ESPN’s Riddick Bullish On 2019 Steelers Despite Key Offseason Subtractions: ‘They Are Loaded For Bear

[polamalubeast]

Are you buying the recent hard push in the media that the Pittsburgh Steelers will be a better team in 2019 than they were in 2018 as a result of ridding themselves of two huge distractions in wide receiver Antonio Brown and running back Le’Veon Bell? On the surface, ‘an addition by subtraction’ narrative is certainly being pushed hard by a few major media NFL analysts and it’s hard to ignore.

Last week, former Steelers running back Merril Hoge, who is a longtime NFL analyst for EPSN, said he likes the chances of the 2019 Pittsburgh team winning it all better than he did last year’s team. Hoge’s optimism for the 2019 Steelers is a result of them seemingly being more of a team this offseason with Brown and Bell now out of the picture. On Monday, another ESPN NFL analyst, Louis Riddick, was asked to give his thoughts on the 2019 Steelers and the possibility of addition by subtraction being a noteworthy this offseason and especially with those main subtractions being two great offensive players in Brown and Bell.

“I definitely am a believer in addition by subtraction,” Riddick said Monday morning. “I’m a big believer in chemistry. I’m a big believer in unity, brotherhood and having a healthy culture within the locker room. And look, Mike’s [Mike Tomlin] never just going to come out and say, ‘yeah, the wheels had come off and I lost control of my football team.’ That wouldn’t serve him any good, individually, and it wouldn’t serve their franchise any good, collectively. But I think there’s no doubt that there seems to be a renewed sense of togetherness, a renewed sense of, you know, we’re trying to get after this division, this conference, overall and we’re trying to make a run at this Super Bowl and we believe we still have the parts in place that we can do that.”

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https://steelersdepot.com/2019/07/es...aded-for-bear/

[DesertSteel]

I liked Riddick from day one. My kind of analyst.

[El-Gonzo Jackson]

I liked Riddick from day one. My kind of analyst.

I agree.

When Antowan Blake had a statistically good game against the Bengals and all the fans and talking heads were on his bandwagon, Riddick was one of the only guys that pointed out the flaws of Blake's game that made me worried about him. He has an eye for football and its no stretch that his name is floated around when there are GM openings.

Unity, brotherhood and a good locker room culture, that Riddick mentions, are all things that wont end up in advanced stats websites. That will be difficult for some to rationalize, because they cant put a number on it and all they see is the loss of 2 all pro players on offense. I'm still optimistic the Steelers can challenge for the division title or a wild card spot when the regular season is done.

[polamalubeast]

I agree.

When Antowan Blake had a statistically good game against the Bengals and all the fans and talking heads were on his bandwagon, Riddick was one of the only guys that pointed out the flaws of Blake's game that made me worried about him. He has an eye for football and its no stretch that his name is floated around when there are GM openings.

Unity, brotherhood and a good locker room culture, that Riddick mentions, are all things that wont end up in advanced stats websites. That will be difficult for some to rationalize, because they cant put a number on it and all they see is the loss of 2 all pro players on offense. I'm still optimistic the Steelers can challenge for the division title or a wild card spot when the regular season is done.

I agree with the importance of the locker room culture ... I do not know why some seem to underestimate that but it's crucial to be a successful team ... Same thing for the leadership

It remains to be proven for the steelers if the chemistry is going to be good and we will see that when they are going to have adversity, but I have a good feeling about that.

I think the Browns have the most talented team of the AFC north, but I have doubts about how they will react when they are going to have adversity ... They are put way too much pressure on them too(like the steelers before the playoffs in the 2017 season) with a rookie who said the Browns are going to the super bowl and Odell who said the Browns want to become the Patriots

So I question the maturity and the leadership of this team, especially with a rookie HC and a very young team with very high expectations.....I believe the Steelers and Ravens are going to react much better if they have adversity in 2019....

[polamalubeast]

[Mojouw]

If someone on defense doesn't start causing turnovers, none of loaded for anything matters.

