The Pittsburgh Steelers, particularly Mike Tomlin, have a big season ahead of them. Last year was a massive disappointment, there's no denying that. Pittsburgh had a very talented roster but underachieved, collapsing in the final few weeks to miss the playoffs.

The Steelers were dealing with Antonio Brown and Le'Veon Bell — and the dramas they created — the whole season, which cast a dark cloud over the team. Brown and Bell are both gone now, which feels like addition by subtraction. Every current Steelers player has insisted this offseason that the Steelers are doing well as a team, and are looking forward to getting back to football.

Mike Tomlin is heading into his most critical year as Steelers coach, and he understands that. Speaking after practice recently, Tomlin emphasized he's looking for his team to play with more speed.

Tomlin “said he’s more concerned with playing fast than positional chemistry at this point in the offseason,” per Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com.

Tomlin added “that chemistry will ramp up during training camp.”

Considering what happened to them last year, chemistry is obviously very important.

Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has conceded he wasn't the leader he needed to be at times last season, which was a positive first step. Toward the end of last season, Tomlin started letting his defense play a lot more fluidly and with a lot more quickness.

It worked; the unit looked really solid down the stretch. As such, it's not surprising that Tomlin is making playing with speed a priority this offseason. With the Baltimore Ravens and Cleveland Browns seemingly on the ascent, it won't be easy, but there's no reason the Steelers can't win the AFC North in 2019.