Steelers: Where do we stand in the Power Rankings?

Just over a week ago, Elliot Harrison of NFL.com released his latest power rankings heading into the preseason.

The Green Bay Packers jumped up to the top of the rankings, snagging the spot from the defending champion New England Patriots, who actually happened to fall three spots, due to DeflateGate and losing key defensive players in the offseason.

Taking their place was the NFC champion Seattle Seahawks and the surging Indianapolis Colts. The Cowboys climbed into the 5th slot, as the Cardinals fell into the 6th, with the Broncos and Chiefs directly behind them.

But, where are the Steelers?

As a matter of fact, in the May Power Rankings, the Steelers were ranked 7th, but in the latest rankings, they have dropped to 9th.

Why?

According to Harrison, he feels he’s being a bit too positive by giving the Steelers a top 10 position on the power rankings.

Despite Le’Veon’s suspension reduction from 4 games to 2 games, the Steelers will still be missing a key player for two important games, including the season opener against the defending champions themselves.

On top of that, the Steelers’ secondary has time and time again failed to meet expectations, and was one of the worst last season.

While these power rankings aren’t including the recent acquisition of cornerback Brandon Boykin, it’s safe to say that the Steelers’ fairly silent offseason still isn’t enough to completely revive the feeble pass defense.

As put by Elliot Harrison himself, “the secondary simply cannot be worse than it was last year.”

If the Steelers defense is so terrible, and Bell’s absence could send the Steelers into peril, why are the Steelers ranked so high?

Well, Le’Veon Bell is healthy. The 2014 team MVP went down in Week 17 against the Bengals with a hyperextended knee that kept him out of the Wild Card game, that ended in defeat.

With Bell back in the lineup, he’ll be ready to go in Week 3 against St. Louis.

On another note, the Steelers aerial attack has been supreme as of late, and looks to expand itself even further.

With second year man Martavis Bryant beginning to emerge, and having already earned a spot amongst the best deep threats in the league, the sky is the limit.

To put it simply, the Steelers offense is stacked. Roethlisberger has countless weapons in his arsenal, and there’s nothing stopping them from scoring at will in each and every game.

With the offense scoring at will, the defense won’t be expected to do as much, which very well could lead to a very successful 2015 campaign.

Elliot Harrison views the Steelers as the best team in the always tough AFC North, and while much could be said to contradict that, as well as uphold that statement, only time will tell.

Next: Steelers Quarterback Depth

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