ESPN analyst Louis Riddick made an appearance on ESPN’s Get Up this morning for the “That’s Riddick-ulous” segment where Riddick was asked whether the Steelers would come in last in the AFC North. Riddick emphatically stated that they’d finish ahead of the Browns and fight for a playoff spot.
“I think this offense, led by Kenny will become a more vertically oriented offense this year. There will be more big plays down the field, he will be well above six, seven eight, yards per attempt in terms of his downfield throwing capabilities,” Riddick said. “George Pickens is a burgeoning superstar, Mike Tomlin will have the defense playing to its utmost. I think it’s ridiculous that they would even be thought of as the team that will finish last. I think they will be in the hunt for a playoff position, there’s no question about it.”
On the contrary, former NFL GM Mike Tannebaum thinks the Steelers will finish last due to them “not being able to score consistently” because Tannebaum doesn’t think “Kenny Pickett is anywhere close” to the other quarterbacks in the division. Analyst Jeff Darlington agreed with Tannebaum. “Who’s gonna finish last if not the Steelers?” Darlington said, pushing back on Riddick’s assertion that they wouldn’t.
Riddick argued back that there are too many assumptions being made about the Browns and that Kevin Stefanski isn’t as good of a coach as Mike Tomlin, which helps gives Pittsburgh an edge over the Browns.
Riddick makes a good point about there being too many assumptions about Cleveland. It feels like every single offseason recently the hype train goes off the rails for the Browns, but what have they really proven? Deshaun Watson looked pretty bad last season, and the Browns have rarely lived up to all the offseason hype that continually gets thrown their way. Riddick seems to realize that, while Darlington and Tannebaum default to the “Kenny Pickett bad, Deshaun Watson good” argument that’s been overplayed for months now.
It’s getting old, and with the season underway, I’m very interested to see how things play out. There’s no doubt the AFC North is going to be a tough division, probably the toughest in football. But each and every season, analysts and writers and talking heads wax poetic about the Browns being good and being improved and looking like a playoff team. And yet, outside of 2020, they’ve yet to ever really live up to and meet those expectations.
Just because they gave Watson a big contract doesn’t mean he’s all of a sudden going to turn back into the quarterback he was when he was younger. Their defense isn’t as good as Pittsburgh’s. Their coach isn’t as good. But they get put on this pedestal as if they’re the team that hasn’t finished in last place in the division since 1988.
Thankfully, the time for talking is almost over and it’s going to be put up or shut up time. I’d put my money on the team that usually puts up more of a fight in Pittsburgh to not finish last behind Cleveland.
