in this team and it was just a matter of time before this team implode.

I understand that you're disappointed in that loss, but the offense put up 42 points on the best defense in football. They had 9 Pro Bowlers, but how many were on the defensive side of the ball? Plus, Shazier went down for the season and possibly his career a couple weeks earlier. That was a huge hit. A hit that they have been feeling since December 4, 2017.

I mean, if we're going to rip the offense when they put up 42 on a dominant defense....I really don't even know how to respond to that. Sure they made some mistakes in the game, but they were playing against a great​ defense, and a team should win 100 times out of 100 in a playoff game when you drop 42. They didn't lose the game because of the offense. They lost the game because they couldn't get stops against an anemic offensive team with a shitty QB.

[polamalubeast]

I understand that you're disappointed in that loss, but the offense put up 42 points on the best defense in football. They had 9 Pro Bowlers, but how many were on the defensive side of the ball? Plus, Shazier went down for the season and possibly his career a couple weeks earlier. That was a huge hit. A hit that they have been feeling since December 4, 2017.

I mean, if we're going to rip the offense when they put up 42 on a dominant defense....I really don't even know how to respond to that. Sure they made some mistakes in the game, but they were playing against a great​ defense, and a team should win 100 times out of 100 in a playoff game when you drop 42. They didn't lose the game because of the offense. They lost the game because they couldn't get stops against an anemic offensive team with a shitty QB.

I agree with the offense, though I do not think the steelers were good as the 42 points they scored, but of course the defense was a big problem, one of the reasons why I still do not understand why Butler has yet again this job(but that's another story) but my biggest problem was the focus and other things like the locker room was really too loose before this game and the comments from Tomlin to Tony Dungy in November was a major mistake and a very bad message to the team.

Losing against Bortles at home is a horrible feeling.

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[pczach]

I agree with the offense, though I do not think the steelers were good as the 42 points they scored, but of course the defense was a big problem, one of the reasons why I still do not understand why Butler has yet again this job(but that's another story) but my biggest problem was the focus and other things like the locker room was really too loose before this game and the comments from Tomlin to Tony Dungy in November was a major mistake and a very bad message to the team

No doubt that Tomlin made some mistakes, but I was commenting directly to your criticism of the team and specifically the offense. Remember...that Jaguars defense was fierce. That defense allowed 16.8 points/game. Surprisingly, their offense was actually 5th in the NFL in points scored as well. Better than I thought.

[Bluecoat96]

Lets just face that very few O line coaches will be up to par with Munchak. Still, the group is a veteran one and his understudy may have gleaned sufficient knowledge from him to be a very good O line coach. If not, then he will likely be replaced in a season or 2, but I am hopeful that guys like Chuks, Gray, Feiler, RJ Prince, Hawkins etc, continue to become better with his coaching.

I think a solid O line like this, with a good QB and enough receiving and running threats around can still make this a productive offense. I hope Fichtner improves his situational playcalling too. Defensively, the talent pool just got better IMO, with Nelson, Bush, Barron, Buggs, Gilbert III, Layne and Sutton. Lets just hope Keith Butler doesn't put Buggs on the other team's slot receiver.

I think Sarrett will be just fine. Keep in mind how he helped the o line when he took over for Bicknell before Munchak.

Sent from my XT1710-02 using Tapatalk

[polamalubeast]

No doubt that Tomlin made some mistakes, but I was commenting directly to your criticism of the team and specifically the offense. Remember...that Jaguars defense was fierce. That defense allowed 16.8 points/game. Surprisingly, their offense was actually 5th in the NFL in points scored as well. Better than I thought.

I was talking in general for this Steelers team and for the PPGs of the Jaguars in 2017, one of the big reasons was because their defense had like 7-8 defensive TDs in the year(0 in the entire season for the 2017 steelers).

