The first game of 2015 is over, yet the 2015 Steelers are looking identical to the 2014 team, a weak secondary that can’t defend the pass, and an offense that can’t score touchdowns in the Red Zone.
For those of you who have been lost in the desert, the Steelers lost to the much-hated New England Patriots 28-21 last week, now they face the totally new look San Francisco 49ers Sunday.
Last season the Steelers weakness was a secondary that couldn’t stop anyone. This season with the retirement of Troy Polamalu and Ike Taylor, the young players were suppose to step up, but didn’t against New England. But being fair, no secondary has been able to stop Tom Brady, who if not the best quarterback in the league, is among the top three. Brady was 25 of 32 for 288 yards with 4 touchdown passes, three going to super tight end Rob Gronkowski.
The Steelers looked much like last season’s team as they marched up and down the field accumulating yards but once they got in the red zone they bogged down, settling for field goals, two of them missed, instead of touchdowns.
The Steelers on paper should have one of the best offensive teams in the NFL but must be able to score touchdowns to overcome a very weak defense, especially in the early part of the season.
Antonio Brown showed why he’s the best receiver in the game with 9 catches for 133 yards and Heath Miller had 8 catches for 84 yards, as Ben Roethlisberger had another great game going 26 for 38 for 351 yards and one touchdown.
And even without Le’Vean Bell, DeAngelo Williams picked up 127 yards on just 21 carries which should give the Steelers the best one-two combo in the game at running back, once Bell finish serving his two game suspension.
The 49ers under the leadership of Jim Harbaugh went to three playoffs and two consecutive NFC championship games after compiling a 13-3, 11-4-1 and 12-4 seasons they were expected to be a power for many years to come but a season with an 8-8 record led to Harbaugh being replaced as head coach by Jim Tomsula.
The change of coaches led to massive changes on offense and defense, with the biggest being letting star running back Frank Gore, who had 1106 yards last season on 255 carries, go to the Indianapolis Colts.
This puts more pressure on young quarterback Colin Kaepernick who had a below par season last year. He was 289 of 478 for 3369 yards and 19 touchdown to rank 17th among NFL quarterbacks. Much more is expected from him this season with outstanding receiver Torrey Smith joining Anquan Boldin, 83 catches, 1062 yards and Michael Crabtree, 68 catches for 698 yards along with tight end Vernon Davis.
The defense has always been great but this season there have been a lot of big questions especially in the secondary where key players have been lost.
The 49ers opened their season Monday night against a promising Minnesota Vikings team, and soundly beat them 20-3, so maybe the questions on both defense and offense in a rebuilding year has been answered. If young quarterback Kaepernick steps up his game to become the elite quarterback most were predicting him to be, the 49ers will have a winning season, if not they want because the defense, despite holding the Vikings to 3 points, does not look as strong as it has been in previous years.
The Steelers on the other hand do not want to start the season off at 0-2 so this game is a must for them at Heinz Field.
A quick look at the offense this week and a close look at the defense next week.
Roethlisberger had his best season last year tying Drew Brees with the most yards in the league with 4952 yards on 408 of 668 passing at 67.5 percent, with 33 touchdowns and just 9 interceptions giving him the third best quarterback rating, 103.3, in the NFL behind Tony Romo and Aaron Rodgers.
Brown led the league in receptions with 129, the second highest in the history of the NFL, as well as leading the league in yardages, with 1698 yards.
Bell finished with 83 receptions for 854 yards to go with 1361 rushing yards, second best in the league, on 290 carries.
Even with these great numbers look for all three to improve this year with Heath Miller, Markus Wheaton, and Martavis Bryant having outstanding seasons as well, giving the Steelers the best receiving core in the NFL and Bell and Williams will be the best running duo in the league.
And don’t forget the forgotten men up front. The offensive line is as good as any in the NFL with Kelvin Beachun and Marcus Gilbert at tackles, Ramon Foster and David DeCastro at guards and Cody Wallace subbing for the inured Maurkice Pouncey at center. The backups are: Chris Hubbard at center and guards, and Afejandro Villanueva at tackles.
In the first game Ben had all day to throw, and that will not change with this line. They are just as effective opening big holes for the runners as they are protecting Big Ben. Look for at least two to make the Pro-Bowl.
The only flaw with this offense, as I keep repeating myself, is the ability of the coaching staff in calling the proper plays once in the Red Zone or Ben and company not being able to convert these plays into touchdowns instead of field goals. To my point, if the Steelers had scored touchdowns instead of the two missed field goals the score would have been 35 to 28.