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Mike Tomlin Steelers Legacy: 19 Years of Winning in Pittsburgh

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Mike Tomlin left the Pittsburgh Steelers the same way he arrived – unheralded and unanticipated.

When Bill Cowher called it a day after the Steelers 2006 season, everyone knew either Russ Grimm or Ken Whisenhunt would get the job. Art Rooney II admitted that he didn’t expect to hire yet Mike Tomlin when he walked in the door, but Tomlin knocked his and Dan Rooney’s socks off.

By the same token, Art Rooney wasn’t expecting Mike Tomlin to step away following the loss to the Texans. But step away he has. Here we review Mike Tomlin’s full legacy as Pittsburgh Steelers head coach, balancing his accomplishments and shortcomings, all framed within their historical context.

Mike Tomlin, Mike Tomlin Franco Harris Jersey, Steelers vs Raiders

Mike Tomlin wearing a Franco Harris jersey. Photo Credit: Fred Vuich, AP via St. Albert Gazette

2007 – 2010: Cementing the Franchise Legacy

Few NFL coaches get handed the keys to a Super Bowl team.

If you think that winning is “simple” for them then please Google Phil Bengtson, Ray Handley and Richie Petitbon. A coach who takes the reins of a Super Bowl-caliber team must do much more than “not mess up.”

As Willie Colon explains, “It’s hard to grab the keys to the Porsche and not crash it.”

In his first season, Mike Tomlin took an underperforming team that had gone 8-8 in 2006 and led them to a 10-6 record and an AFC North Championship.

With just over 10 minutes remaining, Ben Roethlisberger connected with Heath Miller to bring the Steelers within 5 points. Mike Tomlin went for two. Roethlisberger hit Hines Ward bringing narrowing the difference to three.

Except Sean Mahan got flagged for holding. Tomlin didn’t bat an eye and went for two again. But this time, Roethlisberger couldn’t connect.

  • The Steelers did score again. But so did the Jaguars who won the game 31 to 29.

The move was controversial at the time, but with social media in its infancy the fan rage muted by 2026 standards.

But by doubling down in going for 2, Mike Tomlin established his legacy as a head coach who would put games in the hands of his players and trust them to deliver with the game on the line.

With the Arizona Cardinals threatening to take the lead as the first half closed, James Harrison, granted the freedom to freelance by Tomlin and Dick LeBeau, audibled out of his pass rush assignment and dropped into coverage. 100 yards later Harrison authored the longest run in Super Bowl history, putting the Steelers up 17 to 7.

james harrison, super bowl xliii, interception, record, pick six

James Harrison’s dramatic interception in Super Bowl XLIII

By the time more points were needed to put Pittsburgh back in the lead, the culture of trust and confidence in one another Tomlin had built proved to be the difference maker, as observed at the time:

the Steelers poise and camaraderie were consistent for four quarters. The men in Black and Gold never lost their belief in themselves nor their faith in one another. When faced with adversity, they persevered, they remained determined. And they did it together. That’s been the case all season.

And that’s what made them Super Bowl champions.

The Steelers 2009 season will and should be remembered for the Super Bowl hangover Tomlin tried and failed to avoid.

  • But 2009 revealed something important about Tomlin: His ability to rally a down team.

Memories have faded, but Tomlin’s Steelers never looked worse than they did during 2009’s 5-game losing streak. Yet, Tomlin rallied them for 3 straight wins.

In 2010, the Steelers suffered one of their worst off seasons ever as the word “Midgeville” entered the vernacular. Willie Colon was lost for the season in June. With Ben Roethlisberger suspended for 4 games, Tomlin brought Byron Leftwich back to Pittsburgh. Leftwich broke his leg in preseason.

By week, 2 Mike Tomlin was playing Charlie Batch, effectively his 4th string quarterback, and traveling to Tennessee, starting UDFA Steve McLeodon over Casey Hampton and authoring arguably the greatest defensive performance in franchise history.

  • By the time 2010 ended, the Steelers were in their 3 Super Bowl in 6 years.

Super Bowl XLV ended with a loss , but that didn’t change the fact that as new decade began, it was no longer a question of 4 Super Bowls for Chuck Noll and 1 for Bill Cowher, it was 6 Super Bowls for the Pittsburgh Steelers, as Kevin Colbert observed.

2011 – 2017: The Under Appreciated Rebuild

Mike Tomlin isn’t the only coach to take over a Super Bowl team and win another Lombardi. But continuing to win for more a couple-of-three seasons is much more challenging.

  • Just ask Barry Switzer or Mike Martz.

Yet, despite the 2011 Collective Bargaining Agreement leaving the Steelers in Salary Cap purgatory, Mike Tomlin and Kevin Colbert managed .500 seasons in 2012 and again in 2013 – after a 2-4 start no less. The 2012 season stands out for one simple reason – it contains the only Mike Tomlin-coached game where the Steelers were eliminated from playoff contention.

  • By 2014 the Steelers returned to the playoffs, as they did in 2015 and 2016.

As observed elsewhere on this site, the Steelers Killer Bees were too true to their name. Ben Roethlisberger, Le’Veon Bell and Antonio Brown only played 3 of a possible 7 playoff games together.

Steelers Killer Bees, Steelers Killer Bs, Ben Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown, Le'Veon Bell

The Steelers Killer Bees were too true to their name. Photo Credit: pegitboard.com

(Rhetorical question “How might Chuck Noll have fared had Bradshaw, Franco, Swann and Stallworth been similarly unavailable for his playoff runs?”)

Injuries aside, by the time the Steelers reached the 2016 AFC Championship game, the only three players who remained from the 2008 Super Bowl squad were James Harrison, Ben Roethlisberger and long snapper Greg Warren.

Yes, Tom Brady seared the Steelers that night in New England, but the fact that Mike Tomlin got his team there with three rookies defensive starters, without Cam Heyward in the lineup and with Robert Golden logging 36% of the defensive snaps speaks volumes about his coaching acumen.

Steelers vs Patriots, Steelers vs Patriots 2016 AFC Championship, Javon Hargrave, Tom Brady

Javon Hargrave sacks Tom Brady early in the ’16 AFC Championship. Photo Credit: Charles Krupa, AP via Mercury News.

As badly as another AFC Championship loss to the Patriots stung, the Steelers seemed to be back.

Alas, tragedy would close the Super Bowl window that Mike Tomlin and Kevin Colbert had re-opened 12 games later, when Ryan Shazier fell to the turf paralyzed from the waist down at Paul Brown Stadium.

From there on out, Mike Tomlin would be forced to do more with less.

Interlude: Tomlin’s Warts — Assistant Coaches and Talent Evaluation

And there’s a reason why Tomlin had to do more with less. As Chuck Noll and Bill Cowher did before him, Mike Tomlin had his flaws.

The infamous post-penalty 2-point conversion foreshadowed one of them. Sean Mahan was called for holding, and he’d been hand-picked by Mike Tomlin from Tampa Bay. Mahan traded away at a fire-sale price next September.

  • That raised the question on why Tomlin chose to bring Mahan to Pittsburgh in the first place.

Yes, Mike Tomlin managed to pluck Cam Heyward and T.J. Watt at the bottom of the first round. He and his scouts found gems like Antonio Brown and Kelvin Beachum in the 6th and 7th rounds.

But as the Steelers struggled to Re-Load for Ben Roethlisberger, they swung and missed badly as any sober evaluation of their 2018, 2019, and 2020 draft classes reveals. 2021 wasn’t much better, but Salary Cap Armageddon, combined with injuries and surprise retirements, forced them  to reach to fill needs.

