Offense
The Pittsburgh Steelers have a terrific offense, and the biggest reason for that is Ben Roethlisberger. Big Ben has for the most part been a really good quarterback all throughout his career. Last year though, he was elite. The Steel Curtain has fallen off in recent years, and Ben has raised his game to carry the Pittsburgh Steelers. His pocket presence and movement is absolutely stunning to watch, and Pittsburgh fans should credit him for keeping them relevant as their defense has gotten older. Ben has gotten help though, most notably from one of the best receivers in football, Antonio Brown. Antonio Brown is the best route runner in football, and even though he doesn't have Calvin Johnson type size, he can beat any cornerback in the game. The Steelers should feel lucky that they have him locked up for a while, because he is still pretty young and might be this dominant for many years to come. Aside from Brown, the Steelers got some solid work out of Markus Wheaton as the 2nd guy. He may not have put up the stats that a lot of people were hoping for, as he was a fan favourite as a sleeper WR this past offseason, but he still played some good football. Speaking of sleeper wide receivers, Martavis Bryant seems to be the one everyone is hollering for, and it's hard to blame them. He proved to be a huge red zone target for Ben, and even with his limited route running skills, he had a great rookie year. I'm sure the Steelers expect him to develop his route running, and combined with his physical presence, he could turn into a terrific wide receiver. Next year, double digit touchdowns should almost be expected, and he has a shot to lead the entire NFL in receiving touchdowns. At tight end, the Steelers have been lucky enough to have a franchise TE for the past decade. Heath Miller has been the definition of consistency, and his play showed that last year as he put forth another solid effort and helped stretch the seam for Big Ben. With an explosive passing attack like this, you would expect their weakness to be in the run game. Wrong. Pittsburgh has arguably the best running back in all of football, in Le'Veon Bell. I don't like to suggest this for a lot of players, but watch his tape. Even go to Youtube and watch 5 minutes of his highlights, they are ridiculous. He has power, speed, evasiveness, and he makes terrific one cut decisions behind his O-line. Oh and did I mention he is one of the best receiving backs in the game? Well he is. Enough with my man crush on Le'Veon Bell, let's move on to the offensive line. The Steelers have really transformed this O-line over the past couple years, because up until recently, it was really bad. Last season though, it was actually great. Pittsburgh has transformed Kelvin Beachum into, dare I say, a franchise left tackle. That might be going a little far, but if we're just talking about last season, he was incredible protecting Ben's blindside. At left guard, they have Ramon Foster who was decent last year, nothing special, but definitely not bad. At center, they have a great player in Maurkice Pouncey. He had a good year last year, but when he is playing his best, he is one of the best centers in the NFL. At right guard, they have one of my favourite young guards in David DeCastro. He was great last year, and I think he could potentially take another step forward and become an elite guard this season. He's strong at the point of attack, a mauler in the run game, and has good hand placement too. At right tackle, the Steelers close out their O-line with another very solid player in Marcus Gilbert. He's not flashy, but he gets the job done. So to answer your question, yes this offense is good. They have very few glaring holes if any, and if Martavis Bryant or Wheaton can be a consistently reliable second option, look out opposing defences. For those of you who are interested, I don't think Bell's suspension will impact them in a huge way. They signed DeAngelo Williams to be their number 2 back, and he can take the load for the first couple games. In fact, this might help Bell stay fresh come seasons end. I would say that this is a top 5 offense, maybe even top 3 by years end. People need to realize that the Steelers identity is no longer a shutdown defense, it's a punch you in the face and blow you out offense.
Defense
On defense, this team is not the legendary Steel Curtain that would blanket opponents every game. They have been going through a transformation for the past couple years, and it still isn't done yet as there are some holes. On the defensive line, The Steelers will hope that Stephon Tuitt plays a bigger role for them. Last year he showed some promise as a rookie, but was overall inconsistent and will hopefully expand his game. At nose tackle, Pittsburgh has Steve McLendon who had a good year last year. They also have Daniel McCullers who is absolutely enormous (6'7/352 lbs), and the football fan in me wants him to get some playing time because his ceiling as a nose tackle is still really high. Opposite Tuitt, the Steelers have a really good defender in Cameron Heyward. He showed that he can anchor a defensive line last year, and was terrific against both rushing the passer and stopping the run. If the Steelers are going to take a big step defensively, it will be because of this young group of linebackers. Lawrence Timmons is the leader, and he is a very good ILB. Beside Timmons, they have Ryan Shazier, their 2014 1st round pick. Shazier could be a star next season if he stays healthy. He is crazy athletic, and has terrific instincts in the passing game as well. On the edge, The Steelers have a combination of James Harrison, Jarvis Jones, Arthur Moats, and Alvin "Bud" Dupree. Harrison is surprisingly putting up solid seasons at this stage of his career. Jarvis Jones has had a slow start to his career, but he was an extremely productive pass rusher in college and the Steelers are hoping he turns it around. Arthur Moats is another solid player that adds depth too. Finally, Bud Dupree has a chance to be a special edge rusher. He is extremely athletic, with grown man power when rushing the passer. In the secondary, Pittsburgh is going through their biggest makeover since the days of the Steel Curtain. A casual fan wouldn't recognize anybody in their secondary. Their starting cornerbacks will most likely be Cortez Allen and Senquez Golson, with William Gay in the slot. That group isn't particularly strong, although William Gay is coming off a good year. At safety, the Steelers have Mike Mitchell and Shamarko Thomas as their starters. This will be Thomas' first year starting, so he is a question mark as of now, but if he took advantage of learning under Troy Polamalu, then he could be a great safety. The Steelers also drafted Gerod Holliman in the 7th round, but he has the ball skills to be a factor in this defense early on. Pittsburgh is looking like a young inexperienced team on D. The loss of Dick LeBeau might hurt them, but Harrison, Timmons, and Heyward can hopefully set an example for the younger players. This defense shouldn't be expected to make much noise, but last year they were around the middle of the pack and they should be around the same this year too.
The Steelers are one of very few teams in the past few years to completely change their team identity. On top of that, they were successful in doing so. This offense is a threat in every sense of the word. They can run on you, pass on you, they have fast players, powerful players, and one hell of a QB. Mike Tomlin is a very good coach, and this team is always a threat to get to the Super Bowl every offseason. I don't love their defense at this point though, and I think the Steelers will have to rely on Ben's arm more then they ever have before. Even still, this is a competitive team that will most likely be a playoff team.
