(Early) prediction for how you see our Steelers doing in 2014

Just for the fun of it, how do you see the Steelers doing this year and why? Who do you see making the biggest impact? (I mean, there are already mock drafts for 2015 out there).

My prediction is 11-5. I believe the draft was good this year, but rookies need some time to fully develop. I think we will be better for the 2015 season. I think Shazier, Tuitt, and Archer will definitely make their presence known this year, but will have their fair share of mistakes. I'm going with the biggest impact being made by our #1 draft pick Shazier

  

12-4

I believe the addition of Shazier will help a bunch. Troy will be free to play center field. The pass rush will improve (especially if Tuitt develops early). This should take the pressure off of old Ike. We should see an improved oline which translates to a better run game and pass protection. I'm saying we go 12-4 and win the division.

Here are my early thoughts by position:

Offfense

Quarterbacks: Ben is entering his third year under Haley's system, and the two of them seemed to really gel last season, both personally and professionally. More than anything, they now look comfortable with each other, so I expect the offense to greatly improve with them both on the same page. Gradkowski is a solid backup, but last year was his first with the team, so he'll be more comfortable with the offense in his second season. Same thing with Jones. Hopefully neither of them will be needed. Bottom line: Quarterback situation is better than last season.

Offensive line: Barring injuries, this should be the best offensive line we've had in quite some time. They showed signs last year of being pretty good, but injuries kept derailing them. With the hiring of Mike Munchak, the line might not become great overnight, but it should at least be better than what we've seen in recent years. Bottom line: O-line situation is better than last season.

Running backs: Bell now has a season under his belt, and if he can stay healthy, he's only going to get better. The addition of Blount gives us a better backup than we've had in years, and Archer should be a nice change-of-pace back and an offensive weapon. Bottom line: Running back situation is better than last season.

Receivers: A. Brown will continue to do what he does. My only concern about him is that success might go to his head. I hope he can stay grounded. Sanders didn't have the kind of breakout year I expected from him last season, so his loss really doesn't affect us too much. Wheaton or Bryant should be able to step in and give us the same amount of production. The bigger loss was Cotchery. Hopefully, Moore can fill his role. Bottom line: Receiver situation is about the same as last season.

Defense

Defensive line: Heyward emerged as a beast last season, and he should continue to improve with experience. I expect Tuitt to start on the other side, and he should be able to do as well as Hood or an old Keisel. Bottom line: Really not sure about the D-line. A lot depends on how Tuitt progresses.

Linebackers: Like Heyward, Worilds came out of nowhere last season and emerged as a beast. Hopefully he stays hungry and continues to improve. Jones is entering his second season and should be vastly improved over last season. With more help up front, I expect Timmons to have a monster season. Shazier is the wild card. At the very least, he'll be equal to what we had last year. But if he lives up to why the Steelers drafted him, he'll make everyone around him better. Bottom line: This group of linebackers has the potential to be great. I don't expect greatness to come this season, but as a group, they'll be better than what we had at the start of last season.

Defensive backs: We didn't take a cornerback high in the draft, but as I've discussed before, the addition of Shazier will help the secondary by allowing Troy to give more help to Ike. Allen is healthy and should play this season like we expected him to last season. Mitchell is the wild card. Will he be able to make an impact the way Clark did when we signed him? We won't know until the season starts. Bottom line: The secondary should be improved over last season if only because our D-line and linebackers will be better and should get more pressure on the quarterback.

Overall bottom line: Coming into this season, I think this team will be much stronger than last year's team.

Record: 11-5

vs. Cleveland (W)
at Baltimore (L)
at Carolina (W)
vs. Tampa Bay (W)
at Jacksonville (W)
at Cleveland (W)
at Houston (W)
vs. Indianapolis (L)
vs. Baltimore (L)
at N.Y. Jets (W)
at Tennessee (W)
vs. New Orleans (L)
at Cincinnati (W)
at Atlanta (L)
vs. Kansas City (W)
vs. Cincinnati (W)

vs. Cleveland (W)
at Baltimore (L)
at Carolina (W)
vs. Tampa Bay (W)
at Jacksonville (W)
at Cleveland (W)
at Houston (W)
vs. Indianapolis (L)
vs. Baltimore (W)
at N.Y. Jets (W)
at Tennessee (W)
vs. New Orleans (L)
at Cincinnati (L)
at Atlanta (L)
vs. Kansas City (L)
vs. Cincinnati (W)

10-6. Squeak into playoffs w a WC...from there, who knows?

Playoffs with consistent line/DB play, none without.

Mostly agree with you Wally. Couple items I see are:

Wallace108 wrote:

Offfense

Receivers: A. Brown will continue to do what he does. My only concern about him is that success might go to his head. I hope he can stay grounded. Sanders didn't have the kind of breakout year I expected from him last season, so his loss really doesn't affect us too much. Wheaton or Bryant should be able to step in and give us the same amount of production. The bigger loss was Cotchery. Hopefully, Moore can fill his role. Bottom line: Receiver situation is about the same as last season.

I was disappointed in how Sanders progressed (or didn't progress) with the Steelers. Thought he had great talent coming out of college and yet it just didn't turn up a notch in the next level. His 2013 season would have been good for a #4 receiver, but as a #2 it was underwhelming. I think Wheaton, Bryant, Moye and/or Brown will more than fill that gap (as a combination). I think this group has the potential to be much better in 2014.

Wallace108 wrote:

Defense

Defensive backs: We didn't take a cornerback high in the draft, but as I've discussed before, the addition of Shazier will help the secondary by allowing Troy to give more help to Ike. Allen is healthy and should play this season like we expected him to last season. Mitchell is the wild card. Will he be able to make an impact the way Clark did when we signed him? We won't know until the season starts. Bottom line: The secondary should be improved over last season if only because our D-line and linebackers will be better and should get more pressure on the quarterback.

I actually think this group will be better than last year. Mitchell is much faster and more athletic than Clark was in 2013.  Too many times Clark just couldn't get to the play quick enough and there were several times last year that I thought he used to make some plays that he wasn't able to. So i think Mitchell alone is a big plus.

Shamarko will have another year under his belt, so I expect more from him. I really liked what I saw in his rookie season and am excited to see what he can do in year #2.

We know Ike needed more help than we are used to see from him (he used to be close to a shut-down corner, but was torched repeatedly last year when left alone). Wally is right, keeping Troy in the secondary and a fast, more athletic Mitchell should help.

It's hard to tell what we have in Cortez, but we know he didn't perform as expected last year. I think he should only get better and, knock on wood, stay healthy.

Finally, I like some of the corners we either didn't see much of last year or are new to the team. Antwon Blake is an interesting back-up as is Brice McCain. I know there are reports that McCain was the worst rated corner in the league last year, but I'm not sure I totally buy that. It's easy to look bad when you're on the worst team in the league. At least he has experience as a starter and has pretty good speed.

Ultimately, I see this team at 10-6 and only getting better beyond next year.

kirklandrules wrote:

I actually think this group will be better than last year. Mitchell is much faster and more athletic than Clark was in 2013.  Too many times Clark just couldn't get to the play quick enough and there were several times last year that I thought he used to make some plays that he wasn't able to. So i think Mitchell alone is a big plus.

Yeah, Clark definitely had a rough season, as did Ike. Factor in that Allen was injured and Troy was playing more like an extra linebacker, and that explains why our secondary left a lot to be desired. With Allen healthy, a younger (but experienced) safety, and Troy playing more of a traditional safety role, I expect to see a much improved secondary. That's why I didn't freak out over not drafting a corner in Round 1.