AFC North Rivals Tracker (Strengths, Issues, Injuries, & What We're Up Against)

[Mind Character]

 

Steelers fans responded to a few questions about their team below.......

 

19 hours ago, Magnus-Viktor said:

When healthy and not suspended:

QB:  Elite of course

RB:  Elite, and Conner is a huge upgrade over that loser Toussaint as the #2 back.

WR:  Very thin depth.  Brown is elite, but the rest all have huge red flags.  Big play capability but unreliable hands, suspension risks, etc, across the board.

TE:  Pretty average.  McGee and Grimble have shown flashes and James we know is at least ok.  

OL:  Solid across the board.  

DL:  Elite.  Not sure about quality of depth though.  

LB:  Shazier is elite if healthy.  Dupree has an elite burst and will make splash plays as a result.  Watt needs a lot of work, but he'll make some plays due to his motor and intelligence (but I don't see splash plays coming just yet, he needs to disengage faster for them).  Not sure on 3rd LB.

CB:  average?  

S:  average?  

 

 

Main reason for optimism?  Big Ben and the offense are going to light it up if healthy. 

Main reason for concern?  The D can get torched and we don't know what we have in half of the players that will log serious minutes on D.  We also are dead in the water if we get injuries to Ben, and it'll hurt big time if Brown or Bell are hurt/suspended too.  

 

On 8/19/2017 at 10:14 PM, FourThreeMafia said:

1. Strengths  -  Entire offense aside from TE.    Defensive Ends are near the top of the league as far as 3-4 teams....DLine as a whole could be beastly if Hargrave gets better vs the run.    

2. Weakness -  TE. but I think Jesse James could be solid, although he will still be a weak spot on an otherwise loaded offense.    Im somewhat worried about inside linebacker, especially if Shazier cant stay healthy all year.     Vince Williams is too up and down.     Secondary is still the weak spot, but there is some potential back there.   Still, with guys like Ross Cockrell, William Gay and Mike Mitchell still likely to get alot of playing time,  our secondary is still going to be the biggest vulnerability.   

3. Positional groups that could go either way -  Outside Linebacker.    TJ Watt looks like he COULD be an absolute beast, and Bud Dupree definitely has the ability as well.   However, Dupree has to improve his technique and consistency, and we have only seen one PRESEASON game from Watt thus far (although he is impressing in camp as well),    Point is,  both of them are still question marks....but both have huge upside.

4. Biggest points (players, positions, etc) for optimism -   Not really sure what youre looking for here that isnt in the strengths/weaknesses, but Im optimistic that our offense can finally stay healthy and together for most or all of the season, and we can finally see what this offense can be with a healthy Killer B unit.      Also optimistic in our OLBs....even though they could go either way, as mentioned above.

5. Biggest points (players, positions, etc) of concern  -  Secondary, and maybe Bell's attitude.     

 

 

 

 

 

[Mind Character]

Bengals fan responded to a few questions about their team below.......

On 8/20/2017 at 0:54 PM, MrCincinnati said:

1.The biggest strength is there having 3 quality running backs in Bernard, Hill, and Mixon. Also the Weapons in the passing game with Green, Eifert, Boyd, Ross, and Lafell. And having quality depth in almost every position.

2.The entire offensive line, especially there LT and RT with Ogbuehi and Fisher. Dalton and Marvin Lewis's track record in primetime games. Can the DL do better against the run and getting to the QB?

3.The LB's are loaded, but need to reach expectations. Secondary at CB is deep, but the S's are getting injured.

4.Adding more weapons on the offense in both the passing and run game. Lots of young talent on the defense. Experienced coaching.

5.The offensive line must replace Whitworth and Zeitler. Burfict and Jones have attitude problems, and can Mixon not become part of that problem. Marvin Lewis in a lame duck year.

 

[Mind Character]

Some more stuff from another Bengals fan.......

On 8/22/2017 at 6:09 PM, theJ said:

@Mind Character

1. Strengths,
Compared to the average, i think they have a positional strength at QB.  Dalton has taken large strides in recent years.  I also think in general they're strong at the skill positions.  They also have a big competition for the last couple of DL spots.  I think they'll be much better there than last year.

2. Weakness,
Offensive line is the big one.  They're truly bad there.  An average season out of that group would be a big blessing to the team.
They're also a little thin at LB after Burfict.  They're all solid role player vets or unproven young guys.  I don't really trust them.

3. Positional groups that could go either way,
LB is the big one, for reasons stated above.  With Eifert's injury history and Uzomah on the shelf atm, the TE position could be a little iffy as the season goes on.

4. Main reasons (players, positions, coaches, new attitude, rumors etc) for optimism as it team success,
The draft appears solid, and some rookies have been very good in training camp/preseason.  The team didn't blow it up after a bad year, and i think that will pay dividends.  The coaching staff has preached that they're not just giving jobs to the aging vets anymore and that better young guys will displace those useless older guys.

5. Main reasons (players, positions, coaches, locker room attitudes, rumors etc) for concern as it relates to team success
Even though the staff has preached competition, we're still incumbent starters being given starting roles and all the first team reps in practice/games (talking about Bodine @ C, Michael Johnson @ DE, and Jeremy Hill @ RB).  Also, the offensive line could quickly derail this season if Dalton gets killed back there.

 

[BwickRedux]

I'm hoping our d-line takes advantage of Bengals weakness and feasts on Dalton come week 4, I want him to be terrified to come out for the second half.

[Thomas5737]

I hope our defense takes advantage of everyone and Dalton is scared to come out for the start of the game. I don't see any indication of that so far this preseason but It is a hope. We do look scarier than last year but not generally scary yet. There is still time.

[LETSGOBROWNIES]

On August 25, 2017 at 8:57 PM, Thomas5737 said:

I hope our defense takes advantage of everyone and Dalton is scared to come out for the start of the game. I don't see any indication of that so far this preseason but It is a hope. We do look scarier than last year but not generally scary yet. There is still time.

Our defense usually frightens me when I'm watching, so there's that.

[Mind Character]

28 minutes ago, 49erurtaza said:

49ers trading TE Vance McDonald and a fifth-round pick to the Steelers for a fourth-round pick, per sources. Steelers upgrade TE.

 

 

Steelers apparently approved on their glaring weakness at TE according to their fans as Jesse James at TE was unproven with little upside.

Vance McDonald is an improvement for sure and if he can hold onto the ball could pay major dividends...

Always sucks to see an opponent get better...

[ReggieCamp]

9 minutes ago, Mind Character said:

Steelers apparently approved on their glaring weakness at TE according to their fans as Jesse James at TE was unproven with little upside.

Vance McDonald is an improvement for sure and if he can hold onto the ball could pay major dividends...

Always sucks to see an opponent get better...

Eh, we'll see.  McDonald hasn't figured it out yet.  It's one of those "change of scenery" moves that most often, don't work out.

About a year ago, they traded a 6th for Justin Gilbert.  I hope this one works out as well as that one.