Pittsburgh Steelers Offseason State of the Union

It's the lowest point in the year for the Pittsburgh Steelers in terms of team activity, with OTAs and minicamp wrapped and training camp a month away.

As such, it's a good time to take a look at the different areas of the Steelers, from passing offense to special teams, to see where they stand. Here's the Steelers' offseason state of the union. 

Passing Offense

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The Steelers offense boasted the second-most yards earned last year and the seventh-most points, and much of the credit goes to the team's passing game. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger had the best season of his career, posting up personal bests in passing yards and completion percentage and tying his highest touchdown total of 32.

That trend appears poised to continue this year, with the Steelers passing offense seeing few changes during the offseason. Roethlisberger is at the prime of his career, and he was rewarded for his performance with a four-year, $87.4 million contract extension earlier this year.

In his supporting cast, he has the NFL's top receiver of 2014, Antonio Brown, and a promising second-year player in Martavis Bryant, who caught 26 passes—eight for touchdowns—despite being inactive for the first six games of the year.

After two seasons of getting to know one another, Roethlisberger says that "all of" coordinator Todd Haley's offense suits him. The passing offense is designed to get the most out of its receivers' yards-after-the-catch ability, and it showed last year, with Brown earning 568 yards after the catch last season and running back Le'Veon Bell totaling 723.

Markus Wheaton, meanwhile, will be tapped as the team's slot receiver, while tight end Heath Miller will remain a chains-mover for the team in the passing game. The two wild cards in this situation are rookies—tight end Jesse James, who should someday supplant Miller as the team's starter, and receiver Sammie Coates, who struggled with drops at Auburn but who has impressed his teammates this offseason.

But none of the Steelers' continued success in the passing game could be achieved without a stable offensive line. Last year, no Steelers starting offensive lineman missed significant time, and the results were noticeable—Roethlisberger was sacked just 33 times. Pro Football Focus ranked the line seventh in the league last year in pass protection.

With Roethlisberger playing the best football of his career alongside a supporting cast that has become one of the best in the NFL, expect the Steelers passing offense to yet again be one of the league's best in 2015.

Rushing Offense

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The Steelers run game was much improved in 2014, with the team totaling 1,752 yards on the ground, good for 16th-best in the league. That middle-of-the-road figure is one they would like to improve upon this year, but one thing that doesn't need improving is the talent of lead back Le'Veon Bell.

Bell totaled 1,361 rushing yards on 290 attempts and had eight rushing scores. The outside-zone blocking scheme installed by offensive line coach Mike Munchak was perfectly suited to Bell's one-cut style of running, and he ended the year averaging 4.7 yards per carry.

The only problem, though, is that Bell is set to serve a three-game suspension to start the season, stemming from a 2014 arrest for DUI and marijuana possession. While it could be reduced via appeal, the Steelers are preparing to be without one of their brightest offensive stars to begin the year.

That's part of the reason why the Steelers signed veteran free-agent running back DeAngelo Williams this offseason (the other part being that they simply needed an experienced back to help bring along their younger players).

Williams is more than ready to take up the starting mantle in place of Bell. He told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Ray Fittipaldo, "At any given time, your number can be called. When your number is called, you have to be productive." He added that he's "very comfortable" with his new team.

Behind Williams is Josh Harris, who was thought to be first in line to replace Bell in the team's Wild Card playoff game against Baltimore last year but who ultimately took a back seat to Ben Tate.

Harris is not going to let any opportunities he gets pass him by this year. He told Fittipaldo, "I put it more on me that I didn't show them enough in practice that they felt like they could give me more time. I'm trying to make sure that when I have my chance now, I'll take full advantage of it."

But Harris will have to fend off the similarly-sized Cameron Stingily and Ross Scheuerman, who has the pass-catching ability of Bell and a similar running style. The two undrafted rookies have looked good in their limited work this offseason. It will be interesting to see what they bring to the table once the pads are on.

With more stability on the offensive line, the Steelers have at least found a run-game formula that works. As long as they can weather the loss of Bell for up to three games this year, they should be in as good shape with the ground game as they were last year, if not better.

Passing Defense

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The Steelers passing defense struggled both in the secondary and in the pass rush last year. The team ranked 27th in passing yards allowed and 28th in passing defense, recording only 33 sacks and 11 interceptions. 

The team will need to either get more aggressive up front or in trying to create turnovers in the interception game. The Steelers will also need to field a better group of players both in their linebacking corps and in their secondary. 

