I don’t know that it happens very often where you get the owner of a team who talks about how he isn’t satisfied with where they are heading into the year. Even the worst teams in the league tend to express some level of optimism about where they are at the beginning of the journey. To do anything but that is somewhat fatalistic, and can serve as a self-fulfilling prophecy.
So from that standpoint, I’m not particularly moved by Pittsburgh Steelers president Art Rooney II saying earlier today on Steelers Nation Radio that he is happy with where the team is right now in terms of assembled talent and performance. He did say, however, that he appreciates the manner in which they are going about their business.
I feel good about this team. I feel good about our roster. Maybe more than anything, I really feel good about the attitude that this team came into training camp with. It’s such an unusual year, and not having guys had the opportunity to get together in the Spring, and particularly some of the younger guys, I just like the attitude of the team and the work ethic that they’ve had, the businesslike approach. It’s been a good camp from that standpoint, and hopefully that carries into the regular season and serves as a great foundation for us as we travel through the ups and downs that we undoubtedly will have, as with any NFL season.
Having a healthy attitude and approach to the job is always a positive trait to bring into the season, and at least from what we are able to gather outside, this does appear to be a motivated and driven group. Most of the pieces in place were here last season and experienced the ups and downs, the squandered potential, and want to see things through.
I think both sides of the ball are motivated. The defense, because they see how far they came with hardly any help from the offensive side of the ball. The offense, because they know they’ve been carrying the slack for most of the past decade, and they know they dropped the ball last year at the worst time possible.
The 2020 season very much presents the opportunity for the Steelers to have the most balance roster between offensive and defensive talent and performance that they have had in a long time. It’s usually one side or the other clearly shouldering the load, but as long as Ben Roethlisberger holds up and looks like Ben Roethlisberger, this is a team that can have one of the largest cumulative point spreads in the game by the end of the year.
