3 reasons why the Steelers offense may be worse in 2019
By Tommy Jaggi
I hate to be the bearer of bad news in the offseason, but the harsh reality is that the Pittsburgh Steelers offense could be worse this year.
From what I have seen, most Steelers fans enjoyed the NFL Draft. Pittsburgh was able to land star Michigan linebacker Devin Bush, as well as potential early contributors in WR Diontae Johnson and CB Justin Layne.
However, not all news is good. I figured it would be best to help bring us back down to reality before we get our expectations too high for this season. Here are three reasons why the Steelers offense will likely be worse in 2019 than it was last year:
No Antonio Brown
Though the headache of having to deal with one of the league’s biggest divas is finally over, the Steelers sure will miss what he was able to do on the field. The 4-time All-Pro took his talents to Oakland this offseason, and the Steelers didn’t receive a lot of compensation for his departure.
Ben Roethlisberger threw 10 of his 16 interceptions in Brown’s direction last season, but Brown was able to consistently win against good opponents and added coverage. The Steelers won’t miss the locker room antics, but they will miss the football player.
Aging offensive line
The Steelers offensive line is one of the oldest in the NFL. This group comprised of two former 1st round draft choices and three undrafted free agents made up one of the most consistent lines in football last season.
The Steelers lost one of the best offensive line coaches in the business, Mike Munchak, this offseason, which doesn’t bode well for an aging offensive line unit. With the average age of Steelers offensive lineman near 30-years old, there is likely nowhere to go but down from here.
Chemistry with young skill players
Ben Roethlisberger recently took his skill players on bonding trip at his lake-side home in Georgia. But all of the jet-skiing and boats rides aren’t necessarily going to translate to chemistry on the field.
Next. Steelers are counting on Vance McDonald in 2019. dark
Diontae Johnson, James Washington, Donte Moncrief, and Benny Snell are all new (or relatively new) to playing alongside Big Ben. Though they should pull it together eventually, we can’t expect Ben to have great chemistry with these young skill players right away.