The Pittsburgh Steelers have plenty of reason for optimism as they look toward the start of the regular season, as ll three quarterbacks performed well, their collection of weapons looks to be one of the best in the division and the defense is expected to be one of the league’s best, but the offensive line is not one of the areas where optimism abounds, as they had their share of struggles throughout training camp and the team’s three exhibitions game.
Even amid their shaky play and deserved criticism, expected starting quarterback Mitch Trubisky expressed confidence in the unit on Tuesday.
“Very confident,” said of his faith in the group. “I’m very confident. We’re still gelling as a whole group, and there’s a bunch of things we can help out. Not just them, but our whole offense, so we’re figuring out what suits us best.”
Trubisky added that the upcoming week and change prior to the season opener against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sept. 11 will be beneficial in continuing to move the unit along.
“This is a great week for us to come together, continue to work, fix those mistakes and get everybody on the same page so we can be the best offense we can be,” Trubisky said.
Steelers offensive coordinator Matt Canada also shared optimism that the group can come together and improve in the coming week.
“I’m comfortable with them. We’re going to continue to get better and continue to work to put them in a good position to make plays,” Canada said. “That falls on me. There always will be things that will happen that we’re not going to like that everyone’s going to talk about, but I’m never going to talk about those things in here. It’s going to be about getting better and working better.”
While the entire offensive line has subpar, left tackle Dan Moore Jr. and guard Kendrick Green have certainly drawn the bulk of the blame for the units lackluster showings.
Moore appears to have regressed from his rookie season, while Green continues to look overmatched and undersized.
The Steelers did make an addition to their offensive line room on roster cutdown day, as the team acquired veteran offensive tackle Jesse Davis from the Minnesota Vikings on Tuesday in exchange for a conditional seventh-round pick.