9 Steelers Decisions that 20/20 Hindsight Reveals as Mistakes

Posted on November 25, 2023 by KT Standard Reply

“They” say hindsight is 20/20. My grandmother, Bloomfield born and bred who raised her family in Baldwin swore by what “They” said. Our family said goodbye to her 25 years ago but we still joke about Grandma’s unwavering confidence in the wisdom of “They.”

But “They” are right on 20/20 hindsight.

Mike Tomlin’s decision to sack Matt Canada and shatter franchise precedent and make the first in-season firing of a coach since 1941 brings that reality home.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at some decisions that the Steelers franchise made that looked reasonable at the time, but 20/20 hindsight revealed to be wrong.

Franco Harris, Franco Harris Seattle Seahawks

A sight Steelers Nation should have never seen. Photo Credit: X

1. Involving Noll’s Assistants in the Draft Evaluation Process

The Steelers dynasty of the 70’s was founded on dominating the draft.

Steelers 70's, Draft, war room, dick haley

Tim Rooney and Dick Haley in Steelers 70’s Draft War Room

And Pittsburgh’s system worked perfectly. Art Rooney Jr., Bill Nunn Jr., Dick Haley, Tim Rooney and the other scouts would set the draft board and Noll would make decisions based on those boards. Sure, Noll had to be talked into drafting Franco Harris, but the fact that he allowed himself to be swayed proves it worked.

In 1976 the NFL moved the draft from right after the Super Bowl to the spring.

On paper the move should have allowed the vaunted Steelers drafting organization to sharpen its edge even more. The change had the opposite effect. In general terms, it allowed Noll to micromanage the draft process. Specifically, it allowed Noll’s assistants to get more deeply involved in the evaluation process.

As Art Rooney Jr. wrote in Ruanaidh, some of Noll’s assistants were good. Others either didn’t take its seriously or were up to it. Thus the Steelers went from winning 4 Super Bowls in the 70’s to going .500 in the 80’s.

2. Counting on Terry Bradshaw’s Return to Full Health

You know the drill here. Elbow problems surfaced for Terry Bradshaw in early 1983. He had surgery. He promised to be back. The Steelers counted on that, and passed on Dan Marino and drafted Gabe Rivera instead.

Yeah, bad idea.

Even if Bradshaw could have bounced back to full health, he clearly wasn’t going to play more than a couple-of-three more seasons. Drafting Marino doesn’t necessarily equal another Lombardi in the 80’s or early 90’s, but not doing it was a mistake.

3. Forcing Tom Moore Out and Hiring Joe Walton

Tom Moore and Bubby Brister at Three Rivers Stadium in 1989. Photo Credit: Locallife.com

The 1989 Steelers “shocked the world” by losing their first two games 92-10 and rebounding to make the playoffs, scoring a tremendous upset of the Oilers in the Astrodome, and coming with in a dropped pass AND a bobbled snap of the reaching the AFC Championship.

And they did it despite and offense that ranked 28th in a 28 team league.

After the season was over Tom Moore was nudged out under pressure from the front office. To replace him, Chuck Noll hired Joe Walton.

At the time, letting Moore go didn’t seem like such a bad idea. And although Walton had failed as a head coach, he was still seen as having a good offensive mind.

Walton’s offenses under-achieved in Pittsburgh for 2 years. As Merril Hoge once explained “Joe Walton came in and it wasn’t a good fit for the offense. Tom Moore had us drilled… we were young, our offense was starting to come around, and we had to start over.”

Walton went on to found Robert Morris’ football program but never returned to the NFL. After leaving Pittsburgh Tom Moore built on his legacy and established himself as one of best offensive minds in football history.

4. Letting Kevin Greene Go

This decision doesn’t get talked about much for two good reasons. First, the Steelers really didn’t have the salary cap space to resign Kevin Greene. Second, because Jason Gildon was a pretty good player. (Greene himself said in the Steelers Digest during the Steelers 1995 season that “Jason’s ready.”)

But Kevin Greene went on to play for 4 more years, amassing 52 sacks before retiring after 1999. Jason Gildon had 31.5 sacks during the same time period.

In short, Greene was a great while Gildon was only good, and who knows, had they kept Greene through 1999, maybe the Steelers find a place for Mike Vrabel.

5. Not Finding a Place Rod Woodson in Pittsburgh

Rod Woodson, Terry Glenn, Steelers vs Patriots, Fog Bowl II

Rod Woodson can’t stop Terry Glenn in his final game as a Steeler. Photo Credit: CBS Sports.com

Ooh, does this one still hurt. Rod Woodson famously tore his ACL in the Steelers 1995 opener. He returned for Super Bowl XXX but was far less than 100%. He returned for a full season in 1996 but and, having turned down a contract extension the previous summer, reached the free agent market in the spring of 1997.

The Steelers did make him another offer and pressured Woodson to accept it. Rod declined.

The Steelers were concerned he could no longer be an elite corner, and Tom Donahoe and Bill Cowher balked at Dan Rooney’s suggestion of moving him to safety due to other injury concerns.

After two more years at corner for the 49ers and the Ravens, Baltimore moved him to safety, where Woodson would make four straight Pro Bowls at safety including Super Bowl apperances with the Ravens and Raiders.

By June of 1997, Dan Rooney was already on record comparing Woodson’s departure to that of Franco Harris.

6. Letting Mike Vrabel Walk

Mike Vrabel Steelers, Mike Vrabel sack Drew Bledsoe, Steelers vs Patriots divisional playoff

Mike Vrabel strip-sacks Drew Beldsoe to seal the win in he ’97 AFC playoffs. Photo Credit: Christopher Horner, Tribune Review

Few saw this one as a mistake in real time. The Steelers had drafted Mike Vrabel in 1997 as a defensive tackle, and he played well in spot duty, helping the 1997 Steelers seal a divisional playoff win over the Patriots with a strip-sack of Drew Bledsoe.

The Steelers asked Vrabel to lose weight and move to outside linebacker.

Vrabel complied, but the injury bug hit him hard in subsequent training camps, preventing him from staking a claim to the starting outside linebacker role. But by the time Vrabel reached free agency after the Steelers 2000 season, Joey Porter had exploded for a 10.5 sack first season as a starter and Jason Gildon had 13 and a half sacks of his own.

But Gildon only had 2 good years left in him, while Mike Vrabel went on to become a multi-purpose superstar for the Patriots, helping them win 3 Super Bowls.

7. Keeping James Harrison in 2017 without a Plan

People often forget that James Harrison actually retired in 2014. But Jarvis Jones‘ injury made that journey into his “Life’s Work” rather short, and it was Harrison coming off the bench to start full time that spurred the Steelers 2016 turn around.

When the Steelers resigned Harrison in the spring of 2017, it seemed like a no-brainer.

Bud Dupree was slow to develop and hadn’t T.J. Watt yet. But they did draft T.J. Watt. Then, during spring workouts linebackers coach Joey Porter mentioned that the Steelers would not use a rotation at outside linebacker. Next, James Harrison was held out of practice for much of training camp.

Both Jim Wexell and Dale Lolley reported that Harrison could be a cap causality.

That was derided as “click bait” but when the season arrived, Harrison played sparingly. And as we now know, he was not happy. The Steelers ended up cutting Harrison right before Christmas, Harrison signed with New England and added two sacks to his career total.

It doesn’t matter whether it was the coaches or the front office that decided to keep Harrison on the roster, if they were going to keep him they should have had a plan to use him, even as a situational pass rusher.

8. Replacing Todd Haley with Randy Fichtner

My good friend Matt C. Steel over at Steel City Insider would disagree that this looked like a good decision when it was made. And from an X’s and O’s perspective, he may be right.

But consider the context.

