Predicting the Steelers season (Part 1)

The Title says it all so lets get going,

Sun, Sept 8th – Tennessee – 1.00 pm / 6.00 pm GMT

Despite last years upset – which was mainly due to Ike Taylor having an off day against Kenny Britt I think the Steelers can be happy with their opening fixture. Outside of Chris Johnson the Titans only other established threat is Kenny Britt. The Steelers will be anxious to get off to a good start and I think this is as comfortable a win as we will have all year.

Prediction – Win by 17-28     Record: 1-0

Mon Sept 16th @ Cincinatti 8:40 pm / 1:40 am GMT

Our first evening game of the year and one with added spice thanks to the presence of James Harrison on the Bengals roster – The Bungles have added some dangerous weapons to their offence with Giovani Bernard and Tyler Eifert. I think the Steelers will split both series with their divisional rivals this year and I think the wins will go to the team with home-field advantage, Bengals to win … Just

Prediction – Loss : 10-13    Record : 1-1

Sun, Sept 22nd – Chicago – 8:30 pm / 1:30 am GMT

Under new head coach Marc Trestman I can only see the Bears going one way and that’s down. They are inconsistent at the best of times and the Steelers will be too strong for them, Steelers to win comfortably.

Prediction – Win: 21-30  Record: 2-1

Sun, Sept 29th – @ Wembley, London (Vikings)  – 1.00 pm / 6.00 pm GMT

This is the Steelers 9th home game of the season in effect. I’ll be there to see the Steelers in action live for the 2nd time in my life and I know the majority of the stadium will be dressed in black and gold. The Steelers are as well equipped to stop the run (Adrian Peterson) as anyone, as they showed last year versus The Redskins who were number one overall on the ground last year. If they can force Ponder to throw they should win this one, It could be tight though.

Prediction: Win: 14-10    Record: 3-1

BYE 

Sun, Oct 13th – @ New York Jets – 1.00 pm / 6.00 pm GMT

Coming off ANOTHER early bye the Steelers head to New York. If Sanchez is the starter then we are in an excellent position to win. And if Smith wins a place as top QB on the depth chart then we all know how good we are against rookie Quarterbacks.

Prediction – Win: 24-10     Record: 4-1

Sun, Oct 20th – Baltimore – 4.25 pm / 9.25 pm GMT

Everyone’s favorite match-up. I actually think that the Ravens have improved over the off-season, injecting new players into an average defence. This doesn’t change the fact that they rode their luck to win the Superbowl and were far from unbeatable (Charlie Batch anyone?) As I said earlier I think the Steelers will go 1-1 with the Bengals and the Ravens this year and I can’t see us winning in Baltimore on Thanksgiving night so this will be a Steelers win for me.

Prediction: Win: 7-10     Record: 5-1

Sun, Oct 27th  – @ Oakland  – 4.05 pm / 9.05 pm GMT

We can all remember last year and we don’t want a repeat. But we seem to be good at throwing games away to the Raiders. We have also historically struggled in Oakland. With Pryor likely to be under center they will be erratic. I’m tempted to put this as a loss but I’ll put some faith in the Steelers and back them to buck trend

Prediction – Win : 24-17    Record 6-1

Sun, Nov 3rd – @ New England – 4.25 pm / 9.25 pm GMT

Tom Brady may see ghosts put he also sees wide open receivers eluding William Gay. The last time we played the Patriots we beat them en route to a 12-4 season – This time I see a loss en route to a similar record at the end of the year.

Prediction – Loss: 20-27       Record: 6-2

Predicting the Steelers 53 Man Roster

Quarterbacks (3) – Ben Roethlisberger, Bruce Gradkowski, Landry Jones – This needs no explanation with Roethlisberger taking the Starting job and Gradkowski and Jones fighting for #2.

Running Backs (4) – Le’Veon Bell, LaRod Stephens-Howling, Isaac Redman, Baron Batch – I think Dwyer will be traded or cut by the start of the year as Redman offers more on 3rd down complemented by Batch and Stephens-Howling who will also be a candidate for special teams.