D.K. Metcalf, Terrell Edmunds, Steelers vs Seahawks

D.K. Metcalf burns Terrell Edmunds for a touchdown. Photo Credit: Yahoo.com

This isn’t the sole responsibility of Mike Tomlin, but his voice was at the ver least, the first among equals in the draft war room.

  • In contrast, Mike Tomlin did have a free hand in picking assistant coaches.

Let’s be objective and acknowledge Mike Munchak, Danny Smith, Karl Dunbar, Richard Mann, Al Everest and, arguably, Todd Haley as good hires.

But those were balanced out by the Bob Ligasheskys, Amos Joness, Carnell Lakes and Joey Porter Sr’s (anyone notice how Bud Dupree blossomed when Keith Butler returned to the linebackers room?) Tomlin changed offensive line coaches not named Munchak the way everyone else changes underwear.

His signature attempt to cultivate an innovative coaching talent was Matt Canada. Canada holds the infamous distinction of being the only Steelers coordinator to be fired mid-season in the modern era.

Selecting assistant coaches wasn’t Tomin’s strength, and this weakness weighed him down.

2018 – 2025 – Doing More with Less

The post-Shazier/playoff drought phase of Tomlin tenure will remain a lightning rod for generations. So be it.

  • Here the focus is on what Mike Tomlin achieved as instead of what he failed to achieve.

Three examples highlight Tomlin’s skill as both a leader and as a football tactician: Quarterbacks, the 2021 season and the 2025 season.

Quarterbacks

The Steelers franchise deserves all the criticism it gets for bungling the post-Roethlisberger transition. I can’t prove it, but I suspect Mike Tomlin wanted to draft Lamar Jackson but got beaten to the punch.

Be that as it may, following Roethlisberger’s injury in 2019, Mason Rudolph, Devlin Hodges, Mitch Trubisky, Kenny Pickett, Justin Fields, Russell Wilson and Aaron Rodgers all started for the Steelers.

Mitch Trubisky, Mason Rudolph, Kenny Pickett, Steelers 2022 quarterback competition

Mitch Trubisky, Kenny Pickett and Mason Rudolph. Photo Credit: Brandon Sloter / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images and The Athletic.)

Do Coach-quarterback records say more about the coach or the QB? Who knows? Either way they yield valuable insights such as:

  • Don Shula reached a Super Bowl with David Woodley – Score one for Shula.
  • Bill Belichick’s record without Tom Brady is piss poor – draw your own conclusions.
  • Joe Gibbs won three Super Bowls with three different QBs – Yeah Joe is underrated.
  • Noll & Malone beat Walsh & Montana. Twice – Score one for The Emperor.

Rudolph, Hodges, Tribusiky, Pickett, Fields along with an aging Wilson and an even older Rodgers offer a wide spectrum in terms of talent and pedigree.

  • The only one with a losing record in Pittsburgh was Trubisky.

The rest have losing records in their post-Steelers lives, and Hodges, who was .500 as a Steelers starter, couldn’t even secure a spot on another team’s practice squad.

Enough said.

The 2021 Season

We remember Ben Roethlisberger going out with a bang in 2021 after seven 4th quarter comebacks. He gets  he lion’s share of the credit for the 9-7-1 finish.

But what we forget ’21 Steelers had an offensive line held together with spit, duct tape and bubble gum and a defensive line that had Cameron Heyward playing alongside career backups and practice squanders.

Few credit Mike Tomlin for keeping that team together. But they should.

The 2025 Season

Mike Tomlin’s Yin and Yang was on full display 2025.

During the off season, Mike Tomlin and Omar Khan took several calculated personnel risks.

One was that the trio of Jalen Ramsey, Darius Slay and Joey Porter Jr. backed by safety Juan Tornhill could deliver the shutdown secondary necessary to combat Joe Burrow’s video game-like passing attack. On offense, they gambled that Roman Wilson would grow into a legit WR No 2.

  • Burrow didn’t get a chance to test them, but Joe Flacco did and exposed them.
  • Roman Wilson flashed (well, flickered) early on but finished the year inactive.

By season’s end, Mike Tomlin had brought in 3 new defensive backs and moved the pieces around so that only secondary starter was playing in his opening day position. He did something similar at wide receiver adding not one but two cast offs.

Jalen Ramsey, Tua Tagovailoa, Steelers vs Dolphins, Steelers vs Dolphins MNF

Jalen Ramsey sacks Tua Tagovailoa. Photo Credit: Alysia Rubin, Steelers.com

The changes resulted in a team that lost 5 of 7 games to close November at 6-6, to one went 4-1 down the stretch and won the AFC Championship.

Sweet Steelers Symmetry

Early in his tenure, a reader asked Ed Bouchette in a Post-Gazette chat to compare Tomlin to his predecessors. Bouchette opined that Tomlin struck him as a cross between Noll and Cowher.

So there’s something poetic about Mike Tomlin finishing with 193 regular season wins, just as Chuck Noll did. And its fitting that Tomin’s Super Bowl record of 1-1 match’s Bill Cowher’s.

Bill Cowher, Mike Tomlin, Chuck Noll, Steelers Six Lombardi Trophies, Mike Tomlin Bill Cowher photo

Bill Cowher interviews Mike Tomlin. Photo Credit: Steelers.com

Noll and Cowher boast better post-season percentages, yet Tomlin’s regular season squads never swooned to the depths his predecessors touched.

Thank you Mike Tomlin for 1 Super Bowl, 2 AFC Championships, 8 AFC North Titles, 14 playoff experiences and 193 wins.

Thank you for giving us 19 years of a “winning era.”

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Grading the Steelers 2018 Draft Class – Setting the Stage for Stagnation

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In homage to Chuck Noll’s principle that, “It takes 5 years to judge a draft class,” Steel Curtain Rising grades draft classes 5 years after they’re in the books. Alas, “work to do and bills to pay” prevented me from grading the 2019 and 2018 drafts on schedule.

Last week we graded the Steelers 2019 Draft Class (hint: this report card landed Kevin Colbert on restriction) and today we do the Steelers 2018 draft class.

But before we dive into the details, here’s fun fact on the Steelers 2018 Draft Class: 2 members played critical roles in upsets of Tom Brady.

Hum, that makes it seem like this is some sort of sleeper draft class. But is it….?

D.K. Metcalf, Terrell Edmunds, Steelers vs Seahawks

D.K. Metcalf burns Terrell Edmunds for a touchdown. Photo Credit: Yahoo.com

First Round – Terrell Edmunds, The Optical Illusion

Kevin Colbert and Mike Tomlin shocked everyone by drafting Terrell Edmunds in the first round. Steel City Insider’s Jim Wexell had projected Terrell Edmunds as a 5th rounder.

Yet, if you’d left for Mars after the draft, returned in 2023 and saw that Edmunds had started 75 of 84 games and logged 93.8% of the Steelers defensive snaps, you’d be impressed. And if I told you, “…And his best game came when Edmunds led a short-handed Steelers secondary in an upset of Tom Brady and Tampa Bay,” you’d have thought, “Wow! Colbert got a steal with Edmunds!”

  • But you’d only be proving the power of optical illusions.

Terrell Edmunds provided stability for the Steelers at strong safety, but he only played his fifth year in Pittsburgh because in the spring of ’22 no one wanted him in free agency. Steelers coaches liked him, the front office, not so much. So Edmunds went to Philadelphia in ‘23, got traded to Tennessee, signed with Jacksonville in ‘24, got cut in August and returned to Pittsburgh in September.

Terrell Edmunds’ Steelers encore lasted just 5 games.