When it comes to the linebackers, the Steelers made an upgrade in the draft by selecting Bud Dupree in Round 1. Dupree has already been practicing with the first-team defense, according to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, a good sign that his rookie year will be a productive one. The question, though, is how he'll split time with the Steelers' other outside linebackers, Jarvis Jones, James Harrison and Arthur Moats.

Harrison is set to be on a snap count this year, and Jones is still nursing the wrist injury that cost him nine games last year. Moats, meanwhile has been serving as the Steelers' first-team left outside linebacker during OTAs and minicamp, a job that he could maintain through training camp and into Week 1.

On the secondary side of things, there have been a number of changes. Cornerback Ike Taylor and safety Troy Polamalu have both retired. Taylor's job seems to be Cortez Allen's for now, but given how 2014 went for Allen—starter on the outside, then nickel corner, then to the bench—it's possible the Steelers will need a backup plan for him.

Allen is working hard to regain his confidence and the fundamental skills he lost last year by soliciting the help of defensive backs coach Carnell Lake. But with the Steelers drafting cornerbacks Senquez Golson and Doran Grant this year and Lake not opposed to putting rookies in the starting lineup, Allen is on a short leash—especially because Antwon Blake seems destined for the nickel job, but he also has experience on the outside.

At safety, the Steelers will have Mike Mitchell returning after undergoing surgery for two torn groin muscles in the offseason. The mostly untested Shamarko Thomas will be taking over Polamalu's job. Padded practices will yield much in the way of evidence of Thomas' development and Mitchell's improvement now that he's healthy.

But most importantly, the Steelers must be better at defending the pass, regardless of the personnel on the field. With so much going for the Steelers on offense, the defense cannot let them down in a year with such a difficult schedule, including the season opener on September 10 against the Super Bowl champion New England Patriots.

Rushing Defense

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The Steelers defense was quite stout against the run last year, allowing a sixth-best 97.1 rushing yards per game to their opponents. But that number is a bit deceiving in that teams only ran the ball against them an average of 23.1 times per game.

This was owed to two things—the Steelers' weakness in the secondary, as well as the ability of Pittsburgh's offense to put up points, which forced teams to throw in order to try to play catch-up in the scoring column.

What is more concerning is that the Steelers allowed 4.2 yards per rush last year, a pedestrian number indicating that if teams had run against them 27 times per game, they would have yielded 113.4 rushing yards. That would have made the Steelers run defense just 18th in the league in that case.

As much as the Steelers need to get more aggressive up front in their defense to pressure opposing quarterbacks, they need to do the same against the run. They cannot just rely on the offense forcing opposing teams to shut down their run games.

Part of this improvement will be dependent on second-year inside linebacker Ryan Shazier getting back in the starting lineup. His speed will be invaluable not just to the interior pass rush, but also to their ability to stop the run.

A healthy Steve McLendon at nose tackle should also boost the Steelers' performance against the run. And the team still boasts inside linebacker Lawrence Timmons, who was Pro Football Focus' third-best interior linebacker against the run last season.

The Steelers' good performance against the run last year was almost by default. This year, it must become a greater focus or else teams will exploit those weaknesses just as they did the secondary's in 2014.

Special Teams

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Little appears poised to change when it comes to the Steelers special teams unit this year. To the chagrin of many, wide receiver Antonio Brown should resume his duties as the team's punt returner. He returned 30 punts last year for 319 yards and one touchdown and had 16 fair catches.

It's the kick-returner job that is up for grabs. The Steelers are envisioning second-year wide receiver and running back Dri Archer to handle those duties initially, but even though he boasts blazing speed, he managed only 161 yards on his nine kick returns last season. That's why receiver Markus Wheaton may ultimately reprise his role as the team's kick returner, given his 20 returns for 494 yards last year.

The kicking situation is also stable, with Shaun Suisham having no offseason competition for the starting job. Suisham made 29 of his 32 field goal attempts last year, with his only misses coming beyond the 50-yard mark. The punter position could yield some summertime competition, though.

Brad Wing is still on the team, but he also has Jordan Berry to contend with. Wing had 61 punts last year, which traveled an average of 43.7 yards. He kicked 20 inside the opponents' 20-yard line, had four touchbacks and his punts were returned a total of 220 yards.

Steelers special teams coordinator Danny Smith spoke to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Max Cohen about the competition and noted that "Smith has noticed improvement in the offseason" in Wing's performance, and he "has been impressed with Berry, though he noted he has much to learn."

In a game that begins—and often ends—because of field-position advantage, the Steelers need to get as much out of their kicking, punting and return games as possible. Special teams has been a sticking point for the Steelers over the season, with much turnover of the coaching staff in that area. Hopefully, the Steelers can find stability, both on the personnel and the coaching sides of things.

