Pittsburgh Steelers Tagged With 2nd Most Talented Roster
By Erik Lambert
The Pittsburgh Steelers somehow continue to get overlooked as potential Super Bowl contender in 2017. This despite having one of the best rosters in the NFL.
That’s not shameless media plugging either. Pittsburgh was a step away from the dance last season. Now they look like a deeper and more complete team than before. That has to be a scary thought indeed. Not just for their division but also the rest of the AFC. Including the mighty Tom Brady and Bill Belichick. Some feel they have the second-most talent in the entire league.
Gil Brandt, a former longtime scout and executive for the Dallas Cowboys, laid down his list of the 10 most talented teams in the NFL at present. To the surprise of nobody the New England Patriots reigning supreme. However, his choice for #2 may be a slight shock to some and a great source of excitement for Steelers fans. He explained why Pittsburgh should be taken seriously in 2017.
"“A strong argument can be made that quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, running back Le’Veon Bell and receiver Antonio Brown are the NFL’s best set of triplets. The offensive line — including left tackle Alejandro Villanueva and right guard David DeCastro — is top-notch, while the receiver corps is very deep. JuJu Smith-Schuster will make a good addition at receiver, and fellow rookie James Conner is an ideal fit at running back in terms of his ability to catch and run. The defensive line has three good, young players in Javon Hargrave, Cameron Heyward and Stephon Tuitt, and linebacker Ryan Shazier is the real deal. The biggest weakness is at outside linebacker, where first-round pick T.J. Watt needs to contribute immediately. The secondary will continue to improve as cornerback Artie Burns and safety Sean Davis develop. The bottom line: This team can beat you in a lot of different ways.”"
Finding the focus
Should this really be a surprise? First of all, it’s the Steelers. They’ve been one of the most well-run organizations in football since the 1970s. They have an experienced and confident GM in Kevin Colbert to find the talent and a solid coaching staff who know how to cultivate it. Then there’s the fact they were in the AFC championship last season. That wasn’t a fluke. They are a good team who just happened to have a bad game against the eventual Super Bowl champs.
That’s no reason to think they’ve sudden fallen back down the ladder. It’s not like they’re getting old. In fact it’s still a fairly young group aside from key contributors like Roethlisberger and James Harrison. It’s all about whether they can reach the level of focus and discipline to take down a team like New England. It’s not about finding good players for them anymore.