The Steelers will need to commit to making one simple change to remain competitive
So when I say that the Steelers need to make a change to remain relevant or to remain competitive, I am not talking about having to make drastic changes that would denote a complete rebuild.
Yes, there are positions that will need to be addressed either via the 2022 draft or via free agency, but, as far as I’m concerned, we simply need to do one thing to re-tool. That one thing actually addresses two glaring weaknesses on the 2021 incarnation of the Steelers.
If we commit draft capital and/or commit salary cap dollars in free agency to strengthening the ‘trenches’, we could get back to playing the style of football the Steelers have been known for, which is ‘ground and pound’ on offense and stingy run defense.
Those two elements do not exist on the 2021 Steelers, they just don’t. Why is that? Why can’t we run the ball with a semblance of consistency? Why can’t we stop the run with any semblance of consistency?
The Steelers must invest resources to shore up the ‘trenches’ on both sides of the ball
Through fifteen games of the 2021 season, according to ESPN, the Steelers are ranked twenty-ninth in average rushing yards per game. That is awful. We are averaging less than ninety rushing yards per game.
Think about that for a minute. In my forty-plus years of watching us play, the one thing we were always able to do fairly consistently is run the ball. I think the issue is this: We have not invested significant draft capital or free agent dollars in the offensive line.
That is unfortunate, to say the least as evidenced by our current ranking. What is really upsetting to me is this: When the Steelers have invested draft capital in the offensive line, we have come away with perennial Pro Bowl and All-Pro players, such as Maurkice Pouncey and David DeCastro, just to name the two most recent players.
On the defensive side of the ball, according to ESPN, we are ranked thirty-second in run defense. What that means is that we can’t stop the run. We are last in the entire league. That too is awful. Not having Stephon Tuitt and Tyson Alualu has certainly hurt the run defense and since Cam Heyward can’t play every snap, other players, by default, have to ‘step up’.
Unfortunately, there is a significant drop-off in quality from the three aforementioned players to our backups. No disrespect to our backups, but the ‘proof is in the pudding’. I honestly can’t remember a time when the vaunted Steelers defense was not able to stop the run.
Ironically, Heyward and Tuitt were both high draft picks, going in the first and second rounds, respectively; however, when was the last time we invested significant draft capital, meaning the first three rounds, in the defensive line?
Here’s the bottom line: If you can’t run the ball and you can’t stop the run, you’re not going to win with any consistency. For us, winning is not only the expectation but winning Super Bowls is what we strive for every year. The Steelers must get back to investing in the ‘trenches’; otherwise, winning another Lombardi Trophy will be but a ‘pipedream’.