4 Overreactions after the Steelers 21-18 win over the Browns in Week 1

The Pittsburgh Steelers struggled in their first week of the 2017 regular season, like a lot of teams did on Sunday, and although the obvious sentiment is the team will only improve as the starters continue to gel, there are a lot of over reactions going on the Monday after an NFL Sunday.

While I won’t be diving head-first into the NFL pool, I will stick to the Steelers, and break down some of those overreactions, and hopefully bring a sense of calm to several situations, and narratives, which are running rampant the day after the Steelers 21-18 win over the Browns.

The Stephon Tuitt injury is catastrophic

First, the diagnosis and timeline of his injury hasn’t been released yet, but preparing for the worst is always a safe bet, even for fans. If Tuitt is done for the year, or even a few weeks, some think this would be a catastrophic blow to the team. Would it be a big blow to the defense? No doubt, but would it end the unit’s success? No way.

Just like the team did in 2016 when Cam Heyward was lost for the year with a torn pectoral muscle, the Steelers will be able to get along without Tuitt. Not only will they be able to compensate for his absence, but they have much better depth along the line this year than in previous years. Tyson Alualu, who played the majority of snaps for Tuitt Sunday, and L.T. Walton will be huge for the team if Tuitt is indeed gone for an extended period of time.

This isn’t Cam Thomas or Ricardo Mathews, but two players who can step up and fill in without a dramatic drop in production. Let’s all keep our fingers crossed in regards to Tuitt getting a good medical report.

The Steelers offense is doomed

I heard this more than anything else after the Week 1 game, but some fans just refused to look at the facts. These aren’t excuses, they are facts.

• Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown played two series together this preseason.
• The offensive line had all 5 starters together for about one quarter this preseason.
• Le’Veon Bell voluntarily sat out the preseason, and numerous defenders, like Mike Mitchell and Ryan Shazier, missed almost all of training camp due to injury.

In other words, this game was still very much a learning process for the offense. Was it ugly? Anyone who watched the game knows it was horrendous, but it should only get better. The game planning, the execution and the overall quality of play will improve every week from here on out.

For those who disagree with the last sentence, ask yourself, “Could it get any worse?”

These are just the Browns

It is okay to admit it. The Browns aren’t the pushovers they once were. Sure, they aren’t a Super Bowl contending team, but the team had to eventually get a few draft picks correct, right?

DeShone Kizer looks like a young quarterback who can continue to improve under Hue Jackson, and Myles Garrett, although he didn’t play Sunday, will anchor the defense for years to come.

In other words, the days of the schedule being released and the two games against the Browns being chalked up to nothing more than two wins could be slowly ending. Maybe this is a sign of the apocalypse, or maybe the Browns are actually getting better. I sure was impressed by their defense, for the most part, Sunday.

T.J. Watt is on his way to NFL superstardom

Watt was more than impressive in his NFL regular season debut, but not every game will be like this for Watt. And for those suggesting I will eat my words, I hope this happens every Sunday!

Watt, like Bud Dupree before him, could easily hit the proverbial rookie wall, and as more tape is put out there for the opposition, it will be up to Watt to stay ahead of the curve.

In other words, if Watt struggles in the coming weeks, or later in the season, it isn’t the end of the world, and he isn’t a first round draft ‘bust’ because of it. Rather, it is part of the baptism by fire which is starting in the NFL as a rookie. Week 1 was a great start to his career, but he will soon find staying on top of the game is much harder than even transcending that mountain.