It is almost like, after pausing and then looking at him again from a different angle, the coaches realized they were seeing an optical illusion. Grade: Disappointment

steelers, draft, grades, evaluations, bust, Kevin Colbert

True NFL Draft grades only come with years of hindsight

Second Round – James Washington, The Farm Boy Flasher

On the heels of unloading Martavis Bryant, turning Sammie Coates loose AND tiring of Antonio Brown’s antics, the Steeler opted to inject talent with character in their wide receiver room by drafting James Washington. By all accounts, James Washington, who was born and raised on a farm, was a stand up guy, a positive presence in the locker room guy with strong character.

Unfortunately, all of those attributes never translated into Washington becoming a quality wide receiver. Washington may never have flashed greatness, but there were times he flashed “goodness” (think the pass he took to the house from Devlin Hodges in the 2019 comeback win over the Bengals.)

But he never sustained those flashes of “goodness.” One reason was that he never established a rapport with Ben Roethlisberger. Ironically, it was Washington who caught Roethlisberger’s last touchdown pass. Grade:  Disappointment

James Washington, Charvarius Ward, Steelers vs Chiefs, Ben Roethlisberger's Last Game

James Washington makes a combat catch against Charvarius Ward. Photo Credit: Karl Roser, Steelers.com

Third Round – Mason Rudolph, The Survivor

The Steelers drafted Mason Rudolph as a “compromise pick.” He spent his first year taking virtual reality snaps as a 3rd stringer. Six quarters into his second year, Mason Rudolph became the starter.

Rudolph lost his first start, won his second, got brutally concussed in his third, came back and won 3 straight games, suffered a deadly assault attempt by Myles Garrett, got benched, watched the Duck Hodges phenomenon, replaced Hodges against the Jets, started leading a rally and then got hurt.

Mitch Trubisky, Mason Rudolph, Kenny Pickett, Steelers 2022 quarterback competition

Mitch Trubisky, Kenny Pickett and Mason Rudolph. Photo Credit: Brandon Sloter / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images and The Athletic.)

He then watched as the Steelers brought in Dwayne Haskins, Mitch Trubisky and Kenny Pickett while remaining buried depth chart as QB No. 3, before saving Christmas and Pittsburgh’s 2023 season with 3 straight wins.

Mason Rudolph is a survivor. Grade: Quality Value Pickup

Third Round – Chukwuma Okorafor, The Deceiver

Chuks Okorafor was the last offensive lineman drafted of the Mike Munchak era. He started a game as a rookie against Von Miller and another in his second year against Aaron Donald, looking good in both. He became a full-time starter in 2020 and 2021 and did well enough to earn a 2nd contract.

However, he was benched for Broderick Jones midway through 2023 and the move started the team’s offensive turnaround. Not a bad player or pick, but you expect more from a third rounder. Grade: Serviceable Pickup

Fifth Round – Marcus Allen, The Other Marcus Allen

The Steelers drafted Marcus Allen as a safety, and he only appeared in 3 games during his first two years. They moved him to inside linebacker in 2020, where he struggled due to his size, but was forced into starting duty due to injuries. Marcus Allen played two more years in Pittsburgh, mainly on special teams, and then was out of the league. Grade: Disappointment

Fifth Round – Jaylen Samuels, The One Game Wonder

Perhaps it’s a little unfair to label 2018’s 5th round pick Jaylen Samuels a One Game Wonder, but  19 carry 142 yard explosion during his rookie year in the Steelers December 2018 upset of the Patriots was incredible. Unfortunately, that game and his 53-yard effort a week later in New Orleans amount to 41% of his career rushing total.

In 2019 and 2020, Jaylen Samuels’ role evolved into more of an H Back. He had his moments and spring of 2021 the late, great Craig Wolfley suggested that Samuels might be the answer the Steelers were seeking at running back. But he wasn’t. The Steelers cut him in 2021. He played a few games for the Texans in late 2021 and was done. Grade: Quality Valuable Pickup

Seventh Round – Josuha Fraizer, First Karl Dunbar Pick

Joshua Frazier had been coached at Alabama by Steelers coach Karl Dunbar but got cut in training camp and never spent time on an NFL roster or practice squad.

Overall Grade for the 2018 Draft Class

The Steelers 2018 Draft Class is an interesting one. At the time, Kevin Colbert and Mike Tomlin were seen as sticking to their board as opposed to reaching for need. That’s generally a smart strategy, but for it to work must get your board right.

And the Steelers didn’t get their board right in 2018 – three of their first four picks were Disappointments. All of them had to be replaced, and the Steelers clearly see Rudolph as a backup.

  • Not to mention that they passed on Lamar Jackson to take Terrell Edmunds.

And in that light, the Steelers 2018 Draft Class set the stage for what’s come since, a team that’s keeping its head above water but failing to make progress towards a championship. Grade: C

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Tone Deaf: Art Rooney II Sticks His Foot in His Mouth. Again

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Steelers President Art Rooney II doesn’t speak often. And when he does, he says little. And chooses his words very carefully. In the wake of a Steelers 2024 season that eerily mimicked the arc of Game of Thrones, last week Rooney did his round of press conferences and interviews.

  • He’s followed the same pattern for several years.

He does a press conference with a select group of “print” reporters. He does TV one-on-ones with Pittsburgh TV stations and with Steelers.com. Despite Rooney’s minimalist strategy (or perhaps because of it) there are several clear take aways:

1. The Steelers won’t be making coaching changes for the sake of change
2. Defensive line is a weakness that Rooney wants to address
3. The Steelers need an elite quarterback, but won’t to reach for one
4. 2nd contracts for George Pickens and Najee Harris are unlikely
5. Rooney does not see Pittsburgh’s small coaching staff as an issue

Those are all valuable insights, even if the majority of fans and commentators object to his resistance for change.

Art Rooney II, Pittsburgh Steelers President Art Rooney II

Pittsburgh Steelers President Art Rooney II. Photo Credit: Buffalo News

Rooney’s post-season press engagements had been going along more or less on script until he did a sit down with WTAE’s Ashley Liotus, there when challenged on the team’s culture this was Rooney’s response:

Look, I’m very comfortable with the culture in this team. I think it is a winning culture. You know, I think people need to keep it in perspective here. Even though we haven’t kind of reached our goal of winning a Super Bowl, we’ve had winning teams. We’ve been making the playoffs. And I understand the disappointment in terms of not succeeding in the postseason and that, you know, that’s what we have to do.
But, it’s not like we haven’t had some success around here. We just need to continue to build on the culture that we have and players like T.J. [Watt] and Cam Heyward, those kind of players help. [Emphasis added.]

To quote Steel City Insider’s Jim Wexell, “Not that I disagree, but that was the LAST thing the person at the top should’ve said.”

  • Wexell’s right. And for the second year in a row, Art Rooney II has put his foot into his mouth.

A year ago, when challenged about the Steelers then 7-year playoff drought, Rooney declared, “It’s time to get some [playoff] wins.” I said then and have stood by it since then, that was a mistake.

It was a mistake for two reasons. First, because it lowered the bar for success. Bill Cowher reestablished the standard on the day he arrived in 1992, by declaring that the team’s objective was to add a Lombardi to the trophy case. Cowher reaffirmed that every season. Mike Tomlin has followed suit.

  • The second reason is that it created a faux rhetorical ultimatum for the team.

Even when the Steelers stood at 10-3 with a lead in the AFC North, they remained cloaked in the “…but they still haven’t won a playoff game” shadow. Commentators would have continued to cast that shadow regardless, but Rooney’s comments darkened and deepened that shadow.

  • Just about everything in Rooney’s remarks are on point, save for the portions in italics.

Even if Rooney has clearly reaffirmed the goal of winning the Super Bowl, his other comments beg to be taken out of context – as they surely will be. “…it’s not like we haven’t had some success here” is the only thing that many fans will hear, and it’s the only portion of his quote the reporters will recycle from now until next January.

And, absent other visible concrete changes, even taken in context, these comments appear to endorse the status quo.

