After nearly seven months of waiting, football is finally coming back. The Pittsburgh Steelers have been waiting to start their redemption tour and on July 25, the road back to the playoffs begins. This team had a massive overhaul in the offseason in hopes of righting the wrongs of last season.
And while there is plenty of optimism surrounding this team, nothing is perfect and there is still a lot that can go wrong between now and the regular season. Here are our three reasons to be pessimistic about the upcoming season.
Replacing Antonio Brown might not be so easy
We all want to assume the passing game is going to be fine because of Ben Roethlisberger and JuJu Smith-Schuster, but we cannot downplay the on-field chemistry between Brown and Roethlisberger that’s now gone. We’ve seen Big Ben work with lots of wide receivers over his career but for the last six seasons, Brown has been the guy. What happens if no other wide receiver steps up or if Smith-Schuster can’t handle being the No. 1 guy?
Are all these new defenders going to fit?
It looks like at least three new faces will have prominent roles on defense this season. Devin Bush and Steven Nelson both figure to be starters and Mark Barron could end up a key reserve in sub-package defense. But it isn’t hard to make a case Nelson isn’t a huge upgrade over Coty Sensabaugh, who the Steelers let leave. Barron also hasn’t been a big factor in the league since 2016. Even Bush, who is a heralded rookie, is still just a rookie and could struggle the way Terrell Edmunds did early last season.
Can the coaches maximize the talent on the roster?
So let’s say neither of the first two points happens. The wide receivers step up and are ready to replace Brown, and the new defenders are as advertised. Will the coaches be able to maximize all the talent this team has? In particular, we have to wonder if defensive coordinator Keith Butler will be able to scheme up all this talent and maximize their skills. It certainly didn’t happen last season in key areas, primarily late in games.
