I could say plenty positive about the Steelers this year. Their main weakness is being without Roethlisberger for 4 to 6 games, but it's not like they're incapable of winning without him. Every time they've won the super bowl, it's been because of their defense, and the defense should be notably better than last year with unless they have some more devastating injuries like they did last year. Troy Polamalu and Aaron Smith, easily their two best defensive players that are not outside linebackers, are back to full strength, and they're a completely different team with those two on the field. Tyrone Carter is gone, and William Gay will not be starting. In fact, he'll be lucky to be a nickleback this season. Will Allen is a far more serviceable backup safety than Carter was by leagues, and he was the main weakness all year behind Gay, who is not starter quality. Getting Bryant McFadden back was an excellent move, and they have at least two very promising young corners as well in Keenan Lewis and Crezdon Butler (I don't know how Joe Burnett will develop). Ziggy Hood rotating on all 3 positions on the d-line should keep the men up front fresh, and he really came on toward the end of the season last year, taking over the second Ravens game by himself during the last few possessions. They now have excellent depth at linebacker as well by drafting Jason Worilds, Thaddeus Gibson, and Stevenson Sylvester, who will also be a great boon their their special teams units, which will be critical after giving up 5 touchdowns last year. They literally went from first to worst in that category and they lost games because of it.
On the other side of the ball, the most obvious improvement was the drafting of Maurkice Pouncey, who should be able to dramatically impact the way that the entire line plays. The loss of Willie Colon will not be fun, but I would rather have Trai Essex playing right tackle than right guard. If Justin Hartwig keeps sucking it up all season though, he might be moving to center sooner than later. Of course the loss of Santonio Holmes will not be pretty, but let's face it, Mike Wallace is taller, faster, possesses more football smarts, has the requisite drive, doesn't give up on blown plays, is less of a shithead, and showed last year that he can be a major player as a rookie. I think he'll be just fine as the number two guy, and while Emmanuel Sanders develops into the heir apparent to Holmes, Antwaan Randle El will be a serviceable number three guy who already knows the system. Hines Ward is Hines Ward, period. Heath Miller is the most underrated tight end in the league. The offensive line, with the exception of Justin Hartwig, is good, if inconsistent, though that might be saying a bit much for Essex, the other weak link in the chain. but Max Starks is a capable (but far from Pro Bowl) left tackle, Chris Kemoeatu is also an overlooked left guard who presence was sorely missed when he went down with injuries. I'm fully confident with Maurkice Pouncey coming in and automatically being their best offensive lineman though, so his impact should not be understated. With Willie Parker gone, Mendenhall coming full into the season as the known starter, having grown into his body even more, and having the support of the rookie Jonathan Dwyer, the running game should also improve, namely in the short yardage game. All Leftwich has to do is prove to be a capable game manager like Kerry Collins was a couple years ago. The defense should be able to see to it that they come out of the Roethlisberger suspension with a positive record. If they stay healthy, I don't think anybody should be writing them off this year. I think they're as likely to win the North as are the Ravens, and moreso than the Bengals. I don't think the Bengals will make the playoffs. They historically follow up good seasons with very bad seasons anyway. The Ravens are the sexy pick this year (actually they always seem to be lately), but we'll see. They should definitely make it to the playoffs, but I don't know if that will be through the wildcard or not.