The Pittsburgh Steelers have been on the positive end of a lot of discussions amongst personalities in sports media as the 2023 regular season begins to approach. Many are expecting the Steelers to exceed expectations this season, and a lot of that has to do with Head Coach Mike Tomlin and their upper echelon defense. The latest to speak about why Pittsburgh will exceed expectations is Michael Lombardi, who comes from an unlikely background.
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Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin.
Lombardi has a long history in the NFL. However, he has spent most of his career within the Cleveland Browns' front office. He was there in the late 80s and early 90s serving in roles such as a Scout, Pro Personnel Director, and Director of Player Personnel. He then bounced around some other team's front offices before returning to the Browns from 2013-2014, this time as their General Manager and Vice President. Having such a long history with an AFC North rival is why the praise for the Steelers coming from Lombardi is so unexpected.
Lombardi made an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show on Thursday, where he discussed everything going on in the NFL from players holding out, expectations for this season, and what has happened so far in training camp across the league. One of the topics Lombardi was asked about, was training camp for the Dallas Cowboys. He was asked about Dak Prescott throwing so many interceptions in practice, and about their defense talking trash to him.
Lombardi went on to discuss what Dallas needs to do in order to improve, emphasizing Prescott need to be more careful with the ball to avoid putting his defense in bad situations. He explained that this is how the Steelers improved their success last season, and praised the way Pittsburgh turned their horrific start around in 2022.
"Why did Pittsburgh turn their season around? They only had two turnovers in the second half of the season. Because they played smart. When you play smart on offense and your defense is good, that can help. You can't put your defense in bad situations."
The Steelers did improve with ball security as the 2022 season went on. Over their last eight games, in which they went 6-2, they only turned the ball over on five occasions. Three of these turnovers came on interceptions thrown by Mitch Trubisky in a loss to the Baltimore Ravens in which Kenny Pickett had to exit the game early due to injury.
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Kenny Pickett with his new helmet at the Steelers' mini camp in Pittsburgh, PA.
Pickett had a lot to do with the Steelers being able to go 6-2 in their last eight games of the 2022 season, mostly due to him minimizing his turnovers. He threw just one interception over the last eight games, against the Las Vegas Raiders, which he eventually made up for by delivering the game-winning touchdown strike to George Pickens. This is a major improvement compared to Pickett's first six games that he saw the field, where he threw eight interceptions including two separate games with three.
The turnovers, or lack of turnovers, can also help the defense. During the first nine games of 2022 when the offense was turning the ball over more frequently, the defense allowed 23.0 points per game. This also has to do with TJ Watt being injured, but the turnovers were also definitely a factor. Over the last eight games of the season, the defense only allowed 17.4 points per game. As long as the offense is cautious with the ball, the defense will be able to play well enough to keep the Steelers in every game.
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T.J. Watt scoops a loose ball for the first score in Pittsburgh's Wild Card loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in 2022.
Lombardi's Expectations For The Steelers In 2023
The discussion turned to debating the team's projected win totals for the 2023 season. While choosing both the Browns and the Green Bay Packers as teams that will impress the public and over perform this year, he made sure to stop and say how much he loves the Steelers to outplay their projected win total of 8.5.
"I love Pittsburgh over 8.5 wins. I think Pittsburgh is really good. They didn't really turn the ball over their last nine games. Patrick Peterson played really well last year, I think he's gonna help them. Mike Tomlin knows how to win football games, and I know it's a hard division."
Lombardi mentions Patrick Peterson, whom the Steelers signed during the 2023 offseason, is still playing really well despite his age. He was tied for second in interceptions last season with five. He has already been mentoring rookie Joey Porter Jr., who is also expected to be a contributor in the secondary.
Overall, Pittsburgh has a lot of young players who have shown a lot of improvement since last season. The front office made sure to address the team's main weakness of the offensive line and at linebacker. If the offense can find a way to improve in Matt Canada's offense, and the defense continues to play the way that they do, Pittsburgh will surely be raising some eyebrows in 2023.
What do you think of the former Browns' executive's comments, Steeler Nation? Let us know in the comments below!
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