By: G.Stryker, Twitter @SNStryker and Instagram @SNStryker
SteelerNation.com
Over recent history, the Pittsburgh Steelers are victims of being slow starters. In September, Steeler Nation is used to watching mistake prone football: double digit penalties, a defense struggling to find its identity, and offense that struggles sustaining drives. With the pandemic of Covid-19 forcing the league to abandon all NFL preseason games, we should expect a brand of football that may be ugly to watch.
No one is more excited than I am to watch the NFL kickoff on Thursday night, but without any game situations in the month of August, this league is starting cold. September will essentially be the preseason. League wide, teams will be struggling to find offensive consistency, and I expect to see a record amount of flagged penalties during the opening month. There was no time for referees to get on the same page with teams as far as flagging practices or preseason games to show what will and will not get called this year. Another problem, the referees are going into this season cold as well. Expect a lot of calls that normally wouldn’t be called, and a fair share of missed calls.
It’s going to take a few weeks for the league to start figuring out how to properly execute, but it’s not all doom and gloom for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Fortunately they are returning an intact, veteran defense from last year. This is an advantage because they were already a top 5 unit in both points allowed and yardage, while leading the league in turnovers and sacks. Ugly games are won on defense, and fortunately that is the Steelers’ strength this season.
Offense takes a little more time to get in sync. Sure the Steelers are loaded with talent at the skill positions, but quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has missed an entire year with elbow surgery. This is his first meaningful football in 12 months, so it will be very interesting to see how long it takes him to find open receivers and again start scoring touchdowns. Off-season acquisition Derek Watt will immediately help the running game, and it is easier for the offense to execute running plays as opposed to passing plays. Hopefully the running attack can lead to offensive consistency and give Roethlisberger the time he needs to get comfortable in the system again. Fortunately, he no longer has to win football games single-handedly. Like his Super Bowl squads in the late aughts, he has a dominating defense poised to make plays for him this year. Short fields and extra possessions will give the offense more opportunities to score.
As a Steeler fanatic, I can only hope the window of ugly football is shut quickly, so this team can reach its full potential, and hopefully the playoffs!
Do you disagree? Let us know what you expect from the level of play this year in the comment section below!
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