The Steelers are now back at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex, facing down a long regular season that looks a lot more promising given how things have gone leading up to it. Finishing just above .500 last year, they anticipate being able to compete with any team in the league this season with second-year QB Kenny Pickett leading the way.
They’ve done a great deal to address what they identified as their shortcomings during the offseason, which included addressing the offensive and defensive lines as well as the secondary and the inside linebacker room, which is nearly entirely different from last year. The results have been positive so far.
Even well into the regular season and beyond, there are going to be plenty of questions that need answered. When will the core rookies get to play, or even start? Is the depth sufficient where they upgraded? Can they stand toe-to-toe with the Bengals and the other top teams in the league? We’ll try to frame the conversation in relevant ways as long as you stick with us throughout the season, as we have for many years.
Question: Is the offense or the defense the bigger concern?
The offense scored seven points. The Steelers didn’t even pick up a first down for the first 28 minutes of the season opener. The defense, on the other hand, gave up 30 points, including 20 in the first half, and did not force a punt until 28 minutes into the first half.
So which is the bigger concern? There are multiple factors to consider here. While the defense has more veteran leadership and the turnover in personnel is more likely to see an improvement in cohesion over time, it also just lost Cameron Heyward for likely at least half the season.
On the flip side, you have a mostly young offense outside of the offensive line that is trying to live up to its potential rather than its reputation. In other words, they’re unproven, at least by regular season standards. We haven’t seen a great game from QB Kenny Pickett that actually counted, for example. He’s never thrown more than one touchdown pass in a game so far.
Let’s say we’re talking about Monday night’s game against the Cleveland Browns. Are you more concerned about the offense or the defense? How about a month from now. Will you be more concerned with Pickett and company or everybody who isn’t T.J. Watt or Minkah Fitzpatrick on the other side of the ball?
The Steelers played a team in the San Francisco 49ers that is very good in all three phases. At least from that perspective, it’s hardly a shock that we saw multiple unit failures. And at the end of the day, it’s just one game. We haven’t established a pattern yet.
Still, things don’t get better on their own, typically. And let’s not forget WR Diontae Johnson is going to miss time as well, at least as a short-term concern. Both sides are going to need to find another gear, either way, after this past week’s performance, because in head coach Mike Tomlin’s words, they stunk the place up.
