The NFL season is upon us ... sort of.

All 32 teams have commenced training camp and the first preseason contest — the Hall of Fame Game — takes place Thursday when Denver meets Atlanta in Canton.

When I was a kid, I counted down the days to the start of these glorified practices. I knew they did not count toward a team's record and I realized that the majority of play would come from players who would be cut before the start of the regular season.

It didn't matter to me. It was NFL football and I couldn't get enough of it.

My enthusiasm has been tempered a bit. Actually, a lot. Now, I just hope that the Steelers have a lot of competition in camp and the cream rises to the top, all the while remaining healthy. But I couldn't tell you the last time I watched an entire preseason game. It's been years.

My focus is on the regular season schedule and for Pittsburgh, several things stick out about its 2019 slate.

Two of the team's first three games are on the road against New England and San Francisco. In between is a home game against Seattle. Weeks 4 and 5 are home contests against AFC North rivals Cincinnati and Baltimore.

That's a tough stretch and it will go a long way in determining if Pittsburgh can return to the playoffs. The last three seasons in which the Steelers failed to have a winning record after five games — 2018, 2013 and 2012 — are also the last three times they missed the postseason.

Pittsburgh does not play Cleveland until Week 11 in mid-November, then plays the Browns twice in a 3-week span. Some fans don't like this, a second meeting coming so soon, but I do. The NFL schedule in the 1980s included these divisional rematches just two weeks after the first game. I've noticed a few in recent years and I think it's an interesting wrinkle.

The Steelers get a reunion with Le'Veon Bell when the Steelers visit the Jets in Week 16. That is, if Bell is still healthy. Three times in his 5-year stay in Pittsburgh Bell was out of the lineup at the end of the season due to injury.

Predictions at this time of the year are easy to make, but very tough to get right. Look at the 49ers last season. I thought they could take a huge step forward and be a darkhorse candidate for a playoff spot out of the NFC, but quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo tore his ACL in Week 3 and San Francisco struggled through a 4-12 season.

But most fans like to prognosticate, so I will follow suit. Ben Roethlisberger isn't getting any younger. He's in his 16th season, but the Steelers feel good about the line in front of him. With Bell and Antonio Brown gone, the talent level at the skill positions isn't as formidable, but the circus those two brought to the franchise is also gone and that's a huge positive.

T.J. Watt, Cameron Heyward and Joe Haden lead a defense with a lot of potential, but a lot of breakdowns as well. Remember the loss in Oakland last year? Hopefully, rookie linebacker Devin Bush can add big plays at key times.

Chris Boswell needs to return to his Pro Bowl form. He missed seven field goals and five extra points a year ago. In a league where the majority of games are decided by seven points or less, Pittsburgh needs a reliable kicker.

On the Steelers' current depth chart, there is no kicker listed.

Not all of the question marks will turn out in the Steelers' favor, but the law of averages says some will.

I have the Steelers finishing 10-6 and winning the AFC North this season.

Stay tuned.

Derek Pyda is a staff writer for the Butler Eagle