  • It is the wrong message to send.

What might he have said instead?

Fair question. The Steelers are in a tricky spot. And there’s an inconvenient truth that frustrated fans certainly don’t want to hear, and reporters who depend on clicks to make a living certainly won’t say.

And that truth is this:  Objectively speaking, the Steelers have probably overachieved relative to the talent on their roster since Ben Roethlisberger’s elbow injury.

Rolling your eyes? Fair enough. But consider this:

This is a team that went into the final week of the 2019 season with Devlin Hodges as its starting quarterback with a shot at making the playoffs. It made the playoffs in 2021 with a franchise QB on his last legs and an offensive line built with spit, bubble gum and duct tape. It’s a team that started 3 quarterbacks in 2023 and was within a touchdown of tying the Bills on the road deep into the 4th quarter in the playoffs.

  • Art Rooney II cannot and absolutely should not acknowledge this publicly.

So what should he say instead? I’m no PR professional, but if Burt Lauten is reading this (as he surely is not reading this) here’s a freebie in case his boss has further interviews scheduled:

First, to all of our fans, let me say this, I understand your frustration, because I feel it. No one is more frustrated at our playoff drought than me, except for perhaps Mike Tomlin. But we may operate here a little differently in Pittsburgh. Our focus is on fielding the most competitive team we can field every season, without sacrificing our ability to win long-term.
By that I mean, we won’t mortgage our future the way we did when Buddy Parker was here, but at the same time, when we have a chance to add talents that can help us win as we did with Russell Wilson and Justin Fields this last off season, we’re going to take them.
And there are pro’s and con’s to that approach, just like any approach. So when you run into those con’s, you’ve commit yourself to not getting caught up in them. And by that I mean, the goal we have every season is to win the Super Bowl. In order to do that, you’ve got to make the playoffs. And you’ve got to win there.
And this year we fell short, yet again. So asking ourselves why, and focusing our efforts on fixing that. And that’s what we’re doing.

At this point Rooney could then make his comments about the need for the Steelers to find a quarterback, doubling down on winning in the trenches on offense and the imperative of getting younger and stronger on the defensive line.

Would that satisfy those who want to see a house cleaning akin to what the Chicago Bears do every 2-3 years or what the Cleveland Browns did for two decades prior to hiring Kevin Stefanski?

Nope.

But it would have been an honest, realistic take on where the Steelers are, how they got there, and how they hope to break out of the vicious cycle they’re in.

So Burt, if you’ve read this, feel free to use it. No extra charge.

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Ravens Beat Steelers 28-14 in AFC Wild Card at M&T Bank Stadium

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The Pittsburgh Steelers playoff losing streak continues the Baltimore Ravens ridiculed them 28-14 at M&T Bank Stadium on Saturday night, as Mike Tomin drops to 0-6 in the postseason since Chris Boswell booted them to their last playoff victory on a cold night in Kansas City, so long ago.

The pitch forks are out in Steelers Nation, understandably so given that the difference in the game was far more dramatic than the score suggests.

One need not dig deep to understand this latest playoff loss: The Baltimore Ravens won because they are a far more talented team who is peaking at just the right time.

Derrick Henry, Minkah Fitzpatrick, Elandon Roberts, Steelers vs Ravens

Derrick Henry leaves Steelers defense in the dust. Photo Credit: Chaz Palla, Tribune-Review

Steelers Had to Be Perfect. They Were Anything But

In the run up to the game, Steel City Insider’s Jim Wexell cited the 2005 Steelers and their playoff upset of the Indianapolis Colts. That ’05 team snuck into the playoffs, knocked off a Bengals team, and then went to Indy as 10 point under dogs.

  • Wexell thought the same thing could happen in Baltimore.
  • A lot of other non-homers seemed to believe.

Personally, I thought the metaphor to be a stretch – that ’05 offense had 4 Hall of Famers on it (yes, I AM counting Hines Ward.) That’s at least 3 if not 4 more than this offense has. But, that being said, the ’05 did leave a template for upsetting a team with superior talent:

Be perfect.

  • Three plays illustrate just how unperfect the Steelers offense was against the Ravens.

Russell Wilson took the very first snap and immediately fired off in Pat Freiermuth’s direction.  Freiermuth was open, right at the first down marker. The ball hit him in the hands. Hitting the man who has been the team’s most reliable receiving threat right off the bat made sense. It would have started the offense off on the right foot.

Imperfect Moment 1: Instead, Pat Freiermuth dropped the ball.

The Steelers punted 5 plays later, and the Ravens responded with a 13 play seven minute plus drive that put them up 7 nothing. After that, the teams traded punts.

After forcing a rare Ravens put, the Steelers started off smartly, getting 8 yards on two Najee Harris’ carries. Afterall, this offense is built around using the run game to set up “manageable third downs.”

Wilson again looked to Freiermuth again.

Imperfect Moment 2: He caught the ball but only got 1 of 2 yards the Steelers needed needed.

The Ravens responded with another 13-minute, nearly 8 minute drive that put them up 14-0, with just 4:02 left the first half. And that’s when the Steelers seriously teased everyone, if only for a second.

After earning a first down, the Steelers faced a 3rd and 8. Mike Tomlin sent out Justin Fields. The Ravens were caught flat-footed and burned a timeout. Russell Wilson came back out and hit George Pickens for an apparently 49 yard moonball.

The field had been flipped, Pittsburgh was in perfect position to halve the score before the half.

Imperfect Moment 3: But Pickens pushed off, got flagged for offensive pass interference.

So it was on third and 18, Wilson managed to find Pat Freiermuth, who only managed to gain 9 yards. As you remember from school, 50% = a failing grade. And then some.

If the Steelers were to have any chance of upsetting the Ravens, they needed to be perfect. Instead they were the opposite.

Rob Mr. Henry to Pay Mr. Jackson? NOT!

Going into the game Lamar Jackson had already rushed for more yards than any other NFL quarterback. Yet previous few of those came at the expense of the Pittsburgh Steelers. The only game where he broke double-digits in rushing attempts was the 2019 game, when Mason Rudolph and Delvin Hodges almost gave him a run for his money.

  • Perhaps that lulled Mike Tomlin and Teryl Austin into a fall sense of security.

Because the Steelers defensive plan was to focus on stopping Derrick Henry, even if that meant allowing Jackson some daylight to run with the ball. And T.J. Watt would have been credited with maybe a half dozen tackles of Henry for losses following fake handoffs.

  • That opened the door for Lamar Jackson to scramble 81 yards on 15 carries.

Credit the Ravens for executing false handoffs to perfection – they fooled both the Steelers and the Amazon Prime camera crews time and time again. With Jackson and Henry the Ravens had a one-two claw attack that the Steelers could never counter – the plan to give up a little to Jackson to shut down Henry failed miserably.

If you’re going to willingly let Jackson make some scrabbles, you have to deliver on stopping Henry.

In case you’re taking notes at home, Derrick Henry ran for 186 yards.

Real 2nd Half Rally? Or Garbage Time Glory

When the Steelers went into the locker room down 21 nothing at the half, losing a point differential of at least 35 points appeared to be in the offing.

Van Jefferson, Steelers vs Ravens

Van Jefferson catches a 30 yard touchdown. Photo Credit: Chaz Palla, Tribune-Review

  • Yet, the Steelers “only” lost by 2 touchdowns.

Did the Steelers make a game of it? Or is that just garbage time glory? It says here that they made a go of it, kinda sorta at least.

The Steelers forced a punt after the opening kickoff in the second half. That punt left the Steelers on their own two. A run to Jaylen Warren yielded 1 yard followed by an incomplete pass.

