Post by cityofchamps on Mar 20, 2016 21:21:31 GMT -5
One has been atop this category for a while now, while the other has built their Offense up over the past few seasons. Both the Patriots and the Steelers could lay claim to the title of best Offense in the AFC, and the rest of the teams behind them aren't relatively close. The Jaguars are probably the 3rd best, but they are relatively young and still have to prove that last year wasn't a fluke. The Broncos losing BOTH Peyton Manning and Brock Osweiler throws their name out of the hat due to the uncertain QB situation. The Bengals losing two of their Top 3 Wide Recievers knocks them out as well. Other than that, like I said, there are no other teams that come close to the firepower that both the Steelers and Patriots possess on Offense. This exercise is to compare both teams by position (Quarterback, Running Back, Wide Receiver, Tight End, and Offensive Line) and then put it to a vote.
Quarterbacks
Both the Steelers and the Patriots have Franchise Quarterbacks who could be considered the best in the NFL. Tom Brady has a longer record of success, while Ben Roethlisberger has transformed his style of play and is playing the best football of his career and is on the same level of Brady now in terms of a field general and dissecting passer. Brady has the edge over Ben in terms of short-mid area accuracy, whilst Ben is arguably the best deep thrower in the NFL. You could go on and on about both of these two Quarterbacks, but at the end of the day, both will end up in the Hall of Fame. The tiebreaker goes to their backups. The Steelers typically have trouble when Ben is out of commission. That was much evidenced last year with both Landry Jones and Mike Vick sharing starts when Ben was injured for 4 games. Now, Tom Brady rarely ever gets injured (has missed 15 games his entire 16 year career due to injury) but usually when a backup is needed, they tend to do well with the Patriots.
Slight Edge: Patriots
Running Backs
The Patriots have a dynamic group of running backs and they typically get more with less compared to the rest of the NFL. Take Dion Lewis for example. Before coming to the Patriots, he was nothing more than a 3rd String or backup RB that was only brought in situationally. Then he goes to the Patriots and suddenly he is an impact player. They also have guys like James White, James Develin, and the newly signed Donald Brown that can pick up the slack. However, they tend not to use their Running Backs much other than situationally. Now, when looking at the Steelers, they have been lucky recently with Running Backs. They took the chance on Le'Veon Bell over bigger names from bigger schools in the 2013 Draft like Eddie Lacy or Montee Ball and they haven't turned back. When healthy, Bell is the best overall RB in the NFL from both a running and receiving standpoint. Then, after LeGarrette Blount walked out on the team, they signed DeAngelo Williams, who ran for 907 yards and 11 TDs in 10 starts while Le'Veon Bell recovered from injury. The Steelers have arguably the best RB tandem in the NFL.
Edge: Steelers
Wide Receivers
Now, this probably wouldn't be much of a conversation if a certain Steeler WR by the name of Martavis Bryant hadn't gotten himself suspended, but that brought the Steelers down a notch in terms of Wide Receiver talent and depth. However, one can't deny that Antonio Brown is one of the best playmakers in the entire league regardless of position and the best WR in the NFL. Couple that with Markus Wheaton, who has evolved into an above average slot WR (showing his own flashes of greatness last season) and you have a pretty dangerous tandem with plenty of chemistry with Big Ben. The Patriots on the other hand have seen some relative turnover at WR this offseason. Brandon LaFell hasn't been resigned while Danny Amendola has been rumored to be the odd man out after the Patriots acquired Chris Hogan and Martellus Bennett. You can't ignore Julian Edleman though, who has become lethal in his own right in the Patriots system that seems tailor-made to his talents. I still have to give the edge with WR to the Steelers
Edge: Steelers
Tight End
Now this here isn't even a conversation. The Steelers lost their starting TE Heath Miller to retirement and have replaced him with talented, but unproven Ladarius Green, who has spent his career saddled behind Antonio Gates. The Patriots meanwhile have the best TE in the NFL in Rob Gronkowski, and they also just traded for Bears TE Martellus Bennett, who is 2 seasons removed from a 90 catch, 900 yard, 6 TD season with the Bears. You can bet for sure that he will succeed with the Patriots and Tom Brady. The only thing that might put the Patriots' TE situation into question is Gronk's ongoing contract situation, but it shouldn't effect his play. Patriots with the overwhelming edge here and it isn't even close.
Overwhelming Edge: Patriots
Offensive Line
Now this is probably the closest of the groups. Lets start with the Patriots OL. They have two bookend OTs in Nate Solder and Sebastian Vollmer, both of whom have had up and down seasons as of late (Solder in particular). The Patriots meanwhile relied mostly on a Guard by committee theory last season that was both effective and unconventional. Not to mention their acquisition of former 1st Round Pick Jonathan Cooper from the Cardinals in the Chandler Jones trade. The Patriots have incredible depth at OL. Now with the Steelers, their OL has been much talked about over the past decade or so. Once an achilles heel of the team in the late 2000s, it has turned into a cornerstone of the Offense with smart, early investments such as Maurkice Pouncey, David DeCastro, and Marcus Gilbert. Their main issue however, this year, will be how they will be able to cope with the loss of Kelvin Beachum, who has played at a Pro Bowl level the past few seasons despite his small stature for a OT (6'3" 303). They signed Ryan Harris to provide competition and depth with Alejandro Villanueva, who while he didn't overly-impress, he held his own in his first real action starting in the NFL. I can't really put one of these teams over the other in terms of OL.
