The offseason is inevitably a period of projection and speculation, which makes it the ideal time to ponder the hypotheticals that the Pittsburgh Steelers will face over the course of the next year, whether it is addressing free agency, the draft, performance on the field, or some more ephemeral topic.
That is what I will look to address in our Buy or Sell series. In each installment, I will introduce a topic statement and weigh some of the arguments for either buying it (meaning that you agree with it or expect it to be true) or selling it (meaning you disagree with it or expect it to be false).
The range of topics will be intentionally wide, from the general to the specific, from the immediate to that in the far future. And as we all tend to have an opinion on just about everything, I invite you to share your own each morning on the topic statement of the day.
Topic Statement: Kendrick Green will be a quality starter from opening day on.
Explanation: The way things are trending, Kendrick Green, the rookie third-round center out of Illinois, is expected to begin his career as the opening day starter in September. His competitors are career backups, so it’s not the stiffest competition, and it’s not guaranteed that just because he’s starting, he will play well.
Buy:
There’s no reason that Green should struggle early if he is going to be good. He has all the skills that you would want, and he has also displayed the sort of intelligence and dedication you need to get off to a good start. Ben Roethlisberger told reporters that Green stayed in the area over the break to keep working with coaches and prepare for his starting opportunity.
This is a guy who is very serious about his career, and about starting. We already know that he has the athleticism and the demeanor to succeed. Combine that with the drive and motivation, and you have a success story in the making.
Sell:
Offensive line play is contingent upon working well with others, and Green is working next to a young left guard who is learning to play on that side, while he himself is learning to play center, and a veteran right guard who has only been on the team for a few weeks and just started practicing with him.
All the while, the Steelers are installing a new offensive system with a new offensive line. The deck is stacked against this team in general, not just its rookie center, in terms of coming out of the gates firing. Sure, he has talent, but that doesn’t mean he’s going to be able to fully harness it as soon as he steps on the field.