  • Here Russell Wilson dug deep and hit Calvin Austin for a 29-yard completion.
  • Later he hit Mike Williams on a 37-yard moonball.
  • 2 plays later, on 3rd and 10 he hit Van Jefferson for a 30-yard touchdown.

3 plays later, Derrick Henry gouged the center of the Steelers defense for 44 yards, restoring Baltimore’s 21 point advantage.

But the Steelers weren’t done. Russell Wilson put together another workman like drive, and hit George Pickens for a 30-yard touchdown.

  • The Steelers defense then did what it was supposed to do – it forced a Ravens 3 and out.

With just over full quarter left to play, the Steelers had a real shot at contesting this outcome – if they could only score a touchdown on this drive. The Steelers moved the chains once but, on third and 8, as it has so many times during this losing streak, the receivers couldn’t get open, the line couldn’t protect Wilson long enough, and he got sacked.

The Steelers defense actually forced another punt, but the offense turned over on downs.

Bitter Defeat Reinforces Brutal Reality

The loss to the Ravens didn’t reveal anything news about the Pittsburgh Steelers that we hadn’t seen in the last month and frankly probably should have known since the summer – this is a team with a 9 or 10 win ceiling.

But the loss did reinforce the reality that a sharp delta continues to separate the Steelers from the NFL’s true championship contenders.

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Note to Steelers Nation: The Kenny Pickett Era is Over. Let’s Move On.

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As I recently recounted, this spring I took a “Second Steelers Sabbatical” that started in late March and continued through to the beginning of May. “Sabbatical” in this sense meant that I neither wrote about the Steelers nor did I touch social media.

Kenny Pickett, Steelers vs Ravens

Kenny Pickett drops back. Photo Credit: Karl Roser, Steelers.com

You can read about my reflections on the lessons learned from my Steelers Sabbatical here. Today I’m going to talk about something that shocked me when I returned to Twitter/X in early May:

  • Steelers Nation was still bickering about Kenny Pickett as if he was starting a game on Sunday.

Seriously. By itself amount of debate about Kenny Pickett was astounding. The tone of that debate was downright jaw dropping. And the fact that the debate continued through OTAs and mini-camp? Nothing less than mind blowing.

Here’s a random screenshot taken on June 16th:

Kenny Pickett, Kenny Pickett X

Screenshot taken of Kenny Pickett trending on X on June 16th 2024

Yes. Nearly 3 months to the day after the Steelers traded Kenny Pickett to Philadelphia he remained a trending topic on X.

Pickett Personifies Polarization

Politics and religion have always been and will remain verboten topics on this site.

But one can stay in the rules and still observe that US society is highly polarized. And we are hardly unique. In Argentina they call it “La Grieta” or the “The crack” that divides society. Steelers Nation seems to be mimicking this with Kenny Pickett.

There only seem to be room for two flavors at Steelers Nation’s Kenny Pickett Ice Cream Parlor:

A. Kenny Pickett is a latent Hall of Famer savagely sabotaged by Matt Canada’s ineptitude
B. Kenny Pickett is the worst first round pick and worst quarterback in Steelers history

(Someone in fact made this latter statement in the final week of June… I guess the kid never heard of let alone saw Mark Malone.)

Got a more nuanced opinion on Pickett? Concede he has been disappointing but still deserves time, and say point to Terry Bradshaw’s experience as support for your argument?

Express that view out loud and you’ll find yourself in a no-man’s land the likes of which haven’t been seen since the Somme.

While that dynamic is problematic in-and-of-itself, it was understandable while Pickett still wore the Black and Gold. But he isn’t wearing it now. He’s not likely to wear it the future. Instead he’s holding a clipboard 304 miles down the Turnpike. Barring injury to Jaylen hurts he’ll be doing that for the next two years.

I admit. I expected a lot more from Kenny Pickett last season. Devlin Hodges threw 5 touchdown passes in 8 appearances in 2019, whereas Picket barley managed 6 in 12 games in 2023.

Yet, I thought his quarter-by-quarter improvement offered real hope and, like Craig Wolfley, I was deeply disappointed that Kenny Pickett balked at competing with and being mentored by Russell Wilson, a Super Bowl quarterback.

But Kenny Pickett bailed instead. And now he’s gone.

  • And that’s the moral of the story here Steelers Nation, the Kenny Pickett era is over.

Love it or hate it let’s just accept it and move on.

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The Right Decision: Steelers Extend Mike Tomlin’s Contract Despite Playoff Drought

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The Steelers extended head coach Mike Tomlin’s contract for three years, keeping him in Pittsburgh through the 2027 season. The news was expected as both Tomlin and Art Rooney II confirmed shortly after the playoff loss to the Bills, that Tomlin would get an extension.

Art Rooney II, Mike Tomlin, Mike Tomlin contract

Art Rooney II and Mike Tomlin Photo Credit: Chuck Cook, USA Today via 93.7 the Fan

However, these clarifications only came after Tomlin’s contract was not extended last summer before training camp when he had two years left on his existing – and for decades franchise policy was to extend the head coach when he had 2 years remaining on his existing contract.

  • During the season there were murmurs the 2023 season would be Tomlin’s last.

Many, if not most of those were poorly sourced. However, on the Steel City Insider podcast legendary Steelers scribe Vic Ketcaum did everything but say a reporter he was close had sources indicating Tomlin would be gone. Ed Bouchette, who joined the podcast, wasn’t as insistent, but also indicated that “one way or another” he expected 2023 to be Tomlin’s last.

  • For the record, podcast host Jim Wexell told listeners to expect Tomlin back. And Wexell was right.

News of the extension was not taken well by many in Steelers Nation.

But now that Art Rooney II has “Gone and done it” let’s unwrap his decision.

The Elephant in the Room: Tomlin’s 7 Year Playoff Victory Drought

While Mike Tomlin has never had a losing season, the Pittsburgh Steelers are now 7 years and counting since Chris Boswell kicked them into the AFC Championship game with a win at Kansas City. To put that in perspective:

That last point strikes hard and seems particularly damning. But it is not. For two reasons.

First, simple math proves that Noll is a better coach than Tomlin. Second, the 80’s saw the AFC suffer an uncanny talent imbalance to the NFC (just look at the decade’s Super Bowl results). That gave an edge to teams with superior coaching.

Stephon Tuitt, Tom Brady, Steelers vs Patriots

Stephon Tuitt bears down on Tom Brady. Photo Credit: Geoff Burke, USA TODAY, via Steel City Insider

Also remember that the Steelers playoff losing streak started with Le’Veon Bell’s injury in the AFC Championship, when Bell was fresh off breaking the Steelers playoff rushing record in back-to-back games.

At that point Mike Tomlin and Kevin Colbert had overseen a complete rebuild of the roster since Super Bowl XLIII save for two players. For as bad as losing another AFC Championship to the Patriots stung, the franchise’s futures seemed bright.

Then of course the Steelers lost Ryan Shazier, who was budding into an all pro and perhaps a generational-talent. Not too long after that Ben Roethlisberger needed elbow reconstruction surgery.

  • The ripple effects of those two injuries can still be felt today. To quote Jim Wexell, “That’s not an excuse. Its reality.”

It is also reality to acknowledge that those ripples did not reverberate in a vacuum. Since their last playoff win the Steelers swung at air with several personnel moves in a vain effort to reload for a final run with Roethlisberger. Those misses snowballed following Shazier’s injury.

Mike Tomlin deserves his share of the blame for those errors.

But along the way Mike Tomlin has:

  • Gone 8-8 in 2019 while starting Devlin Hodges for almost half the season
  • Won the AFC North in 2020 with a 1 dimensional offense and an injury ravaged defense
  • Made the playoffs in ‘21 with offensive and defensive lines rebuilt with spit, duct tape and bubble gum

It takes quality coaching to coax winning records in situations like that. But you’ll notice the 2023 season isn’t listed above.

