Every year when the Steelers enter training camp, the team's goal is to win a Super Bowl.
When you set goals that are lofty, often times you come away disappointed. And the 2018 Steelers were certainly that -- disappointed.
Stumbling down the stretch after a 7-2-1 start to finish 9-6-1 and out of the playoffs was not what anyone in the team's locker room envisioned.
Fixing what went wrong in 2018 and working to regain Super Bowl contender status has been the main focus of the Steelers throughout the offseason.
As the team heads Thursday to training camp at Saint Vincent College, the big question is whether the Steelers have done enough to do so. Have they regained their footing as a Super Bowl contender?
The people who set the odds on such things seem to think so. The latest numbers from oddsshark.com put the Steelers' chances of winning the Super Bowl at plus-2000. That puts them right outside of the top 10 and tied with the Cowboys in terms of what the betting public thinks.
The defending Super Bowl champion Patriots are No. 1 at plus-700, while the rest of the top 10 is comprised of the Chiefs, Saints, Rams, Bears, Browns, Colts, Chargers, Eagles and Packers.
10 days: Does Ben still have 'it?'
9 days: Is the defense fixed?
8 days: How to replace AB?
7 days: How do rookies fit in?
6 days: Turnovers, please?
5 days: Back by committee?
4 days:Are Browns really the favorite?
3 days: Is Boswell fixed?
2 days: Top camp battles
Whether some of those teams are actual Super Bowl contenders or not is open to discussion, as is whether the Steelers are, as well.
There are some general components a Super Bowl contender should have, including a franchise quarterback, balanced offense, balanced defense, solid special teams and, perhaps most importantly, luck and good fortune.
Given those factors, the Steelers largely have the look of a team that should be a Super Bowl contender. After all, they have 11 players who have been voted to or participated in the Pro Bowl, a number that's as good as any team in the league.
The Steelers obviously have a franchise quarterback in Ben Roethlisberger. He's led the team to three Super Bowls and won two, putting him in elite company. Just 20 quarterbacks in league history have started multiple Super Bowls.
Even fewer -- 12 -- have won multiple Super Bowls. And just three of those multiple winners -- Roethlisberger, Tom Brady and Eli Manning -- are currently active.
Roethlisberger is coming off a very productive statistical season. He set career highs in passing yards and touchdowns last season, but also threw the ball more than he ever had before.
Because of that, he also led the league with 16 interceptions, though his interception percentage of 2.4 was tied with Philip Rivers and Marcus Mariota for 18th in the league.
The Steelers had a 2-to-1 pass-to-run ratio last season, but with Antonio Brown now gone, look for the Steelers to get that ratio a little closer to 60-40 in 2019 to take some of the pressure off Roethlisberger. The Steelers have one of the best offensive lines in the NFL and need to use it.
Better offensive balance would help the team tremendously. The Steelers led the NFL with a 73.47 touchdown percentage in the red zone last season -- the highest in the league in more than a decade -- in part because they ran the ball more often and more effectively inside the 10 than they had in the past.
James Conner scored 10 times on 33 red zone carries in 2018. Le'Veon Bell had 58 red zone carries in 2017, but scored just nine times.
Conner had just 215 carries last season, missing three games with an ankle injury. Those kind of injuries are tough to avoid, but Conner has worked hard on preparing his body for the rigors of a 250- to 300-carry season.
Chasing greatness. pic.twitter.com/kMNmDYukup
— James Conner (@JamesConner_) July 13, 2019
Defensively in 2018, the Steelers led the league in sacks for the second consecutive season and were sixth in the league in yards allowed. Scoring defense, however, was another matter — the team was tied for 16th.
The big reason for that was a lack of forced turnovers. The Steelers forced opponents into just 15 turnovers in 2018, leading to a minus-11 turnover ratio that was 28th in the league.
Fixing those issues will improve the defensive scoring metric while also helping the offense.
With the additions of cornerback Steven Nelson from the Chiefs, linebacker Mark Barron from the Rams and linebacker Devin Bush with the 10th pick in the draft, the defense figures to be better equipped to make some of those things happen. Nelson's four interceptions were half as many as the Steelers had as a team in 2018.
In terms of special teams play, it's not quite as important as being at least good or great offensively or defensively. But it also can't be something that is a detriment.
The Patriots, for example, were 16th in special teams play in 2018, according to FootballOutsiders.com. The Eagles, who won the Super Bowl following the 2017 season, also were 16th in overall special teams play.
The Steelers were 27th last season, largely because placekicker Chris Boswell missed seven field goals and five PATs. But the return game, especially on kickoffs, was sub-par, as well, something the Steelers hope rookie Diontae Johnson, a third-round pick, can help improve.
The Steelers were ninth in special teams play in 2017 per Football Outsiders' metrics, so improvement from that 27th ranking is probable ... and essential.
The final part of the equation is luck and good fortune. Given the team's lack of turnover success last season, the team didn't have a lot of that in 2018.
Good health, on the other hand, continues to be a strength.
The Steelers were fifth in the league in adjusted games lost to injuries in 2018, according to Football Outsiders, missing just 40.4 games by starters. That was one year after ranking fourth in the same metric.
The Steelers, it would seem, have a good group of players when it comes to overall durability.
But, as we saw in 2017, when the Steelers lost Ryan Shazier late in the season and found themselves unable to recover from such a devastating injury, it's not always the number of injuries but who gets hurt that is the biggest factor.
Losing Roethlisberger, for example, would be terribly difficult to overcome. Similarly, a long-term injury to left tackle Alejandro Villanueva, receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster or tight end Vance McDonald would be a major issue for this team.
The Steelers aren't a perfect team. They have some flaws. But so does everyone else in the league. The Steelers might not be one of the favorites to win the Super Bowl, but they belong in the conversation among the 10 or so teams that can certainly win it.
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