After the 2016 AFC Championship loss to the Patriots, Ben Roethlisberger dropped the “R” word. And while no one ever has or will go on the record confirming this, it is pretty obvious that letting Todd Haley go as offensive coordinator was one of his conditions for continuing to play.

Randy Fichtner, Ben Roethlisberger, Steelers vs 49ers

Randy Fichtner & Ben Roethlisberger prior to Steelers 2015 game vs 49ers. Photo Credit: AP Gene J.Puskar, via Yahoo.

And Fitchner was close with Ben Roethlisberger, he’d been with the Steelers since 2007 so he knew the personnel. It seemed like a logical decision. It was not. Fichtner’s offenses were too rudimentary and too-dependent on Ben Roethlisberger’s arm.

9. Retaining Matt Canada after 2022

Feel free to groan and roll your eyeballs back into the deepest reaches of their sockets. Many fans and members of the press pronounced this to be a bad idea when it happened.

Yours truly did not, and I was wrong.

So I’ll have a healthy portion of humble pie to go along with my crow. But take a step back and look at it as Mike Tomlin and likely Art Rooney II did in January 2022.

During Matt Canada’s first season as offensive coordinator, he had an aging franchise QB who was bad fit for his system, playing behind an offensive line held together with spit, bubble gum and duct tape.

During his second season as offensive coordinator, he had a re-tread first round quarterback in Mitchell Tribusky and a rookie in Kenny Pickett playing behind an offensive line that was being rebuilt. Once that line gelled and once Pickett settled in, the offense showed signs of life.

Alas, Pickett couldn’t carry any of his momentum into 2023 and its taken the offensive line a half season to find its moxie.

(Dis)honorable Mention – Cutting Franco Harris

This one doesn’t make the official list, because in terms of raw football Realpolitik Franco Harris’ 160 yards on 62 carries with the Seattle Seahawks suggest that the Steelers made the tough decision but also the right decision.

In his autobiography, Dan Rooney admitted to wishing he’d opend his wallet for to keep Franco in Pittsburgh. So does the rest of Steelers Nation.

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4 Thoughts from the Steelers 24-17 Win Over the LA Rams

Posted on October 24, 2023 by KT Standard Reply

“Steelers Beat Rams 24-17 in Los Angeles.” This headline makes it look so simple.

But was anything actually simple about this game?

The Steelers struggled — on both sides of the ball — for multiple quarters. They committed a series of boneheaded, drive scuttling penalties.

Yet, when it was all over, they came out on top.

The win gives the Steelers their first victory in Los Angles over the Rams since Super Bowl XIV. While no one should call this a Super Bowl team, perhaps that championship gives us a takeaway that applies to this team.

But there’s also a takeaway from their last win over the Rams in 2019 that applies. And that in turn takes us to the key to victory in this game: The ability to flip their once tried-and-true “throw to score, run to win” script.

Najee Harris takes off. Photo Credit: Karl Roser, Steelers.com

1. Leaning into the Words of John Facenda

NFL Films made the league into the behemoth it is today. In the age before cable TV, YouTube or social media Steve Sabol and company told stories about the National Football League in ways that transcended both time and culture — even Argentines who only discovered American football in the mid-1990s revere John Facenda as a legend.

NFL Films’ legacy remains vital to this day.

Our Twitterized (or Xized) communication infrastructure has reduced history to shorthand sprinkled with emojis. Viewed through that lense, the Super Steelers four Super Bowls in six years look inevitable.

But NFL Films threaded the needle of combining legend-making with context.

How many people remember that the 1979 Steelers began the fourth quarter of Super Bowl XIV trailing? Well, they did.

John Stallworth, Rod Perry, Super Bowl XIV

John Stallworth catches the go ahead touchdown in Super Bowl XIV

But they won anyway because, as John Facenda explained, “Great teams don’t have be great all of the time, just when they need to be.” This was his lead into Terry Bradshaw’s 73 yard go ahead bomb to John Stallworth.

Something similar seems to be true about these 2023 Steelers.

Are they a “great team?” Hardly. But they have some great players who have repeatedly proven that they can step up when the team needs them to.

T.J. Watt’s interception is the obvious example — the Rams had scored just before halftime and, could have iced the game by opening the second half with a touchdown.

But Watt intercepted Matthew Stafford’s first pass and, 3 plays later, Kenny Pickett and Chris Boswell put the Steelers ahead 10-9.

What offers the best example, but he’s hardly the only example.

The Rams running backs Royce Freeman and Darrell Henderson Jr. ran frighteningly well at times. Both ripped off, multiple, double digit runs. Yet, at other times they got stuffed for little or no gain. Minkah Fitzpatrick helped turn that tide by coming up and making several plays at or behind the line of scrimmage.

Puka Nacua entered the third quarter with more yards receiving than the entire Steelers offense, yet Joey Porter Jr. played a huge role in shutting him down when it counted.

2. A Welcome Similarity from 2019 – to a Point

The Steelers last played the Rams in on November 2019 at Heinz Field. There are also several similarities to that game.

People likely remember that game for plays like Minkah Fitzpatrick’s 43 yard fumble return for a touchdown, a rhythm changer similar to Watt’s interception.

My lasting memory of that game is of Mason Rudolph. Statistically speaking, his best game that season was at home against the Ravens where he suffered a concussion. But against the Rams he really stepped up and, for the first time, really took charge of the offense.

Of course, that pocket poise lasted less than a week thanks to Myles Garrett and the Body Bag Game.

Hopefully, that part of history won’t repeat itself, because against the Rams, Kenny Pickett made progress. Not only did he improve as the game moved on as he did against the Ravens, but he carried himself like someone in command in a way that he hadn’t done before.

And nowhere was that command more apparent than when it counted the most.

3. Flipping the “Throw to score, run to win” Script

When Bill Cowher interviewed Ron Erhardt for the 1992 offensive coordinator position, the ex-Parcells lieutenant described his offensive philosophy as “Throw to score, run to win.” Earnhart meant that while you might throw the ball to put points on the board, you beat the other team by running ball successfully, thereby keeping the other team from scoring.

And for a long time, that’s been the Steelers core offensive philosophy even if one could quibble that the Steelers went astray during the Roethlisberger Era.

And that’s the philosophy that Matt Canada used to right the ship during the 2nd half of 2022 following the bye week.

George Pickens catches one on Ahkello Witherspoon. Photo Credit: Karl Roser, Steelers.come

But ironically, the Steelers employed the opposite approach in coming back to beat the Rams. During the second half, Kenny Pickett 11-12 for 152 yards with zero touchdowns or interceptions.

Pickett hit George Pickens, Diontae Johnson and Connor Heyward for hook ups of 39, 18, 21, 11 and 11 yards on the Steelers two touchdown drives.

Yet, as they did after Watt’s interception, as soon as the Steelers reached the Red Zone, they muscled it in. First Jaylen Warren exploded for a 13 yard touchdown.

Next time, was Najee Harris who forced is way for a 3 yard touchdown, two plays after ripping of 10 and 5 yard runs.

4. Who Are the 2023 Pittsburgh Steelers?

OK. Let’s agree that invoking John Facenda and Super Bowl XIV is a bit grandiose. After all, the Steelers started the 4th quarter with barely 100 yards of offense. But the win still reveals a few important things about this team:

This a defense doesn’t simply help its offense with splash plays, it adjusts as the game progresses
This is an offense takes advantage of opportunities that defense and special teams provide it
Kenny Pickett continues to clutch

Clearly the Steelers have to stop giving up so many yards so early in games and the offense needs to start scoring touchdowns before the second half. But the fact that they’re continuing to make in-game improvements suggests that they’re capable of doing it as the season goes on.