There a reason for that.

Tomlin Still Proving the Rooney Rule

When Mike Tomlin beat out insider favorites Ken Whisenhunt and Russ Grimm for the head coaching job, many attributed it to “The Rooney Rule.”

The Rooney Rule may have contributed to Tomlin’s getting hired, but he certainly met the requirements of a Rooney Rule, but not the one you’re thinking of. As retired radio journalist, Steelers blogger and Immaculate Reception witness Mike Silversteen has observed, the real Rooney rule is as follows: Hire the best man for the job and stick by him.

And one of the most important qualities of a coach, as Dan Rooney explained in his autobiography is an ability to lead men. Chuck Noll started his tenure going 1-13, 5-8 and 6-8. But Dan Rooney kept him because Noll always had the locker room.

Bill Cowher’s 1998 Steelers finished an ugly 7-9 and an even uglier 6-10 in 1999. Yet Dan Rooney stood by Cowher, because he felt Cowher had kept the locker room (I disagreed at the time, but yep, Dan knew a little more than me.)

The Steelers opened last December with one of the worst 3 game stretches of the modern era, punctuated by perhaps the Tomlin era’s most appalling 30 minutes of football in 2nd half against the Colts.

  • Everyone, yours truly included, left them for dead.

Yet Tomlin rallied the locker room, brought Mason Rudolph out from the bull pen and pulled guys from the couch to the practice squad and made them starters and brought the Steelers to the playoffs.

17 years later he still proving to be worthy of the Rooney Rule.

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Dyslexic Reversals: Why I’m Still Have Hope for Kenny Pickett

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Super Bowl Sunday has arrived! And the Pittsburgh Steelers aren’t playing in Super Bowl LVIII as has been the case since they losing to the Packers in in Super Bowl XLV.

  • While this isn’t surprising for most Steelers fans, it does reveal how quickly perceptions change.
Kenny Pickett, George Pickens, Steelers vs Raiders, Immaculate Reception 50th anniversary

Kenny Pickett and George Pickens after the Go Ahead Touchdown. Photo Credit: Chaz Palla, Tribune-Review.

Just one year ago today, several commenters on the Steel City Insider message board agreed that Kenny Picket’s arrival had opened the Super Bowl window for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Mind you, these commenters are students in the game who are well-versed in the X’s and O’s. And while they’re devoted Steelers fans, none can be written off as a “homer” or a “fanboy.”

  • Today putting “Kenny Pickett” and “Super Bowl” into the same sentence almost seems laughable.

The Steelers 2023 season was the year to expect the unexpected. And one of the unexpected disappointments was that Kenny Pickett failed to make the proverbial “Second Year Leap.”

His performance was so uninspiring that many commentators both inside and outside Pittsburgh think that the franchise would be wise to cut their losses and move on.

They may be right.

But I’m still holding out hope for Kenny Pickett for some very personal reasons.

Pickett’s Disappointing Development

If you look you’ll find no shortage of statistics that paint a rather anemic picture of Kenny Pickett’s work as a passer. Instead of recounting them here, I’ll offer one of my own:

  • Through 12 games in 2023, Kenny Pickett threw a mere 6 touchdown passes.
  • In just 8 games in 2019, Devlin Hodges threw 5 touchdown passes
Delvin Hodges, Steelers vs Bengals

Delvin Hodges rallies Steelers. Photo Credit: AP, via Tribune-Review

That’s a sobering stat if there ever was one. Comb through Pickett’s numbers and you’ll be hard pressed to find any sort of silver lining….

…Except for when it comes to the fourth quarter.

And it is that part of Kenny Pickett that reminds me of my own. In many ways my own story of growing up with dyslexia reminds me what we’ve seen on Kenny Pickett’s NFL journey thus far.

Before diving in, in the (extremely) unlikely event this post goes viral, let me make an important clarification:

  • I don’t know whether Kenny Pickett has dyslexia or another learning disability
  • There’s nothing to suggest that his struggles are a symptom of dyslexia
  • And if he is dyslexic, I’m not suggesting it explains anything about his NFL career so far

But my own story makes it easier to understand what I’ve seen.

Why Kenny Pickett’s Career Arc Resonates with Me

As the middle class child of two college educated parents, one of whom was a teacher, I started with a lot of advantages. I also in a school system that had sterling, national reputation. Even before I started school I was impressing neighbors as a bright child.

Harmony Hills Elementary

Harmony Hills Elementary school at some point before 1998.

In the first grade Mrs. Gable gave me a book to take home and read. It was the kind of “Jack saw Mary and said, ‘Hi!’ Mary said, ‘Good morning Jack!’”

Every night I sat there at the dinner table with mom or dad every night trying to read it. I got the book in early October and was supposed to finish it in a week.

I finished it in May.

But then a funny thing happened. Mrs. Gable gave me another book to take home and bring back in a week. I finished it in two days. And I closed May by banging out several other books with just one or two night’s work.

  • The pattern continued throughout Elementary School and Junior High School

I’d start the year slowly. Although I was always raising my hand and answering questions, I never got considered for “Gifted and Talent” programs because I “took too long to finish” my work. Indeed, by the third grade spending 3-4 hours after school doing homework was quite common.

The first report card in seventh grade was pockmarked with several C’s, a B or two and one A (its completely possible that some of those C’s would have been D’s had my mom not been friends with several of my teachers.) On my last report card in 7th grade I got 5 A’s, 1 B and a C.

That prompted an observation from my dad who said, “You know, you’re like a runner, you start the school your slowly, but by the end of the year you’re running at full speed. We need to figure out a way to keep you going through the summer.”

  • The prospect of summer homework did not appeal to me. But dad was on to something.

Fortunately “summer homework” never materialized during July or August of 1985, but that fall I was diagnosed with dyslexia. And it was then that Dr. Levinson explained to my parents that slow starts followed by fast finishes were common for bright kids with dyslexia because it took us time to develop accommodation strategies.

Which brings me back to Kenny Pickett.

Kenny Pickett’s Splits Suggest More than “Clutch Gene”

Kenny Pickett’s been called “Mr. 4th quarter.” It’s been said that he has the “clutch gene.” With 7 4th quarter comebacks in just 24 starts, that’s understandable. But it oversimplifies things.

A quick look at Kenny Pickett’s 2nd year splits reveals why:

Kenny Pickett, Kenny Pickett 2023 splits

Kenny Pickett’s 2023 Splits, via Pro Football Reference

As you can see, Kenny Pickett’s 4th quarter comebacks don’t come out of thin air. Kenny Pickett improves during the course of games. This is true across nearly every key metric, save for completion percentage with dips in the 2nd quarter, but rebounds after half time.

  • This makes Kenny Pickett unique.

Yes, you read that right. You’d think this tendency might be common among great comeback quarterbacks, particularly early in their careers. But it is not. In fact, the opposite is true.

Tom Brady is the leader in 4th quarter comebacks. Yet his Split numbers show a slightly worse passer rating in the 4th quarter but that difference is due to chance. This is true for both his entire career and his second year as a starter.

Ben Roethlisberger’s career 4th quarter passer rating is slightly better than other quarters, but again, its likely due to chance. In his second year his 4th quarter performance was markedly worse than other quarters. Peyton Manning sees quite a drop off in the 4th quarter career wise and a much stronger one in his second season.

A full accounting of all legendary comeback artists isn’t possible here. But you can see the same tendency in place for stalwarts like Roger Staubach, Ken Stabler and John Elway.

