How will Mike Tomlin do this season?

Answer 1

Slightly better than "Chin" did this year. At least 9 and maybe 10 wins + playoff berth, probably wild-card slot.

Answer 2

I think he will do well. I would say 10-6. The Steelers don't stand to lose anyone significant to free agency, and they still have a solid nucleus to build around. The Steelers main problem last year was turnovers. Just by cutting those down they will improve. The new offensive coordinator was the Browns OC the last time they made the playoffs, so anyone who can help turn the Browns into a playoff team must be doing something right. Tomlin has said he will keep Dick LeBeau as defensive coordinator, and the defens still played very well last year. People forget that they were one of the higher ranked defenses, but there was only so much they could do when opponents had a short field due to turnovers and kick/punt returns.

On offense Ben SHOULD be able to reduce the turnovers as his new QB coach, Ken Anderson was an excellent decision maker in his time with the Bengals of the 80's. It would be hard to throw more picks then Ben did in '06 as it is. Willie Parker will be back after a Pro Bowl season and should do more of the same. The line is solid but could use more depth, something the Steelers will probably address in the draft. Whoever said the WR's are old is somewhat off base. The problem is that they are too young with the exception of Hines Ward. Cedrick Wilson, Santonio Holmes, and Nate Washington are all young guys. Holmes turned it up a bit towards the end of the year, so we'll see if that continues. They may need another solid WR either in the draft or through free agency.

In addition, the Steelers play a 3rd place schedule this coming season, and the AFC North plays the NFC West, who have some up and coming teams like the 49ers and Cardinals, but may still be a year off. Their schedule wont be as tough as it was in '06. Looking back, the Steelers were close in almost every game with the exception of the 2 Ravens losses, so if they are able to cut back on the mistakes this year I can see them contending for a wild card spot, if not the division.

Answer 3

gee shockwave lets see here, QB in serious motorcycle accident, then has appendectomy, then gets concussion. WR playing with injuried hamstring, SS playing with injuried shoulder, C playing with bad knees, thus the reason he's retiring. Coach is leaving, randle el already left along with the bus and von oelhoffon. The team was pretty beat up if you take all that into account so that's how a team can do poorly after winning the superbowl, and they still managed to finish at .500, i'd say that's pretty damn good considering. holmes is developing nicely and willie parker will give lt a run for his money next season, guarantee it. Ben will be better, along with everyone else who suffered injuries, and hopefully the O-line will improve. I'm guessing 10-6 make it to the playoffs, and then we'll see what happens from there

Answer 4

A lot of questions are still unanswered as to what changes he will make. I think that replacing some of his staff was a good decision (especially the QB coach). If he changes to a 4-3 expect a tough year. I would expect them to be over .500.

Keep in mind that last season was marred by injuries on and off the field, but overall they have solid personnel. Bag Big Ben? That is dumb...not sure who can up with that idea

Answer 5

He's a smart coach and a good man, but following Bill Cowher is not a good position for anyone. I predict Tomlin will have a rough season.

Answer 6

He should be alright. If the team is struggling Parker will speak up quicker this year. He still has Dick LeBeau as D Coordinator. Ben should be healthy. I think the worst should be 8-8 but really expect better around 10-6 and in the Playoffs.

Answer 7

i'm gonna say he'll make the playoffs this year.
the best thing he's done so far is kept dick lebeau. it would be insane to fire the father of the modern zone blitz. he knows the ins and outs of the system better than anyone tomlin could of brought in. along with this, tomlin kept the 3-4, rather than changing to a 4-3. the personel has been built around lebeau's system for a long time.
another good thing he did was get rid of mark whipple. i'm not sure he brought out the best in ben, and i think variety will do ben good.
a look at the schudule shows a relatively easy 3rd place season

at home they have

buffalo, a team that's struggled to win in recent years, so i'll chalk that up as a close win, maybe 24-17

San Francisco- Alex Smith hasn't lived upto being a number one pick yet, and the defense is rated 26th in the league in yards per game. I'll give the steelers a bigger margin on this one, say 34-10

seattle- a team they shouldn't have struggled against in the super bowl last year, the hawks haven't done much to get better. their dink and dunk offense was 19th in yardage last year and they seem to be losing their grip on one of the nfl's easiest conferences. Pitt 17-13

miami- now that they've decided which qb to go with, the dolphins should be contenders in the afc east. however, it doesn't take much for that, and i've not read about how their new coach plans on "improving" the team. this one will be a hard-fought game, but a late td to holmes will pull the steelers through. pitt 13-7

jacksonville/ tennessee- the steelers wil play whoever was the #3 team in the afc south, and the outcome sill likely depend on which team the steelers play. last season's pitt-jags games still stands out in my mind, but that WAS only a few weeks after ben's accident. if the team manages to come into the game healthy and if they can find themselves a new power back, they could have a good game. however, if they have one or more key injuries, and tomlin fails to find a suitable replacement for hartings- sorry okabi, i just don't think you're starting material- then the game can go terribly wrong. if the steelers play tennessee, especially early in the season, i think that lebeau has a good chance of confusing vy with his crazy blitz scemes. the steelers and titans have been long-time foes, and porter will have the defense hyped up. i'm just not sure that the titans' offense is physical enough to hang with a pumped up steelers d. i'm going to reserve judgement on this one until i see which team they're playing and what happens in the draft/ free agency


