Can the Steelers Make an Impact in the AFC with Russell Wilson?
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00:00Russell Wilson has been named the starter in Pittsburgh. So now what does 2024 have in store
00:10for the Steelers? Year number 18 under Mike Tomlin. We have said it numerous times and I'm
00:15sure you've heard it elsewhere that in all 17 years the Steelers have never had a losing record
00:20under Tomlin. They've never won less than eight games in any individual season whether it was 16
00:27or now 17 games. A playoff team a season ago and a team that has been consistently successful DRS
00:34despite an offense that has lagged behind the defensive side of the football. Even with big
00:40Ben Roethlisberger under center in the final few years of his NFL career. Eight and a half,
00:46the win total for Pittsburgh this year. The under has the hefty juice. Plus 8186 is the number
00:54for the Pittsburgh Steelers to make the postseason as they did a season ago. You saw the schedule on
01:00your screen and it is considered the most difficult schedule in the National Football League. So
01:06Russell Wilson is the starter in the Steel City. What is your outlook for the Steelers this year?
01:13It's not great and the reason I say that is if you took the Steelers out of that division Ben
01:17and put them again in a different division you might be able to tangle and try to you know win
01:21nine to ten games. Maybe even get into the playoffs by winning the division. That's not
01:25going to happen. The Baltimore Ravens are better if you get Jamar Chase under contract. The Cincinnati
01:30Bengals are better as well and we'll see what happens with the Cleveland Browns. We know they
01:33have a lot of talent but maybe they can't put it together with the running back injured to start
01:36the season and quite frankly the quarterback with a lot of question marks of a dead arm in camp.
01:41That's never a good look but let's focus on the Pittsburgh Steelers here. What did I love about
01:45Russell Wilson through the first part of his career Ben? It didn't matter who his offensive
01:49line was and the reason I say that is is most of the time if you can't step up in the pocket
01:53and deliver a pass you can't be a successful quarterback unless you're six foot five right
01:57which we know Russell Wilson is not. He was unbelievable in Seattle because he could extend
02:02those plays and get the ball out to his wide receivers. You're still asking him to be that
02:06second, third, fourth, fifth year Russell Wilson now in Pittsburgh and I don't think that's the
02:11case. The reason I bring that up is let's just say Russell Wilson was in Philadelphia playing
02:15behind a solid offensive line or Indianapolis right? Hey you know what? He's got more time in
02:19the pocket to make things happen. You look at that Pittsburgh Steelers offensive line Ben.
02:23It's not very good and it's not a young Russell Wilson and you saw that already in the preseason.
02:28When that pocket breaks down he's not as fast as he was in the past taking sacks here so that ball
02:33might come out even quicker and the plays can't develop which was his charm in Seattle where he
02:38could take the extra two seconds to get that wide receiver open. That's what I'm worried about. So
02:43when you look at the Steelers does Justin Fields actually fit this offense better? Not because
02:48he's a better passer per se but he can get out of the way and be mobile and say you know what if my
02:53offensive line isn't good I can escape and make guys miss to extend plays and run the football
02:58myself. That's my worry for the Pittsburgh Steelers. They have decent skill position
03:01players. They have a solid defense. Mike Tomlin is known for not losing seasons right and that's
03:07where we put our hang our hat on but the quite the frank fact is that's a tough division and my
03:11outlook is I don't think the Steelers make the playoffs.