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When Christmas Came Every Friday: Missing the Days of Steelers Digest

Posted on September 9, 2023 by KT Standard Reply

A new entry from the Mexican WhatsApp Mesa de Acero feed made my phone buzz at 2:47 pm, local time in Buenos Aires on Thursday afternoon. I glanced down. Instantly the image of the latest Steelers Digest issue transported me back 35 years and 6000 miles away.

It was the summer of 1989 and I was in the magazine aisle at Superfresh (aka A&P) in Aspen Hill’s Northgate Shopping Center. There I rummaged through preseason football magazines, searching for my fix on Steeler news. In Street & Smith’s, opposite an article on the Steelers, I saw it – an advertisement for something called Steelers Digest.

I didn’t subscribe to Steelers Digest that year, and it’s a decision I still regret.

(If you know the 1989 Steelers story, you’ll understand.) I don’t remember why. I probably didn’t have enough money on me to buy Street and Smiths and maybe it was gone by the time I could get back.

But I made sure to subscribe to the Steelers Digest for the next season and remained a subscriber until 2012 or 2013.

In those days before the internet, Steelers Digest was a lifeline.

Although I was fortunate enough to live in places that had solid sports pages, Steelers Digest offered the lone source of Black and Gold centric-coverage.

The Digest typically arrived on Fridays, following a familiar format. Bob Labriola led with a full page column. A summary of the past week’s game followed along with statics. Then came interviews with players. Each week had at least one feature story tied to the season. Myron Cope had a half page column titled “Coping” until he lost his wife Mildred in 1994.

Chuck Noll and Mark Malone.

Other features were tucked further in. Vic Ketchman might have a feature on Steelers history – those were always clip and save stories. Former players such as Andy Russell and even Mark Malone would publish stories there. A Catholic Church on the North Side used to advertise mass schedules designed around Steelers games. Teresa Varley often did profiles on players or human interest stories that were always “can’t miss.”

At the end was The Overview, where Bob Labriola would print reader letters, offering what information he could about Steelers bars and responding to other questions just the way he does today in “Asked and Answered.”

Things were different then. The idea of getting a newspaper on Friday focused on last Sunday’s games seems quaint today. But back then, even though you knew the game’s results, like a fine wine, the in-depth, Steelers-focused analysis countered for its lack of freshness with maturity. In fact, the Digest’s arrival was highlight of the week.

Differences extended beyond the timing and delivery.

The Digest got creative in ways that would backfire in the social media age. If memory serves, when my very first Steelers Digest arrived my mom announced, “There’s something in the mail for you that called ‘Steelers Digest’ with a guy in a Superman suit on it.”

Sure enough, Rod Woodson was on the cover, outfitted in a Superman suit.

Can you imagine the reaction if Steelers.com tried to do something similar with T.J. Watt or Minkah Fitzpatrick today?

Yet, that wasn’t a one off for the Digest. As you can see above, another they led with a picture of Greg Lloyd with a Darth Vader helmet. In the fall of 1990, they featured Woodson, Carnell Lake, D.J. Johnson and Thomas Everett standing in the end zone at Three Rivers Stadium with orange barrels, stop signs and road blocks – that week’s feature was on Dave Brazil’s defense who were enjoying a phenomenal run in limiting touchdown passes (the run lasted for 15 games, until Cody Carlson torched them in the season finale at the Astrodome).

The Digest also served as a means for differentiating serious Steelers fans from casual ones.

Living in the DC area, Baltimore (pre-Ravens), Boston and later Cincinnati, people would often see me wearing Steelers stuff, prompting spontaneous high fives. After that, the conversation evolved in one of two ways.

Franco Harris, Terry Bradshaw, Lynn Swann

You’d say something like, “Man, I LOVE Merril Hoge, I honestly think that they upgraded at fullback by bringing John L. Williams in” and the fan would either say, A. “Ah, man, I love the Steelers, but I’m not that up on today’s players. I just loved like Terry Bradshaw, Franco Harris, Lynn Swann,” or B. he’d dive into debating the nuances of the Hoge vs Williams dynamic.

Group B fans were almost always Steelers Digest readers.

I continued subscribing to Steelers Digest, even after the advent of “the world wide web” provided access to papers like the Post-Gazette and Tribune-Review and later Steelers blogs. The Digest still offered exclusive features by writers like Mike Prisuta, Jim Wexell or Dale Lolley or exclusive interviews with Dan Rooney, Tom Donahoe or Kevin Colbert.

As time passed many if not most of those exclusives found their way on to Steelers.com – once as I was performing my Saturday night ritual of reading Bob Labriola’s column I realized it was the same column that he’d published on Monday after the game.

And that’s when I allowed my subscription to lapse.

And that’s OK. Times change. Today a serious fan, from any corner on the globe, literally has a choice of hundreds, if not thousands of articles, videos or other forms of “content” about the Steelers. Quality may suffer in that sea of quantity, but you can still find it, if you look for it.

Would I go back if I could? Consider this: My first view of Bill Cowher came several days after he was hired when I spied a rumpled copy of the USA Today sitting on the floor of my dorm room at Loyola Maryland (Wynnwood Towers 905E if you must know.) In 2007, in the evening after work, I watched an on-line recording of Cowher’s retirement press conference from my apartment in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

So no, I wouldn’t go back if I could.

But is it possible that for all we’ve gained, maybe we’ve also lost something too? I don’t know.

But I do know this: I miss the days when Christmas came in my mail box every Friday thanks to the Steelers Digest.

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Change the Pennsylvania State Song to the Steelers/Western Pennsylvania Polka

Posted on July 4, 2023 by KT Standard Reply

As the month of June ended two things caught my attention:

1. The Steelers seemingly avoided their dreaded June Curse
2. The Pennsylvania State legislature was considering changing the official state song

The former is most welcome, given that June is the month that where the Steelers lost Chuck Noll, see Willie Colon’s season end due to an off season injury, cut David DeCastro and have Stephon Tuitt lose is brother, ultimately leading him to retire.

If the former is about avoiding tragedy, the former is about embracing opportunity. That’s right. If the Pennsylvania State Legislature wants to change the state song, then there can be no better option than Jimmy Psihoulis “Western Pennsylvania Polka.

Residents of Philadelphia, Lancaster, Allentown, King of Prussia might object, saying the State Song should be about the entire state, not just its western part. Sure, that makes superficial sense.

But the truth is, popular culture already gives those parts of the state already disproportionate share of their adieu.

Think about it, Philly has the Cheesesteak and Philadelphia Cream Cheese, the latter of which is a global commodity (yes, you can even find it here in Buenos Aires, if you look for it.) Its most famous resident, Ben Franklin, is on the 100 dollar bill. And of course one of Tom Hanks breakthrough roles was in Philadelphia – sure, he played also Mr. Rogers, but he didn’t even attempt the accent.

Speaking of accents, the Philly/Southwestern Pennsylvania accent got four-star treatment in the Mayor of Eastown. Lot’s and lots of movies and TV shows get filmed and/or set in Pittsburgh.

But when was the last time you heard a character ask, “Sorry, but yinz mind getting owta of my road for a minute? I gotta I redd the table. And hey, as you’re getting up can you hand me those gumbands?”

Steelers Polka, Western Pennsylvania Polka, Jimmy Pol, Jimmy Psihoulis

Jimmy Psihoulis aka “Jimmy Pol” at Three Rivers Stadium in 1979 during the AFC Championship game

Lancaster has the movie Witness and the Amish tradition. Allentown has its own Billy Joel song. The name “King of Prussia” evokes images of Bismarck and 19th century German might.

More importantly, Jimmy Pol’s Western Pennsylvania Polka stands on its own.

As the official Pennsylvania state song, it will teach citizens about the Commonwealth’s history and offer true life lessons that everyone can benefit. A simple, stanza-by-stanza analysis of the lyrics proves this:

Da-Da-Da-Da-Ta-Da – Charge!

