It was a very quick end for the Pittsburgh Steelers in the postseason. The disappointment again shines the light on continued years of dashed hopes for the franchise.
It was another disappointing season for Pittsburgh after being able to create a 12-4 record in the regular season. The standard is the standard as Mike Tomlin says and that standard was not met. The Steelers were able to win one of the toughest divisions in football but they did nothing in the postseason. The standard for the black and yellow has been a postseason success and Super Bowl contention but those days are dwindling. Franchise quarterbacks do not grow on trees and their aging one could be hanging up the cleats for good. Even if he returns this will not be as good of a team as last season and Ben Roethlisberger will continue to age.
The immediate future of this franchise does not seem amazing when it comes to potential championship caliber. They will still have pieces next season but many players will leave the team due to cap implications. It will need a haul of hits for this team to rebound and even have a shot at the trophy next season. It does have a feeling of the year before Super Bowl 40 where the team highly performed and ultimately failed in the playoffs. The following year they would struggle at times but fight their way to a championship.
Those are very high hopes for a team that is sitting at a crossroads. They are having cap issues with many players leaving. It is a retooling year that could easily lead to a rebuilding one after the following season if other pieces retire or leave the team.
Offensive Line
There will be starters leaving across the line like Al Villanueva and Matt Feiler but those are some positions that will need to be filled immediately. Luckily Kevin Dotson will fill in very nicely at the vacancy left behind by Feiler. Dotson proved to be the better of the two players during the latter half of the season and he should be able to continue development as one of the best guards in the game as the years go on. The biggest issue will be the left tackle position going forward. Chuks Okorafor will probably battle for the position in camp as Zach Banner retains his role as the starting Right Tackle. The issue here is lack of depth and Okorafor had a very questionable season.
Maurkice Pouncey has also become more of a liability than stalwart over the last couple of years and that’s concerning. The need to improve the center and left tackle positions will need to be very high on the Steelers to-do-list when the offseason kicks into high gear.
It was a very poor year as this position group continues to deteriorate with age and lack of coaching. They need a lot of work and it showed this season. Players get old and these need to be replaced, also vacancies need to be filled with others leaving this offseason.
Coaching Changes
No this is not a fire Tomlin post. He is not the entirety of the problem even though he does make many head-scratching decisions throughout a season. Like it or not he will not be going anywhere as long as he wants to be the coach of this franchise. He is still one of the top 10 coaches in the league, he may even be higher than that. Yes, the playoff failures weigh heavily on how his career will be remembered but let us not forget how Bill Cowher’s career was going before he won that Super Bowl at the end of his tenure. The Rooney’s are extremely patient and that won’t change here with Tomlin. The players love him all around the league and he gets the team into potential playoff pushes each year.
What needs to happen is a shakeup for the team in the positional roles of coaching. The offensive line coach just has not been able to keep that group stable ever since getting the role. Shaun Sarrett should be let go and another coach will need to be brought in to bring some grit back to this once-dominant front. Another name that will need to go is Randy Fichtner. This will be no surprise to fans as he has been a disaster. When he calls the plays it is always stale and a terrible sight to watch. Matt Canada will likely take over but Roethlisberger will be the real coordinator on offense.
New blood into the fold
This team needs very desperately a new look. That includes a new feel and fresh faces. The draft will be very important this season with cap limitations. The incoming rookie class will determine what the future holds for the upcoming season and the franchise. These fresh faces will need to help boost the team back into contention. As the year went along, these Steelers seemed to not have fun playing football. The success and undefeated season seemed to hinder the ability to know what to do when they finally lost, They couldn’t handle the losses and rebound from them. That was a major issue and some freshness to this team needs to happen. They are like a Febreze commercial before the people use the product. It needs the Febreze to be let loose so the freshness can dissipate the stink from the team.
This does not just apply to players but coaching as well. If new coaches are brought in for the offensive line and offensive coordinator positions, then that could also bring new life and energy to a team. It might not solve all of the team’s issues but bringing back excitement to a stale team could cause a huge uplift in production and the chance to handle adversity in stride.
This team needs a lot of work moving forward but it’s not entirely out of the question if this team can be a playoff team next year. They will need to hit on every move they make this offseason but they could be back in the fold next season.