2011 Pittsburgh Steelers Predictions

Written by Steve Janus

Many expected the Steelers to struggle to even make the playoffs in 2010, with starting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger suspended for the first four games. Pittsburgh wound up winning the AFC North with a 12-4 regular season record, and made it back to the Super Bowl after a couple of impressive postseason wins over the Ravens and Jets. The Steelers fell short of their second Super Bowl in three seasons, falling to the Green Bay Packers 25-31. Now comes the difficult task of avoiding the Super Bowl let down and making another deep run in 2011. Pittsburgh does an amazing job of developing players from within the organization, so it comes as no surprise that the Steelers have been relatively quiet this offseason. To get a better idea of what Pittsburgh will look like in 2011, here is a quick breakdown of both the offense and defense.

Offense:

It didn’t take long for Roethlisberger to win back the Steelers fans, as he stepped in and played well over the final 12 games of the season and into the playoffs. Roethlisberger threw for 3,200 yards with 17 touchdowns to just five interceptions. He is in the prime of his career is a big reason why the Steelers have a great shot at making it back to the Super Bowl this season.

While Roethlisberger gets a lot of the attention, the offense is still focused around the running game. Rashard Mendenhall backed up his 1,108 yard season in 2009 with 1,273 yards and 13 touchdowns in 2010. While the Steelers have a couple of capable backups in Mewelde Moore and Isaac Redman, Mendenhall is the key that keeps the offense moving.

The biggest free agent the Steelers have added on the offensive side of the ball is wide out Jerricho Cotchery, who figures to be a real nice fit in with emerging wide out Mike Wallace and veteran Hines Ward. Wallace led the team with 60 catches for 1,257 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2010. Pittsburgh also has a couple of talented second-year wide outs in Emmanuel Sanders and Antonio Brown.

The Steelers decided that it was time for a change on the offensive line, as they let go of starting tackles Max Starks and Flozell Adams. Willie Colon is expected to take back his starting spot at right tackle, after missing all of last season with an Achilles tear. Jonathan Scott stepped in for Starks at left tackle once his season was ended with a neck injury, and impressed enough to earn the starting job in 2011. The interior portion of the line is set with Pro Bowl center Maurkice Pouncey and a couple of talented guards in Chris Kemoeatu and Ramon Foster.

Defense:

The Steelers are built around their defense, and last year the defense was one of the best in the NFL. Pittsburgh was the toughest team in the league to run against, allowing just 62.8 yards per game. They were also the best at getting to the quarterback. racking up a league-high 48 sacks. With the entire defense back in place for the 2011 season, the Steelers are going to be very good as long as this unit stays healthy.

Pittsburgh has one of the best 3-4 nose tackles in the NFL in Casey Hampton, who is a big piece to why the Steelers are so good on this side of the ball. They are hoping veteran defensive end Aaron Smith can remain healthy after another injury plagued season, but if not they have two other capable starters in Brett Keisel and Ziggy Hood. They also added a promising rookie defensive end in Cameron Heyward.

The unit that puts fear into opposing offenses, is the starting four the Steelers send out at linebacker. They have to of the best pass rushers in the game in outside linebackers James Harrison and LaMarr Woodley, who combined for 20.5 sacks in 2010. They also have two outstanding inside linebackers in Lawrence Timmons and James Farrior.

As good as the front seven is, the key to the Steelers success on defense is safety Troy Polamalu, who earned 2010 Defensive Player of the Year. Polamalu seems to make the big play whenever it’s needed. He hits like a linebacker and is outstanding in coverage, intercepting a team-high seven passes last season. Polamalu does have trouble staying healthy, and whenever he gets hurt the team seems to struggle to win games.

Prediction: 2nd NFC North, 11-5 Overall – I have the Steelers finishing slightly behind the Ravens in the North, but I still look for this team to get back to the postseason in 2011. There is some concern that they will fall into that group of teams who struggle after losing in the Super Bowl, but I just cant see that happening with that kind of talent on defense and Roethlisberger running the offense.

Individual Team NFL Season Predictions

AFC
AFC West	AFC North	AFC South	AFC East
Kansas City Chiefs Predictions	Pittsburgh Steelers Predictions	Indianapolis Colts Predictions	New England Patriots Predictions
San Diego Chargers Predictions	Baltimore Ravens Predictions	Jacksonville Jaguars Predictions	New York Jets Predictions
Oakland Raiders Predictions	Cleveland Browns Predictions	Houston Texans Predictions	Miami Dolphins Predictions
Denver Broncos Predictions	Cincinnati Bengals Predictions	Tennessee Titans Predictions	Buffalo Bills Predictions
NFC
NFC West	NFC North	NFC South	NFC East
Seattle Seahawks Predictions	Chicago Bears Predictions	Atlanta Falcons Predictions	Philadelphia Eagles Predictions
St. Louis Rams Predictions	Green Bay Packers Predictions	New Orleans Saints Predictions	New York Giants Predictions
San Francisco 49ers Predictions	Detroit Lions Predictions	Tampa Bay Bucs Predictions	Dallas Cowboys Predictions
Arizona Cardinals Predictions	Minnesota Vikings Predictions	Carolina Panthers Predictions	Washington Redskins Predictions

Additional Resources:

Vernon Croy – says never to discount the Steelers.

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