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ATL96Steeler
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Well, fellas and gals of Steeler Nation...Merry Christmas!
The Steelers hold a very slim hope to make the playoffs this season...basically DIV winner is there only hope or another freak tie by IND vs TN.
With that said, I've already shifted in to post season mode.
Staff.
Obviously I have touched on every position or player so feel free to chime in.
Thoughts?
The Steelers hold a very slim hope to make the playoffs this season...basically DIV winner is there only hope or another freak tie by IND vs TN.
With that said, I've already shifted in to post season mode.
Staff.
- HC...we'll just have to see, but I would be surprised if Tomlin is let go. He's proven to be a decent motivator etc. 1st time missing the playoffs since the '13 season, 124-66-1 overall. But his record vs playoff caliber teams is severely lacking imo and I don't see that changing without some staff changes. Secondly, he continues to have lapses in DEF performance against bad teams. Doubtful they will make a change, but...
- DC...15th ranked DEF. The 4 playoff teams outside of the DIV (BAL), they gave up 42, 33, 10, 31 pts. I have a feeling Butler will be the scapegoat if the staff sees any major shake ups.
- DEF staff...Do they hold firm with Joey Porter (OLB) and Tom Bradley (DBs)?
- OC...4th ranked OFC. I think Fichtner did a pretty good job overall considering he played the season w/o Bell and several games w/o RB2 Connor...it looked very Bruce Arians like with Ben throwing it considerably more than you want for a playoff type team, but PIT is not looking like a playoff team now....I don't expect many changes here. Ben has already said, he's coming back...the last yr on his deal...have to see if there is any movement towards extended him to at least 2020.
- ST...obviously Danny's crew played a big part in this season both positive and negative. I think more focus will be on the kicker and punter.
- OFC...the one that jumps off the page 1st for me (Does Gilbert finish out his last yr?) Is Foster resigned. And the final one...Bell. As it stands, Bell is still under the control of the Steelers in terms of options. If they do nothing, and he signs elsewhere, they will likely get a 3rd rd compensation pick in 2020. Will they try to make something happen to move that pick into the '19 Draft?
- DEF...a 15th ranked DEF obviously is not terrible, but far from the standard that we've become accustomed to if you've watched this team for more than a few years. They've got to make some changes to personnel. Dupree, I said in SEPT that Bud would probably get between 6 and 8 sacks. Thru 15 games he has 5.5. But he did have some impact...imo not $12 mil worth. We'll have to see if they reward him with that 5th yr. Burns, they don't have the time to wait here. He's simply not starter material and neither is Sensabaugh. They MUST come into '19 with a better player opposite Joe Haden. Bostic, imo they got what they should've been expecting. He's not the long term answer and I think the staff knows that. Fort made some plays as the "coverage LB, but ideally PIT needs a 3 down player at this position. Burnett, a mixed bag for me, I saw some success but enough failures that he should be a question mark to return. Davis...his 1st season at FS was not the disaster that a few told me it would be, but it was not a great season either. I think he will be the starting FS next yr.
Obviously I have touched on every position or player so feel free to chime in.
Thoughts?