Kenny Picket, Steelers vs Bengals, Steelers vs Bengals 2023 Paycor

Kenny Pickett drops back to pass. Photo Credit: Karl Roser, Steelers.come

Yet here is Kenny Pickett steadily improving as the game progresses. How do we explain this? Well, there are three possibilities:

1. This is an aberration that will normalize over time.
2. Pickett’s playing from behind and has more freedom thanks to the hurry up offense
3. Kenny Pickett improves because during games he’s reading coverages better and throwing more accurately

Let’s concede that number 1 is a real possibly. Kenny Pickett’s 12 games from 2023 provide a small sample which is further skewed by him leaving 3 games due to injury. And this narrative falls apart if you look at his career splits, although those include his first few games, which included a lot of late interceptions which disappeared from his game afterwards.

Number 2 is basically a variant of “blame Matt Canada,” but if it is true, it speaks well of Pickett’s football IQ.

  • But for me? I’m holding out hope that the third explanation is the right one.

As someone who started out school years with great difficulty, absorbed tons of criticism about being “too slow” or “taking too long to finish your work” yet who always finished with a bang, my money’s on Kenny Pickett improving in real time as a game progresses.

Time (or injury) may prove me wrong, but count me as one Steelers fan who is glad that Art Rooney II and Mike Tomlin are committed to giving Kenny Pickett a chance to prove me right.

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Welcome Back Mason. Steelers Resign Mason Rudolph for 1 Year

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When asked just 11 days ago where Mason Rudolph would play in 2023, Chapter head of the Pittsburgh Pro Football writers association Mark Kaboly assured readers, “It won’t be the Steelers.”

steelers 2019 season, T.J. Watt, Mason Rudolph, Maurkice Pouncey, Zach Banner

Photo Credit: Karl Rosner, Steelers.com

During the team’s recently concluded rookie Mini Camp the Steelers gave Tanner Moran jersey number 2. Many took this as further confirmation that the one-time heir-apparent to Ben Roethlisberger’s days in Pittsburgh were over.

  • And just like that the Steelers resigned Mason Rudolph to a one year contract.

Hum, maybe we should have listened when Omar Khan addressed the press way back on February 28th when he responded to reporter’s asking whether Mason and the Steelers were done, “No, not at all. We have a great relationship, good conversation with Mason. The door is still open.”

Omar Khan and Mike Tomlin left the door open, and Mason Rudolph has decided to walk through it. Although its fair to say that Rudolph’s decision was driven by necessity rather than desire.

While Rudolph (and his agent) couldn’t have been expecting an find an opportunity to start in free agency, a shot at a backup job somewhere seemed reasonable. Apparently, 31 NFL General Managers thought differently.

Actually, make that number 32, because at 10 million dollars a year, Mitch Trubisky is entrenched as the Steelers backup behind Kenny Pickett.

  • Nonetheless this is a good move for both the Steelers and Mason Rudolph.

The Pittsburgh Steelers are a team that believes in keeping 3 quarterbacks. Sure, Chuck Noll might have started 1989 with only Bubby Brister and Todd Blackledge on the active roster and Bill Cowher might have begun 1992 with just Bubby behind Neil O’Donnell, but are exceptions.

Mike Tomlin briefly flirted with a 2 quarterback system when he traded Joshua Dobbs after the 2019 season opener. Ben Roethlisberger’s season was over 2 quarters later, and Duck Hodges joined the active roster and was throwing passes before the leaves had begun to fall along Brownsville Road.

Yes, this is a wise move indeed.

Since he arrived in Pittsburgh, Mike Tomlin has carried Dennis Dixon, Charlie Batch, Landry Jones and Devlin Hodges on the active roster as third string quarterbacks and started each of them in meaningful games in 2009, 2010, 2012, 2015 and 2019.

  • That means once ever three years, Mike Tomlin’s 3rd string quarterback starts a game.

The last time that happened was 2019. So the Steelers are due…

Welcome back Mason Rudolph.

Follow Steelers free agency. Visit our Steelers 2023 Free Agent tracker or click here for all Steelers 2023 free agent focus articles.

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Steelers 2023 Draft Needs @ Quarterback – Does Pittsburgh Pick a 3rd String QB?

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Last year the Pittsburgh Steelers bucked the conventional wisdom that dominate the rest of the NFL: Namely that there were no first round worthy quarterbacks in the 2022 NFL Draft.

Looking no further than their own back yard, Kevin Colbert and Mike Tomlin begged to differ and the Steelers used a first round pick on a quarterback for the first time since the 2004 NFL Draft.

The draft is almost upon us again – should the Steelers use one of their seven picks on a quarterback in 2023? Let’s take a look.

Kenny Pickett, Mitch Trubisky, Steelers vs Seahawks

Kenny Pickett and Mitch Trubisky during preseason. Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY

Steelers Depth Cart at Quarterback: The Starter

Quarterback was a clear need for the Steelers entering the 2022 NFL Draft. Yet, if you take Kevin Colbert and Mike Tomlin at their word, they never expected to get the one they wanted.

  • When Kenny Pickett fell to them at the 20th pick, they wasted little time in calling his name.

Yes, the franchise that passed on the chance to replace Terry Bradshaw with Pitt-star Dan Marino easily went all in on replacing Ben Roethlisberger with Pitt’s Kenny Pickett.

At first glance, Pickett’s rookie statistics appear quite pedestrian. His record as a starter was 7-5. One of those wins was the upset against the Buccaneers and one of those losses was against the Ravens at home. Both were games where Pickett couldn’t finish due to concussions.

During 2022 Pickett threw 389 passes, completed 245 of them for a 63% completion rate, while throwing 7 touchdowns an 9 interceptions.

  • Yes, those numbers look pedestrian indeed.

But there are also truths that aren’t self-evident in these stats. Only one of those 8 interceptions came before the bye week. And even during that pre-bye week stretch of starts, Pickett’s poise was always present in his play. As Craig Wolfey commented after the loss to the Dolphins, Pickett may have thrown two interceptions in the 4th quarter, but the game never looked too big for him.

And twice, late in the season playing under harsh AFC North winter conditions, Kenny Pickett rallied this team for victory in the 4th quarter, and he looked natural doing it.

Steelers Quarterback Depth Chart: The Backup

One of the Steelers first moves in free agency in the spring of 2022 was to sign Mitch Trubisky to a 2-year contract. As Mike Tomlin later explained, they moved to sign Trubsky to “prevent us from doing something stupid in the draft.”

(That’s a sound strategy, because when you reach, Jarvis Jones or Artie Burns happen.)

  • Extreme highs and extreme lows defined Trubisky’s tenure in 2022.

He looked “OK” in the season-opening upset of the Bengals, but couldn’t rally the team to a victory in a very winnable game against the Patriots. The offense struggled against the Browns and the Jets, which led to his benching, in favor of Pickett.

Yet Trubisky played exceptionally well against the Buccaneers, after Pickett got hurt. But Trubisky was horrible in relief against the Ravens.

But against the Carolina Panthers, with Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren running strong, Trubisky did an exceptional job, completing 17 of 22 passes for an economic 179 yards and one touchdown. The kind of performance you’d like and expect to see out of your backup.

The Steelers 2023 Quarterback Draft Needs

Steelers Draft, Steelers Draft Needs scale

Much of the rest of the NFL might consider it quaint, but the Pittsburgh Steelers believe in carrying 3 quarterbacks. And the Mike Tomlin era has seen the Golden Age of Steelers third string quarterbacks, with Dennis Dixon, Charlie Batch, Landry Jones, Devlin Hodges all beginning seasons as third stringers, only to start meaningful games during the year.

Thus far Mason Rudolph remains unsigned and even if the Steelers are open to bringing him back, would he really wanted to serve as a third string quarterback?

We probably won’t know until after the draft.

The Steelers neither have a 5th nor 6th round pick and they are certainly not drafting a quarterback on day one or day two. Could the Steelers find a viable 3rd string quarterback with one of their 2 7th round picks.