Full Back (1) – Will Johnson – Should beat of David Johnson with his superior quality in the passing game.

Wide Reciever (5) Antonio Brown, Emmanuel Sanders, Jerricho Cotchery, Markus Wheaton, Plaxico Burress – This is going to be one of the most interesting position battles, Although Gilreath has the returning ability I think Plaxico’s height will win him the battle in an otherwise very small receiving corp.

Tight End (3) – Heath Miller, Matt Spaeth, David Paulson – I think Heath will be fit therefore only needing 3 players the others pick themselves.

Offensive Line (9) – Mike Adams (T), Kelvin Beachum (T/G), Marcus Gilbert (T), David DeCastro (G), Ramon Foster (G), Maurkice Pouncey (C), Nik Embernate (G), Mike Golic, Jr. (G/T/C) Guy Whimper (T) – Mike Golic, Jr. is the best undrafted free agent who also provides depth across the board with potential to play Guard, Tackle and Centre. Nik Embernate should also get in with free agent Guy Whimper also getting a place

Nose Tackle (3) – Steve McLendon,  Alameda Ta’amu, Hebron Fangupo – I think it’s 50-50 on whether Hampton will come back for 1 year, I went for him not coming back with Ta’amu continuing his development behind McLendon.

Defensive End (4) – Brett Keisel, Steve McLendon, Ziggy Hood, Cameron Heyward, Al Woods. – Same as last year and with McLendon being able to play DE than this is all the Steelers need.

Inside Linebacker (4) – Lawrence Timmons, Larry Foote, Marshall McFadden, Vince Williams – I see Vince Williams being one of the steals of this draft and I see him beating Stevenson Sylvester to a place on the roster.

Outside Linebacker (4) – LaMarr Woodley, Jason Worilds, Jarvis Jones, Chris Carter – Adrian Robinson is out as for me he doesn’t contribute enough especially as he doesn’t offer anything on special teams.

Cornerback (6) – Ike Taylor, Cortez Allen, William Gay, Curtis Brown, Terry Hawthorne, DeMarcus Van Dyke – It may seem like a lot of Cornerbacks but William Gay can double up as a safety and Brown and Hawthorne will do well in Special Teams.

Safety (4) – Ryan Clark, Troy Polamalu, Robert Golden, Shamarko Thomas – A good solid Safety Corp boosted by the addition of Shamarko Thomas

Special Teams (3) – Brian Moorman, Drew Butler, Greg Warren – I’m going for experience with Brian Moorman getting the place on my roster he’s been reliable for years and I think he can still do the job

Grading The Pittsburgh Steelers’ Draft

 Round 1 (17) – Jarvis Jones – OLB (Above)

Height – 6’2″  Weight – 245 lbs

Jarvis Jones is top 10 talent, no doubt about that but his Spinal Stenosis caused him to drop down the board. He is the perfect fit in the Steelers 3-4 defense and will fill in the hole left by James Harrison. The Steelers didn’t even talk to Jarvis Jones at the Combine as they thought they had no chance of getting him.
He had 14.5 sacks and 24.5 tackles for losses as well as 1 interception. He has a good first step as well as a good closing burst considering his 40′ time. He is a very good tackler and has great upper-body strength. Another plus is that he is a real leader with good character, something the Steelers appeared to have targeted with all their picks this year.
The injury concerns are the only real downside to his game apart from some concerns with his ability to drop back in zone coverage.

They essentially got top 10 talent with the 17th pick just like with DeCastro last year and it filled a big need for them at Outside Linebacker

Grade = A-

Round 2 () Le’Veon Bell – RB

Height – 6’2″ Weight – 230 lbs

Le’Veon Bell is a beast, a power runner with twinkle toes. Behind a terrible O-line in college and playing in a team without a passing game Le’Veon Bell still rushed for 1,793 yards and 12 touchdowns, earning himself numerous postseason accolades.
I’ll give you 3 reasons to love Le’Veon Bell

1. He can do this – It’s a bit like The Bus doing Cartwheels down the pitch, There are also numerous hurdles and spins in there as well.
2. He does not fumble!
3. He can block and he has great hands.

