In came and out went another winning season under Pittsburgh Steelers head coach, Mike Tomlin, 16 years at the helm, and zero losing seasons. A 7-2 finish to close out the 2022 season marks an off-season filled with much promise and plenty of drawbacks as well. Simply put, there's a lot to like about this Steelers franchise. Kenny Pickett is what now appears to be the franchise quarterback everyone wanted. Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren have formed a dynamic rushing duo that will pay huge dividends for the future of Pittsburgh's rushing attack.
George Pickens, Diontae Johnson, Calvin Austin III (assuming he's healthy), and Pat Freiermuth all together spearhead a vaunted group of pass catchers. In the trenches, James Daniels and Mason Cole create a good starting point when it comes to offensive line foundations. Boasting three draft picks in the first two rounds of the 2023 NFL Draft, expect Pittsburgh to add significant reinforcements along the line and potentially at wide out too.
Great Pieces To Build Around In 2023
Shifting to the defensive side of the ball, Cameron Heyward and DeMarvin Leal anchor down the other side of trench work, although more bodies are direly needed upfront with Tyson Alualu on his last days. TJ Watt and Alex Highsmith are beastly lone wolves setting up outside, but lacking serious depth behind and around them. In the secondary, you possess rock-solid pieces via Minkah Fitzpatrick, Terrell Edmunds, Cameron Sutton, Levi Wallace, Damontae Kazee, and hopefully Ahkello Witherspoon (2022 injury riddled), but again this position group could really use a true lock down cornerback.
Special teams are pretty cut and dry, yet are the one group of players who will either make or break your entire season. Chris Boswell will continue to field kicks as long as he doesn't spiral out of control again. Pressley Harvin, while inconsistent as a punter, showed promise at times, especially down the stretch. He's unlikely to stick around for another year until he disproves his worth. As for long snapping, Christian Kuntz was a man holding zero complaints on his end, therefore making him a reliable snapper for the Steelers.
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OC Change On Horizon?
You can re-calibrate an NFL roster all you want until your OCD is satisfied enough, but that does no good for anyone on the gridiron if the man in charge of his personnel staff can't hire qualified assistants under his very watch. Insert Matt Canada, who's been dreaded by essentially every Steelers fan and media outlet in Pittsburgh.
Great offensive coordinators will certainly elevate teams, but mediocre ones absolutely bring it all down with them. This is crucial for Kenny Pickett's development as a young quarterback, and it's quite obvious the current guy in the booth isn't up to par. If you're Mike Tomlin, doing the right thing requires making a change, and not running it back under another year of unbearable schematic pain.
Coaches play a huge role in the performances of NFL players, and that couldn't be any more true for the men practicing on the South Side of Pittsburgh. The second half surge to close out the 2022 season was impressive, but not pretty either. Nonetheless, you have to be pleased with the progress and overall impact made by Eddie Faulkner, Frisman Jackson, Pat Meyer, Alfredo Roberts, and Mike Sullivan on offense.
Teryl Austin, while not previously known for being a respected DC name, now has become a solid coordinator given the struggles and growing pains earlier on. Brian Flores's influence was very noticeable, but that seems to be drawing to a screeching halt with coaching interviews set up with several teams. Grady Brown, Karl Dunbar, Jerry Olsavsky, and Denzel Martin all coached to a much better Steelers defense down the stretch than in the beginning. Still far from perfect, and many needs to be dealt with, but these staffers figured out how to assemble a defense capable of winning games even without key talent.
All in all, this team is going to be fun to watch for years to come. If the Steelers want to become great like the current AFC juggernauts, then they must do what's necessary to win on and off the field. For the coming weeks ahead, finessing the salary cap and fixing fundamental holes in the roster before the 2023 regular season is on tap.
Do you think the Steelers will win more games in 2023? What needs to be done to make this happen? Let us know in the comments below!
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