Takes about 25-30 turnovers on defense to hit that plus 10 or greater turnover margin that basically all SB partipants have.

Until the defense starts generating turnovers, I am tempering my expectations.

[polamalubeast]

If someone on defense doesn't start causing turnovers, none of loaded for anything matters.

Takes about 25-30 turnovers on defense to hit that plus 10 or greater turnover margin that basically all SB partipants have.

Until the defense starts generating turnovers, I am tempering my expectations.

It's not the number of turnovers that is the most important stats (of course we must not be in the bottom 5 again) .... It's the timing of its turnovers that are important. Create a turnovers that change completely the field position or changes the momentum of the game which is important.

[El-Gonzo Jackson]

I agree with the importance of the locker room culture ... I do not know why some seem to underestimate that but it's crucial to be a successful team ... Same thing for the leadership

...

Lets face it. most teams in the upper 1/2 of the NFL are very talented. If men cant get along, have disagreements and get past them...then the attitudes and mindsets of individuals can get in the way of the team maximizing that talent into effort and performance.

All of us can probably think of somebody in sports or our jobs that was seemingly talented and had it all going for them, but was kind of caustic towards the team. I can think of some dicks that were on the same team as I, but were actually really good teammates. There is something to be said for team chemistry.

[Mojouw]

It's not the number of turnovers that is the most important stats (of course we must not be in the bottom 5 again) .... It's the timing of its turnovers that are important. Create a turnovers that change completely the field position or changes the momentum of the game which is important.

Of course. Context always matters. But you are not winning much without being about plus 10-12 on the turnover margin. Figure you give away 12-20 on offense, so that means you need about 2 turnovers a game on defense.

This team has a LONG way to go to get to that point.

[polamalubeast]

Of course. Context always matters. But you are not winning much without being about plus 10-12 on the turnover margin. Figure you give away 12-20 on offense, so that means you need about 2 turnovers a game on defense.

This team has a LONG way to go to get to that point.

+ 10 or more is too much to ask and I do not think steelers need that .... I mean, steelers have always been great in yards in offense or even defense ... The thing that the steelers need in the turnovers is not to be in the negative like last year ... in fact if the steelers are at +5 or something like that, the steelers should be fine to have a good playoffs seed.

[Mojouw]

+ 10 or more is too much to ask and I do not think steelers need that .... I mean, steelers have always been great in yards in offense or even defense ... The thing that the steelers need in the turnovers is not to be in the negative like last year ... in fact if the steelers are at +5 or something like that, the steelers should be fine to have a good playoffs seed.

Actually, no. Since the 2012 season, all but 3 of the Super Bowl participants have been at least +10 in the turnover margin (roughly 80% have been over the +10 threshold). Only the 2017 Patriots (+6), the 2015 Broncos (-4), and the 2013 Broncos (0) have been below that bar. If you expand it to playoff teams, you get even more of a correlation between being + double digits and winning things in the NFL.

While +10 may be too much to ask for this defensive roster, it is about the bare minimum to ask for a Super Bowl champion.

This is why I think that expectations get too outsized for this team on an annual basis. The media scans the names on the roster and plays "Madden Football Ratings" and says "This team is good! They should win all the things!" Then we all buy into it and get pissed when the team falls short of expectations and goes 9-7 or 10-6 and out in the first round of the playoffs (or worse). But there is an incredibly strong causal relationship between double digit positive turnover margin and winning in the NFL. And the recent defensive roster has essentially been some dudes who do not cause turnovers and Ryan Shazier. Of course, I need to point out that the 2008 (+4) and the 2011 (-13) Steelers teams prove that it is possible to overcome lack of turnovers.

[polamalubeast]

Actually, no. Since the 2012 season, all but 3 of the Super Bowl participants have been at least +10 in the turnover margin (roughly 80% have been over the +10 threshold). Only the 2017 Patriots (+6), the 2015 Broncos (-4), and the 2013 Broncos (0) have been below that bar. If you expand it to playoff teams, you get even more of a correlation between being + double digits and winning things in the NFL.

