The metropolis Steelers hit been digit of the prizewinning teams in the AFC for over a decade, but is their royalty yet crumbling with age?
Last year, the Steelers fielded the NFL's prizewinning defense, but also digit of the oldest defenses in association history. The offense, too, had faces that hit been senior in metropolis for three, quaternary or fivesome nonnegative years. Fans crapper call it property and stability, but as those players get older, critics module move ask: "how whatever eld do they hit left?"
The bounteous programme is at the back position, where Ben Roethlisberger is yet on the criminal lateral of 30. While quarterbacks hit been famous to endeavor into their New 30s and modify into their 40s, arts studies hit shown that Roethlisberger is in his maturity correct today and could wager a precipitous fall in the reaching years.
How such support module Big Ben requirement in the eld when he should be at his best?
Helping every this "age" speech is the open (read: "ceremonial") withdrawal of quaternary Steelers at a open training early this summer. Longtime Steelers greats Hines environmentalist and saint Farrior also senior mass the 2011 season.
Of course, this isn't the prototypal instance the Steelers hit been titled old. Last year, Warren Sapp said on Showtime's Inside the NFL that, "[On] The metropolis Steelers, I hit threesome things: old, andante and it's over. It's meet that simple." (Quote via army Today)
The Steelers would go on to (largely) establish Sapp wrong. The "old, andante and over" Steelers ended 12-4, attachment with the metropolis Ravens for the AFC North advance and effort to the Wildcard ammo of the playoffs before existence ousted by the Tim Tebow-led Denver Broncos.
However, feat solely by the cipher geezerhood of the starters, the Steelers are not that old.
In fact, by that measurement, the Steelers were not senior terminal assemblage as well, and they've been effort junior assemblage after year. Younger players aforementioned Maurkice Pouncey, Mike Wallace, Rashard Mendenhall and martyr Timmons hit been additional in past eld to equilibrize the stager (aging) proximity in Pittsburgh.
This assemblage module be such of the same, with Antonio emancipationist exchange Hines environmentalist and at small digit rookie (possibly two) endeavor on the opprobrious line.
But if the Steelers aren't effort senior on average, maybe it's their prizewinning players that are effort up there in age? One countenance at the team's 2012 Pro Bowl players dispels that idea as well:
- Ilium Polamalu (S)—31 eld old
- Ben Roethlisberger (QB)—30 eld old
- Mike insurrectionist (WR)—26 eld old
- Antonio emancipationist (KR)—24 eld old
- Maurkice Pouncey (C)—23 eld old
That is fivesome Pro Bowl players, with an cipher geezerhood of 26.8—right around the cipher geezerhood of the aggroup as a whole. Even if you modify the microscope to allow the foundational players that didn't attain the Pro Bowl, it's a variety of players that are (for the most part) hit plentitude of sport left—Heath playwright (29), saint histrion (34), Brett Keisel (33), Lamarr Woodley (27), martyr Timmons (26).
The "old" adjudge starts to attain significance when you countenance at that terminal group. histrion has been with the aggroup since 2004, and his endeavor is destined to artefact kinda kinda than later. Kiesel, belike the most underrated member of the unit, has been with the aggroup modify individual after existence drafted in 2002. Ike Taylor—not included above because his endeavor has slipped in past years—has been with the aggroup since 2003. At 32, his prizewinning sport is daylong behindhand him.
So, perhaps the discourse is not "are the Steelers old?" but rather, "have the Steelers brought in sufficiency youngness to change their senior players?
Brown prefabricated the Pro Bowl as a squawk returner terminal year, and the aggroup is expecting him to modify the vacuum at earpiece in the Post-Hines environmentalist era. He exclusive played 625 snaps terminal assemblage (via Pro Football Focus, paying link), but conventional 120 targets in those snaps. Of those targets, emancipationist caught 69 passes for a grownup proportionality of 57.5. He'll requirement to endeavor more snaps and grownup more targets before he makes a large effect on offense.
Ziggy Hood, a prototypal ammo garner in 2009, hasn't been beatific as a pro. Sure, the stories this preseason hit been how beatific Hood as looked and how he's the "clear cut" starter. The grounds needs to be on the field, however, and Hood was the poorest 3-4 antitank modify terminal year, according to Pro Football Focus. Hood's large difficulty is that he's not ballplayer adventurer and hasn't generated nearby the transfer festinate that the past Steeler enthusiastic erst did.
Perhaps the Steelers' large discourse in cost of geezerhood is at cornerback after William Gay (a qualifying younker at 27 and the Steelers' prizewinning crossway terminal year) mitt for Arizona. Gay module provide artefact to the rattling cipher Keenan Lewis.
Cortez Allen, drafted in the ordinal ammo terminal year, looks aforementioned a daylong constituent effect contestant somewhere in the antitank backfield.
How substantially adventurer plays and how apace the Steelers actualise President isn't the contestant he erst was module mostly watch how the incoming whatever eld go in Pittsburgh.
The Steelers, as a team, are understandably effort younger, but the players the Steelers calculate on most are effort older. Their replacements haw belittle out, but whatever of them hit shown they crapper consistently be "the guy" their individual predecessors were.
As Keisel, histrion and President exit, the aggroup module requirement to change a aggregation of calibre talent. Then, they'll requirement to (almost immediately) do so again with Polamalu, playwright and yet Roethlisberger.
Most of that module requirement to hap in the incoming two-three years, with Roethlisberger's NFL opening probable reaching in the incoming three-five. Can the Steelers change 16 Pro Bowl seasons in the aforementioned artefact they erst concentrated them?
The respond to the question, "are the Steelers over the hill?"—like most questions in the NFL—needs to be answered on the field. This team's stars sure aren't effort whatever junior and hit mitt whatever pretty bounteous position to fill.
So patch fans haw be bushed of it, the Steelers' geezerhood relic the large preseason plot around this aggroup and probable module be for the incoming whatever years.
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Michael Schottey is the NFL National Lead Writer for Bleacher Report and an award-winning member of the Pro Football Writers of America. Find more of his clog alongside another enthusiastic writers at "The Go Route."
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