Rookies

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The Steelers selected eight players in the 2015 NFL draft, and some will have bigger roles as rookies than others. The big roles start with outside linebacker Bud Dupree, taken in Round 1 to help boost Pittsburgh's pass rush.

Dupree has already worked with the first-team defense in OTAs and minicamp, and he told ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, "Everything is starting to click. [My goal is] to show them I know the plays and show them they can trust me." He added, "I feel I had a good turnaround on the [playbook]. I've always picked up on things fast."

Meanwhile, second-round pick, cornerback Senquez Golson, has already turned the head of one of the Steelers' top playmakers, wideout Antonio Brown. Brown praised Golson, saying, "I'm liking what I’m seeing from him," and calling him "smooth."

It's possible Golson could take the field as a rookie. Defensive backs coach Carnell Lake said, "That's basically how I was raised in the NFL. From day one, I was thrown in the fire. You make a lot of mistakes. If you can correct those quickly, and make some plays while you're doing it, you can stay around a while."

But based on where Pittsburgh's roster stands now, it appears that Golson would have the best shot starting at the nickel corner position, while fellow rookie cornerback Doran Grant may have to prove himself on special teams first.

Third-round wide receiver Sammie Coates is cast much in the same mold of fellow wideout Martavis Bryant in that he's a tall target with home-run ability. Though dropped passes plagued him in college, he's been working hard this offseason to get ready to take the field at some point as a rookie.

Offensive tackle Marcus Gilbert said of Coates, "He looks like he knows how to finish a play with strength, especially in the middle of the field. That's something I noticed." Fellow receiver Markus Wheaton added, "He looks good. Obviously as a rookie, he has a lot to learn. But physically, he's where he needs to be."

Fifth-round tight end Jesse James is the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Ray Fittipaldo's pick for "surprise rookie." Fittipaldo said, "He has impressed me as a receiver. He'd be a big target in the red zone if the Steelers choose to use him down there." But he'd have to steal playing time away from Heath Miller for that to be the case.

Ultimately, many of Pittsburgh's rookies have looked good in offseason practices so far. But things could change drastically when the pads come on. And there's also head coach Mike Tomlin's perception of the rookie class to consider. When asked if any rookie had impressed him thus far, Tomlin had a succinct answer: "No."

Coaches

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With one major exception, the Steelers' coaching staff is unchanged from 2014. Mike Tomlin is still the head coach, John Mitchell remains the defensive line and assistant head coach, Mike Munchak is still in charge of the offensive line. Todd Haley is still the offensive coordinator, Carnell Lake is the defensive backs coach and Richard Mann is handling wide receivers.

The biggest changes came on defense, with longtime coordinator Dick LeBeau leaving and ultimately taking a position with the Tennessee Titans. As a result, the Steelers promoted Keith Butler from linebackers coach, where he served for 12 years, and made their first inside/outside linebacker split at position coaches since then.

Two former Steelers are taking up those jobs, with Jerry Olsavsky tasked with coaching the inside linebackers and Joey Porter coaching the outside linebackers. The two men are enjoying the split, with Porter saying to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review's Chris Adamski:

"

We get a lot more done, because I don't have to stop and talk about the inside linebackers during my meeting. When the [inside] and outside 'backers are together, you can only cover so much. When I just have my guys, we just talk about their responsibilities and what they have to do. I only need to grade two guys at a time, as opposed to four.

"

Olsavsky added that the inside and outside linebackers will meet up at times, saying, "Because we all are Pittsburgh Steelers linebackers. That cloth is the same."

Steelers defensive end Cameron Heyward detailed what would be different about Butler's defense to the MMQB's Robert Klemko on Monday. He said:

"

I would think our defense will be pretty similar, but there may be some conceptual changes, some more blitzes [Butler] wants to add. I think he wants to generate more turnovers and get more one-on-ones up front where we’re maximizing everyone's talents and making sure everyone has a chance to get after the quarterback or get a turnover.

"

Heyward also said that Butler's style differs from LeBeau's: "I think Coach LeBeau was a little bit more laid back and Butler is a yeller. Everybody paid attention when Dick would get mad. With Butler it’s like there’s no playing around. No being laid back. He wants a great season."

But with Butler essentially growing up in LeBeau's system and Olsavsky and Porter both former Steelers, there should be a great deal of continuity in terms of defensive concepts. It shouldn't be hard for Steelers veterans to make the transition, even if Butler will be throwing in new wrinkles.

Otherwise, the Steelers have stability on coaching, something that can turn decent teams into good ones and great ones, like the Steelers, into Super Bowl contenders.