PITTSBURGH — Art Rooney isn’t much on crystal balls. So forgive the Pittsburgh Steelers president if he’s not ready to enthusiastically endorse the oddsmakers’ optimism that his team is a favorite to make it to next season’s Super Bowl. Last he checked, there were a good 365-plus days ahead of kickoff in Houston.

Still, Rooney is bullish on what he sees heading into 2016. Considering the seemingly relentless series of injuries to its offensive stars Ben Roethlisberger, Le’Veon Bell and Maurkice Pouncey, the Steelers overcame to earn a second straight wild-card berth while coming within an late letdown in Denver of a spot in the AFC title game, it’s kind of hard to blame him.

“I do think the direction of the team is a positive one,” Rooney said Thursday.

Yet amid all those positives, the Steelers measure success not in playoff spots but championship parades. To that end, there remains plenty of work to be done. The defense under first-year coordinator Keith Butler created an AFC-high 30 turnovers to go with 48 sacks but also was 30th against the pass. That’s far from good enough.

“On that front, I would say no, we’re not satisfied with where we are,” Rooney said. “(But) I’m not going to suggest that we need to do something dramatically different.”

Rooney believes some of the answers are already in house. Second-round pick Senquez Golson didn’t play a down thanks to a shoulder problem that required surgery in training camp. Fourth-round pick Doran Grant didn’t get in a game until December thanks to health concerns.

“We invested some draft picks in some players last year that we certainly hope are going to take a step forward in this coming season and be contributors,” Rooney said. “Obviously we’ve got to look at some opportunities this offseason both in terms of free agency. It’s something we have to keep working on.”

Including the way the team picks which defensive backs it wants to put in Butler’s hyperactive scheme. The Steelers gave Cortez Allen a five-year extension on the eve of the 2014 season. The return on the investment has been minimal at best. Allen lost his starting job in the middle of 2014 and played in just one game this season.