While +10 may be too much to ask for this defensive roster, it is about the bare minimum to ask for a Super Bowl champion.

This is why I think that expectations get too outsized for this team on an annual basis. The media scans the names on the roster and plays "Madden Football Ratings" and says "This team is good! They should win all the things!" Then we all buy into it and get pissed when the team falls short of expectations and goes 9-7 or 10-6 and out in the first round of the playoffs (or worse). But there is an incredibly strong causal relationship between double digit positive turnover margin and winning in the NFL. And the recent defensive roster has essentially been some dudes who do not cause turnovers and Ryan Shazier. Of course, I need to point out that the 2008 (+4) and the 2011 (-13) Steelers teams prove that it is possible to overcome lack of turnovers.

I understand your point, but when you are in the playoffs, the turnovers ratio in regular season not guarantee that you will have the same results in the playoffs.

I mean, the Pats have created only 1 turnovers in their playoffs game against the Chiefs and the rams ... They did not win the super bowl because they were + 10 or better in the regular season .... Maybe that helped to win some game in the regular season, but nothing to do with what happened in the playoffs.

Protecting the ball is more important as playoffs time, since it's something you can control a bit more .... Eli Manning led the league for interceptions in 2007, but he only had 1 interception in the playoffs, so sometimes regular season stats have no impact on the things they are going to get in the playoffs.

And you do not always need talent to create turnovers ... I mean, in 2015 outside of a young Ryan Shazier, Tuitt and Heyward, our defense was garbage in talent, but they created 30 turnovers (more than the 2008 defense! ) ... I do not want a team that has to rely too much on the dumb mistakes of the opponents!

Of course, when you can not have too many interception drop in a season ... it's a killer and it was a problem last year and it needs to be corrected.

[Mojouw]

I understand your point, but when you are in the playoffs, the turnovers ratio in regular season not guarantee that you will have the same results in the playoffs.

I mean, the Pats have created only 1 turnovers in their playoffs game against the Chiefs and the rams ... They did not win the super bowl because they were + 10 or better in the regular season .... Maybe that helped to win some game in the regular season, but nothing to do with what happened in the playoffs.

Protecting the ball is more important as playoffs time, since it's something you can control a bit more .... Eli Manning led the league for interceptions in 2007, but he only had 1 interception in the playoffs, so sometimes regular season stats have no impact on the things they are going to get in the playoffs.

And you do not always need talent to create turnovers ... I mean, in 2015 outside of a young Ryan Shazier, Tuitt and Heyward, our defense was garbage in talent, but they created 30 turnovers (more than the 2008 defense! ) ... I do not want a team that has to rely too much on the dumb mistakes of the opponents!

Of course, when you can not have too many interception drop in a season ... it's a killer and it was a problem last year and it needs to be corrected.

Fair enough. But creating turnovers on defense has a direct and incredibly strong relationship with not only winning but championship football teams. Looking over the last few years of the NFL landscape, no one is really stopping teams on defense. So generating "extra" possessions via turnover for your offense (who the other team will most likely fail to stop) is about the only sure-fire way of doing something on defense that slows the bleeding enough for your offense to pull out a victory.

As for the regular season versus postseason argument -- that is again very valid. But if regular season stats have no predictive or carry-over to the playoffs, then why do we worry about them at all? If we accept that you play how you practice then we should also accept that how you play during the regular season is a pretty good dress rehearsal for how you will play during the playoffs. If a team generates defensive turnovers, then regardless of talent level, that means the players are consistently around the ball and hitting the ball carrier early and often, they are likely generating a good degree of pass pressure and moving the QB off his spot, and the DBs are actively contesting the catch-point. Those are never bad things.

[polamalubeast]

Fair enough. But creating turnovers on defense has a direct and incredibly strong relationship with not only winning but championship football teams. Looking over the last few years of the NFL landscape, no one is really stopping teams on defense. So generating "extra" possessions via turnover for your offense (who the other team will most likely fail to stop) is about the only sure-fire way of doing something on defense that slows the bleeding enough for your offense to pull out a victory.

