The Pittsburgh Steelers finished their 2017 campaign with a 13-3 record, their best since they went 15-1 way back in 2004, but the team’s regular season success is apparently not enough to convince general manager Kevin Colbert that Pittsburgh is going to win a Super Bowl title next season. For Colbert, changes have to be done, and he made that clear during a media session on Thursday, per Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.
“If we don't change the roster we had in 2017, what reason would we think there wouldn't be any difference in the results?” Colbert said. “We have to be ready to be better than we were last year.”
Among the possible areas Colbert is looking to tinker with this offseason is the Steelers’ run defense. Although Pittsburgh ranked a respectable 10th in the NFL against the run in 2017, the Steelers’ stop unit became increasingly leaky on the ground late in the season, as the team allowed at least 150 rushing yards to their opponents in three of their last six outings. With linebacker Ryan Shazier unlikely to play football again, the Steelers are going to need to address their issues on run defense this offseason.
Running back Le’Veon Bell’s contract situation is also going to make Colbert busy. Bell is, without a doubt, one of the Steelers’ best players, but is due to be a free agent soon. Bell is expected to demand a lucrative salary that the Steelers might not be willing to give him.
For a winning franchise like the Steelers, nothing short of a season that ends with them hoisting a Vince Lombardi Trophy is acceptable, and Kevin Colbert sounds just like a man who is very much aware of that.
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