Ill Informed Gut Reaction Pre Camp Predictions

[tapeANaspirin2it]

Yeah, yeah, lots of questions before we know what this team will be but what's your gut reaction on how the season goes? Record predictions, Player predictions, etc.


My gut reaction. Second in division and the 6th or 7th seed.

This new offense revolves around a strong run game. The steelers upgraded the OL but it appears we will have 3 rookie starters. Yes, Jones is essentially a rookie again if he switches to LT. The OL could be very good by the end of the year but there may be some major growing pains early as they learn.

If you look at the schedule the first half is easier. If the OL gets off to a slow start, it could means losses in some otherwise winable games. Then even if they turn it on in the second half, that schedule is brutal. They could be playing great ball and struggle to go 500 over the last 8 games.


On paper, the North looks really strong. I just have a feeling a few teams will have disappointing seasons.

Ravens - the OL may not be as great as in years past. I know it's sacrilege to think Lamar is anything but one of the greatest QBs in history, but he does still have issues in the pocket. The brought in an aging Derick Henry. Feels like when the steelers drafted Najee rather that fixing the OL. Ravens will probably win the North, but if that OL is leaky, I can see them stumble a bit.

Browns - I don't buy Watson as a great QB. They'll be a solid team but I can see them being middle of the pack.

Bengals - Will Burrow stay healthy? Can they block for him? I can see the wheels coming off for them.

 

[SteelerSask2]

Lots of factors. They definitely got some great new pieces on oline but one thing I know about that is no matter the talent it takes time to jell. And all their really hard games are down the stretch. 9-8.

 

[Stewey]

Yeah, yeah, lots of questions before we know what this team will be but what's your gut reaction on how the season goes? Record predictions, Player predictions, etc.


My gut reaction. Second in division and the 6th or 7th seed.

This new offense revolves around a strong run game. The steelers upgraded the OL but it appears we will have 3 rookie starters. Yes, Jones is essentially a rookie again if he switches to LT. The OL could be very good by the end of the year but there may be some major growing pains early as they learn.

If you look at the schedule the first half is easier. If the OL gets off to a slow start, it could means losses in some otherwise winable games. Then even if they turn it on in the second half, that schedule is brutal. They could be playing great ball and struggle to go 500 over the last 8 games.


On paper, the North looks really strong. I just have a feeling a few teams will have disappointing seasons.

Ravens - the OL may not be as great as in years past. I know it's sacrilege to think Lamar is anything but one of the greatest QBs in history, but he does still have issues in the pocket. The brought in an aging Derick Henry. Feels like when the steelers drafted Najee rather that fixing the OL. Ravens will probably win the North, but if that OL is leaky, I can see them stumble a bit.

Browns - I don't buy Watson as a great QB. They'll be a solid team but I can see them being middle of the pack.

Bengals - Will Burrow stay healthy? Can they block for him? I can see the wheels coming off for them.

I like where this guy has the Clowns.

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/predicting-last-place-team-in-each-nfl-division-for-2024-giants-browns-among-potential-bottom-dwellers/

 

[Fiji Mariner]

I have zero doubts that Tomlin will shine taking an injury depleted team to 9-8 against all odds when any other lesser coach would obviously be 6-11

Or Tomlin will drag a healthy, running like a race car team into the ditch a couple times and snatch another 10-7 season from the jaws of what should be a playoff run including multiple wins

We’ll no doubt arrive at the one location Shades knows how to drive to, and there will be much rejoicing or bitching depending what camp you’re in after we get there.

Happy Groundhog’s Day

 

[bermudasteel]

Yeah, yeah, lots of questions before we know what this team will be but what's your gut reaction on how the season goes? Record predictions, Player predictions, etc.


My gut reaction. Second in division and the 6th or 7th seed.

This new offense revolves around a strong run game. The steelers upgraded the OL but it appears we will have 3 rookie starters. Yes, Jones is essentially a rookie again if he switches to LT. The OL could be very good by the end of the year but there may be some major growing pains early as they learn.

