Mark Madden: Steelers have plenty of question marks entering opener with Bills

It’s difficult to be optimistic about the Steelers.

A decent training camp provided a slight nudge in that direction.

But T.J. Watt didn’t start practicing till Wednesday.

Stephon Tuitt is injured/grieving/out of shape and could miss half the season, maybe more.

Zach Banner is hurt — he is always hurt — and that has caused a major shuffle in an already-unsettled offensive line.

Four rookies might start Sunday at Buffalo. That’s not because they’re all great, although first-round pick Najee Harris could be. It’s because choices are limited.

Baltimore’s injury pileup at running back has Steelers fans gleefully pointing at the Ravens’ setbacks even as they ignore their own.

The Ravens still have Gus Edwards (723 yards, 5.0 yards per carry last season) in their backfield. The Steelers will replace Banner with Dan Moore Jr., a fourth-rounder playing his first NFL game. Chris Wormley, who started once last season, will deputize for Tuitt.

Of current and urgent concern is Buffalo receiver Stefon Diggs, who led the NFL in catches (127) and receiving yards (1,535) last season. Joe Haden wants a contract extension, didn’t get one, and will show exactly why not Sunday.

Haden can’t cover Diggs. No Steelers defensive back can.

Diggs will be serviced by Josh Allen, a top-five quarterback in his prime. Allen is protected by an offensive line returning all of its starters.

The Buffalo defense wasn’t as good overall as the Steelers’ was last year, but it was very opportunistic. The Bills finished third in the NFL with 26 takeaways, just one less than Pittsburgh. They had 15 interceptions, seventh-most in the league and three fewer than the Steelers.

Cornerback Tre’Davious White has made the last two Pro Bowls and was first-team All-Pro in 2019. The Bills have good safeties.

Those seem the Steelers’ biggest and most immediate problems.

Last week in this space, I predicted the Steelers would win at Buffalo. But things have happened, and haven’t happened. I’m recanting. Buffalo wins and covers 6½ points.

If the Steelers lose, it isn’t the end of the world. (That’s what the headline on one fanboy website said Tuesday. If you’re going to surrender, at least wait till the end of the first quarter.)

But if the Steelers get routed, excrement might roll downhill quickly and in volume.

It doesn’t get much easier after Sunday.

The Steelers schedule is brutal. They will be underdogs in at least 10 games. They have, by acclamation, the league’s toughest slate of games.

The Steelers defense is projected to be elite. That had better be true. Five of the Steelers’ foes have quarterbacks who rate among the NFL’s top 10: Allen, Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, Aaron Rodgers and Russell Wilson. (The Steelers play Baltimore and Jackson twice.)

Heck, those might be the league’s top five quarterbacks.

A few more opposition QBs lurk just off that list, like Ryan Tannehill and (potentially) Justin Herbert.

By the time the season ends, perhaps Steelers fans will figure out what the team’s “way” is.

It’s said that not giving Watt guaranteed money past his contract’s first year is an outdated policy that must change. Never mind that the Steelers could make Watt play out the final year of his rookie contract, then franchise him twice. Cheaper and safer, but Watt would be mad. (A new Steelers tradition is the organization being terrified of its top players.)

But whenever the subject of replacing coach Mike Tomlin comes up, most revert to tradition: “THE STEELERS NEVER FIRE THE COACH!”

Is change needed, or should the status quo be maintained? The team has underachieved badly given its talent over the past decade. On the other hand, not many franchises in American sports have done better than the Steelers over the last 50-plus years, and that’s using a consistent method.

There’s time to decide.

But nothing done between now and Sunday will help enough at Buffalo.