Joe Starkey: Despite massive losses, Kevin Colbert has Steelers in good position
JOE STARKEY
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
MAY 2, 2019
Most franchises would be devastated. Three of the NFL’s biggest stars, still in their primes, suddenly lopped from the roster?
Who survives that?
The Steelers will. The heavy lifting for this offseason is finished, and the depth chart looks contender-capable. Maybe not 1978 Steelers-capable, but certainly good enough to make this team one of a handful with legitimate designs on the Super Bowl.
That is largely a testament to general manager Kevin Colbert, who, despite drafting from the nethermost regions of every round, nearly every year, has cobbled together a quality roster.
Nobody wants to hear that. The focus tends to drift toward the failures, and there have been more than a few of those at certain positions. Namely cornerback and outside linebacker aside from T.J. Watt (although the Steelers seem to view Bud Dupree the way the Penguins view Dominik Simon; which is to say, far more favorably than the population at-large).
Generally speaking, all things considered? Colbert has the Steelers in excellent position.
Think about the players they lost in barely a year …
— Ryan Shazier was a rising star linebacker, a legitimate Defensive Player of the Year candidate, when he sustained a devastating injury.
— Le’Veon Bell was one of the better running backs in the league when his contract issues exploded, ultimately landing him in New York.
— Antonio Brown was arguably the best wide receiver in football when his contract-motivated conniption turned him into “Mr. Big Chest” and landed him in Oakland.
Let me ask again: Who survives that?
One could argue the Steelers didn’t survive too well last season without Bell and Shazier, collapsing late and missing the playoffs. I would say the issues ran much deeper than that – including a kicker who couldn’t kick straight – but Colbert admitted to falling woefully short in his attempts to replace Shazier.
Let’s look at the roster now. It is not without holes — which roster is? — but I don’t see monstrous deficiencies, either. I see more than enough to win.
Start with an elite quarterback in Ben Roethlisberger. That’s a pretty good place to start. Baltimore and Cincinnati would like to start there. So would another third of the league.
The Steelers have a legit No. 1 receiver in JuJu Smith-Schuster, a legit No. 1 running back in James Conner, a good tight end in Vance McDonald and an outstanding line. They upped their scoring average last year despite Bell’s absence and a disaster of a season finale after Brown sabotaged his teammates.
I’m convinced that Conner, by the way, will remain very much the man in the Steelers’ running game. He will be a workhorse. There has been a lot of talk of a new back-by-committee approach, but that can be defined in different ways.
Here’s what I know: Conner last year was better than Bell in his final year here. Conner had a better yards-per-carry average, a better yards-per-catch average, more touchdowns and more long runs. He isn’t close to vintage Bell, but how many are?
Conner has an injury history, too, but would five fewer carries per game save him?
If the idea is to adopt a New England Patriots-type approach, great. Sony Michel had 115 more carries than anyone on his team and logged 71 carries in three playoff games. He was basically a committee of one in the running game, although James White did all the pass catching out of New England’s backfield.
If the Steelers want to use Jaylen Samuels as that guy — an H-back of sorts — it would make sense.
When the real games arrive, and Conner is in a rhythm, I’m guessing Mike Tomlin will be loathe to remove him from games for Samuels or rookie Benny Snell.
Anyway, the offense will be good and maybe better than that depending on how the role players (Donte Moncrief and Diontae Johnson spring to mind) perform.
The defense needs stars, and it just might have a few brewing: Watt has 20 sacks and seven forced fumbles in two years; Terrell Edmunds came on late in his rookie year and showed the kind of closing speed not seen around here since Troy Polamalu; and rookie linebacker Devin Bush was one of the gems of this year’s draft class.
The Steelers are solid up front with Cam Heyward, Javon Hargrave and Stephon Tuitt. The secondary is improved, though we’ll have to see if Steven Nelson holds up, Sean Davis shows out and Mike Hilton bounces back from a rough finish. Joe Haden can still play.
Special teams were a disaster. Issues need fixing there. Kicker Chris Boswell is a giant story going into camp.
All we can do now is judge the offseason — and the judgement here is a win for Kevin Colbert.
https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/...er_PGSportsNow
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Originally Posted by The Man of Steel
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