If you look at the schedule the first half is easier. If the OL gets off to a slow start, it could means losses in some otherwise winable games. Then even if they turn it on in the second half, that schedule is brutal. They could be playing great ball and struggle to go 500 over the last 8 games.


On paper, the North looks really strong. I just have a feeling a few teams will have disappointing seasons.

Ravens - the OL may not be as great as in years past. I know it's sacrilege to think Lamar is anything but one of the greatest QBs in history, but he does still have issues in the pocket. The brought in an aging Derick Henry. Feels like when the steelers drafted Najee rather that fixing the OL. Ravens will probably win the North, but if that OL is leaky, I can see them stumble a bit.

Browns - I don't buy Watson as a great QB. They'll be a solid team but I can see them being middle of the pack.

Bengals - Will Burrow stay healthy? Can they block for him? I can see the wheels coming off for them.

Love the assessment, Tape.

My take - we're absolutely going to shock the league and world.

Gone are the days of Coach Canada and Kenny "I throw a many interceptions as touchdowns" Pickett. The QB room is much improved and Coach Smith will command excellence.

The OL, IMO, is going to be special. The running game should be more imposing this year and opposing defenders won't know what's coming as they did in years past.

I'm predicting 4 losses and second seed in the AFCN.

SB or bust, baby!!!

 

[Drink IRON City]

10-7, OL comes together better than expected. OL is definitely better than last year’s version.

Najee turns heads and appears to be a poor-man’s young derick henry.

Wilson turns heads while LB-ing a huge upgraded unit.

Just5in Fields steps in mid-late season and performs very well with a combination QB / slash type play.

Tomlin still gets us to scratch our heads, whereas Smith brings solid OC coaching.

Bubbles is named Coach of the Year.

Groundhog days is celebrated like never before………………. ?


Salute the nation

 

[xjx]

Najee is disgruntled. Tomlin will sit him more than use him. Warren will be tomlins preferred back. OL will likely be improved from last year. WR position is weaker than other NFL clubs. Will struggle. Defensive secondary is an unknown. A wild card.

All of this adds up to an 8-9 season. I hope I'm wrong. Tomlin doesn't change his stripes. Bonehead decisions. I'll watch the games, hoot and Hollar for the team. But tomlins weak leadership will yield 8-9.

I'm crying in my beer.

 

[slashsteel]

Injuries or lack there of will dictate this season. As depth isn’t great at corner or WR. They could also use another pass rusher.

I can see a playoff win more so than a losing season. Beyond that they would need to break their trends. Wins should be in that 9-11 range…

 

[Confluence]

Najee is disgruntled. Tomlin will sit him more than use him. Warren will be tomlins preferred back. OL will likely be improved from last year. WR position is weaker than other NFL clubs. Will struggle. Defensive secondary is an unknown. A wild card.

All of this adds up to an 8-9 season. I hope I'm wrong. Tomlin doesn't change his stripes. Bonehead decisions. I'll watch the games, hoot and Hollar for the team. But tomlins weak leadership will yield 8-9.

I'm crying in my beer.

Suffering in advance for things that may not happen in the future is pointless and you are ruining your beer.

Smile, the Steelers are undefeated this season!

Enjoy your beer, and give yourself an extra one or two to get by those times when you find yourself worrying about things out of your control!

 

[speedicut]

The optimist in me says we're Super Bowl bound but the realist in me says it'll be a non-losing season and either barely making the playoffs or barely missing them.
And making the playoffs will result in disappointment.

 

[Badcat]

Although the Offensive line (including tight ends) and backs (including FB) will need time to gel to get the timing of the zone scheme down, the Defense will keep things close enough to win the early season games. The later season game will be a little tougher but the Steelers will be hitting their stride and I see them having an identity this year which has been missing for a very long time.

12-5 season with a playoff win minimum.

Jalen Warren is going to go off in this zone scheme.

Muth is going to be a real problem for defenses.

Payton Wilson paired with Patrick Queen is going to something we excitedly lose our **** about.