To come back to the topic, I agree with Rod Woodson if the steelers have the right mindset,, which I think is more likely to happen this year

[steelreserve]

Lets just face that very few O line coaches will be up to par with Munchak. Still, the group is a veteran one and his understudy may have gleaned sufficient knowledge from him to be a very good O line coach. If not, then he will likely be replaced in a season or 2, but I am hopeful that guys like Chuks, Gray, Feiler, RJ Prince, Hawkins etc, continue to become better with his coaching.

I think a solid O line like this, with a good QB and enough receiving and running threats around can still make this a productive offense. I hope Fichtner improves his situational playcalling too. Defensively, the talent pool just got better IMO, with Nelson, Bush, Barron, Buggs, Gilbert III, Layne and Sutton. Lets just hope Keith Butler doesn't put Buggs on the other team's slot receiver.

Well, that's kind of the point. Just like Brown was the best receiver in the game, Bell was (arguably) the best all-around RB in the game, and Shazier was one of the best LBs in the game, Munchak was a first-team All-Pro at what he did. Coaches like that don't grow on trees; we had him, we lost him, and it sucks. It's hard to find a replacement for any of those.

Hopefully the players who worked with him are going to retain most of what they already know and not regress, meaning we'll be ok for a couple years regardless ... on the other hand, how much of Munchak's impact was game planning and film breakdowns, and helping guys with communication and adjustments in-game? If he was the "glue" that got them all working together properly as a unit, that could mean a step back sooner than we think. I hope not.

[HollywoodSteel]

I understand that you're disappointed in that loss, but the offense put up 42 points on the best defense in football. They had 9 Pro Bowlers, but how many were on the defensive side of the ball? Plus, Shazier went down for the season and possibly his career a couple weeks earlier. That was a huge hit. A hit that they have been feeling since December 4, 2017.

I mean, if we're going to rip the offense when they put up 42 on a dominant defense....I really don't even know how to respond to that. Sure they made some mistakes in the game, but they were playing against a great​ defense, and a team should win 100 times out of 100 in a playoff game when you drop 42. They didn't lose the game because of the offense. They lost the game because they couldn't get stops against an anemic offensive team with a shitty QB.

This is exactly what I was going to say. Criticize the offense for underperforming in certain situations if you want, but this is NOT the game to use as an example.

It’s silly to frame it as a shoot out between Ben and Bortles. If Ben and the offense played every game as well they did against that VERY IMPRESSIVE Jags defense, we’d have no complaints about the offense under achieving EVER.

[Fire Goodell]

This game perfectly encapsulates the failed Killer B Era of Steelers football.

http://www.espn.com/nfl/game?gameId=400999181

At absolute full strength (Ben, Bell, Brown, Bryant, Juju, O-Line), the Steelers Offense lost a shootout with Grocery bagger Blake Bortles at home. Nothing more needs to be said. Looking back, Should we really be shocked everything fell apart in 2018?



Shaun Sarrett was under Munchak for a couple years, so the O-Line shouldn't see that much of a dropoff.

High Powered offenses usually make headlines but rarely ever win a championship. The Killer B's / Young Money crew had a lot in common with the Chargers of the 2000's era. Sure they had a lot of shiny toys and lit up the scoreboard, but 0 championships and were usually one and done in the playoffs.

[Edman]

This is exactly what I was going to say. Criticize the offense for underperforming in certain situations if you want, but this is NOT the game to use as an example.

It’s silly to frame it as a shoot out between Ben and Bortles. If Ben and the offense played every game as well they did against that VERY IMPRESSIVE Jags defense, we’d have no complaints about the offense under achieving EVER.

The Steelers were down 21-0 and 28-7 at one point, and the offense didn't come to life until after Ben turned the ball over twice and the game was basically over. Combine that with a crappy Defense, and it was curtains.

Yeah, I think that game perfectly sums up the era. I'm glad its over and its time to move on from this mess.

[Fire Goodell]

Who knows, what if the Steelers actually got better with losing AB and Bell?

