The Steelers will report to training camp at Saint Vincent College on Wednesday hungry and looking to make a deep run into the playoffs.
Given the roster constructed by GM Oar Khan and company, the Steelers look to be deeper and more talented than they were a year ago when head coach Mike Tomlin willed this team to 10 wins and a playoff spot.
The Steelers should get more than 13 touchdown passes out of the quarterback position. The offensive line looks even deeper and more talented than it was a year ago. Inside linebacker Patrick Queen might be one of the most impactful defensive players added by any team this offseason.
The additions this offseason far outweigh the losses.
So, why so many dire predictions about the Steelers' outlook this season?
The schedule and the division aren't particularly kind.
Then again, they weren't particularly kind last season, as well.
The entire AFC North finished above .500 last season, the first time that's happened since the NFL West Division all finished above .500 in 1935. That division also included just four teams, but there also were six ties involved.
The NFL East Division, which had five teams, also had just one team finish above .500 that season in an 11-team league.
No, this was far more impressive, as the Steelers, Ravens, Browns and Bengals all maneuvered a 17-game schedule to finish above .500.
And the Steelers built their 10-7 record largely on the back of their 5-1 record within the division.
Lest anyone think that was an accident or a fluke, realize the Steelers are 12-6 within the division over the past three seasons, including the 2022 campaign when the entire division went 3-3 in AFC North games.
The Steelers are built to handle the rigors of the division. And Tomlin knows how to win those games.
The schedule, meanwhile, is back loaded with plenty of potential pitfalls.
Depending on what metric or web site you're looking at, it's either the hardest slate of games in the NFL. At best, it falls in the top-5 most difficult schedules.
But that's no different than things are for the rest of the AFC North, as well.
They all have difficult slates, largely because they all have to play six games against each other. And most of those games come down the stretch, which is one reason why the Steelers' late-season slate is considered so difficult.
Injuries will certainly play a part in the quest for the postseason, but are the Steelers going to be hit any harder by injuries than they were in 2023, when Minkah Fitzpatrick, Cam Heyward, Pat Freiermuth, Diontae Johnson and multiple inside linebackers and safeties missed games?
This team seems better equipped than even last year's group to deal with such issues. And Tomlin has shown time and again that he knows how to coach a team through such situations.
No, there's plenty of reason to be bullish on this team, regardless of the difficulty of the division and the schedule.
That doesn't mean the Steelers will win more than the 10 games they did in 2023 because of some of those aforementioned factors. But this is a team that is certainly capable of doing so.
• The Steelers haven't held a joint practice with another team since hosting the Detroit Lions at Saint Vincent College in 2017.
That will change next month when the Steelers host the Buffalo Bills at Acrisure Stadium for a joint practice Aug. 15, two days before their preseason game is slated to be played there.
Only two teams will not hold joint practices this season.
When the league expanded its regular season schedule to 17 games, cutting its schedule to three games, this was the natural progression of things.
Three preseason games – and two weeks of training camp practices before that – aren't nearly enough time for coaches to assess their rosters.
But joint practices allow for far more leeway than preseason games for coaches to set up situations they would like to work on or have young players work in situations to which they want to see them respond.
For example, the coaching staff might want to see how young linemen work in a two-minute situation. But there's no guarantee you'll get a two-minute situation in a game. Or having first-and-goal at the 2.
But you can make sure you put your team in those type of situations in a joint practice.
This year, with the new kickoff rules in effect across the league, it wouldn't be surprising if a lot of the teams holding joint practices spend a little extra time on kick returns and coverages.
• One of the funny moments during that joint practice against the Lions back in 2017 was seeing the look of shock on the faces of the reporters covering Detroit when the Steelers went with their live tackling in the team run session.
Detroit most certainly did not have any live tackling at its training camp. In fact, most teams don't do any live tackling at their training camps.
But Tomlin has long felt that live tackling at training camp is like sparring for a boxer. You have to condition your body for the rigors of the season. And you do that by tackling.
• Dale Lolley is co-host of "SNR Drive" on Steelers Nation Radio. Subscribe to the podcast here: Apple Podcast | iHeart Podcast
It also gives younger players – who do most of the tackling and getting tackled – a chance to show their physicality.
That's how Jaylen Warren showed up so well two years ago. When the Steelers had their first padded practice, he immediately stood out for his physicality both running the ball and in the "Backs on Backers" drill.
• There will be a number of interesting camp battles that take place over the next month as the team decides who will start where and the pecking order of things.
The revamped quarterback room will obviously be under the microscope, but where things will fall on the offensive line, who will emerge from a crowded wide receiver room behind George Pickens and how things will shake out at slot cornerback are among some of the top storylines.
Tomlin also does a great job of pitting the offense versus the defense in competition periods with the winner getting perks such as a better choice of specialty food in the cafeteria that day.
Professional athletes are the ultimate competitors. The more they get a chance to do so, the better they are for it in the long run.
• There is no training camp setting in the NFL quite like Saint Vincent College. From the picturesque Laurel Highlands mountains, to the monastery and church in the background, it's a perfect setting.
It will be interesting to see how the switch to morning open practices on weekdays will affect the crowds this year, but the guess is here that it won't change things much.
Steelers Nation shows up in Latrobe to see its team every year. And the weekend practices, which will still be held in the afternoon, have always been the most well-attended, anyway. That will still be the case.
The access to the players, ease of getting around campus and viewing of practice sessions is unrivaled in the NFL. It's a heck of a fan experience.