 

[madinsomniac]

I think the Bengals are our biggest competition by far. They were a super bowk contending level team decimated by injuries, and now they have the 6th easiest schedule in the league...

We, on the other hand, have the toughest schedule... (but that is almost exclusively based on us facing Cleveland and Bsltimore, who both had more wins than us... Cleveland has the second hardest and baltimore the fourth...

Ours has a lot of poor setups, but several great ones too... we have extra time to prep before both Cinci game, a home monday night vs tge giants then a bye before a road game vs Washington thingies.
while i think the overall schedule is brutal.. i think it can work in our favor...

 

[Djfan]

I see the ground hog day thing coming.

We made improvements, but not enough. There are times we will look invincible, and times we look like the keystone cops. It's just too hard for me to imagine a Tomlin team in any other way.

9-8 BABY! Hoist the Tomlinbarti!

 

[Poobah]

Enjoy your beer, and give yourself an extra one or two to get by those times when you find yourself worrying about things out of your control!

But what about bacon? You forgot bacon AND Maple syrup.

seriously though...

I really don't see the wheels coming off nor do I see us quite ready to make that deep contention run. The offense is in transition - New OC and system, rebuilt and very young OL and new QB's. I expect there will be some growing pains so there will be some tough losses though I expect them to come together as the season evolves. But with youth and new faces comes new energy and enthusiasm and we have a couple of game changers on D (TJ and Minkah) so I expect a thriller and unexpected win or two. I do expect to see better overall performance on offense on the season overall, especially as the oline gels. The team has holes, but there is a lot of youth to be excited about. Even if the team has a few rough games (and they will), I am looking to see the new building blocks grow. Frankly, we shoulda rebuilt the line before we invested a first rounder in a qb (but that is water over the dam now). I have my b&g shades on, I know, but I am genuinely excited about some of the young talent added this year and last. We need a couple more no doubt. But Rome wasn't built in a day.

Injuries tossed out, I see us as a second or third team in the division with us competing for a wildcard spot at the end of the year. As much as I hate Baltimore, they are the team to beat (and they are beatable). Cincy is the hard one to call but I see them as our main rival for second or third in the North. Cleveland has a qb who hasnt done **** in years and is living on early career performance. They are a reflection of their guy Myles Garret - create a lot of noise and pressure, but can never quite get to the qb and close the deal (In case you haven't heard, PFF loves that kinda sh**). The biggest b***h to it all is that schedule. I despise conspiracy theories, but I am convinced Raj and his cronnies have it in for the Steelers (my bet is James H. will get at least 2 drug test letters in preseason alone).

So, yea, it is going to be another mediocre season record wise with a first round playoff exit (if we get there). Not what I want, but this team has one more year left on its rebuild. So, just like I did with Big Ben's last year, I am going to sit back and enjoy the roller coaster ride. Life is too short to get get angry and consumed by it all.

 

[bermudasteel]

Although the Offensive line (including tight ends) and backs (including FB) will need time to gel to get the timing of the zone scheme down, the Defense will keep things close enough to win the early season games. The later season game will be a little tougher but the Steelers will be hitting their stride and I see them having an identity this year which has been missing for a very long time.

12-5 season with a playoff win minimum.

Jalen Warren is going to go off in this zone scheme.

Muth is going to be a real problem for defenses.

Payton Wilson paired with Patrick Queen is going to something we excitedly lose our **** about.

Stop taking that Metamucil...and borrow a diaper from Coolie. You'll keep your **** to yourself then...

 

[stillwright]

My gut says 5 to 7 wins.....history says we will get 9 wins or 8 wins with a tie.

 

[SteelerInLebanon]

My gut SAYS 11-6 OR 12-5 WITH 4 PLAYOFF WINS.

 

[Djfan]

My gut SAYS 11-6 OR 12-5 WITH 4 PLAYOFF WINS.

Your gut needs some exlax, brother.

 

[MT~Forged]

My gut tells me the following:

This team will end up 8-9 or 9-8, will have a chance to back into the playoffs again, but will lose out in the tie breaker. They will have a few more weeks of vacation time with their families.