Sure a 3 and 5 rd pick isnt much, but having those picks had to factor into trading up for Devin Bush. Oakland's rd. 3 pick was basically a late round 2 pick value wise.

What would've been a 1 year salary for Bell got us much needed depth on the roster (Moncrief / Barron / Nelson). Barron, Nelson, and Bush should be definite upgrades to the defense which on paper, now looks respectable. Could even be really good.

Last year, we were 2 missed field goals away from a #2 seed, so I don't think Bell's loss was a huge factor. Losing AB is definitely a hit in talent, but is the Steeler O good enough to win? Yes. And with an improved defense, double yes.

My only disappointment was I was hoping for a big upgrade at TE. However, it's been proven that hoping TJ Hockenson fell to us was a big time pipe dream, and there was no way we'd get a Devin and Fant. And well, I guess I'm not disappointed at all we drafted Devin Bush. It definitely addresses the weakest spot on our team atm. Now I'm hoping McDonald can stay healthy for a 2nd season in a row, since the drop off after him is pretty huge.

[hawaiiansteeler]

My only disappointment was I was hoping for a big upgrade at TE. However, it's been proven that hoping TJ Hockenson fell to us was a big time pipe dream, and there was no way we'd get a Devin and Fant. And well, I guess I'm not disappointed at all we drafted Devin Bush. It definitely addresses the weakest spot on our team atm. Now I'm hoping McDonald can stay healthy for a 2nd season in a row, since the drop off after him is pretty huge.

I think our 2nd string TE this season is on another team's roster right now...

[JimHarbaugh'ssoakedtissue]

Colbert had a great draft a couple years ago and think he nailed this one and that is all it takes. As for the Jags please run the ball if we face them! Ben is a INT king facing them and that D just owns him.

[hawaiiansteeler]

As for the Jags please run the ball if we face them! Ben is a INT king facing them and that D just owns him.

we don't play them this season...

[JimHarbaugh'ssoakedtissue]

we don't play them this season...

Thank God! I'm surprised we pulled out the win last year. Who knows could face them in the playoffs though again.

[Fire Goodell]

Thank God! I'm surprised we pulled out the win last year. Who knows could face them in the playoffs though again.

I am too, but we really should have lost that game. It seemed like we got beat up the entire game, and they ended up losing it more than we won it. I'm always grateful for a W in the win/loss column, but that game felt more like a loss

[hawaiiansteeler]

Thank God! I'm surprised we pulled out the win last year. Who knows could face them in the playoffs though again.

[JimHarbaugh'ssoakedtissue]

I am too, but we really should have lost that game. It seemed like we got beat up the entire game, and they ended up losing it more than we won it. I'm always grateful for a W in the win/loss column, but that game felt more like a loss

Yep exactly how I felt about that game.

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Haha I think we will be there and maybe them too and think they just had a off year as well.

[polamalubeast]

Yes the steelers could have had a bye week in the playoffs if they would have won a few close games that they lost, but they also won games where they could easily have lost, like the game against the Jaguars and the two games against Bengals

Their Points differencial was 7th in the AFC .... every team in the AFC who made the playoffs had a better points differential than the steelers ... so they got what they deserved .... I do not think the Steelers were unlucky last year.

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In 2017,the steelers won a lot of close game....8-2 decided in one possession or less vs 2-5 for the Ravens.

[st33lersguy]

In 2017,the steelers won a lot of close game....8-2 decided in one possession or less vs 2-5 for the Ravens.

Steelers also had a comparable point differential to those same Ravens.

[polamalubeast]

Steelers also had a comparable point differential to those same Ravens.

Yes....+ 98 for the 13-3 Steelers,+ 92 for the 9-7 Ravens...We can't win every closes game....

[Fire Goodell]

Fuck the ravens

[hawaiiansteeler]

Fuck the ravens

[polamalubeast]