The 2015 Steelers fell only 2 games short of winning the big one; this year things will be different. With a revamped secondary and a returning cast of offensive players, the Pittsburgh Steelers will be one of the toughest teams in football. Combine that with an easy schedule, the drive of veterans and the hunger of our recent draft picks, and you've got a monster in the waiting. How do you know this isn't just a fan raving? Well...
1. We Have the best Running Back in the league:
If Le'Veon Bell had not been taken out by a dirty hit by Burfict mid-season last year, the game in Denver would have gone differently. With only 1 career fumble (against Green Bay, which he followed up with a stunning hurdle move) he has solid hands. In 2014, when he almost played a full season before he was cut down by Reggie Nelson, he racked up 1,361 rushing yards at 4.7 yards per carry (which he improved to 4.9 yards per carry in the 6 games he played a year later) and almost 1,000 receiving yards. He is the best dual threat player in the league (come at me Cam Newton fans) and will only improve as Antonio Brown improves with Ben Roethlisberger. Which leads me to my next point...
2. We have the best Wide Reciever, too
Antonio Brown is a monster out on the field. His 1,834 yards put him 4th in the all-time receiving list (he was already 8th on the list from his 2014 season with 1,698 yards), only 130 yards behind Calvin Johnson's 2012 season, and he did it without Roethlisberger for four games and without Bell for most of the season. What happens when they are all out on the field together? It's questions like that that make me happy to be a journalist by profession, not a defensive coordinator.
Brown runs crisp routes, and his synergy with Roethlisberger will be talked about in the decades to come. As war takes America, when Football goes the way of gladiatorial contests and the city of Pittsburgh is swallowed by the Allegheny (never the Ohio), the descendants of this time will remember the names of Bell and Brown and Roethlisberger.
But they can't do it alone...
3. And they won't need to, James Harrison is back!
He stands 6 foot even, weighs 242 pounds, and likes to "hurt people, not injure them." James Harrison has been the mainstay outside linebacker for the Steelers for the past decade, coming out of obscurity to be the first undrafted player to win Defensive Player of the Year. While his stats have not been 2008 levels in a while (the man is 38) he is the unchallenged leader of a young defense, and deferred retirement to give it one more go. In his swan song season I project 10.5 sacks, 82 tackles, 5 Forced fumbles (2 against Flacco in the waning weeks of the season to clinch the North title), and 2 interceptions.
Ok, maybe that is a bit much, but his presence will be felt on and off the field as the Steelers defense gets it's old mojo back. It's almost there already, as we went from being 18th in Scoring defense in 2014 (3rd worst in franchise history) to 11th in 2015, and our sack totals and rushing totals were up. Plus...
4. We've drafted straight Defense
Senquez Golson has yet to play a snap for a team that had it's two worst Pass Defense years ever back to back. Combine him with Artie Burns and the newly signed Sean Davis, and you have the beginnings of a new dynasty starting to take shape. Cam Heyward is already making All-Pro plays, with All-Pro time. Bud Dupree's production started to level off near the end of the season last year, but he will now have more chance to get to the Quarterback now that the receivers are going to be covered. Let's not forget Shazier, who missed most of his rookie campaign with injury, Jones, who has yet to get a full season of work, and Shamarko Thomas, who has all of the raw athleticism needed to propel himself into the spotlight once he figures out the defense.
Who can stop us? The Patriots will need more of their dirty tricks (like cutting power in the headsets) to beat us in Week 7, Burfict and his dirty hits are going to miss Bengals-Steelers round 1, and Kirk Cousins loves Creed; good look getting past James Harrison's wide open arms. That leaves who? The Ravens? The Joe Flacco-Ravens? Please. Now that they aren't fighting the Browns for worst in the division, we might actually prep for them this year.
It will be a good year, one that ends in a hoisted Lombardi, filling that #7 slot to match Roethlisberger's number.
Season prediction: Steelers 12-4, with a division title and a road through Heinz Field to the Super Bowl.
