(5/28/22)
Written by John Raley
Coming into the 2022 NFL season Mike Tomlin will have his first season with the Pittsburgh Steelers without former quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger, on the roster. Tomlin was hired by the Steelers in 2007 as his first head coaching job in the NFL and has never had a record worse than .500 in his 15 year career. This season I expect the Steelers to have a very different look (especially offensively) than they have in the past few years.
Las Vegas has set the over/under for the Steelers win total this season at 7.5 games which would be a below .500 season even if they won 8 games and went over. I think that a big reason why people are so down on the Steelers this year is due to the lack of certainty at the quarterback position. On one hand you have Mitchell Trubisky who was a former number 2 overall draft pick in 2017. On the other hand you have Kenny Pickett who the Steelers chose in the first round this year with pick 20. It is notable that Pickett was the first quarterback taken and another one was not taken until the third round. This meant the Steelers could have addressed some issues of concern (O-Line, Secondary) before taking Pickett to potentially be Big Ben’s replacement.
Obviously there are risks with either of these guys however I do think they both have the potential to lead this Steelers team to .500 or better this year. Trubisky catches a lot of heat for his days in Chicago which is fair to a point. Mitch flat out did not live up to the expectations that a number 2 overall pick has placed upon them. Now part of that reason is the coaching staff (specifically Matt Nagy) that surrounded him. Remember this is a rookie who has never played a snap of NFL football starting games with Matt Nagy as his mastermind. Nagy and the Bears parted ways after his very unsuccessful 3 year stint in the Windy City and he now is an assistant for Andy Reid in Kansas City. Pickett’s question marks surrounding him have more to do with the fact that he is a rookie. There are also concerns I have heard about Pickett about his hand size which was measured at 8.5” at the NFL Combine and 8.625” at his Pitt pro day. Most NFL teams like their quarterbacks to have a hand size of 9.5” or larger. The hand size does not really concern me. I think it’s just a funny thing to nit pick a guy on. If someone truly believes that hand size will be the downfall of Kenny Pickett they must not think he is talented whatsoever to begin with.
Whichever of these two guys is starting week one will be surrounded by a much improved supporting cast compared to last year's squad. Najee Harris dominated in his rookie year and his production will likely only get better from year one to year two. Rookie tight end, Pat Friermuth, proved himself to be a reliable red zone target and quickly became a fan favorite. There are returning wide receivers Diontae Johnson and Chase Claypool along with second round pick George Pickens from Ohio State. The offensive line looks to be improved after adding Mason Cole and James Daniels to help beef up the interior. Every position group surrounding Mitch and Kenny got better and that will just make their lives easier.
Defensively the Steelers look to be dominant once again. Reigning DPOY TJ Watt will still be a nightmare in opposing backfields getting after the quarterback. Perennial All-Pro defensive lineman Cameron Heyward comes back to the team along with the acquisition of Stephon Tuitt and Tyson Alualu who are both coming off injury. Bottom line this defensive line is going to be mean and nasty all season long which will make it tough on opposing offenses. This fierceness on defense is only going to be compounded with the Steelers acquiring inside linebacker Myles Jack from the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Steelers secondary remains practically the same as it was last year which means they certainly have room to improve. They still will have All-Pro safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, but they lack a true number one corner and could definitely upgrade from Edmunds at the other safety spot.
The last change I’ll talk about today is possibly the biggest change the Steelers made the entire off season. They signed Brian Flores. As an assistant coach. That is still unreal to even think about. Flores was highly touted after this off season as he was leaving Miami but was unable to get a head coaching offer due to the controversy that surrounded him at the time. This allowed the Steelers to get one of the premiere coaches in all of football and pair him with another one of the premiere coaches in the game. I expect him and Tomlin to have some great success especially on the defensive side of the ball game planning for some of the big offensive teams they will play this season.
Pittsburgh will have to play Cincinnati (twice), Cleveland (twice), Buffalo, Tampa Bay, Philadelphia, and Las Vegas this upcoming season. These 8 games consist of what could potentially be 6 of the top 10 offenses by the end of the season. They do also get some games against the Jets, Panthers, Saints, Falcons, and Dolphins who all have the potential to be some of the worst offenses in the league this year. A record of .500 or better to keep Tomlin’s incredible streak alive is not out of the question at all. He has done more with less, but this season will be a true turning point for the Steelers as a franchise to decide what they want to do in the post Roethlisberger era.
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