The Steelers are expected to have a down season and if that prediction comes true, many fans will blame these scapegoats.
The Steelers seem to have a handful of people entering each season that will struggle to impress fans. People within the organization start behind the eight ball for a wide array of reasons. These people could be coaches, front office guys, or even the players that hop onto the field on gamedays.
When things start to go south during a football calendar for a club, finger-pointing is something that many do. Fans especially want to know the source of reasoning behind why their favorite team is not winning more games. That could happen this season with the amount of turnover that has happened this past offseason for the black and gold.
Most experts do not see this club doing a lot of winning in 2022. That does not mean that they could not overcome these odds, as they even accomplished that last season. There will be many questions and concerns from the fanbase if this club struggles during its upcoming campaign and some might even get more attention than others.
Kevin Colbert could be blamed after leaving the Steelers via retirement
Kevin Colbert made the list? Yes, he did. Many might wonder why; well he constructed this football team before he retired following the draft. He will be calling Canton home for eternity one day, but that does not mean that he did not make any faults.
On paper, it seems like he did a nice job of filling this roster with good enough players to help this team compete in 2022. It will take some time to find out if that vision from paper will transition to the field during the year. If this team struggles and his final draft class is sub-par, then fans might remember him with a little bit of a sour note at the end of his career.
Devin Bush will not get any sympathy from fans if he struggles this season
Devin Bush is someone that enters this season under the most scrutiny of any player on the Steelers roster. He was a high draft choice by the team and the move up to get him cost some draft capital. He is entering his final year under contract with Pittsburgh and has a lot to show.
This is a make-or-break season for this linebacker that needs to show that he belongs at a starting spot in the NFL. If he has one solid year, he will get the chance to get paid this offseason during free agency. The ball is in his court and the fans will hope that he proves most of them wrong.
It has not been the easiest road for this player ever since he entered the league. Many thought they would be getting the next iteration of Ryan Shazier, but they had their expectations set elsewhere. Bush has always been someone that relied on his speed because he lacked in the size department, but a knee injury has taken some of that away.
Myles Jack is now his partner in the middle of the defense. That tandem has a lot of boom or bust potential, which could be good or bad. This is it for this player in a Steelers uniform and he needs to prove to everyone why he was the tenth overall pick a couple of years ago, or he will be blamed for many of the faults of this group.
Mitch Trubisky could get some flack when he is the starter for the Steelers
Mitch Trubisky still has not even gotten a snap for the Steelers and he could get into hot water quickly. He was one of the more notable signings during free agency as many thought he would take over for Ben Roethlisberger as the starter. That logic seems to check out as many will be keeping tabs on the quarterback position throughout the pre-season process.
As of now, Trubisky has gotten all starting reps and seems primed to have the starting gig in the bag. It would take a lot of bad things to happen for this veteran to lose the top spot to either Mason Rudolph or Kenny Pickett. That might be bad news to some fans, but this player deserves another shot at starting in the NFL.
When it comes to this player potentially getting in hot water, there could be many things that go wrong for him. He should start in week one, and potentially longer, but many want to see what the first-round pick has to offer. It will all come down to winning football games with him as the starter or fans will chant for Pickett to play.
This will be an ongoing storyline throughout the season for the Steelers unless Trubisky plays lights out in 2022. People want to see the local Pitt product go out there and perform on the big stage. It is going to be a short leash for this veteran before fans and the media press the coaches for the rookie.
The offensive line will be put under a microscope with recent acquisitions
The offensive line was a focal point for many of the issues with the offense last year. That scapegoating was fair as the trenches in front of Najee Harris and Ben Roethlisberger seemed to have been thrown together and struggle to congeal. Now a retooled group looks to hopefully change those fortunes in 2022.
There were a lot of moves done this past offseason to hopefully right the ship on this front. Chuks Okorafor was brought back as well as some outside signings as well. Mason Cole and James Daniels were both signed on to start for this team.
Right now, this group is still working itself out when it comes to the depth chart. There are early favorites to win the starting jobs, but it is not finalized, and neither are the last couple of spots to make the final roster. It is going to be a battle and something the Steelers hope will fix this unit.
Things cannot get much worse for the offensive line when compared to last year. They were one of the worst units in the NFL and had little improvement to show for themselves. They will be a major scapegoat if Harris struggles to get yardage or if these quarterbacks fail to get any time in the pocket.
Matt Canada is heading into his last shot for the Steelers in 2022
Matt Canada might be the person most scrutinized in the entire Steelers organization now. Every person that pays attention to the black and gold closely will monitor his performance this season. He finally has all the tools to work with to implement his offensive plan without blaming anyone else.
Ben Roethlisberger and Canada were rumored to not have seen eye to eye and the quarterback would go out and do his own thing. That must be tough to see as a coordinator, especially when the quarterback started to win games after neglecting your game plan. He no longer has a future Hall of Famer at quarterback for his team so everything will fall onto his shoulders.
Either Canada will become the next great offensive guru in the NFL and be up for some top coaching jobs at the end of the year or fail. He will be out of a job if his offensive mind is not able to create reliable and consistent offensive outputs on the field. The defense will take care of their business, this offense will need to as well.
The unit was not able to produce much last season on a consistent basis but there were many reasons behind it. Canada got the brunt of the Steelers fans’ blame but there were other reasons. The quarterback play was not at peak performance, he did not have his pieces necessary, and the offensive line was a mess. This is his final chance to prove everyone wrong.
The Steelers have a lot to prove this season and they will get every chance to do that. There will be many players that will struggle to win over the fans, especially if they struggle during the year.