Things 'I Think I Think' about the upcoming Steelers season

Summer is over and it's game week! Finally!

This season is shaping up to be one of the more intriguing in recent years for the Steelers and it all kicks off Sunday night against the defending Super Bowl champs ONLY on Channel 11! With that being said, I wanted to talk about some of the things "I think I think" about this year's team.

1 - The Steelers will make a return to the playoffs after missing out last season. Mark it down. Buy a ticket. Go scream it on a mountain. It's going to happen.

2 - This is Ben Roethlisberger's team and there's literally nobody in the organization to challenge him or let alone question him. He's at a point in his career where he has little time for shenanigans and wants things his way. I get it. He's a top 10 QB in the NFL, still, and will thrive this season despite the unknown of what this offense will look like without #84. Is he still confident? You bet he is. "I like the team that we have. I think we've got a chance (to win a Super Bowl)," he told ESPN. Oh, he's also five wins away from tying John Elway for fifth on the NFL's all-time wins list.

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3 - JuJu Smith-Schuster, at 22 years old, enters his third season with the Steelers and faces the biggest challenge of his career…being the #1 WR. Teams will build their game plan around shutting him down. How will he handle it? I think he'll handle it as maturely as he's handled this summer that's been filled with barbs and taunts from a former teammate. JuJu was forced to grow up and he's exceeded my expectations in regards to toning down the "extra" stuff that makes him as lovable as he is.

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4 - James Conner will play all 16 regular season games. Injuries are a well documented part of his history, dating back to his college days at Pitt, but this is the year he stays out of the training room and on the field. This dude is in impeccable shape.

5 - Jaylen Samuels plays a role in my thinking for Conner staying healthy. This second-year running back will have a greater role this season if training camp is any indication. He can do it all and will make that leap from rookie to sophomore in stride.

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6 - Mark Barron is the most important linebacker for the team. Not T.J. Watt. Not Devin Bush. Give Kevin Colbert a pat on the back for finding this guy in free agency and putting him in the middle of a defense that struggled with speed a season ago. He can run. He can hit. He can cover. Mark Barron changes the way this defense will compete.

7 - Joe Haden got paid. That's huge. Not only because he'll remain with the Steelers through the 2021 season, but it frees his mind to go out and be the Pro Bowl caliber cornerback he's been for nine, going on 10 years in the NFL. He'll need to be at his best with all the talented receivers he'll face in the division…as well as Week 1 in Foxboro - Josh Gordon.

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8 - Kameron Kelly, safety, will quickly be a difference maker for the Steelers defense. He's taken an interesting road to Pittsburgh, via the AAF, but he's the real deal and is already taking first-team reps leading into Week 1.

9 - Mike Tomlin will have a "winning" record when it comes to in-game challenges. It's been a problem area for the Steelers coach, but with the newly hired Teryl Austin, challenges will have more favorable outcomes for the black and gold.

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10 - Chris Boswell won't miss a field goal before the bye week. His job was on the line, as well as his $2 million roster bonus, but returned to the accurate kicker during the preseason that we've seen early in his career. He'll win a couple games for the Steelers in what will be a tightly contested AFC North.

11 -Trading Antonio Brown was the best thing to ever happen to the Pittsburgh Steelers. This team that talks about and wants to play football and that's it. What a concept, right? Brown was a distraction of the highest order who held this team back. Great talent. Nightmare of a personality. That's why my #1 point of the things I think I think about the Steelers will come true. A win Sunday night over the Patriots will go a long way to showing what this 2019 team is capable of.

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