Edge: Equal
Quarterbacks
Both the Steelers and the Patriots have Franchise Quarterbacks who could be considered the best in the NFL. Tom Brady has a longer record of success, while Ben Roethlisberger has transformed his style of play and is playing the best football of his career and is on the same level of Brady now in terms of a field general and dissecting passer. Brady has the edge over Ben in terms of short-mid area accuracy, whilst Ben is arguably the best deep thrower in the NFL. You could go on and on about both of these two Quarterbacks, but at the end of the day, both will end up in the Hall of Fame. The tiebreaker goes to their backups. The Steelers typically have trouble when Ben is out of commission. That was much evidenced last year with both Landry Jones and Mike Vick sharing starts when Ben was injured for 4 games. Now, Tom Brady rarely ever gets injured (has missed 15 games his entire 16 year career due to injury) but usually when a backup is needed, they tend to do well with the Patriots.
Slight Edge: Patriots
Running Backs
The Patriots have a dynamic group of running backs and they typically get more with less compared to the rest of the NFL. Take Dion Lewis for example. Before coming to the Patriots, he was nothing more than a 3rd String or backup RB that was only brought in situationally. Then he goes to the Patriots and suddenly he is an impact player. They also have guys like James White, James Develin, and the newly signed Donald Brown that can pick up the slack. However, they tend not to use their Running Backs much other than situationally. Now, when looking at the Steelers, they have been lucky recently with Running Backs. They took the chance on Le'Veon Bell over bigger names from bigger schools in the 2013 Draft like Eddie Lacy or Montee Ball and they haven't turned back. When healthy, Bell is the best overall RB in the NFL from both a running and receiving standpoint. Then, after LeGarrette Blount walked out on the team, they signed DeAngelo Williams, who ran for 907 yards and 11 TDs in 10 starts while Le'Veon Bell recovered from injury. The Steelers have arguably the best RB tandem in the NFL.
Edge: Steelers
Wide Receivers
Now, this probably wouldn't be much of a conversation if a certain Steeler WR by the name of Martavis Bryant hadn't gotten himself suspended, but that brought the Steelers down a notch in terms of Wide Receiver talent and depth. However, one can't deny that Antonio Brown is one of the best playmakers in the entire league regardless of position and the best WR in the NFL. Couple that with Markus Wheaton, who has evolved into an above average slot WR (showing his own flashes of greatness last season) and you have a pretty dangerous tandem with plenty of chemistry with Big Ben. The Patriots on the other hand have seen some relative turnover at WR this offseason. Brandon LaFell hasn't been resigned while Danny Amendola has been rumored to be the odd man out after the Patriots acquired Chris Hogan and Martellus Bennett. You can't ignore Julian Edleman though, who has become lethal in his own right in the Patriots system that seems tailor-made to his talents. I still have to give the edge with WR to the Steelers
Edge: Steelers
Tight End
Now this here isn't even a conversation. The Steelers lost their starting TE Heath Miller to retirement and have replaced him with talented, but unproven Ladarius Green, who has spent his career saddled behind Antonio Gates. The Patriots meanwhile have the best TE in the NFL in Rob Gronkowski, and they also just traded for Bears TE Martellus Bennett, who is 2 seasons removed from a 90 catch, 900 yard, 6 TD season with the Bears. You can bet for sure that he will succeed with the Patriots and Tom Brady. The only thing that might put the Patriots' TE situation into question is Gronk's ongoing contract situation, but it shouldn't effect his play. Patriots with the overwhelming edge here and it isn't even close.
Overwhelming Edge: Patriots
Offensive Line
Now this is probably the closest of the groups. Lets start with the Patriots OL. They have two bookend OTs in Nate Solder and Sebastian Vollmer, both of whom have had up and down seasons as of late (Solder in particular). The Patriots meanwhile relied mostly on a Guard by committee theory last season that was both effective and unconventional. Not to mention their acquisition of former 1st Round Pick Jonathan Cooper from the Cardinals in the Chandler Jones trade. The Patriots have incredible depth at OL. Now with the Steelers, their OL has been much talked about over the past decade or so. Once an achilles heel of the team in the late 2000s, it has turned into a cornerstone of the Offense with smart, early investments such as Maurkice Pouncey, David DeCastro, and Marcus Gilbert. Their main issue however, this year, will be how they will be able to cope with the loss of Kelvin Beachum, who has played at a Pro Bowl level the past few seasons despite his small stature for a OT (6'3" 303). They signed Ryan Harris to provide competition and depth with Alejandro Villanueva, who while he didn't overly-impress, he held his own in his first real action starting in the NFL. I can't really put one of these teams over the other in terms of OL.
Edge: Equal