in-depthExpectations were middle-of-the-road for Pittsburgh heading into 2014 and middle-of-the-road is what the team produced through the first three-quarters of the season. But a 7-5 start gave way to an impressive four-game win streak – including a two-game sweep of Cincinnati, which had led the division at 8-3-1 heading into the last week of November.

The streak propelled Pittsburgh to a division title. And while an injury to Le’Veon Bell hamstrung the Steelers in a first-round playoff loss to Baltimore, the team certainly served notice that they were again a force in the NFC North.

So can the aging Ben Roethlisberger keep up his assault on NFL defenses? Can the defense take another step under new coordinator Keith Butler? And can this team contend for yet another AFC Championship and Lombardi Trophy? Or was the December run a mirage? Neal Coolong, editor of the new USA Today site The Steelers Wire, shares his thoughts.

Zoneblitz: Pittsburgh went 11-5 and made the first round of the playoffs before getting beat. How would you assess the season?

Coolong: It feels incomplete. Excuses are pointless, but the Steelers were not a complete team when they played their first playoff game since after the 2010 season.

That void speaks well to a turbulent, up-and-down year. We saw the Steelers’ defense play very well at times (vs. Cincinnati in Week 17 for example) and we saw them get beat on pretty badly. The offense had to carry the team for most of the year, and didn’t have four strong quarters of football consistently enough to feel the 31.2 points a game they averaged over the course of the final 10 games should be weighed more heavily than the 20.6 they averaged over the first six.

I don’t think we ever really got a good sense of what kind of team this was, and that struggling identity became its trademark.

There was some excellent performance on a four-game winning streak to end the season. They pulled ahead to claim the division championship for the first time since 2010, and revived a franchise staring down the barrel of 8-8 for a third straight year.

Can’t help but feel we’d have a better answer had Le’Veon Bell played in that playoff game against Baltimore.

Zoneblitz: What’s your sense of the security of Mike Tomlin’s job as 2015 starts?

Coolong: Not many coaches will find themselves out of work after improving by three games over the previous year and winning a division title. I don’t think Tomlin’s job is in any kind of danger, but the fact Dick LeBeau is no longer there (however you want to sugarcoat the explanation, LeBeau is not there because his bosses no longer wanted him there) should serve as a strong message being sent.

Now that the team has invested its last four top 60 draft picks in defensive players – inside linebacker Ryan Shazier, defensive end Stephon Tuitt, outside linebacker Bud Dupree and cornerback Senquez Golson – and their last three first round picks (Jarvis Jones), the expectation is they have the players to make things happen defensively – or at least do better than 27th against the pass and have more than 33 sacks.

A new coordinator, a heavy investment in personnel (potentially six of their starting defensive front seven may have been taken in the first two rounds of their respective drafts) and the experience they’ve built taking lumps in recent years should, to some measure, give them better production.

If not, the conversation regarding Tomlin can begin again. For now, he’s fine, and I think he’ll be fine after the season too.

Zoneblitz: Ben Roethlisberger led the highest-scoring Steelers offense in the team’s history last year, but he also is in his 12th season. What does he have left and when will this team start looking at getting a successor ready?

Coolong: The positive regarding the Steelers offense, the amount of money they just committed to Roethlisberger and his age is the fact he’s never been better.

It’s only fair to point out he’s also never been older. That will be the recurring theme, but for the heavy investment placed on the defense front seven, the Steelers did that previously with their offensive line. Two first round picks, two second round picks and nine total offensive linemen have been drafted by this team since 2009. They have three starters under the age of 26 heading into this season and only one (left guard Ramon Foster) is over 30. They’ve done well in pass protection, and can still get a lot better.

Much of it too is the transformation of the Steelers’ offense from a vertical route-based, seven-step drop oriented approach to one of more cohesion; the Steelers run rub routes and combo routes off each other, looking to set up one player on the move. Since they’ve lacked size at the receiver position, they’ve worked more on middle field quickness, which also allows the quarterback the chance to get rid of the ball quicker, and, theoretically, take less punishment.

They’ll throw deep as well and Ben will continue being Ben. He may get injured, he may throw for well over 5,000 yards in 2015. What we know for sure is the team had no choice but to extend his contract. Not even a significant injury changes that.

