Stop us if you’ve heard this one before: Pittsburgh’s offensive line looks like the weak link of the Steelers.
Even during a 24-0 victory against Seattle, there were signs for concern. The line got pushed backwards when they tried to run at the goal line. They averaged 3.5 yards-per-carry against a defense that doesn’t exactly resemble the 1985 Bears.
Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette looks at the line in depth on Tuesday, and there are a lot of concerns. Rookie Marcus Gilbert didn’t have a good first start in place of Willie Colon, who is out for the year. Ben Roethlisberger has been sacked six times and fumbled twice in two games. Roethlisberger wants to deliver the ball faster, which would help.
It’s true that the Steelers have overcome their offensive line problems for years, but this is usually a good run-blocking unit. The offense also usually leans heavily on a dominant Pittsburgh defense. We suspect this year the offense will have to pick up the slack more.
At least when they aren’t playing the Seahawks.