As for the regular season versus postseason argument -- that is again very valid. But if regular season stats have no predictive or carry-over to the playoffs, then why do we worry about them at all? If we accept that you play how you practice then we should also accept that how you play during the regular season is a pretty good dress rehearsal for how you will play during the playoffs. If a team generates defensive turnovers, then regardless of talent level, that means the players are consistently around the ball and hitting the ball carrier early and often, they are likely generating a good degree of pass pressure and moving the QB off his spot, and the DBs are actively contesting the catch-point. Those are never bad things.

I understand, but protecting the ball is much more important

For the turnovers on defense, they are important of course, but being good in the 3rd down, pressure on the QB, points against and something like that say a lot more on a quality of a defense, since I do not want a defense that life or dies on the turnovers or red zone defense, since against the elites QB and best team in the NFL, it does not work!

Of course, we must not be in the bottom 10 in the defense on turnovers and red zone defense, but if the steelers are average in the turnovers, but they are in the top 10 in almost any other important category, I will have more confidence this defense that a defense like the 2011 Green Bay Packers where they were first in the turnovers, but bad in almost every other stats.

[polamalubeast]

[st33lersguy]

It really is starting to feel like this is no longer underdogs and no longer flying under the radar. With all these pundits predicting that they will coalesce, bounce back, and rebound without Bell and AB, it is starting to feel like an expectation

[polamalubeast]

It really is starting to feel like this is no longer underdogs and no longer flying under the radar. With all these pundits predicting that they will coalesce, bounce back, and rebound without Bell and AB, it is starting to feel like an expectation

Nobody thinks the steelers are a playoffs lock or things like that

[hawaiiansteeler]

It really is starting to feel like this is no longer underdogs and no longer flying under the radar. With all these pundits predicting that they will coalesce, bounce back, and rebound without Bell and AB, it is starting to feel like an expectation

way more talking heads are predicting the Brownies to win the AFC North.

[Fire Goodell]

We got some upgrades at ILB. Hopefully the new kid is the next winged god of linebacker coverage who can get us some cheesy dong sacks at opportune times

[polamalubeast]

We got some upgrades at ILB. Hopefully the new kid is the next winged god of linebacker coverage who can get us some cheesy dong sacks at opportune times

Seriously, the most important thing for the Steelers is going to be the depth of our WR core after JuJu.

They have talent and they have potential, but they must produce now (especially Washington) .... If they do that, I like the chances of the steelers, otherwise they could be in trouble.

[hawaiiansteeler]

The Steelers will win more AFC North titles than the Browns

The Steelers feel a little bit to me like the Seahawks did last season. Far too many people want to write them off and forget that Mike Tomlin has never had a losing season. I'm not of the school of thought that losing Antonio Brown is addition by subtraction -- they'll have to make significant adjustments to replace him and it won't be easy.

But especially with the whole world jumping on the bandwagon of an AFC North team that hasn't won a division title since 1989, the Steelers feel like a quietly dangerous chip-on-their-shoulders type of squad that will be motivated to remind people whose division the AFC North actually is.

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/...edictions-2022

[Mojouw]

Good points raised all around. The Browns are a bit too hyped. The Steelers are a bit under rated. The Ravens and Bengals are total enigmas. But for me, I would buy anything between 8-8 and 12-4 for the 2019 Steelers. There are just too many unknowns at this point. I, and this i just me, need to see this roster go through camp and the preseason healthy and with some of the new faces impacting before I can predict anything.

There are SO many questions. Such as:
1. Can anyone in the WR group get open when it counts without AB tilting the field?
2. Is anyone beside Juju a legitimate NFL WR playmaking threat?
3. Who on defense is making 3rd down stops?
4. Who on defense is generating turnovers ‘
5. The entire spine of the defense (Hargrave/Bush/Edmunds/Davis)needs to start making plays. Can they?
6. Can the running game finally come together? For all Conner and the o lines accolades, it was not a good running game last season. Lots of unsuccessful plays and slow starts early in games.
7. Who is playing TE after McDonald? Are they any good?
8. What does Marc Barron and Marcus Allen do on this team?
9. 3 safeties? Dime packages. Big nickel. Who knows. It gets talked about each off season and then the regular season happens and it doesnt get used. Are the personnel finally in place?
10. Can the staggering array of young players being counted on for critical roles actually play in those roles?