Zoneblitz: How is this team equipped to deal with Le’Veon Bell’s suspension to start the season?

Coolong: If your furnace goes out, you can light a fire to keep warm, but it’s not going to work as well. There’s just no way around that. Le’Veon Bell was the team’s MVP in 2014, and had one of the best single seasons at the running back position in franchise history.

That can’t be replaced, duplicated or mimicked. With all due respect to DeAngelo Williams, this team simply won’t be able to do the same things with him in the backfield as they would with Bell, and that’s the understatement of the year.

I like to think of it more as “they added more athleticism on defense, and they have their entire offense back in 2015, except “Lance Moore” grew four inches, put on 30 pounds of muscle and got a helluva lot faster before changing his name to “Sammie Coates.”

Zoneblitz: Martavis Bryant had an intriguing rookie year. What do you think his future looks like? Can he be a solid complement full-time to Antonio Brown?

Coolong: I think he’s their starting split end, I think he’ll get 130 targets this year and I think he’ll go comfortably over 1,000 yards. We’ve seen Bryant burn guys long, we’ve seen him make plays in the short field after the catch. He’s an insanely talented athlete with great length. Ben wants to get him the ball, and while he’s gonna drop one here and there, he’s still a remarkable talent, one who’s going to have a big career.

Brown helps that in the two of them can pressure safeties both underneath and over the top. It’s hard for Cover 2 teams to bracket both receivers without giving up the deep seam. Bryant can bring that kind of danger, as can Brown, and with a smart quarterback like Roethlisberger who can attack vertically, there isn’t a more dangerous passing tandem in the AFC.

Zoneblitz: Dick LeBeau has been a fixture in Pittsburgh, but he’s moved on as defensive coordinator. What impact will his leaving have and what do you think of Keith Butler as his replacement?

Coolong: His departure announces the end of an era that outdates even Mike Tomlin by a healthy margin. The team has said they don’t expect much to change in terms of scheme, but if they didn’t want something to change, LeBeau would still be in Pittsburgh. Something has to change. Wasting the best offense in franchise history on a mediocre defense would be a shame.

Butler has been with the team for years and is familiar with its current roster. He coached Joey Porter, who now reports (again) to him. That’s a key factor here. It may not be as much just Butler and the new dynamic he might bring. It’s the fact the team has split the linebackers into different coached units. Porter is handling the outside and Jerry Olsavsky – another former player – is coaching the inside linebackers. Both have young players at their disposal, and will require detail-based coaching in order to extrapolate their best.

The key for Butler is maximizing the investment in coaching, and get more production out of the entire defense.

Zoneblitz: Troy Polamalu and Ike Taylor retired and three draft picks were used on DBs – what is the status of the Steelers’ secondary?

Coolong: I’m not sure we’re going to see a unit that’s much better than last year, but I don’t think it’s bad on its face. The problem is, has been, and may still continue to be, rooted in their complete lack of pass rush. The four-year run of Steelers’ toothless edge rushing drops it well below the median of the league in terms of sacks, and, after getting just 33 last year, it’s clear the secondary is being asked to do the extremely difficult.

While there certainly are challenges there (they’ve gotten better out of Cortez Allen in previous years, he’s not as bad a player as he was last year), they will be much more effective if the front seven shortens the space in which passers have to throw. We should – hopefully – see that this season.

Zoneblitz: Most of the reports I’ve read have been fairly positive on the Steelers’ draft this year. What are your thoughts?

Coolong: It was a solid draft. It was (enter bland, non-committal but somewhat warm reviews).

The thing they’re really getting is more highly athletic talent. Bud Dupree is a beast athletically. He’s LaMarr Woodley; 270 pounds but with twice the speed and half the fat. Some of the plays he’s making at Kentucky are legitimate jaw-droppers.

I’m not sure the Steelers see a return on that this season, but he can be taught, and when he’s at NFL game speed, he’s gonna be a scary, scary man.

Sammie Coates is on that same plane athletically. He’s big and fast, and while he has had issues with his hands, much of that is just footwork that needs to be done (something in common with every receiver drafted at age 22). I can see him playing the slot, and I can see his speed and open field brutality used in concert with a lethal downfield passing attack.

