steelers under 9

First I thoiught this number was a no bet, then I evaluated there schedule.  It is brutal.  Every team in there division has improved, browns obviously, bengals, are getting healthy and will nbe better then expected, ravens always play them tight.  They get seahawks, rams , 49ers with garoppalo.  At Patriots, colts at chargers.

They lost brown and roethlisberger is a year older can he stay healthy?  I think 8 wins is the absolute ceiling for them.

People are betting this over and they are getting a lot of buzz to win the division.   I don't get it, ab's a headache but he's a top tier wideout they won a lot of games because of him, munchak 's loss as o line coach hurts big time.  I'm considering adding more to this bet, anybody other then steelers fans give me a reason how they win 10 games this year?

My prediction is that Pitts goes 6-10...the loss of Munchak on the Oline is bigger than most think. A good coach, and that is what he was, is worth his weight in gold...

Look at the Pats, they brought back Oline coach Dante Scarnecchia and with the same bodies they became champions once again. 

Be prepared for Ben to take some colossal hits and now that he is older, I see him being down for part of the season which will spell doom for this bunch...if any real coaching is needed it will not come from this present brain trust.
The Pats will roll in the opener too...Brady loves to play against that candy a$$ zone that Pitts plays...they play 10 yards off the line, and with the improved receiver corps, Brady should drop 40 on Pitts at home. Ben has never beaten the Pats on the road in the regular season and has only 3 wins in Pittsburgh versus Brady and they have played a bunch of games. 

FWIW Colin Cowherd has their division shaking out as:

11-5 PIT

9-7 CLE

8-8 BAL

5-11 CIN

1. The Steelers lost four of their last six games to finish 9-7 SU (8-7-1 ATS).

2. Preseason means nothing, seriously.

3. Here are the grades of PIT secondary by PFF for 2018:

70.9 CB Haden 

72.1 CB Nelson

69.9 CB Hilton

69.8 FS Davis

63.7 SS Edmunds 

...far from a stout secondary, needs much improvement, I don't see any changes made in the off season, aside from adding Nelson, a marginal improvement.

As much as I love Gronk I find it hilarious the amount of times haters bring his name up like he was the heart of this team and the Pats will be lost without him.  Listen, he had fewer receiving yards than James White and Josh Gordon who played 2 fewer games.

I actually like the Steelers hard this season.  Not only do they shed a locker room distraction but they have a giant chip on their shoulders and will try and prove to the world that they were/are right about AB.  Especially Big Ben who had a quietly great year last season as a passer.  Their defense looks like it has reloaded with a lot of depth and they keep on developing really promising WRs as it looks like they have a new deep threat WR all of a sudden.

The Browns are not nearly as good on offense and it will show.  The Browns I think are still 1 year away from being the team everyone thinks they already are.

My AFC predictions are as follows:

1. Chiefs

2. Steelers

3. Patriots

4. Texans

5. Ravens

6. Colts

Simply put do not put more money on the Steelers under.  They WILL be one of the surprise good teams this season, same with the Colts.

Are you a steelers fan?  You are right on the upgraded defense, but it probably isn't enough to cover the amount of regression on the offensive side.         To say that the oline will not miss munchak at all is really innacurate, you're saying that a hall of fame player and top tier oline coach has zero effect, okay, we'll see how it plays out.  Brown is a top three receiver who had over 100 catches and 15 tds, but they won't miss that. I'm sure if the falcons released julio jones matt ryan would be relieved.     I feel brown's worth two wins, raiders go from 4 to 6, steelers 9 to 7.   Steelers made a mistake not paying bell, which was a huge distraction last year, they would have won the division with him on the field last year.  Two of the killer b's are gone, the other one is year older, if they kept them all together this is a 10-12 win sb contender.  The loss of talent is simply to much to overcome.  

> they keep on developing really promising WRs as it looks like they have a new deep threat WR all of a sudden.

Moncrief is not going to all of a sudden double his production from the past 5 years where he averaged 500 yards per season, if you are talking about Diontae Johnson, he's a few years away from contributing unless there is an injury ahead of him on the depth chart.

Thanks for the input, Who are the promising receivers you are talking about?

