9/20/16-Steelers Look Strong Two Weeks Into The Season

By: Mike Pelaia

Two weeks into the season, the Steelers find themselves a perfect 2-0 with the 2-0 Eagles on the horizon for the intrastate matchup between the two teams formerly combined and known as the Steagles in the 40’s. 

After two weeks it’s quite apparent this Steelers team is good with the potential to be great. Many of the power rankings (which admittedly mean nothing) have them in the top spot.  Their offense seems to be one of, if not the best in the league. While they were not without their struggles on Sunday vs. the hated Bengals, they still managed to put up 24 points. 24 points with Big Ben having an off day and A.B. only grabbing four balls for 39 yards.  But as Ben put it in the press conference after the victory, “It’s not all about A.B.” In other words, this team is a team and as long as they win, they shouldn’t care how they do it. Also, it can be interpreted as a message to A.B. who appeared unhappy on the field at times with his stats not adding up to what he would probably deem acceptable numbers for himself.  

But this team has weapons everywhere. DeAgnelo Williams is proving he can be a workhorse and while LeVeon Bell will be back after next week, it sure does feel pretty good to have a guy like Williams on the roster. So much so that I believe the Steelers can and should ease Bell back into the mix. Williams is running so well at this time that there is no reason to rush Bell back into a full load too early. 

The defense is also playing pretty well to date too as they have only permitted two touchdowns in eight quarters. Hard to complain about that. While some have called them the next Steel Curtain, I’m not quite ready to anoint them. They still aren’t getting the sacks that I think they’ll need to sustain long term success as they proceed through the remainder of their schedule, I personally do not yet fully put my trust into a secondary whose number one cornerback is William Gay and number two cornerback is Ross Cockrell and lastly, Bud Dupree, their best outside linebacker hasn’t even taken a snap yet. Will this defense continue to improve and gel into a championship caliber unit? Time will certainly tell but it’s obvious they do have the potential to do so. 

Two games certainly don’t make a season but they can give you some insight into it and thus far all of Pittsburgh should be happy with what they’ve seen. Time now for the team to go back on the road and to continue playing at a high level and building upon that success as they traverse through the next 14 weeks.