It is a simple question.
Do you feel better about the Steelers now than you did when training camp started?
I feel worse.
That doesn't mean there haven't been some pleasant surprises.
All three of the quarterbacks played better than I expected in the three exhibition games. They combined for a 72.5% completion percentage and seven touchdowns with no interceptions. Mitch Trubisky proved he should be the starter in Cincinnati next Sunday based on his experience and athleticism. Kenny Pickett showed he has the potential to be a star down the road. Mason Rudolph is better than a lot of NFL backup quarterbacks.
It's going to be fun to watch how Trubisky handles the scrutiny and pressure of the job, one of the toughest in Pittsburgh. He comes in facing the double whammy of having to replace Hall of Fame-bound Ben Roethlisberger with former Pitt star and No. 1 pick Pickett breathing down his neck. Most Steelers fans want to see Pickett as the starter — right now, today. Imagine what the Acrisure Stadium crowd will be like if the team loses the first game and Trubisky throws an early interception against New England in the first home game on Sept. 18. Hopefully, for Trubisky's sake, he developed a tough skin after playing before another demanding fan base in Chicago.
It's also going to be fun to watch how Tomlin handles Trubisky. I'm not suggesting he will bench Trubisky in the first game if he starts slowly, but I don't imagine he will stay with him long if his struggles continue. Tomlin loved Pickett enough to make him the Steelers' No. 1 pick in April. He figures to be itching to turn the team over to him.
The quarterbacks always are the main storyline, this season in this city with this team more than ever.
Three new players have made positive first impressions. George Pickens has been the sensation of the summer and makes wide receiver the deepest position on the Steelers. Larry Ogunjobi and Myles Jack should strengthen a run defense that was worst in the league last season. Malik Reed — 13 sacks in the past two seasons — has a chance to be another significant addition as a depth edge rusher behind T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith, who have had their share of injuries. Damontae Kazee would have been another contributor if not for his wrist surgery.
Now, the negatives.
I see a big one — a really big one.
I thought Devin Bush would be much better this season, now 22 months removed from his ACL surgery. He hasn't been and is looking like a first-round bust, especially because the Steelers traded a second-round pick to move up 10 spots to grab him at No. 10 in 2019. Unless Bush becomes suddenly productive, the team will have a sizable hole at inside linebacker next to Jack. That is problematic for a defense — the highest paid in the NFL — that needs to carry the team and win a lot of 17-14 games.
The Steelers aren't going to win many — if any — shootouts because of that really big negative.
The offensive line.
It was bad last season. It is worse now. That's almost impossible to comprehend.
As with Bush, I expected big improvement from left tackle Dan Moore Jr. in his second year as a starter. He hasn't shown it.
The Steelers don't have a left guard to play next to Moore. Kevin Dotson will win the job by default because Kendrick Green has been so bad. So much for Green getting better after moving from center last season to guard.
James Daniels also was a disappointment in the exhibition games. The Steelers might have hit free-agent gold with Ogunjobi and Jack but not — at least, so far — with Daniels, who signed a three-year, $26.5 million contract in March to be the right guard.
I want to believe Tomlin and Omar Khan, who are preaching patience and insisting the line will keep getting better and better.
But I just can't. I see the line totally sabotaging the season.
I predicted 8-9 for the Steelers at the start of camp.
I'm saying 7-10 now.
No playoffs.
The end of Tomlin's 15-year run without a losing season.
