Steelers Burning Question: How concerned are you about the offensive line?
Last season I did the Friday Night Steelers Six Pack and wondered if it was worth doing further. After all, interaction was not great, and sometimes you just have to adjust. So I decided to call an audible, and not just abandon the Friday night meeting of the black-and-gold minds.
Instead of six questions, I wanted to focus solely on one question.
We’ll still do the preamble of what you’re eating/drinking/listening to, but we’ll focus our attention on the one Steelers question of the week. Don’t worry, most weeks I’ll do a bonus/extra credit question for fun. With all that out of the way, let’s get to the question!
Most fans would suggest the quarterback position is the weakest point of the roster, but for me there is one which trumps the other. That would be the offensive line.
- Will Troy Fautanu be the stud right tackle we hoped we’d see in 2024?
- Will Broderick Jones moving to left tackle be better than what we saw when he played right tackle?
- Isaac Seumalo is coming off a mediocre 2024, can he rebound in a contract year?
- Is Mason McCormick the answer at right guard?
The only question I don’t have along the offensive line is at center with Zach Frazier.
That’s a lot of questions for the offensive line, whoever they’ll be blocking for in 2025.
So, how concerned are you with the offensive line on a scale from 1-5 (1 – not concerned at all / 5 – freaking out I’m so concerned)
My rating is a 4 right now.
What say you?
As for what I’m eating, it’s Chipotle take-out for dinner. As for drink, it’s always store bought kombucha, as usual, and the tunes will be whatever my family wants to hear!
Happy Friday everyone!!
It’s the eldest son’s birthday and today he is a teenager. He has chosen Buffalo Wild Wings for his birthday dinner. I shed a proud Dad tear: His Bday at Dubs, we all get to watch NCAABB and PSU Wrestling, on all the TV’s, and I can keep an eye on it all while he’s having a good time with his friends at another table 😉
* Troy Fautanu WILL be the Stud RT he was drafted to be. In about a half a year. He may have taken a million mental reps, but he’s got to start taking ACTUAL reps.
* Broderick Jones needs to really show up this year. It seems like the Steelers are really hoping for him to take a big leap going to the left side, I hope the position switch makes a difference like it did for TJ Watt early in HIS career.
*Isaac Seumalo will get back to his usual production, and he will go somewhere else in Free Agency, granting the Steelers their 3,728th Comp Pick of the 2027 Draft
*Mason McCormick is at the very least is our best Offensive Linemen in terms of football attitude. He has the NASTY that has been missing from this Offensive Line for a couple years. He is the ‘glue’ that holds all this together. He def CAN be the answer at RG. Remember, he was a 4th Rnd Rookie pushed into early time, and he was undoubtedly our best run blocking OLinemen by the end of the year. The PIT running game collapsed in the Playoff game, and I have no doubt a major part of it was because McCormick was injured and couldn’t play that day.
Worry Rating? I give it a solid 3. It is really going to come down to how well Pat Meyer can get these guys bought in and taught.
I’ve personally been an advocate of his, I’ve thought that he has done a decent job with the scraps of talent he was given. But now, that narrative is changing quickly, so the focus is def on him to produce with the decent talent he’s been given.
What I do know is that I’m tired of waiting till after the Bye Week every year to see an actual semblance of a run game out of this team.
Eating various wings(sweet chili,BBQ,Buffalo,Butter and Garlic), drinking some Kicking Horse Grizzly Claw coffee, and listening to the latest Black and Gold blueprint.
I’m at a 3, there are some good and some bad possible outcomes, and i could argue both sides.
My big takeaway is that I think a lot of time people talk about how much a QB can be affected by oline play, but I think a QB can have the same effect on the oline. If a QB is a pro and can read coverages,go thru progressions,etc. he can make an oline look real good. Conversely a QB who is slow thru reads and has poor pocket presence can make an oline look horrible. Getting the right QB goes a long way to fixing a lot of the offensive issues.
#rideordiecrew
From a player by player level of concern, it is a 3. I have strong belief in Fautanu and I’m positive about Jones now that Jones can shift to the left. But I’m not that big on McCormick. I really wish the Steelers had spent some more FA cash on a guard like Becton. I think they need to get bigger and bruising on the right side.
But- and yes, I’ve heard the argument here multiple times to the contrary- but when you put Pat Meyer in there I’m at 4.5. I just don’t believe he can get everything out of this group that it needs to be the kind of dominant line a championship team must have.
I think 4 out of the 5 players are good to very good talent-wise. But the group is thin and I just can’t imagine there will not be, at least, one major injury again. And a thin, mostly talented line needs a brilliant position coach in today’s NFL to compensate, and the Steelers do not have one and simply refused to get one, imo.
Eating eggsalad on fresh white bread, with a side (half a can, don’t judge) of honey mustard Pringles.
Drinking green apple Gatorade, but will be switching over to a mediocre IPA (Southern Tier mix pack meh) I took a chance on.
Watching Happy Potter with my bride, she digs it. There’s many worse movies I could waste my time on.
I am a 3.75.
I’m not at all sold on Fautanu. Sample size is way too small for me to be satisfied that position is handled.
I liked a lot of McCormick, but he has a lot of room to improve. I have a feeling he can, but we’ll see in camp.
Love Frazier. Woul like to see him come to camp in great shape with a little more muscle.
Seumalo is underwhelming to me, and I’d let him walk.
I’m not at all impressed with Jones, and think the Steelers still need a left tackle.
My concern is a 3 because of their depth at tackle & guard.
I was a 2 until you said 4. I guess I’ll go with three. What little we saw of Troy, I’d say he is a stud. Jones was mediocre at right and by all accounts should be better at left. I bet he is only slightly better. As someone who is both smart and forgetful I think he botches plays because he messes up who he is supposed to block sometimes. That may not change on the left.
2 1st rd draft picks at tackle, a stud center, and 2 decent guards. Hardly a house on fire here unless injuries strike.