We’re from the town with that great football team,
We cheer the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Chuck Noll and all his friends are all on the field.
Go out and get them Steelers.

Too many kids and adults today sit on couches with faces fixed screens. What better antidote than meeting friends on the field to play?

Bradshaw, and Rocky, and Franco and Lynn,
We love you Pittsburgh Steelers.
It’s been many years in coming,
just keep that Steelers machinery humming

The last time lines bring home an important message: Good things take time, so it’s important to appreciate them when they do come.

Defense, Defense, make them scramble, intercept that ball.
Defense, Defense, keeps the Steelers always best of all!
Mean Joe, Mean Joe, do your thing against the other team,
You start from year to year, we’re so glad you play here,
Now join with me, and sing the Steelers cheer-er-ER!

Joe Greene single handedly shifted the trajectory of an entire franchise – what an excellent example of empowerment in action — from a Penn State grad no less!.

We’re from the town with that great football team,
We cheer the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Winning’s a habit, not only a dream,
Go out and get them Steelers!

Good habits lead to consistent, successful performance.

Gerela’s Gorrilas are here for the show,
and so is Franco’s Army,
It’s been many years in coming,
just keep that Steelers machinery humming.

In just 12 words we’re celebrating conservationism, diversity and lauding the contributions of immigrants to the Keystone State.

Offense, Offense, take that football whole way up the field!
Offense, Offense, let’s score and score and never ever yield!
Franco, Franco, can you believe we have a running game?

Take the initiative and always remain persistent – what state legislator could argue with a song that teaches that lesson?

The Steelers are so great, and so hard to overrate,
Good things, will come, to those who work and wait.
Charge!

Reinforcing the reality that you achieve excellence through patience and hard work instead of instant gratification.

So really the case is clear.

The move to change Pennsylvania’s state song is a bi-partisan effort pushed by Reps Craig Williams and Joe Ciresi.

The only remaining is, gentleman, what are you waiting for?

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Time for a Clean Slate: Steelers QB Mason Rudolph Reaches Free Agency

Posted on March 5, 2023 by KT Standard Reply

Who is the most popular player on the Steelers roster? Well, for 20 years the answer never changed – it was always the backup quarterback. Whether it was David Woodley, Jim Miller or Pete Gonzalez, Steelers fans were always convinced themselves that QB Number 2 was the next Terry Bradshaw.

Mason Rudolph never enjoyed such a honeymoon. Now that he’s about to hit free agency, it is time to take a look at whether he should or will stay in Pittsburgh.

Mason Rudolph launches a 45 yard touchdown to Diontae Johnson. Photo Credit: Barry Reeger, PennLive

Capsule Profile of Mason Rudolph’s Career with the Steelers

The Steelers drafted Mason Rudolph in the 3rd round of the 2018 NFL Draft with the pick they obtained from trading Martavis Bryant to the Oakland Raiders. The decision was described as a “compromise pick” as we learned that the front office had put a “first round grade” on Rudolph.

That was all academic for a year as Mason Rudolph held the third string QB’s clipboard during all of 2018. In 2019 Josh Dobbs departed and Mason ascended to the backup role where everyone figured he’d stay, after all it had been 2 years since Ben Roethlisberger missed a full game right?

Wrong. Six quarters into the season against the Seattle Seahawks, Roethlisberger left the game with a season ending elbow injury, and Mason Rudolph’s roller coaster ride began.

To the naked eye, Rudolph played well enough in losses to the Seahawks and 49ers, but perhaps its telling that coaches had to install a Wild Cat offense for his first home start and win against the Bengals. A week later without the Wild Cat, Rudolph was authoring his best game ever against the Ravens when Earl Thomas knocked him from the game with a concussion.

The roller coaster ride began anew. Rudolph shifted from shaky to stable in his return against Miami, steady against Indy, strong against the Rams – and then Myles Garrett assaulted him with his own helmet in the infamous Body Bag Game.

Mason Rudolph, Myles Garrett, Matt Feiler, David DeCastro

Even prior to this pivotal moment, Mason Rudolph had shown alot of fight in 2019.

The incident shook Rudolph, whose play was shaky prompting Mike Tomlin to bench him for Devlin Hodges week later. Rudolph did look better coming off the bench against the Jets, but got injured and was done for the year. Rudolph started the season finale in 2020 and lost while looking good, and looked “OK” in starting in the overtime tie to the Lions.

In 2022 Mason Rudolph entered training camp as the back up to Mitch Trubisky, but got beat out by Kenny Pickett and outside of Carolina Panthers game, Mason Rudolph spent last season the way he spent his first – holding a clipboard in street clothes.

After 5 years in Pittsburgh, Mason Rudolph appeared in 17 games, holds a 5-4-1 record as a starter, threw 384 passes for 2,366 yards with a 61.5% completion rate and 16 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.

The Case for the Steelers Resigning Mason Rudolph

Every championship team needs a strong backup quarterback.

Just look at how Byron Leftwich and Charlie Batch stepped in in 2005 and 2008. Mason Rudolph’s body of work isn’t that extensive. While he hasn’t shown himself to be worthy of a starter’s slot, he does project as a competent backup.

He knows the Steelers culture and system. He was never embraced or mentored or seemingly even befriended by Ben Roethlisberger. He was benched for a guy name “Duck.” He didn’t get his fair share of reps in the summer that was to be his one real shot at the starting job.

Yet, through all of it, Mason Rudolph has never complained. He’s been a loyal teammate and a positive force in the locker room – just what you’d want in a backup.

The Case Against the Steelers Resigning Mason Rudolph

The Steelers had a “first round grade” on Rudolph, yet picked him with an extra third round choice in a decision that was termed a “compromise.”

Consider these names:

Dwayne Haskins. Joshua Dobbs. Mitch Trubisky. Kenny Pickett.

Those are all quarterbacks that the Steelers brought to Pittsburgh after seeing Mason Rudolph’s 10 game audition in 2019. Now stir in the fact that in the summer of 2022, Rudolph neither got a fair shot at the starting job nor did he get a shot at QB No. 2.

That should tell you that Mike Tomlin was never sold on drafting Mason Rudolph and Rudolph hasn’t changes his opinion since arriving in Pittsburgh. The Steelers already have Trubisky under contract for 2023, has Mason given them any reason to tear that contract up, eat the dead money and offer him a deal to stay?

No. He has not.

Curtain’s Call on the Steelers and Mason Rudolph

has said the Steelers have left the door open for Rudolph’s return, which is the smart move. But let’s close this conversation by turning it on its head: Is there any reason why Mason Rudolph would want to stay in Pittsburgh?

The fans never gave him a chance, even if his numbers, arguably, were better than Pickett’s. His head coach clearly doesn’t see him as starter material and didn’t even give him a shot as a backup. No NFL team is going to throw starter money at Mason Rudolph.

But Rudolph has done enough to earn both a competitive backup deal and something else more highly prized: A clean slate.

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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Omar Khan’s Right: Steelers Must Resign Cam Sutton. But Can They Keep the Cornerback in Pittsburgh?

Posted on March 2, 2023 by KT Standard Reply

I was fortunate enough to be in Pittsburgh during the summer of 1989 when Terry Bradshaw and Mel Blount were inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. My mom happened to be walking through the room when they were finishing a news segment on the ceremonies and asked, “What? Were Terry Bradshaw and Mel Blount BOTH quarterbacks?”

“No mom, Terry Bradshaw was the ‘quarterback,’ Mel Blount was a ‘cornerback’” I explained.

It is easy to see how the casual listener could confuse “quarterback” and “cornerback.” And while “cornerback” might not be as hard to play as “quarterback,” good cornerbacks can be pretty damn hard to find.

The Pittsburgh Steelers haven’t had a lot of success in finding cornerbacks via the NFL Draft.

