This '13-'14 Steelers Season Starts & Ends in the Trenches

Steve Mclendon - Ready to Make His Mark

A lot has been said regarding the Pittsburgh Steelers upcoming regular season.  Everything from high expectations to lowly predictions.  As of right now, speculation is all we have as we await Week 1 in the regular season.  I know one thing is for sure, all this discussion will change dramatically when the Steelers step onto Heinz Field on September 8th to face the Tennessee Titans at 1:00pm.  You can talk about the strengths and weaknesses of this Steelers team until you are blue in the face, but in my opinion, the success of this team will come down to the "trenches"...yeah that's right, the big boys.  The offensive and defensive lines.  Let me elaborate.

One of the biggest debates amongst SteelerNation, talk radio, and casual fans is the Steelers' RB situation.  Call me crazy, but you could throw Adrian Peterson in the Steelers backfield and if the offensive line doesn't open up holes he will hardly rush for 1,000 yards.  Think of the best QB in the league...some would say Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees...it doesn't matter who it is.  If the offensive line doesn't buy that QB time it won't matter a lick how good they are because they will be playing the game primarily from their backside.  The Steelers offensive line is THE STORYLINE for the upcoming season, if you ask me.  The offensive line is filled with potential (as I wrote in a previous article, potential is only good on paper), but is also very "Green" in terms of their experience.  For the most part, people are speaking of the Steelers OLine only in terms of "doom and gloom", but what if this line stays healthy and starts to gel?  One thing no one can deny from this preseason (when the starting line was in the game) is that they can open up running lanes.  When Jonathan Dwyer, Larod Stephens Howling, and Felix Jones averaged 3.6 yards or better in only a half...that isn't bad.  Don't forget Larod Stephens Howling averaged over 4 yards per rush against the NY Giants in the first preseason game.  No, the running game should be just fine if you ask me.

Pass protection, well, thats a different story.  Look no further than the starting tackles and you'll see why its a different story.  Gilbert and Adams are players that like to play downhill and fast...not so much backing up and protecting.  I think its safe to say after the Chiefs game that the Steelers will be deploying a TE or Kelvin Beachum as a TE to help with pass protection...but in a QB driven league you do whatever it takes to keep your starting QB clean and healthy.  The offensive line needs to gel, and fast for this team to make plays offensively.

The defensive line is in much better hands than the offensive line, in my opinion.  The DLine is going to look different without "Big Snack" Casey Hampton plugging the middle, but in his stead is a man in Steve Mclendon (no, not Lloyd McLendon) that has the ability to not only drive the center into the backfield, but get that interior pressure that would look like Casey Hampton in 2004.  What really has me happy about this defensive line group this year is that they have depth that can be rotated in without missing too much from a production standpoint.  The starting line will be Ziggy Hood, Mclendon, and Brett Keisel.  The substitutes that will rotate in will be Al Woods and Cam Heyward.  The rotation will keep players fresh and also give the offensive line different looks.  I don't see the defensive line being a detriment to this defense at all...they do their jobs and make the occasional play.  In a 3-4 defense you can't ask much more from your "mudders" up front.

Some of you might be reading this saying "you are basing this all off preseason games that don't count", well, aren't you basing your criticism of the Steelers as a team around the preseason?  Regardless of whether you are like me and think the Steelers are going to go 10-6 this year, of if you think this team is doomed for sub .500 season, it will all come down to the hogs up front for the offense and defense.  Can the OLine open holes and protect Big Ben from being killed?  Can the DLine put pressure on the QB and stop the run consistently?  Those are questions that time will tell, but will ultimately decide the fate of this 2013-2014 Pittsburgh Steelers football club.