To start off, I am excited to be joining the team at Steel Yinzers. I thought that after leaving my previous organization, I would be taking a long hiatus, but as they say in life, one chapter closes and a new one opens.
I am thankful for the opportunities I have had and look forward to moving forward with the new ones bestowed on me. Now let’s talk Steelers!
After the 2022 season, we have a lot of heavy questions about the future of the Pittsburgh Steelers. How will Kenny Pickett perform in his sophomore season? How will the offense rebound after their extremely underwhelming performances? How will our draft plan turn out? Can the defense live up to the expectations after losing some key pieces? Allow me to give my two cents.
First off, I have full confidence that Kenny Pickett will have a great season. For a rookie quarterback to be thrown into the dumpster fire that was a Matt Canada offense in the middle of a horrible home game, then turn his team’s season around to almost bringing his team to a playoff spot is very promising. Do not look at stats, look at the tape.
Photo Credit: Jared Wickerham/Pittsburgh Steelers
There were many missed opportunities but this team is still very young on the offense. Four comeback drives in a nine-game stretch is not a feat many can pull off. If you still doubt that Pickett is the future, then I think you are just a hater. Is he perfect? No, but what quarterback is? I expect a much more poised and level-headed Pickett from day one.
I am not a cheerleader for Matt Canada either. I think that the offense is very generic and predictable. If the Steelers want to have any hope of becoming a more effective offense, they need to run more than basic plays. Especially if your own division rivals are calling it out over your center’s head. They have the pieces, they just need to organize and execute them! One of the team’s biggest downfalls was execution in 2022.
We saw down the stretch it got cleaned up and they got better. If they can just score more points and not average around 18 points per game they can be a much more potent unit.
As for the free agent acquisitions and draft, I think they have made some great steps with the addition of Patrick Peterson and re-signing of Larry Ogunjobi, as well as the others. However, the gap at inside linebacker is of grave concern and has been since the loss of Ryan Shazier. If the Steelers do not find a way to either bring in talent off the market or get a good one in the draft, the defense may suffer greatly.
They already had issues stopping the run throughout the season. With the loss of Robert Spillane, now the need is greater than before. Let us wait and see what plays out till April.
There is great promise in the upcoming year. I think we have the chance to see a full season of true Steelers football. I cannot wait to see what happens in the coming months. Once again, thanks to Steel Yinzers for the welcome, and Go Steelers!
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