Divisional games

baltimore- always a struggle for supremecy as the best d in the afc north, i think the steelers will be out for revenge for the beating ben took last year. the offensive line has changed since they last met, with willie colon projected to start and a new center to anchor the line. colon's a mean son of a ***** who won't take crap from anybody, so look for a few scuffles during the game. i'm not sure who will start at center next year, but younger legs will do the steelers good. i think that if the line improves, they'll split the series with both teams winning on the road.

cinncy- the bengals will have a bad taste in their mouths after the way the steelers kept them from the playoffs last year. the games will be contested to the end. the thing is that cinncy's defense has struggled recently, so i find it hard to place them over a defensive juggernaut like the steelers if tomlin can pick up a decent shut down corner in the draft or free agency. townsend is getting old and taylor plays too much in the highs and lows. steelers will sweep the series.

brownies- need i say more? the doormat of the afc for a long time, they have a tendency to take good players and make them suck. steelers sweep with a close one followed by a blowout.

new england- the pats will likely be the steelers' hardest no divisional test this year. they've seemed to be going downhill for a while though: no decent wrs, an aging lb corp, and injuries seem to set in at the worst times for them. the pats do have brady, though, and you've got to admit that he has a knack for pulling off a big game. if the pats pick up a decent wr in the offseason (tedd ginn, anthony gonzalez, calvin johnson, etc) i could see the steelers average cbs give up a big one. maybe pats 24-17

ny jets- i don't know what to think about the jets. can pennington have another good year, what's going on at rb, can a struggling group of wrs put up a good season? these questions i'd like answered before i make a prediction. however, i don't have that luxary, so pitt 17-14 on a last minute fg by reed.

arizona- will be a shocker out of the gate, but look for them to slow down as the season progresses if they don't get help on the o-line. i'm sure wizenhunt will have a deep bag of tricks to reach into when the steelers come to town. with leinart, edgerine james, bolden, and fitzgerald, the cards have a great amount of skill in the offensive skill positions. however, their o-line is suspect and without help will leave leinart on the ground way to often. the cards' defense is atrocious, and the game should be easy going for big ben and fast willie. eithout o-line help, i'm looking at pitt 24-10, but with an o-line but no improvement on the defensive side, it'll be a barn-burnerwith at least one run of 50+ yards and end by pitt edging the cards 45-42

st louis- frankly i don't pay much attention to the nfc, and especially the rams, so i don't know much about them. i do know that they have 2 realy good recievers who can run the field, but that bulger's not great and his backup is a gunslinger from harvard. i smell a qb controversy in the near furture, but that may not affect the game. steven jackson is probably the most underrated rb in the league, and will likely have another amazing season. fortunately for the steelers, that gaamestyle plays right into their hands. polamalu is great at flying around the field, and anthony smith is becoming quite the ball hawk. i'll say bulger will have 2 ints, 2 tds, 3 sacks and 230-240 yards passing in a pitt win 21-17

afc west # 3 team, denver, i think- the broncs are always a good team with a good rb. if a veteran is brought in, cutler will improve, and shannahan will finally have his gunslinging qb he's always wanted. a speedy wr will likely be on denver's list for the draft, and if they get one they could go deep into the playoffs. the broncs have a strong lb corp, and lynch and baily are two of the best in the league. if holmes and wilson have good games, the steelers can hang with them, but look for cutler to go deep often to try to expose weakness in the corner position. if taylor and townsind play with confidence i'm looking at a pitt win 24-21, but if not, it could turn into a blowout for the broncos

according to my predictions, the steelers' recordnext year should be somewhere between 12-4 and 14-2.
if ben has a good season and parker gains another 1200+, the steelers should make the playoffs. if holmes has a breakout season and ward remains to be a reliable blocker and reciever, the steelers could make the superbowl, and they should win it if they can get some help at corner and depth at kinebacker while avoiding major injuries

i'd like to hear others' comments on my predictions for the steelers AND REASONS WHY YOU THINK SO. please no "because so-and-so rocks/ sucks"

Answer 8

Steelers arn't known for offense, so loosing Wisenhunt isn't a big loss. I'd say it's really up to the players to stay healthy and play well.

and desite people saying ALL head coaches change the defense, I doubt he will, because he, along with everyone else, realizes that would be an extremely dumb move based on the personel the steelers have

Answer 9

i think he will do well, but I really don't see the steelers doing well in 07. Very tough division, lost Wisenhunt, Ben is up and down, and the WR core (minus Cedric Wilson) is getting a little old. My own opinion of course.

Answer 10

Mike Tomlin has a crappy team to begin with. If he sax Big B, who didn't do N-E-THIN 06-07 season, and finds a better QB, then he has done God's job to the Steelers.