They found one in Cam Sutton who is now set to become a free agent for the second time. Has he done enough for the Steelers to give him a third contract?

Cam Sutton, Mark Andrews, Steelers vs Ravens, Ben Roethlisberger final regular season game

Cam Sutton intercepts a pass to Mark Andrews. Photo Credit: Ravens.com

Capsule Profile of Cam Sutton Career with the Steelers

Some players simply take time to develop. Cam Sutton is one of them as the Steelers drafted him in the third round of the 2017 NFL Draft yet didn’t see him become a full time starter until 2021.

But if you’re thinking that Cam Sutton looked like a disappointment in that interregnum you’re wrong.

The Steelers activated Sutton going into the 2017 road game against Cincinnati to bolster a secondary that was reeling without Joe Haden and with Artie Burns struggling. How much Sutton contributed is open to question as the Steelers lost Ryan Shazier that night, sending the defense into an total tailspin.

Cam Sutton, Cam Sutton onsides kick recovery, Steelers vs Chargers

Cameron Sutton recovers the onside. Photo Credit: Jake Roth, USA Today

For the next three seasons, Cam Sutton appeared in all but one game, playing extensively on special teams and working in as a slot cornerback.

At a glance, Sutton’s numbers from those three years fail to impress.

However, Sutton showed and ability to make plays at pivotal such as his interception which stopped a Browns drive and forced overtime in the ’18 opener. Or his on-sides kick recovery AND interception all within 37 seconds to end a Charger’s rally in 2019 or his interception that helped the Steelers go up 24 to zero against the Browns in 2020.

When the Steelers entered salary cap hell thanks to COVID, one of Kevin Colbert and Mike Tomlin’s first moves was to cut Steven Nelson and resign Cam Sutton, and he’s started 31 of a possible 34 games since then.

The Case for the Steelers Resigning Cam Sutton

The Steelers have invested heavily in Cam Sutton’s development who has made steady improvement since his rookie year. In 2022 he made 3 interceptions and defended a record 15 passes. Is this some guy you want to let walk? The Steelers have struggled to draft and develop cornerbacks but Cam Sutton is a success story here.

10 years ago the Steelers saw Keenan Lewis develop slowly until finally establishing himself as a starter. But the Steelers let Lewis walk due salary cap complications and because they believed that they had Cortez Allen waiting in the wings.

Lewis walked and Allen floundered settling the franchise back immeasurably.

Mike Tomlin and Omar Khan must not make the same mistake with Sutton.

The Case Against the Steelers Resigning Cam Sutton

Yes, Cam Sutton is a good cornerback. But is he a great one? More importantly, does he deserve to be paid like one? According to Over the Cap Cam Sutton’s annual salary ranked him as 48th in the NFL last year.

A third contract will almost certainly need to put him in the top 32. They average about 7 million dollars a year in salary, 31 million in contract guarantees and 24 million in total guaranteed money.

Are you really ready to double Cam Sutton’s salary and guarantee him an 8 figure sum?

Curtain’s Call on the Steelers and Cam Sutton

Omar Khan said “We love and think very highly of Cam,” and indicated that negotiations have already started. Good. Because resigning Cam Sutton should be the Pittsburgh Steelers number one free agent priority in 2023. Sutton’s not a super star. He’s not a “shut down corner.” He’ll never be one. But he is a solid number 2 cornerback.

Steel City Insider’s Jim Wexell compared him to Deshea Townsend. Townsend was another mid-round cornerback who took 4 or 5 season to work himself into a starting job as the number two corner. From there he helped the Steelers win Super Bowl XL and Super Bowl XLIII.

The only real question mark here is Omar Khan.

Khan was decisive in getting extensions inked with Minkah Fitzpatrick and Chris Boswell last summer and then got creative with Diontae Johnson. He could have done the same with Sutton, but declined. He says he wants him back, and when Kevin Colbert made similar statements the player returned.

So let’s see if Khan follows suit.

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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Remembering Franco Harris: Hall of Famer, Community Pillar, Ambassador of Steelers Nation

Posted on December 23, 2022 by KT Standard 1

In news that is as shocking as it is saddening, Pittsburgh Steelers legend and Hall of Famer Franco Harris has passed away. His death came just two days before the 50th anniversary of the Immaculate Reception and 3 days before the Steelers were to retire his number.

Franco Harris will be only the third Steeler to have his jersey retired, joining defensive stalwarts Ernie Stautner and Joe Greene. When the Steelers retired Joe Greene’s number in 2014, Steel Curtain Rising titled our tribute to him, “Joe Greene – Portrait of a Pittsburgh Steeler” as in, if you want to see what a perfect Pittsburgh Steeler is, look to Joe Greene.

The same can be said of Franco Harris – as a player, as a teammate, as a pillar of the Pittsburgh community and a global ambassador of Steelers Nation. Below we show why.

Franco Harris. Photo Credit: Karl Roser, Steelers.com

Getting to Know Franco

My “football awareness” as a Generation X Steelers fan coincided precisely with the Super Steelers wins in Super Bowl XIII and Super Bowl XIV. As shared here before, the kids on Wendy Lane played “Super Steelers” giving members of the squad superhero powers.

Mean Joe Greene had super strength and could turn himself into a giant.
Lynn Swann had super speed, like the Flash.
Jack Lambert was basically Black and Gold Incredible Hulk missing his front teeth.
Terry Bradshaw could throw bombs.
Chuck Noll played a Professor Xavier like role

As for Franco Harris? Franco could run through walls.

My first real “encounter” with Franco Harris (I was only just realizing his name wasn’t Frank O’Harris) was through a Scholastic booked titled 13 All Pro Running Backs. Franco was on the cover, I saw it at the Harmony Hill’s Elementary School book fair, and it was mine.

I don’t remember much about the book, other than this was where I learned what the word “drive” meant in a football context.

Franco Harris, Terry Bradshaw, Lynn Swann

Learning about Franco

Although I knew enough about Franco Harris for him to form part of the “Wendy Lane Steelers Super Heroes” group, I have to honestly say I don’t have any memories of seeing him play.

Yes, I certainly watched games where he played.

But unlike Mel Blount, Terry Bradshaw, Lynn Swann or John Stallworth, I can’t say that I remember seeing him play in real time. Those lessons would come later, and 3 key plays Franco appreciate his greatness on the field even more.

“Don’t Over Coach Him”

As everyone knows, Chuck Noll did not want to draft Franco Harris. Art Rooney Jr. did. Art Jr. had to resort to calling George Young to convince Noll to pick Harris. Noll picked him, and then turned to Rooney and said, “You’d better be right.”

Early on, skepticism seemed justified. Franco came to training camp late, and as Jim Wexell reports, Rocky Bleier thought he was “Lazy” while Ray Mansfield “didn’t think he could make the team.”

Offensive backfield coach Dick Hoak related to Wexell, “I’m spending time with him and boy he doesn’t look very good those first few weeks. We’re all wondering, what the heck?”

The first preseason game came, against Atlanta. The play was supposed to be off tackle, but when the blocking collapsed Franco cut back and ripped off a 76 yard touchdown.

Chuck Noll approached Dick Hoak with a simple instruction, “Don’t over coach him.”

The Immaculate Reception

You can read my reflection on the Immaculate Reception here. When asked about the play immediately after the game, Franco Harris shrugged it off, insisting he was in the right place at the right time.

But there’s a reason why.

As Chuck Noll explained, Franco was able to make that play because he “Hustled on every play.”

“Give Me the Ball.”

The Steelers-Cowboys rivalry of the 70’s may not have achieved the critical mass that the Yankees-Dodgers reached before it or that the Celtics-Lakers achieved after it, but it was the key sports rivalry of the 70’s.

