Pittsburgh Steelers
2019 Record: (8-8) 2nd
AFC North
2019 Season Recap:
Offense
Points: 18.1 (27th)
Yards: 276.8 (30th)
Pass Yards: 186.3 (31st)
Rush Yards: 90.4 (29th)
Defense
Points: 18.9 (5th)
Yards: 304.1 (5th)
Pass Yards: 194.6 (3rd)
Rush Yards: 109.6 (14th)
The
best way to describe the 2019 season for the Pittsburgh Steelers, was a year
filled with injury and lost time. With expectations riding high to prove they
could be a winner without Antonio Brown on the roster, everything went sideways
on the offensive side.
Losing
their starting quarterback (Ben Roethlisberger) in week two, it ended up being
a season long injury which would derail the full potential of this club. Having
to settle for backup options, Mason Rudolph and Devlin Hodges took over the
reins for the remainder. Adding to lost productively from this offense, James
Conner and Juju Smith-Schuster were also frequent visitors to the medical room.
When all was said and done, securing an 8-8 record doesn’t look as bad with all
the star talent watching from the sidelines.
In
terms of positives, the bright spot for this club came from the defensive side
of the ball. Making a trade with the Miami Dolphins to bring Minkah Fitzpatrick
to the fold was genius to propel this unit further. Being the unquestioned
strength of this team for the 2019 season, it was easy to see how eight wins
graced the record books. With players like TJ Watt, Devin Bush, Bud Dupree, and
Cameron Hayward forcing the issues to opposing quarterbacks, ‘blitz-burgh’ was
felt on nearly a weekly basis.
Rounding
out this defense with the solid play of this secondary (post the Minkah
Fitzpatrick trade), this defense was really fun to watch. With all the pressure
provided from the front seven – 20 team interceptions was the outcome.
It’s
hard not to believe that if Conner, Roethlisberger, and Smith-Schuster played a
full 16 games – a playoff berth would’ve been realized.
2020 Offseason
WorkBook:
The Offense
Heading into the off-season and having a
number of items to dissect, the Steelers offense should be primarily intact.
Baring anymore injuries to top players, the return of Roethlisberger appears to
be a formality. While he did flirt with the notion of retirement, we can’t see
him hanging up the cleats just yet after spending all of last season on the
sidelines as a spectator. With news suggesting that he will be ready for
training camp, maybe on last kick of the can could bring this team back to
playoff levels.
Headlining the running back position and
James Conner, we have many opinions that may be unpopular on the man. While we
can’t argue that he is a supremely talented player that truly changes the
dynamics of this offense when he is on the field, it’s his injury history which
provides fear. Missing 11 games in his first three seasons in the league,
playing hurt has been a constant which has shown lesser production. If Conner
could manage to remain on the field of play, we have no doubt he could be a top
earner in the NFL. At this point, we would like to witness the Steelers add
another viable runner to this offense and promote a time share approach to keep
Conner from frequenting the medical room. This would be huge in keeping his
talents on the field for a full season.
When it comes to the wide receivers,
obviously the Antonio Brown saga has overplayed itself into exhaustion and
really isn’t a conversation for the Steelers anymore. Nevertheless, finding
ways to duplicate his production wasn’t found last year, but as we said, lost
time to Smith-Schuster was the main reason. While we wanted to see a pass
catcher on this roster take a step to be that secondary piece, we were
encouraged with the play of Diontae Johnson in 2019. Having posted sound
numbers in his rookie campaign with backup quarterbacks slinging the ball, the
potential for him and Smith-Schuster to make waves could be realized when
Roethlisberger returns. Pittsburgh has never had an issue finding talent at the
receiver position, and with a loaded draft class on the horizon – we should see
more power added here.
When it comes to the tight end position,
the hype train flew out of the station suggesting Vance McDonald would be the
primary answer. Never coming to fruition, this positional group could be viewed
as major concern. Perhaps the plan will be to jump into the free agent market
and snag Hunter Henry or Austin Hooper if they aren’t retained by their current
clubs. These would be obvious upgrades that could lift this offense to elite
levels once again.
The Defense
As we mentioned above in terms of the
strength of this team, the defense is a stout unit that will continue to
improve with another off-season of additions. With Cameron Hayward and Stephon
Tuitt being the anchor’s on this defensive line, we wouldn’t be shocked to see
more depth added to this group.
In terms of the meat and potatoes for
the defensive side, the line backing core and defensive secondary is truly a
sight on paper and film. Led by the fantastic play of TJ Watt and Bud Dupree,
the edge rushing prowess was fabulous and extremely productive. Combined, the
tandem managed 26 sacks in 2019 but could be separated after this off-season. With
Dupree entering a contract year, at least the Steelers struck gold after moving
up in last years draft to select Devin Bush to be the replacement to Ryan
Shazier. Having that hard nosed tackling machine from the middle linebacker
position, it allows the Steelers scheme to blitz freely from the edge. With
that said, if Dupree isn’t resigned, more pressure will be placed on the back
of Watt to find production.
Keeping with the positives of this
defense, the secondary is a group that looks incredible now with Fitzpatrick
quarterbacking the unit. A legit game changer that was misused in Miami, the
fruits of his labor was realized, basically from day one in donning the Steeler
black and yellow. With how Pittsburgh utilized his talents, this group
dominated in creating turnovers. With that support, Joe Haden saw his best
campaign since entering the league back in 2010. And while Steven Nelson also
had a solid season, the nickel back is a spot we could suggest needing an
upgrade.
All-in-all, this defense should again be
a force in 2020, especially if they receive offensive assistance in keeping
them off the field for longer duration's.
Team Free Agents / Team Salary Cap
When we dove into the Steelers contracts
and salary cap, the positives rest with a limited amount of team free agents to
resign. Holding a minimal 15 contracts to consider, the issue rests with no
available funds on the books. As of today, Pittsburgh is over the cap with 2.1
million in negative funds. Having literally no wiggle room to do anything,
moves will have to be made to become cap compliant.
Beginning in that regard, the Steelers
will be forced to cut bait with a number of current players locked up with
favorable contracts. First, Vance McDonald’s contract is under the stipulations
of the club option, and we can’t imagine he would return to the team. His 7.1
million cap hit would virtually all be saved with a mere 1.4 headed to dead
funds – a big win here. Second, Mark Barron is a player that should also see the
axe as his 8.1 million contract looks terrible based on his modest production.
This move would save the Steelers an additional 5.3 million while placing 2.8
million to the dead cap. These two moves would create roughly 11 million in
free space to lock up depth pieces.
With that all said, move maneuvering
will have to be done simply to resign Bud Dupree to a long term deal. The
current market value for Dupree rests with an astronomical 16.6 million per
season based on his counterparts. For players of this nature, deals ranging
around five years totaling 85 million isn’t out of the question. With how
constricted the Steelers cap is, we might see Dupree hit the open market as
more of a certainty rather than a question mark.
After a lengthy review of the Steelers
financial situation, we really don’t envy the job general manager Kevin Colbert
is tasked with this off-season.
The NFL Draft
At this current stage, Pittsburgh did
most of their shopping in terms of using their 2020 draft capital last season,
leaving them with only five picks in this year’s draft. Having no first, third,
or fifth round selection, there won’t be much excitement from the podium for
this fan base.
Having a second, two fourth’s, a sixth
and a seventh – Pittsburgh will be forced to lean on their scouting department
to again find gems in this class. If Bud Dupree does find his way to the open
market, a large hole will be placed on this defense that must be repaired.
Tough to say how this draft will go, but there will be sizable roster spots to
fill and we shall watch close.
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