Welcome to the terrible take, a daily segment telling Steel or Nation what's on our minds.

I'm Melanie Freelander.

When we consider a team's potential, we typically start with stats, a player's height, weight, even hand size. We look at speed, receiving yards,

average rush distance, YAC, quarterback pressures, and sacks.

But there is another element that can't be quantified that might be an important factor

for the 2023 Steelers in their bid for a playoff win and beyond.

And that intangible is the Brotherhood that developed in Leotrobe over the past few weeks.

Some of it started in the off season with players working out together.

Once training camp began, it expanded with all pro veterans Patrick Peterson and T.J. Watt

taking on rookies Joey Porter Jr. and Nick Herbig under their wing to provide guidance and teach technique.

When the team brought in Free Agent Kwan Alexander, the other inside linebackers welcomed him

and worked on getting him up to speed.

There was a competition for the starting role, sure, but

Landon Roberts also knew to the Steelers made a point that it was good for the

defense and he welcomed it. And based on what we've seen since then, he meant what

he said.

A healthy team is important from an injury standpoint, but a healthy locker room matters too.

The sense of camaraderie that head coach Mike Tomlin is fostered isn't a happy accident either.

When speaking to the media a few days ago he elaborated on that saying

it has been an agenda of ours particularly in this training camp that those things you mentioned

that intangible quality that make up teams I don't believe is a mystical thing.

I don't want to hope that it develops.

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