Senquez Golson has a rare and unique ability to track a ball in the air like a hawk. You can see it as he’s approaching deeper throws, he’s still moving at a high rate of speed and he gets into a better position for the ball than the receiver does. At that point, height is not going to be as advantageous as positioning and timing. I think he’ll make a solid slot cornerback.

Doran Grant is smart, you can really see it on the field. Decent athlete, but more than anything, he’s an intelligent football player and he supports the run.

I’ve gotten attacked for this from Penn State faithful, but I’m really struggling to see what justifies a fifth round pick for TE Jesse James.

There seems to be good word out on L.T. Walton and Anthony Chickillo, so that will be interesting. Looks like a battle for depth at outside linebacker with Howard Jones and Jordan Zumwalt returning from last year.

Gerod Holliman, the NCAA’s all-time single-season interceptions king, is a project, to put it mildly. He’ll need some work, and he’s going to have to show up ready to hit people if he’s going to play in this defense.

Zoneblitz: What Steelers players have a chance to break out in 2015?

Coolong: I really like Ryan Shazier’s chances this year. He’s so incredibly athletic, and has explosive strength. We broke down his efforts in a forced fumble against Baltimore in the playoffs, and it confirms why we’re so excited for his future. His 2014 draft classmate, Stephon Tuitt, is equally exciting right now. Very quick laterally, and with a full training camp already under his belt, and the starting job locked down, this run defense is going to be much better. That in turn will help support their less-than-ideal talent level in the secondary.

Martavis Bryant is the obvious choice on offense. He’ll see the ball a lot more, and as he showed toward the end of last season, he’s not a one-trick pony. He established the hard inside slant and the short post as routes he can run effectively – staples of any outside receiver. I can see him catching 60 passes for over 1,000 yards this season.

I’m chugging the Kool Aid now, but Cortez Allen is a much better player than we saw from him last year. There isn’t a simpler way to say it, his issues last season were mental. I remember seeing Cleveland WR Miles Austin run a painfully slow route, trying to sell a deep fade, and cutting it into a hitch. Despite it being something like 3rd-and-5, Allen bought the deep route and was probably five yards away from Austin when he caught the ball. He’s a smarter player than that. He got beat deep a few times, and it clearly stuck in his head. I think he can overcome that, and learn to live on the edge, like all successful cornerbacks do.

Zoneblitz: How far are the Steelers from making a deep run in the postseason?

Coolong: They need to take the ball away and they need to hit the quarterback. The latter begets the former, so if they can find a way to steal a possession or two a game, they’ll be able to play with anyone.

I’d lay money on the Steelers winning every game in which they have a plus-one or better takeaway margin. This offense is just too good. It’s explosive, but they aim for time-consuming drives. Every game, they’re gonna have two possessions of seven minutes or more. You do that, and you steal a possession, you’re very tough to beat simply due to a lack of opportunity.

Starting 1-2 is probably optimistic, considering the loss of Bell (although he’s appealing his suspension) and the hugely slanted league opener at New England. But it’s also three games less wear on Bell for a tough stretch of games at the end of the year.

A brutally tough schedule stacks the deck against them even more, and it may be too much to overcome. I think they have a reasonable chance over the next two seasons, barring injury (which is a risk for all teams), but if they go 11-5 again with their schedule, I’d love their chances in the postseason.

Zoneblitz: With the draft and most of free agency in the rear-view mirror, what have you liked about the offseason and what still has to be addressed?

Coolong: I think they added some solid pieces in the draft. That bolsters what should be a deep and talented roster in 2015. The core of this team is established, I’m not of the belief they needed an overhaul of any kind. They need a better pass rush, they need better play from Cortez Allen and they need the offense to stay healthy. I think they’ve done what they can do to address those things. Nothing else, outside of internal improvement, is needed, from a reasonable standpoint. If the Texans want to trade J.J. Watt, I’d be in favor of giving up next year’s first round pick. I’m going on record as saying that would be a good thing for the Steelers.

Zoneblitz: Is there anything else you’d like to add?

Coolong: “…Eh, no.”

“He’s not the best color man in the game for nothing, folks!”

Follow Neal Coolong on Twitter at: @NealCoolong
Follow The Steelers Wire on Twitter at: @TheSteelersWire
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