Here's the next five on my list of the Steelers' top 25 players. Remember, we're not including rookies in this.
No. 10. Mike Mitchell, S. Speed and explosiveness. They were missing from the Steelers' secondary - particularly at free safety last season. Mitchell brings those two things, plus some ball skills as well. It's not a knock on Ryan Clark. He just got old, and once the NFL legislated big hits out of the game, his lack of speed became a serious detriment. I look for Mitchell to have at least four interceptions, three sacks and two forced fumbles in 2014.
No. 9. Maurkice Pouncey, C. I know a lot of people are on the Fernando Velasco bandwagon. And he played well in 2013 in place of Pouncey. But Pouncey's a legitimate Pro Bowl center. He's also the leader of the line and one of this team's offensive leaders. He's going to have a big bounce-back season.
No. 8. Le'Veon Bell, RB. Bell had 1,259 total yards in 13 games in 2013. And he was learning things on the fly after missing most of the preseason and first three games with a mid-foot sprain. He's only going to get better, and the addition of LeGarrette Blount will only help take some of the pressure off of him. Bell should have 1,600 total combined yards from scrimmage this season.
No. 7. Jason Worilds. Worilds emerged as a force last season, particularly once he was moved into LaMarr Woodley's strongside linebacker position. Many are still taking a show-me stance with Worilds, but realize this: He's started 21 career games and has 18 sacks. Last season was not a fluke. Worilds should have a big season in 2014 and put the Steelers in a precarious spot. Do they let him walk or slap the Franchise Tag on him? It's unlikely a contract gets done at this point because if you're Worilds, why would you want to sign unless it's a big deal, and if you're the Steelers, you're not going to make him a huge offer.
No. 6. David DeCastro, G. DeCastro should have made the Pro Bowl in 2013. He didn't because the Steelers' overall rushing numbers weren't very good. But DeCastro was very, very good in 2013. He'll make it this season and prove to be the Steelers' best overall lineman.
17 comments:
No. 5. Cameron Heyward, DE.
No. 4. Lawrence Timmons, LB.
No. 3. Antonio Brown, WR.
No. 2. Ben Roethlisberger, QB.
No. 1. Troy Polamalu, S.
5. Troy Polamalu, S.
4. Lawrence Timmons, LB.
3. Cameron Heyward, DE.
2. Antonio Brown, WR.
1. Ben Roethlisberger, QB.
5. Troy Polamalu, S.
4. Cameron Heyward, DE.
3. Lawrence Timmons, LB.
2. Antonio Brown, WR.
1. Ben Roethlisberger, QB.
BTW, for the bozo who keeps on posting "if this is the top (insert number here) it's a good reason why the Steelers were 8-8" comments, realize that the ESPN guy in Baltimore is doing a similar list.
Here's Baltimore's top 10-20
No. 10 Justin Tucker
No. 11: Daryl Smith
No. 12: Steve Smith
No. 13: Ray Rice
No. 14: Eugene Monroe
No. 15: Jacoby Jones
No. 16: Kelechi Osemele
No. 17: Matt Elam
No. 18: Marlon Brown
No. 19: Owen Daniels
No. 20: C.J. Mosley
You more impressed by that list than the Steelers' list? Their kicker is listed as No. 10. And that's based on a vote of Baltimore media.
5. Troy Polamalu, S.
4. Cameron Heyward, DE.
3. Lawrence Timmons, LB.
2. Antonio Brown, WR.
1. Ben Roethlisberger, QB.
Am I crazy for thinking that Troy Polamalu is still the main guy that other teams are afraid of the most out of that bunch?
He's only 33, I don't see him declining this year. If anything I think he'll play better because he won't have to play linebacker with us having Shazier now.
With the speed of Mitchell he'll be able to be himself and do what Troy does the best for the first time in a while.
I think people can argue Roethlisberger or Brown but not Timmons or Heyward.
Tom Brady's telling his offense to watch the guy with the hair.
One of the things I am looking forward to the most this coming year, is seeing Pouncey and DeCastro together for some games.
Baltimore was 8-8 too Dale. Both lists look pretty rag-tag on depth. Is Cincinnati doing one? I guarantee their 10-15 are a lot better than ours (and Baltimore's) and the only reason we hang with them is because Roethlisberger is just a lot better than Dalton. A good quarterback covers up a lot of warts on a football team.
I don't disagree with that. But the QB position in football is so important that having the best QB in the division makes the rest of the roster better.
Just remember people, this team is building for the future. I love what they've done in FA and the draft the last couple of years. The Seahawks really set the coaching standard, and I think you are seeing other teams like the Steelers follow suit. We needed to bring in some talent and get them playing early. I can't wait to see this list in a couple years. We have loads of potential stars!
Looking at the entirety of the list (extrapolating in the remaining 5), safe to assume that you believe that both the talent and depth of this team is on the O side of the ball? I agree. Scary tho, that the OL is the perceived strongest and deepest unit on the team.
The quarterback doesn't really make anyone "better". They are what they are, talent-wise and skill wise. It's somewhat disappointing that in a division where we DO have a supposedly big advantage at the most important position on the field that the other 21 (or 24-25) players around the QB position are not leading us to better records and more divisional titles. Missing the playoffs in 4 out of the last 8 seasons with a top-5 (or top-8, whatever) quarterback is not exactly reaching expectations in my opinion. Sure, there are a lot of excuses during that era, but it's still a bottom line business. By any standard, we are woefully inconsistent and the definition of hot/cold under Tomlin. Hopefully this year will be "hot" but I'd like to see some consistency for the rest of Roethlisberger's career.
Anon 10:31
While stating the fact that the steelers have missed the playoffs in 4 of the last 8 seasons is indeed a fact. Its a very shallow fact and not a showing of inconsistency. I think the steelers have fielded one of the most consistently competitive products in the NFL over the last 8 seasons. There probably 28 or so other franchises that would love to never have had a losing season, posting a regular season record of 79-49 (.618 win %) and a 5-3 playoff record, while going to 2 Superbowls with 1 win over the last 8 years.
With the amount of parody that the NFL encourages, these stats are damn good.
I love you selected the 8 seasons too, conveniently leaving out a 15-1 2004 team and the 11-5 2005 Superbowl team.
I would say 26 teams would trade for Steelers last 8 years resume.
Wins Last 8 years
New England Patriots 100
Indianapolis Colts* 85
Green Bay Packers* 82
Baltimore Ravens* 80
New Orleans Saints* 80
Pittsburgh Steelers* 79
San Diego Chargers 79
Chicago Bears 73
New York Giants** 73
Dallas Cowboys 72
Atlanta Falcons 71
Denver Broncos 70
Philadelphia Eagles 70
San Francisco 49ers 69
Tennessee Titans 67
Seattle Seahawks* 66
New York Jets 65
Cincinnati Bengals 63
Carolina Panthers 62
Houston Texans 61
Arizona Cardinals 60
Minnesota Vikings 60
Miami Dolphins 53
Jacksonville Jaguars 50
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 50
Washington Redskins 50
Buffalo Bills 49
Kansas City Chiefs 49
Cleveland Browns 41
Oakland Raiders 40
Detroit Lions 39
St. Louis Rams 37
* Won Superbowl
Lol @ bozo
Steelers have been doing really well this year in teasers, even without Big Ben and Le'veon Bell. They've been covering, as long as you add 7.5 or 8 points to each line, which is the huge upside of teaser bets. Of course, you need a second team to win, but still, they've been good this year against the teaser line.
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