Two of its most colorful characters were Thomas Henderson and Terry Bradshaw.

“Hollywood” Henderson insulted Bradshaw, insisting the Blond Bomber couldn’t spell “cat” if you give him the “c” and the “t.” He backed up his trash talk with a late hit on Bradshaw. In the huddle, a furious Franco Harris commanded, “Give me the ball.”

Even though it was 3rd and 9, Bradshaw complied.

Franco ran 22 yards for a touchdown.

There’s your recipe for an NFL Hall of Famer: An instinctual player, dedicated to maximizing his God-given talent, who is loyal to his teammates and delivers a big play when the game is on the line.

Franco Harris: Steelers Nation’s First Citizen & Spreader of the Faith

Franco Harris’ football resume is enough to earn him the honor of having his number retired. But what really made Franco special was his work off the field. As Tony Defeo argues, Franco Harris embraced his “Italian Army” which helped give rise to Steelers Nation.

But what most people don’t know, is that Franco remained close with the Army’s founder Al Vento and his family for the rest of his life.

Franco Harris was active in the Greater Pittsburgh Community. His efforts on behalf of charities, foundations and other civic organizations are too numerous to try to list here. And he was committed to social justice.

Dan Rooney, Franco Harris, Mike Wagner, Jon Kolb, Gerry Mullins

Dan Rooney with Franco Harris and several other “Super Steelers” Photo Credit: Post-Gazette

As Dan Rooney related in his autobiography, the Pittsburgh police contacted Franco who was planning a sit-in in protest of a Ku Klux Klan rally. Both the police and Rooney feared for Franco’s safety. Rooney talked Franco into joining a counter, peaceful protest, that far outnumbered the Klan that day.

Through it all, Franco Harris maintained his humility.

As former ABC Radio Executive Mike Silverstein recounted, when Franco arrived in Pittsburgh, he took the “71 Negley bus from his place in the Friendship/Garfield neighborhood for the first seven weeks of the regular season.”

Can you imagine, even in 1972, any other NFL first round draft pick taking the bus to work?

But, as the sign that hung in Coach Eric Taylor’s locker room reminded us on Friday Night Lights, “Character is what you do when no one else is looking.”

In reality, Franco passed fictional coach Taylor’s test time-and-time again.

During the height of the Iraq War, a story circulated on the internet of a solider meeting Franco at the airport, asking for a picture. Franco asked where he was going. “Iraq via Atlanta” the Hall of Famer was told. Franco wished him luck.

When the solider arrived at the gate, he found out that he’d been upgraded to first class and seated next to Harris for his trip to Atlanta.

That’s just who Franco Harris was.

I know, because something similar happened to a friend of mine. I met Mateo Labriola (he insists there’s no relation to Bob, but we don’t quite believe him) when he started a Steelers Argentina Twitter account. Through the years we became friends, and have watched a few games together (including the 2015 playoff win over Cincinnati.)

In 2017 Mateo and his mother traveled to the US to see the Steelers play the Bengals in Cincinnati (the game where Shazier’s career ended) and the Ravens in Pittsburgh. They stopped at Canton, Ohio and the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Franco Harris happened to be at an event in Canton that day. Mateo approached the organizers saying, “Hey, I’ve come all the way from Argentina. I’m a Steelers fan. Is it possible to meet Franco Harris in person?”

Franco Harris, Mateo Labriola, Steelers Argentina

Franco Harris with Argentine Steelers fan in Canton, Ohio, 2017.

He was told to wait. Franco sure enough came out, met Mateo and took a picture with him.

You can imagine this happening with any number of sports figures, but not what comes next.

Franco asked him if he was going to the game in Pittsburgh that coming week. Mateo said yes, he had tickets, but his mother didn’t. Franco solved that problem for him, by inviting them both to see the game from his Luxury box at Heinz Field!

Not only did he do that for two strangers from Argentina, Franco drove in his own car to Mateo’s hotel, and personally dropped off the tickets at the hotel, stopping to take pictures with everyone in the lobby. Franco’s son insisted on not letting them pay for any food or drink during the event (and as someone who has organized corporate events at stadiums, I can assure you luxury box food prices are anything but cheap.)

That is what Franco Harris did while no one was looking.

Franco Harris was a great player. As Joe Greene, Dan Rooney and Art Rooney II observed, the Steelers never won anything before Franco Harris arrived, never suffered a losing season while he wore the Black and Gold, and have had a lot more difficulty winning since he left.

But as the stories here show, Franco Harris was an ever greater person than he was a player.

Steelers Nation hasn’t just lost one of his greatest Hall of Famers, it has lost perhaps its greatest ambassador.

Rest in Peace Franco Harris, our thoughts and prayers are with you, your wife Dana and his son Dok.

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The Trubisky Temptation: Why Tomlin Is Right to Stick with Kenny Pickett

Posted on October 22, 2022 by KT Standard Reply

“Ron Jaworski? You never have to worry about me jerking you.” – Dick Vermeil, in a 1970’s NFL Films segment.

My introduction to the concept of “bench the quarterback” came on a random 1970’s Saturday afternoon while watching that NFL Films piece. My reaction? I asked my older brother – who while not knowing everything the way my father did, knew quite a lot – “What does ‘Jerking you’ mean?” “He means taking you out for another quarterback,” my he explained.

Kenny Pickett, Mitch Trubisky, Steelers vs Seahawks

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

At my tender age, the concept wasn’t just abstract, it was downright strange. In my elementary school eyes, Terry Bradshaw was, had always been and always would be the quarterback of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Why would any coach need much less want to change?

Ah, the innocence of youth.

I’m sure that a social media listening platform would reveal “Bench the quarterback” running neck-in-neck with “Fire the coach” for the two most popular phrases on Sunday afternoons.

Choosing a starting quarterback is the most consequential decision an NFL head coach makes. Having a “difficult choice” isn’t always a “good problem to have.”

But of course teams do change their starting quarterbacks either due to injury or benching.

Thanks to Kenny Pickett’s concussion Mike Tomlin had to make his 2nd quarterback change in three weeks. Mitch Trubisky came off the bench. He played without fear. He was exceptional, leading a touchdown drive and killing the clock with multiple 3rd down conversions.

The press wasted little time and calling for a quarterback controversy.

Mike Tomlin threw cold water on that idea quickly, affirming that Kenny Pickett will play against the Miami Dolphins if he clears the concussion protocol.

Pickett has cleared the protocol and it says here that Mike Tomlin is right to resist the Trubisky temptation.

He’s right for two reasons. One having to do with Tribuisky, the other having to do with Pickett.

Resist the Trubisky Temptation

Mitch Tribusky earned every bit of praise he’s getting for closing the Buccaneers game with a win. He was accurate with his arm, nimble on his feet. And he was decisive.

In other words, he was everything he hadn’t been in his first four starts.

Kordell Stewart in action against the Jaguars Photo Credit: Andy Lyons /Allsport

And maybe that’s the point. Maybe is one of those quarterbacks who is better coming in off the bench. That may sound oxymoronic, but it is not unprecedented. Think of Kordell Stewart.

In the game he entered after Tommy Maddox’s spinal contusion, Stewart earned a passer rating of 135.2 while throwing 17 passes. The next week he notched a 117.3 rating.

While I can’t prove it, this lends credibility to the notion that Kordell played best as a backup, or at least without the the pressure of being a starter.

Be that as it may, the counter argument would run, Tribusky has the proverbial “hot hand,” so the Steelers should stick with him. Had the off season seen the Steelers depth chart evolve differently and say, had Tomlin benched Tribusky in favor of Mason Rudolph, and Rudolph had exited the game with a concussion then going with the hot hand might be a wise option.

But that’s not the situation.