I'm speaking about James Washington mainly however it doesn't matter who it is.  Steelers are legit harnessers of above-average receivers.  TO assume the loss of AB will not allow someone else to step up and carry the load is just not accurate given what the Steelers have done time and time again.  IS there another AB on that team?  No.  But there doesn't need to be in order for them to be elite and win a lot of games.  Just my 2 cents from someone looking from the outside in.

.[/Quote] Are you a steelers fan?  You are right on the upgraded defense, but it probably isn't enough to cover the amount of regression on the offensive side.         To say that the oline will not miss munchak at all is really innacurate, you're saying that a hall of fame player and top tier oline coach has zero effect, okay, we'll see how it plays out.  Brown is a top three receiver who had over 100 catches and 15 tds, but they won't miss that. I'm sure if the falcons released julio jones matt ryan would be relieved.     I feel brown's worth two wins, raiders go from 4 to 6, steelers 9 to 7.   Steelers made a mistake not paying bell, which was a huge distraction last year, they would have won the division with him on the field last year.  Two of the killer b's are gone, the other one is year older, if they kept them all together this is a 10-12 win sb contender.  e.[/Quote]  Problem with your thinking is that you for some reason you think Brown made Ben.. Nothing could be further from the truth.. It is the other way around in spades..  Just check Browns stats when Ben was hurt and did not play they are HORRID..  zero touchdowns and averaged 2-3 catches a game and less then 35 yds per game..  Brown will be good with the Raiders but his star days are over ... Ben will still be Ben with or without Brown... WR's a dime a dozen in the NFL.. Brady has proved that over  and over again over the years.. He like Ben have made stars out of 6th round picks... Ben now will make JUJU and Washington stars and Brown ...well... lets see... his next TD catch will be his first in the NFL that was not thrown by Ben...  Brown will be an after thought by mid season IMO wait till the first time Carr does not force  it into the spoiled 31 year old WR.. Like Ben did ALL the time.. Ben's job was secure he could force it and play the price when it went wrong and it did more times then it should have.. But Carr well his job not so secure so maybe just maybe he does not force it so many times... In that case watch the crying and distractions start..  Love you AB but by the end GOOD RIDDANCE..  Classic  addition by subtraction his prime days are past him..  Will not be long before you realize that.. AB 4 game switch between two teams..

AB call Mike Wallace and ask him about life after Ben...  You are heading down the same road... Book it Dano..  Big Chest without Ben is well a 6th round draft choice..  Next up JUJU.. your turn..

> Problem with your thinking is that you for some reason you think Brown made Ben.. Nothing could be further from the truth..

Sigh,

pre-AB (before 2010) Ben averaged 3200 passing yards per season

post-AB (after 2010) Ben averaged 4200 passing yards per season

From 2011-2018 AB averaged 1375 receiving yards per season 

AB is to Roethlisberger as Rice was to Montana

You are right that a veteran line would miss him less, but you are implying that they almost don't need a coach at all.   During the game a good ol coach helps make adjustments and helps in many ways in between possessions, they lose that so there should be some type of regression.  I'm not saying they became a horrible unit, it will tough to maintain a top 5-10 unit.  They could definitely fall to the middle of the pack. 

You are letting your black and gold glasses cloud your vision.

Wallace had 64 catches for 836 yards and 8 tds in 2012 with the steelers, 2013 with Miami 73 rec  930 yds 5 tds 2014 67 catches 862 yds 10 tds, 2016 with ravens 72 catches 1072 yds.  He still was able to produce on other teams, but was never a top 3 receiver in the league like brown, so the comparision is invalid.

You conviently forget to mention Emmanuel sanders who had 3 consecutive 1000yd seasons in Denver from 2014 to 2016 after he left pittsburgh with zero thousand years seasons and 2016 was with future hall of fame qb trevor sieman .

Brown and big ben and steelers needed each other to be elite, big ben probably won't throw over 5000 again without him, and ab won't be as productive, but he will still put up numbers on a lousy raiders team.

they'll miss AB's production on the field but spreading out the ball should help.  (10 of ben's INTs last year were intended for AB)

a receiving core of JuJu, washington, moncrief, switzer and the rookie johnson Looks good enough to win imo

add in Mcdonald as a good receiving threat and I don't think they'll have trouble passing the ball.

barring a significant injury I see 10-11 wins