10/27/22-This Is The Season The Steelers Need

By: Mike Pelaia

Mike Tomlin has never had a losing season.

How many times have you heard that line?  Countless.  It’s a fact and it’s been a badge of honor around Pittsburgh when describing the last 15 years of Steeler football.  It’s described a lot of success but also several shortcomings.  Part of ‘not losing’ has meant not winning enough to go very far in the playoffs or even make the playoffs.

Part of not losing has meant having a draft pick in the middle or later portion of the rounds which has led to not being able to stockpile as talented players as other teams have. It’s the by product of a league who tries to create parity.  The Steelers have been the model team for years upon years. A team that many try to emulate but nobody can duplicate.

The not losing has finally caught up to them and guess what? That’s ok. It was bound to happen.  This is the season the Steelers need to get things back to the 2004-2010 level that everyone craves.  It may take a few years to do so but if the Steelers draft in the top 10 this coming draft and perhaps the draft after, they can flip things around quickly.

We can debate all day as to what position(s) they should draft if and when the time comes but for now, just theorize the possibility of adding two top 10 players over the next two seasons to a roster that already has their quarterback, running back, tight end and wide receivers of the future. They have some nice pieces on defense and are potentially just a few players away from turning this thing around but sometimes it takes a season or two like this to do so.

I’m not telling you to root against the team so they land a top 10 pick but I am suggesting that you take the losing in stride and recognize it may result is something bigger down the line. This team hasn’t made a deep run in the playoffs in several seasons and it’s currently not ready to compete in the AFC North with teams like the Bengals and Ravens let alone in the AFC against the Bills or Chiefs.

The Steelers once were the team to beat in the AFC along with the Patriots and Colts. Look where those teams are today too.  They’ll all be back, in time, just be patient.

Pittsburgh Steelers at Philadelphia Eagles

The Steelers will hit the road this week to take on the league’s top team, by record at least, when they face the undefeated Philadelphia Eagles.  The Eagles are a bit surprising to me with their record but are certainly a better team than Pittsburgh.

Jalen Hurts has made tremendous strides this season and it will be imperative that the Steelers defense find a way to pressure him. Alex Highsmith must provide a spark to a defense that needs sacks. Highsmith is the key to this game defensively. The Steelers held the Dolphins and Tyreek Hill in check last Sunday night and they can build on that performance but they will absolutely need to win this ball game on the backs of their defense.  If the defense can get after the ball, create turnovers and ideally a short field for the offense, they’ll give themselves a chance.

Unfortunately, without a short field, the offense doesn’t have a chance. Matt Canada won’t allow balls to go downfield and he’s wasting a season of George Pickens in not doing so.  Kenny Pickett needs to be given the ability to throw the football beyond 10 yards, that’s why they drafted him where they did.  Sadly, that won’t happen this week. The offense will continue to run jet sweeps, passes underneath and certainly hadn’t he ball off on first and second down.  I don’t see how they score more than 13 points and even that will be lucky.

Eagles 23  Steelers 13

10/12/22-Hot Takes About A Bad Team

By: Mike Pelaia

The Steelers are off to a horrific start and it’s only going to get worse.  ESPN currently projects the Steelers to finish with the top overall pick in the NFL draft.  They haven’t done that since they drafted Terry Bradshaw back in 1970.

It may not be what the Steelers or their fans wanted but it would be a great way to officially rebuild.

However, here are all the reasons why this team is bad and may indeed finish with the first overall pick, and a few other thoughts as well.

1. My first thought is the Steelers should not have drafted Kenny Pickett. He may turn out to be a good quarterback, I’m not convinced he’ll be a franchise qb.  They needed help on the offensive line, defensive line, middle linebacker and secondary far more than they needed Pickett.  They should have either rolled with Mitch Trubisky and Mason Rudolph or maybe even kept Ben Roethlisberger around for another season and grabbed their guy next year.  This team is going nowhere fast and you can get a qb after the rest of the team is up to speed. (See the 2004 Steelers as a reference)

 

2. Najee Harris shouldn’t have been drafted in the first round. I’ve never been a fan of first round running backs and Harris is no exception. In fact, I don’t think he’s all that good. His vision is poor, he lacks speed and despite being a big back, he doesn’t show the aggressive style he should. He’s a great guy, but that doesn’t win football games.  He’s 35^th in the league in total yards rushing (oh by the way there are only 32 teams, so at least a few teams have multiple backs in front of him) and he’s 45^th in yards per carry at 3.2.  In my opinion, anything short of 4.0 yards per carry isn’t getting it done.  I think the team needs to move more carries to Jaylen Warren.  Pittsburgh thought they were getting the next Le’Veon Bell and, well, they didn’t, with Harris.

 

3. Chase Claypool is just not that good. He was drafted to win the 50-50 ball and he rarely does. He finds a way to land on his back, without the ball, often, but that’s it. He had a huge rookie season and has done nothing since.  I don’t think he’ll be back when his contract expires, nor should he be.

 

4. Diontae Johnson is not a number one receiver. He drops too many passes and makes too many mistakes.  He’s talented, no question about it.  He’s a good number two, but he’s not a top guy.  George Pickens is though.  Kenny Pickett needs to, and will, find him more than any other wideout on this team. Pickens has star written all over him.

 

5. Matt Canada should be fired, asap. I know Mike Tomlin is a loyal guy but loyalty can be a fault, and in this case, it is.  Canada is in over his head. Since last November’s game against the Lions, a 16-16 tie, Canada’s offense has averaged 18 points per game. Oh by the way, four different quarterbacks have started in that time.  18 points per game isn’t going to get it done in the NFL. What more needs to be seen?  Fire him.  In season changes are tough but something has to give here.

 

6. The defense, the one that everyone loves, stinks. Without TJ Watt, nobody can apply pressure to the quarterback.  Alex Highsmith is mediocre at best and without Watt, he’s marginal.  The Steel Curtain isn’t walking through that door. A revamp of the team needs to happen, and it won’t happen overnight.  This team is looking at multiple years.  Watt and Minkah Fitzpatrick are cornerstones, Cam Heyward is a beast but aging, you can take everyone else.

 

7. The Steelers aren’t going to win a Super Bowl for several years, maybe even a decade or more. I think they are so far behind the rest of the league that it’s going to take several draft classes and coaches to get this thing right.  I’m not convinced that Tomlin will even be here the next time this team wins the whole thing.

 

What will happen this weekend:

In short, a loss.  The Steelers face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this weekend and Tom Brady has traditionally shredded the Pittsburgh defense.  There is no reason to think he won’t again.  I expect Brady to exceed 300 yards, lead the Bucs to over 25 points and have a easy time of it.  The Steelers defense has holes everywhere and won’t sack Brady even once, they won’t get a turnover and they won’t be able to get many, if any, three and outs.

Conversely, the Steelers offense won’t get the ball downfield often, they certainly won’t run the ball effectively and Kenny Pickett will be blitzed all day long, having trouble getting the ball to his wideouts.  It will be a good learning experience for the rookie but he won’t get his first win this weekend.

Buccaneers 27  Steelers 9