Right to Pick Pickett

“Going with the hot hand” only makes sense if you don’t have or think you have your long-term answer at quarterback. The Pittsburgh Steelers picked have Kenny Pickett in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft, ergo they see him as their long term answer at quarterback.

Once you make a decision to start your rookie first round pick, there’s (almost) no walking it back.

Mike Tomlin left himself some wiggle room after the Jets game. He could have come back the following Tuesday and announced:

Regarding last Sunday’s game relative to this Sunday’s game at the quarterback position, last Sunday I was looking for a spark, so I turned to Kenny. I felt that by in large he provided us with that spark and did some good things. But this week, with the Buffalo Bills coming up, on the road, I’m looking for stability so, Mitch Tribusky returns to his role as starter, where he will stay. Any questions.

No one would have thought anything of it.

But Tomlin didn’t go that route.

He named Pickett his starter, and Pickett needs to know that Tomlin’s behind him. Switching back to Tribusky after just one strong quarter of football would send the opposite signal.

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15 Memories that Unite Generation X Steelers Fans

Posted on June 23, 2022 by KT Standard 2

Staff writer Tony Defeo recently published an article waxing on what it’s like to be a Steelers fan reaching 50. With a nod to Jimmy Buffett, its titled “A Steelers Fan Looks at 50.”

While I’m still a few months (ok, weeks) from passing the half century mark myself, it got me thinking about some of the unique touchstones that mark me and my fellow Generation Xers as Steelers fans.

Here is my list:

Franco Harris, Terry Bradshaw, Lynn Swann

1. You had this photo on your wall.

In 1980, you could get a copy of this photo of Franco Harris, Lynn Swann and Terry Bradshaw through a promo run by either the Pittsburgh Press or Giant Eagle. My aunt and God Mother who lived in Monroeville called down to Maryland asking if my brother and I wanted copies. Of course we did! They hung on our bedroom walls just as they hung on yours for years to come.

2. You remember when Pittsburgh really was the Steel City.

Arriving in Pittsburgh from Maryland usually meant taking the Parkway into downtown from the Turnpike. So my first views of Pittsburgh were of J&L’s blast furnaces. They were truly awesome. (Don’t try Googling the terms, just trust memory here.) They were just as awesome as the gastly smells you’d have to endure as we took Carson Street to Becks Run Road en route to Brentwood-Carrick.

The mills are long gone, but seeing them, even in their twilight, was special.

3. You thought Queen wrote “We Are the Champions” for the Steelers.

My older sister and brother told me that Queen had written “We are the Champions” for the Steelers. As a naïve first grader I believed them. But why shouldn’t I have? The Steelers were the champions. At 6 years old that felt like a permanent condition.

4. You parents had to convince you that the Steelers were terrible once.

My parents are Pittsburghers to their cores, but neither is a football fan. When I asked them what it was like rooting for the Steelers when they were kids, my mom would explain “You have to understand. The Steelers and Pirates were terrible when we were kids.” History proves them right, especially for the Steelers. But I sure was one skeptical seven year old.

I got one of these from my older cousin David. I couldn’t WAIT to grow into it! Photo Courtesy of @Vintage Steelers

5. Kids made fun of you as you kept wearing Steelers stuff into the 80’s.

My inventory of Steelers stuff remained well stocked through elementary school thanks to hand-me downs from my older brother and my cousin. What didn’t stay well stocked was the Steelers inventory of wins. And kids, as they are wont to do, made fun of me for wearing Steelers stuff to school.

I wore my gear anyway, because Steelers fans are loyal.

6. Hearing the words “Immaculate Reception” caused you to run to the TV.

Today you can watch the “Immaculate Reception” at the touch of a button while say, slogging through Buenos Aires down Aveneda Directorio on Bus 126 from Flores to Puerto Madero if you so choose.

But I remember as a kid my older brother made a point of showing me the “Immaculate Reception” while watching NFL Films. And for the next several decades, I made it a point to watch the play every chance I got. Kids today are spoiled indeed.

7. You often learned of the results from Sunday’s games on Monday morning.

This is unique to children of the Pittsburgh diaspora, but before the age of the internet, or even cable TV there were plenty of times when I’d have to wait until Monday morning to learn the results of Sunday’s Steelers game. And in the ‘80s, that could lead to a lot of downers at the breakfast table. Although there were pleasant surprises….

8. The 1989 Steelers will always carry a special place in your heart.

The Boomers before us and the Millennials came after us who were reared on Super Bowls don’t understand. But we do. Starting in 1987 we saw flashes of greatness. We even convinced ourselves we could glimpse positives in the 3-1 close to the dismal 5-11 1988 campaign.

The 1989 Steelers story book season validated our faith and we felt like we’d closed the door on the 80’s by opening the door to a second Super Bowl era. That didn’t happen, but boy, it sure felt good to believe.

9. When fans attack the offensive coordinator your reflex is: “Yeah. …But Joe Walton was worse.”

Offensive coordinators are the favorite whipping boys of Steelers fans, whether you’re talking about Chan Gailey, Ray Sherman, Kevin Gilbride, Bruce Arians or Todd Haley. But Generation X Steelers fans know that none of them was worse than Joe Walton, even if in middle age we’ve grown to appreciate Walton as an outstanding person who did a lot of Western Pennsylvania football at Robert Morris.

10 a. The split back or “Pro” style offense looks normal.

Thanks to Franco Harris and Rocky Bleier, Frank Pollard and Walter Abercrombie, and Merril Hoge and Tim Worley, the sight of two running backs lined up behind the quarterback will always be “normal.”

Tim Worley, Merril Hoge, 1989 Steelers Dolphins, Steelers vs. Dolphins

Merril Hoge acts as lead blocker for Tim Worley. Photo Credit: Spokeo

10 b. You still scream for the fullback to get carries.

Your mind understands how and why the game has changed, but every time “they” talk about cutting Jerome Bettis, Le’Veon Bell’s or Najee Harris’ workload your heart screams “Why can’t they just let the fullback run the ball?”

11. Jimmy Pol’s Western Pennsylvania Polka is the only Steelers fight song.

OK. Let’s concede that James Psihoulis’ aka Jimmy Pol’s fight song is the property of our parent’s and our grandparent’s generation. But I first heard the song during the ’93 season on my first trip to a Steelers bar (Baltimore’s legendary Purple Goose Saloon no less).

It was the sound of heaven. Listen for yourself:

I mean no disrespect to “Here We Go,” “Black and Yellow,” “Climbing the Stairway to Seven,” or any of the other fight songs. But the “Western Pennsylvania Polka,” from Jimmy Pol’s thick Pittsburgh accent, to the passion in which he implores “…Let’s go and score, and never ever yield!” while invoking Joe Greene, Chuck Noll’s “hunky friends,” Franco’s Army and Gerela’s Gorillas perfectly preserves the Super Steelers and Pittsburgh’s essence.

12. You once thought Dan Rooney was “Cheap” or you defended him.

In the 1990’s, spring free agent exoduses out of Pittsburgh were the norm. In the days before Heinz Field, the Steelers didn’t have the revenue to compete. Fans didn’t want to hear it and wrote Dan Rooney off as “cheap,” while others, like me, defended him. These arguments were staples of our 20-something bar room banter.

13. When there’s a special teams coaching vacancy, you scream “Bobby April!”

Atrocious special teams plagued Bill Cowher’s 1993 Steelers. He responded by hiring Bobby April who rejuvenated the unit and cemented his cult-hero status with the successful surprise on-sides kick in Super Bowl XXX.

Greg Lloyd during the Steelers 1995 playoff win over Browns. Photo Credit: Getty Images, via Zimbo.com

14. Number 95 is sacrosanct.

Whether “Just Plain Nasty,” or “I wasn’t hired for my disposition” lights your fire, you loved your “Avoid Lloyd” shirt and you instinctively know that no other Pittsburgh Steeler else can ever live up to the standard that Greg Lloyd set when he donned number 95.