I got a ton more, but that is why I think this talk now of this or that team should or could do this or that is comically premature. Let’s let some of these guys actually put the pads on and play some football before we all get too excited.

[polamalubeast]

Good points raised all around. The Browns are a bit too hyped. The Steelers are a bit under rated. The Ravens and Bengals are total enigmas. But for me, I would buy anything between 8-8 and 12-4 for the 2019 Steelers. There are just too many unknowns at this point. I, and this i just me, need to see this roster go through camp and the preseason healthy and with some of the new faces impacting before I can predict anything.

There are SO many questions. Such as:
1. Can anyone in the WR group get open when it counts without AB tilting the field?
2. Is anyone beside Juju a legitimate NFL WR playmaking threat?
3. Who on defense is making 3rd down stops?
4. Who on defense is generating turnovers ‘
5. The entire spine of the defense (Hargrave/Bush/Edmunds/Davis)needs to start making plays. Can they?
6. Can the running game finally come together? For all Conner and the o lines accolades, it was not a good running game last season. Lots of unsuccessful plays and slow starts early in games.
7. Who is playing TE after McDonald? Are they any good?
8. What does Marc Barron and Marcus Allen do on this team?
9. 3 safeties? Dime packages. Big nickel. Who knows. It gets talked about each off season and then the regular season happens and it doesnt get used. Are the personnel finally in place?
10. Can the staggering array of young players being counted on for critical roles actually play in those roles?

I got a ton more, but that is why I think this talk now of this or that team should or could do this or that is comically premature. Let’s let some of these guys actually put the pads on and play some football before we all get too excited.

I think the Ravens are going to be better than the Browns, unless Lamarr Jackson is really a bust, but I think he's going to be better and Greg Roman (their new OC) has had some success with some running QB like Tyrod Taylor in Buffalo and Colin Kaepernick with the 49ers ... Also, the defense is going to be very good again ... It's a team that is really under the radar and can bounce back if they have a slow start, which I really have doubts for the Browns.

For the steelers, as I said, the biggest key are our WR after JuJu ... If Washington and others improve and produce, we're going to have a good core,but if they are garbage as was the case in 2016 after AB, we are in trouble ... But outside of 2016, we rarely had major problem in the passing game with or without AB in the Roethlisberger era ....

For the running game, I'm not worried ... Conner had a great first half and now they have more depth at this position ... I think Samuels is going to be a very good RB in the passing down, which will help Conner to stay fresh for the entire game and also for the entire season.Tomlin needs to start to use his backup RB too!

[Fire Goodell]

Seriously, the most important thing for the Steelers is going to be the depth of our WR core after JuJu.

They have talent and they have potential, but they must produce now (especially Washington) .... If they do that, I like the chances of the steelers, otherwise they could be in trouble.

I think we'll be ok. I have little doubt that Juju will establish himself as a legit #1. Washington should make his strides into year 2, but if not, we do have a capable veteran in Moncrief. Also a good rookie talent in DJ. Also Samuels should be able to pitch in here too if he can continue doing what he did last year.

If there's any depth I'm worried about it's what we have at TE after McDonald.

RBs not worried at all. I think the offense will be better than ok.

[teegre]

No one has mentioned the clever use of of both “bull” and “bear” in the title.

[polamalubeast]

[JimHarbaugh'ssoakedtissue]

Seriously, the most important thing for the Steelers is going to be the depth of our WR core after JuJu.

They have talent and they have potential, but they must produce now (especially Washington) .... If they do that, I like the chances of the steelers, otherwise they could be in trouble.

I think they will be fine at wr and te. If not become a more rb team and with Conner, Samuel and Snell they can be a force at that.

[polamalubeast]