The only problems with this pick is that the Steelers may have been able to trade down a bit lower for him ( Only if there was a willing partner in the trade, which I doubt there was) and that he has had a lot of wear and tear.

He was my favorite RB coming into the draft and I’m delighted the Steelers got him. He will be our best receiver out of the backfield by a mile and he should get time on the field instantly. As you can tell I absolutely love this pick.

Grade = A+

Round 3 () Markus Wheaton – WR

Height – 5’11”  Weight – 189 lbs

I din’t know a lot about Wheaton coming into the draft but he seems a solid reciever, with good hands, route running and speed. Can be incorporated into various gadget plays such as reverses etc.
Not great after the catch, Doesn’t attack the ball that well and is a slightly lackluster at blocking.

From what I’ve read he was expected to go in the 2nd round so getting him in the third seems like good value. Could of done with a taller receiver, but that is not the end of the world.

Grade = B

Round 4 – Shamarko Thomas – SS – Great pick-up in the 4th, plays like a homing missile and hits really hard(28 reps). A Stiller through and through. Should be a great back-up to Troy and Ryan Clarke, Another great 40 yard Dash moment as well

Grade = A-

Round 4 – Landry Jones – QB – Meh, This was my least favorite pick of the draft. Concerns with his confidence and ability to take a hit. That shouldn’t be such a big problem in Todd Haley’s quick release system though. Should be a decent Back-up/3rd string QB His 40′ dash was a thing of comedy gold though, You must watch it seriously.

Grade = C-

Round 5 – Terry Hawthorne – CB – Had an underwhelming year at Illinois along with the rest of their defense and accordingly his draft stock fell. If he can rediscover some of his earlier form he could be a steal otherwise he will fight for his place as a back-up

Grade = C

Round 6 – Justin Brown – WR – Tall reciever who transfered from Penn St. Played with Landry Jones in Oklahoma and put up some decent numbers. Haven’t seen enough of him to make an in depth analysis right now

Grade = C

Round 6 – Vince Williams – ILB – More depth in a position of need, Good size and very enthusiastic from what I have seen, He just seems to enjoy playing football.

Grade = B-

Round 7 – Nick Williams – DT – Drafted as a DT but I could see him moving to DE or a really big run-blocking ILB we’ll see what happens though

Grade = C+

Overall Grade = A – This went as well as I could have hoped with the Steelers addressing many areas of need with quality talent. And they got top talent in positions of need

Winners and Losers from the NFL Draft

Winners

1. Minnesota Vikings – The obvious winner from this draft, Trading for 3 first round picks they took Shariff Floyd the powerful DT, Xavier Rhodes  highly rated Cornerback and Cordarelle Patterson from Tenessee. All three are high impact players who should do well over the next few years.
   
2. Cincinnati Bengals – Tyler Eifert is one Helluva playmaker on Offence, Giovani Bernard should complement BenJarvus Green-Ellis well as a third down back. Margus Hunt should also rotate in and out on the Defensive Line.
3. Pittsburgh Steelers – Jarvis Jones is top 10 talent taken with the 17th pick and he fills a position of need. La’Veon Bell was in my opinion the best running back in the draft, Markus Wheaton is a very solid reciever with enough pace to make defensive backs respect his danger down the field and back off a bit.
4. Paul Kruger – He was joined by his two younger brothers Joe and Dave with one Drafted and one as an Undrafted free agent in the NFL.

Honourable Mentions – Detroit Lions, San Diego Chargers and Buffalo Bills.

Losers

1. Dallas Cowboys – Using a first round selection on a Center is questionable at best, But terrible if he isn’t an elite prospect and at best I see Travis Frederick as a decent starting Center. The only thing that may sway my mind is if they are planning on moving him to Guard but that would be a big risk.
2. Oakland Raiders – They are taking a risk in taking D.J Hayden based on his medical history, Menelik Watson has minimal experience, This could be a brilliant draft but I feel there are more downsides than there are upsides to their draft.
3. Geno Smith – He gets a ticket straight into the madness at the Jets who already had 5 QB’s on their roster.