15. You try, and fail, to explain Myron Cope to a new generation.

In 1992, Sports Illustrated described Myron Cope as the soul of the Pittsburgh Steelers. They were right. Yet Myron was someone to be experienced in real time, and attempts to explain him ultimately fall short. But it is your duty to try.

There you go in Steelers Nation. Those are my top 15 (ok, 16) memories or touchstones that unique to Generation X Steelers fans.

Is this a definitive list? I certainly hope not!

While we all share a love for the Black and Gold, each of us has your unique way of finding it. Take a moment to leave a comment and share your additions to the list. (Comments are moderate to keep out the spammers and tolls, but if you write something it will get published.)

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Super Bowl XIII Was The Greatest Steelers Game I Didn’t Bother To Watch Live

Posted on June 21, 2022 by Tony Defeo Standard Reply

Becoming a sports fan for the first time is like falling in love harder than you’ve ever fallen before: One minute, you’re going about your business.

The next minute, you’re wondering how you ever lived your life without them.

A little deep for a Steelers site, I know, and I’m pretty sure I owe royalties for stealing a line from the movie, Hitch, but that basically describes how my young life was before I became a diehard fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The first game I remember being totally invested in so much so that I would have cried had the Black and Gold lost was Super Bowl XIV when Pittsburgh, a budding dynasty that had just won three Lombardi trophies over the previous five seasons, took on the Rams at the Rose Bowl on January 20, 1980. It was an exciting game filled with many big plays and dramatic moments. The Steelers survived, 31-19, to claim their fourth Super Bowl title in six seasons.

They went from a budding dynasty to a mega dynasty.

Almost one year to the day earlier, however, on January 21, 1979, when the Steelers outlasted the Cowboys, 35-31, before a packed Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida, I could have given a bleep.

John Stallworth, Super Bowl XIII, Steelers vs Cowboys, Lynn Swann, Benny Barnes, Charlie Waters

Super Bowl XIII: John Stallworth is headed to the end zone. Benny Barnes and Charlie Waters can only look on. Photo Credit: Focus on Sport/Getty Images via FanSided

I was months shy of my seventh birthday and only really cared about toys, commercials about toys, the Incredible Hulk TV series starring the iconic Bill Bixby, Sesame Street, Mister Rogers and many other things that didn’t have to do with sports.

In fact, when all the drama was taking place down in Miami between the Steelers and Cowboys, I was sitting in my living room in Bellvue, Pa. (a suburb right outside of Pittsburgh where my family was living at the time), watching a rerun of Tarzan, an old television series from the 1960s starring Ron Ely.

That’s right, as the two teams were locked in a struggle for the ages–as well as a struggle for NFL supremacy and the right to be called the team of the decade (and maybe the greatest dynasty in NFL history)–I was sitting around watching an old black-and-white TV series about a guy who had had it with civilization and decided to go live in a jungle and befriend a chimpanzee.

And when I say this Super Bowl was epic, and when I say the Cowboys could have laid claim to the title of “Greatest Dynasty Ever,” I do not make that claim without reason.

Dallas had been on a heckuva run, starting in the mid-’60s when it battled the mighty Packers for the right to go to the first two Super Bowls. The Cowboys lost to Green Bay in the NFL title game two years in a row, with the second one being dubbed “The Ice Bowl,” and in my mind, the most intriguing NFL game ever played.

The Cowboys lost in dramatic fashion a year earlier down in Dallas, but the way they lost this rematch at Lambeau Field, in minus-13 degree temperatures and to a Packers squad that was clearly on its last leg, could have caused this young franchise to wither away. But the Cowboys made it to Super Bowl V a few years later before losing in heartbreaking fashion to an inferior Colts team led by an aging Johnny Unitas.

The Cowboys finally got over the hump with a victory over an expansion Dolphins squad in Super Bowl VI. After coming close a year later and failing to make the playoffs in 1974, Dallas was back in Super Bowl X following one of the greatest drafts ever when 12 rookies made the squad in 1975. The Cowboys lost to Pittsburgh, 21-17, but by acquiring so much young talent in one draft, they had paved the way for their success to continue.

It did two years later with a victory over the Broncos in Super Bowl XII.

Dallas was again in the Super Bowl one year later and looking to defend its crown against a Steelers team that was back in the dance after missing out the previous two postseasons.

Just to recap, the Cowboys had reached the playoffs 12 times between 1966 and by the time they met Pittsburgh in Super Bowl XIII. They had played in several NFL/NFC titles games, were making their fifth Super Bowl appearance and were going for their third Lombardi trophy.

A victory over a Steelers team that had as many Super Bowl titles as the Cowboys, Packers and Dolphins–two–could have easily earned Dallas the title of “Greatest Dynasty Ever.”

I don’t want to do a play-by-play of Super Bowl XIII, but I will say that it included the greatest collection of talent in league history, as a combined 23 Future Hall of Famers were involved.

Super Bowl XIII was the most exciting game in the then brief history of an event that was quickly growing into the international phenomenon it is today.

steelers vs cowboys, super bowl xiii, super bowl 13, terry bradshaw, mike webster

Terry Bradshaw behind Mike Webster in Super Bowl XIII. Photo Credit: Al Messerschmidt

The Steelers jumped out to a 7-0 lead before Dallas countered with two touchdowns–one on offense and one on defense–in a matter of minutes. Pittsburgh quickly tied the game at 14 a few plays later when Terry Bradshaw connected with John Stallworth on a 75-yard touchdown catch and run.

The game simply had everything. There were the improbable hops shown by running back Rocky Bleier late in the first half that netted a touchdown and a 21-14 lead for the men in black. There was the drop at the goal line by Jackie Smith, a future Hall of Fame tight end who was coaxed out of retirement after many years with the St. Louis Cardinals, that prevented Dallas from tying the score late in the third quarter.

There was the controversial interference call against Dallas that set up the Franco Harris burst up the middle on third and 10 that made it 28-17 early in the fourth quarter. One play before Harris’s touchdown, the normally quiet running back got into the face of linebacker Hollywood Henderson after Henderson “sacked” Bradshaw on a dead-ball foul. Maybe Franco was a little miffed because Henderson said in the leadup to the game that Bradshaw was so dumb that he couldn’t spell “cat” if he was spotted the C and the A.

A squib kick on the ensuing kickoff was picked up by defensive lineman Randy White, who decided to shift the ball into the hand that had a cast on it. Fumble. Pittsburgh recovered and quickly took a commanding 35-17 lead on a strike from Bradshaw to Lynn Swann, who made a levitating leap in the back of the end zone to secure the laser beam.

But just when it looked like it was over, Roger Staubach, a legendary quarterback who had developed a reputation for the impossible comeback, started to do his thing. Next thing you know, it’s 35-31. Thankfully, Bleier secured the second onside kick by the Cowboys (Pittsburgh flubbed a previous one that allowed Dallas to truly get back in the game) with mere seconds left to give Pittsburgh relief and a third Lombardi.

I know I said that I didn’t want to do play-by-play, but I changed my mind to prove a point: All the action I just described was totally from my memory.

How could I do that? Because I’ve watched Super Bowl XIII countless times throughout my life. I’ve seen just about every NFL Film’s feature on it. I know the participants and even their individual feelings on the controversial plays that helped to shape this classic. I know everything about this game. It’s the Super Bowl the Steelers should be the proudest of, in my mind, because it came against the greatest team they ever played on that stage.

Yet, I didn’t care one bit when the game was actually going on.

As I said, love is a funny thing. As my sports soulmate was doing its thing down in Miami on January 21, 1979, there I was in Pittsburgh thinking that Tarzan was the only “Super” hero I would ever have eyes for.

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