The expected changes from Canada’s playbook will not really materialize, as Mike Tomlin’s philosophy does not change. The play calling on O will get a bit better, but overall it will be the same ol ****.

We will see 3 new players in position on the OL. This will be the 24-25 excuse for again keeping Tomlin.

I don’t think Wilson starts all year, I just have a feeling that Tomlin really wants to go with Fields. I do think Wilson has a better chance of implementing Canada’s , I mean Tomlin’s, playbook. If I actually though they had the ability to bring Fields along, I think he offers more potential. But, Wilson is the safer bet, and if he can play like a #12-18 QB, that will be a drastic improvement.

On D we will see a marked improvement from Benton, Herbig, JPJ2. This will be reason for celebration of things to come. CB will be a revolving door unless a 1-2 year player steps up.

I think that they end up #3 in the division, and have a weak chance of backing into the Playoffs.

TJ breaks the single season sack record with 24. He leads every statistical category, and again loses DPOY, because he doesn’t have enough “almost got there” points.

AR2 will again praise Tomlin for his winning season record while saying that he wants to see playoff wins. He will talk vaguely about changes need to be made, but will not make any. 25 off season will look good on paper, again, but yield the same results.

 

[GMC]

It feels much like last year, but I've learned to temper my expectations with this team. Duh being gone should be a huge plus. I just want to see some growth from the young guys. These last two draft classes are full of promising talent, let's hope they're coached up to meet those expectations.

 

[Badcat]

Stop taking that Metamucil...and borrow a diaper from Coolie. You'll keep your **** to yourself then...

Put one over your face, different hole but smells the same.

 

[Steeltime]

I foresee

Watching the scoreboard on January 5, 2025, rooting for other teams to beat some other teams so that the Steelers can sneak into the playoffs as the #7 seed.

 

[ZonaBurgh]

20-0 Lets get this party started! (training camp grandiose delusion).

October 1st, OK still a shot at 17-3
November 1st, in the hunt at 15-5
December 1st, hanging on with hopes of 12-8
January 1st, 9-8, the perfect record intact!

 

[tapeANaspirin2it]

Crazy as it sounds, I think there's a chance the Steelers could win the super bowl this year.

The defense is super bowl caliber barring injury. The pass rush will be one of the best. The secondary should be improved. Half a year of Cam Sutton is a major upgrade at nickel. ILB was upgraded last year but were decimated by injury. Now with Queen and Wilson they should have the best ILbs they've had since Shazier.

It's all about the offense. How can this offense be good enough to win the super bowl?

The OL comes together quickly. Not immediately, but they are playing "above the line" by week 4 or 5 and then by week 12 or so they are one of the better OL in the league. If this happens, it opens up everything. Defense keeps games close, the OL paves the way for a physical and dominating run game, and the play action pass opens up.

Somebody steps up as #2 WR. I think Freiermuth may be the #2 target but they still need a WR to step up and be a 3rd target.

Wilson or Fields executes the offense without excessive freelancing. Smith's offense is all about having a strong run game, that sets up play action passes that are cleverly disguised. Canada's main problem was his offense hid nothing. Defenses could read it like book. Smith's offense is simple but to the defense everything looks the same. It has no tells, or very few.

This offense does not need a great QB. It just needs one with some athleticism for the play fakes and accuracy to get run after catch. Another thing Canada's offense lacked.

Wilson struggled in Sean Payton's offense. That offense wants a QB to make very fast reads from the pocket. Wilson's not great at that. He likes to be on the move. Smith's offense plays to Wilson's strengths.

I also happen to think the Steelers will make a splash move on offense to bring in a WR.

Dominant defense, plus a top run game, plus a competent play action passing game if pretty much how the 49ers have won so many games. The Steelers may have the pieces to do similar.

 

[Fiji Mariner]

You had me at “crazy as is sounds” Tape

Here’s to hopefully watching that crazy season you mapped out unfold…we’re due for some crazy

Cheers