Sep 10, 2016 7 min read

dlolley@observer-reporter.com

PITTSBURGH – The Steelers have one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL.

They have a wide receiver who’s not only the best player at his position, but might be the best in the league, regardless of position.

And sometimes they have a running back who many rank among the best in the league.

Sometimes?

Le’Veon Bell’s on-again, off-again issues with the NFL just might be a perfect synopsis of the current Steelers roster.

The last time Bell started all 16 games in a season – in 2014 – the then 22-year-old led the AFC with a team-record 2,215 yards from scrimmage.

But suspensions and injuries limited Bell’s availability in 2015, as he opened the season with a two-game suspension for violation of the league’s substance abuse policy and lasted just six games before a season-ending knee injury put him on the shelf the remainder of the year.

The 2016 season hasn’t started much better for the Steelers as wide receiver Martavis Bryant, who has scored 15 touchdowns in 21 career games, was suspended for the entire season and Bell was told by the league to sit out the first three games of the season. Both were for missed mandatory drug tests.

That’s been the bad news for the Steelers as they head into 2016 as one of the favorites to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl.

The good news? Center Maurkice Pouncey, who suffered a season-ending broken leg last preseason, is back and healthy, and their star quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger, and receiver, Antonio Brown, look to be in fine form.

Despite the turmoil surrounding Bryant and Brown, the Steelers remain a confident team after coming within a drive of beating the eventual Super Bowl champion Broncos in Denver during the playoffs in January.

“It’s one of those things. You have all this talent and you start losing guys like that, it’s tough,” said Pro Bowl guard David DeCastro. “We’re so talented, but to lose guys or not have them there, it’s frustrating. You want to have everyone there. Then again, we’re used to it, sadly. Guys will step up. We should be good to go.”

Offensively, even without Bryant for the season and Bell for a spell, the Steelers are as talented as any team in the NFL.

Despite missing four full games and parts of two others because of injuries last season, Roethlisberger was again voted to the Pro Bowl. Brown has 375 receptions in the past three seasons – the most for a player over a three-year span in NFL history – including a league-best 136 in 2015. The offensive line, with DeCastro and Pouncey anchoring the middle, is among the best in the league. And backup running back DeAngelo Williams, despite being 33, led the AFC with 11 rushing touchdowns last season.

That’s why, even with Bell’s suspension, the Steelers remain confident they can average 30 points per game and be one of the league’s best offenses.

“We’ve got playmakers everywhere,” said Bell. “We’ve got the best quarterback. And our defense is going to get us some turnovers, so we’re definitely going to have a lot of opportunities to make plays. And our offensive line, they’re only getting better. They’re making my job easier, Ben’s job easier and everybody else’s job easier.”

The defense was better last season under first-year defensive coordinator Keith Butler. Sacks increased from 33 in 2014 to 48 last year. Takeaways also were up, from 20 to 31.

But there were still issues. Though the run defense was among the best in the league, the pass defense ranked 30th, giving up 272 yards per game.

Improving that was a major goal in the offseason. Cornerbacks Antwon Blake and Brandon Boykin, along with strong safety Will Allen, were not retained. Cornerback Artie Burns was selected in the first round of the draft and cornerback/safety Sean Davis was taken in the second.

While Burns is a long-term project, despite being a first-round selection, Davis is expected to help immediately as the nickel defensive back. He’ll join cornerbacks William Gay and Ross Cockrell and safeties Mike Mitchell and Robert Golden in a secondary the Steelers hope will be better.

“We’ll see how we do,” said Butler. “We have to figure out what we can do and what we can’t do, see what our young guys in the secondary can handle and go from there.”

A lot will depend upon the pass rush.

While defensive ends Cameron Heyward and Stephon Tuitt combined for 13 1/2 sacks last season and could improve that total in their second season of working in tandem, the Steelers still want to generate more pressure from their outside linebackers. Last season, a rotation of Jarvis Jones and James Harrison on the right side and Arthur Moats and Bud Dupree on the left, combined for only 15 sacks. That was on fewer than Harrison had in 2008 when he was named NFL Defensive Player of the Year.

The Steelers’ plan was for Jones and Dupree, a pair of former first-round draft picks, to take over on a full-time basis and provide that pass rush. But Dupree was placed on injured reserve last Sunday with a sports hernia that required surgery.

Dupree could return from injured reserve – each NFL team can bring one player back per season – but that likely won’t be until sometime in late October or November. Moats will start in his place.

The expectations remain for the outside linebackers to be more productive.

“They will have more opportunities,” said Steelers outside linebackers coach Joey Porter. “And if you have an explosive offense like we do, we could be facing a lot of teams where they have to pass the ball to keep up with us. That should give more opportunities to rush the passer. But you still have to go out there and beat the guy in front of you.”

At inside linebacker, the Steelers are as solid as any team in the league with former Pro Bowl player Lawrence Timmons and Ryan Shazier, who is in his third year with the team.

“I definitely feel like it’s my year,” Shazier said. “I think everybody has been waiting to see me break out for a while.”

Much the same way the Steelers have been waiting to make it to another Super Bowl since last going in 2010.

The schedule also could come into play. After playing what was ranked the NFL’s most difficult schedule in 2015, one that included trips to Seattle, San Diego, St. Louis and Kansas City, the Steelers only leave the time zone once this year with a strength of schedule ranked 23rd.

They will, however, have a number of high-profile games, including hosting New England Oct. 23, facing the Colts in Indianapolis Thanksgiving night, hosting Baltimore Christmas Day and finishing the regular season at home against Cleveland New Years Day.

The team has that goal in 2016, despite everything that has gone on. In fact, it has that goal every season.

It will make for some interesting travel and logistical issues, but it hasn’t dampened the Super Bowl expectations.

In fact, this year, those expectations go beyond the players and coaches in the locker room.

“I’ve kind of noticed that. I’ve seen it, read it,” DeCastro said. “They should be. I kind of feel that way too. We’ve got a lot of young guys who are primed, especially on defense, to have that breakout year. They know what they’re capable of doing. On offense, we’ve got to do our job.”