  • Stranger things have happened.

With that said, the Steelers need at quarterback going into the 2023 NFL Draft should be considered as Fair.

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Did Andy Reid Really “Rein In” JuJu Smith-Schuster? Or Are the Chiefs Simply Superior to the Steelers?

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It didn’t take long after the Chiefs’ 38-35 victory over the Eagles in Super Bowl LVII for current Kansas City receiver and former Steelers receiver, JuJu Smith-Schuster, to become the heel of the professional football world.

He trolled James Bradberry, the cornerback who was called for holding Smith-Schuster near the end of the Super Bowl (a play that was deemed controversial at that moment and gave the Chiefs a chance to run out the clock and kick the game-winning field goal with eight seconds left), with a Valentine’s Day-themed Tweet on Tuesday:

“Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone,” Tweeted the sixth-year receiver out of USC, accompanied by a meme that included Bradberry’s picture on Valentine’s Day-inspired greeting card with a caption that read: “I’ll hold you when it matters most.”

Ouch.

JuJu Smith-Schuster Super Bowl Kilt

JuJu Smith-Schuster arrives for Super Bowl in a Kilt. Photo Credit: USA Today.com

Given the controversial nature of the holding call on Bradberry (a good number of people thought it was a ticky-tack penalty that shouldn’t have been called with less than two minutes left in the game), along with the fact that it may have been the worst moment of Bradberry’s life (at least professionally), you can see why Smith-Schuster has become a Ric Flair-level heel on social media.

In terms of bulletin-board material, JuJu Smith-Schuster’s tweet makes his “The Browns is the Browns” comment he made in an interview before the Steelers met Cleveland in a wildcard playoff game at Heinz Field following the 2020 campaign look downright bland by comparison.

Only, Smith-Schuster’s trash talk to James Bradberry occurred AFTER his team just captured the most coveted trophy in all of professional team sports (in America, anyway).

  • Does that make it better? Is this the perfect example of the spoils going to the riches?

That’s a matter of debate. I don’t care much about trash talk or giving your opponent bulletin-board material before a big game.

  • It’s mostly meaningless, in my opinion.
JuJu Smith-Schuster, JuJu Smith-Schuster water ballon fight

JuJu Smith-Schuster at his first annual water ballon fight. Photo Credit: Steelers.com

I’ve always liked JuJu Smith-Schuster, and I thought his character was unfairly tarnished during his five-year career in Pittsburgh. He started out as a breath of fresh air, someone that all fans — but especially children — gravitated to instantly. Then, suddenly, by 2019 or 2020, his social-media antics and off-the-field fun became a detriment in the eyes of the media and fans.

Smith-Schuster was now a “problem,” and someone who was seen as the bad guy for dancing on opposing teams’ logos before a game (in the name of TikTok) and for participating in the milkcrate challenge during the offseason (again, for social-media clout).

JuJu Smith-Schuster was put in the same toxic class as Antonio Brown, a truly disturbed malcontent who the Steelers traded to the Raiders in exchange for third and fifth-round draft picks following the 2018 season.

JuJu Smith-Schuster, Martavis Bryant, Antonio Brown, Steelers 2018 wide receiver draft needs

JuJu Smith-Schuster, Martavis Bryant & Antonio Brown. Photo Credit: Icon Sportswire

It certainly didn’t help that Smith-Schuster’s numbers fell off after Brown, perhaps the most talented and productive receiver in Steelers history, was given his walking papers.

JuJu Smith-Schuster’s rookie season of 2017 saw him catch 58 passes for 917 yards and seven touchdowns. The former second-round pick then turned in a sophomore campaign that included 111 receptions for 1,426 yards and another seven touchdowns.

Smith-Schuster’s 2018 season was so spectacular that his Steelers teammates voted him team MVP, an honor that was apparently one of the final straws that led to Brown’s epic meltdown and desire to burn every bridge on his way out of Pittsburgh (and Pittsburgh has a ton of bridges).

Yes, Smith-Schuster’s production took an immediate hit in 2019 without Brown around acting like the Jerry Rice to his John Taylor (or Batman to JuJu’s Robin), but then again, so did Pittsburgh’s quarterbacks room, thanks to the season-ending elbow injury suffered by Ben Roethlisberger in Week 2.

Sure, losing an all-time great receiver will hurt the number two wideout, but so will the loss of an all-time great quarterback, someone who led the NFL in passing yards in the year before.

The Steelers’ offense was piloted by both Mason Rudolph and Devlin “Duck” Hodges, two very-inexperienced quarterbacks, for the rest of the 2019 campaign, a reality that probably explains why Smith-Schuster’s numbers saw a massive drop to the tune of 42 receptions for 552 yards.

Smith-Schuster never did duplicate the same level of play he enjoyed over his first two seasons as a Steeler. Sadly, neither did the offense — including Roethlisberger — as it became the proverbial shell of its once-potent self.

JuJu Smith-Schuster, JuJu Smith-Schuster injury, Steelers vs. Broncos

JuJu Smith-Schuster leaves the field after a season-ending injury. Photo Credit: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

After surprisingly signing a one-year free-agent deal to remain in Pittsburgh following the 2020 season, Smith-Schuster, who suffered a significant injury in 2021 that limited him to five regular-season games, became a Chief in 2022.

As the Chiefs were marching toward yet another Super Bowl appearance, while Pittsburgh was simply trying to remain relevant, it became popular to claim that JuJu Smith-Schuster had changed his stripes now that he was no longer a Steeler.

You see, Andy Reid, Kansas City’s veteran head coach, would never give the charismatic Smith-Schuster the same kind of latitude to express himself that Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin did.

The Chiefs were far more disciplined under Reid than Pittsburgh was under Tomlin, and that’s why Smith-Schuster is now about to be fitted for his first Super Bowl ring….

Or so goes the narrative.

You really think Smith-Schuster is now a Super Bowl champion because his antics were reined in by a new employer?

  • Did you see what Smith-Schuster wore to the stadium on Sunday?

A skirt. That’s right, a skirt (a sight that may have caused the head of your average Steelers fan to explode).

As he was talking to reporters and celebrating wildly with fans after the Chiefs’ Super Bowl win, Smith-Schuster seemed like the same charismatic and happy-go-lucky guy that he always was in Pittsburgh.

Throw in the skirt/kilt before the Super Bowl (not that there’s anything wrong with that) and the heel Tweet directed at Bradberry after the Big Game and, well, has Smith-Schuster changed all that much?

Perhaps he just went to a much talented team.

You look at Smith-Schuster’s numbers in 2022 — 78 receptions for 933 yards and three touchdowns–and they don’t look much different than the stats he put up in his last full season in Pittsburgh in 2020 — 97 catches for 831 yards and nine touchdowns.

JuJu Smith-Schuster’s numbers and production haven’t changed since he left Pittsburgh; instead, the talent surrounding him–including an MVP quarterback (Patrick Mahomes) and a future Hall of Fame tight end (Travis Kelce)–has.

Smith-Schuster was simply on a much better team in 2022, and that’s why it seemed like he was more disciplined than he was with the Steelers.

Again, I have no problem with Smith-Schuster, his personality, or the way he conducts himself on and away from the football field.

  • He’s a good dude who does many great things in whatever community he finds himself in.
  • Is he a lot to take for your average football fan whose stick is planted firmly in the mud? Absolutely.

But to suggest that the Steelers allowed JuJu Smith-Schuster to run amok in Pittsburgh while the Chiefs kept him in check in Kansas City? And to claim that this is why he’s not only a much better player now but also a Super Bowl champion?

Sadly, that’s why the media is the media

That’s also why the fans is often the fans.

 

 

 

 

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