Cheers: Dick LeBeau is the youngest looking 70 year old ever. He’s also a great coordinator, who despite losing an (oft-injured) Joey Porter, will be able to put together a great defense. They have some good skill position players, including Willie Parker leading another great
Jeers: They need to cut down on the mistakes, especially Big Ben. He was a weak link for their team last season, and he has to make better choices and throw fewer picks. Some players on the Offensive Line will also have to step up. After Jeff Hartings retired, they’re making some changes along the Offensive Line, so the new guys will need to step in and do a good job right away.
On second thought… don’t sleep on this team because they finished strong last year and they still have a lot of talent. If Big Ben cuts down on the picks, there will be a good passing game to compliment the run. As long as the secondary can hold up, their defense should be pretty good again.
New guy who won’t meet expectations: William Gay. If you expect him to make plays, the only play you should expect is him to line up offsides on crucial field goal attempts.
New guy who will meet expectations: Lamarr Woodley. He’s a great fit for the OLB position in Pitsburgh’s 3-4 defense. He’s a big, athletic player who has the ability to get to the QB.
Cheers: With Bill Belichick, you know you’re going to have a well coached team. Tom Brady is one of the best QBs in the league, and he has a lot more weapons than last year, if everyone can stay healthy. They have one of the best D-lines in baseball and two dangerous pass rushing Linebackers in Thomas and Colvin. They came close to returning to the Super Bowl last year, and they really worked hard to improve the team in the offseason.
Jeers: I would’ve liked to see them bring in another guy to compliment Maroney. I think he could’ve used another year of having a bigger back spell him for a bit, like Dillon did last year. Drafting Brandon Merriweather will help the secondary, but they still could’ve used a little more depth, and I think they dodged a bullet with Samuel agreeing to end his hold out.
On second thought… these guys are probably Super Bowl favorites. They’ve got great talent on both sides of the ball, and after coming just short last year, they reloaded in the offseason. If the receivers can stay healthy, the passing game could be more explosive than ever.
New guy who won’t meet expectations: Donte Stallworth. He’s already hurt, hasn’t even practiced much, and he’s going to lose his snaps with all the receivers
New guy who will meet expectations: Adalius Thomas. This is so obvious because he was a marquee free agent going to a system that’s almost exactly like the one he came from, but he’s going to be good. Tully Banta-Cain was okay, but Thomas is going to generate enormous pressure on opposing QBs.
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