Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. Colin Cowherd thinks the Pittsburgh Steelers are too focused on the defense side of the ball to be successful. Cowherd, who seemingly can’t stop talking about the Steelers this season, launched into another rant about how the Steelers are too focused on the defensive side of the ball to be successful, even after a 17-10 win over the Baltimore Ravens in Week Five.
On top of that, he launched into his familiar argument about the Steelers being too loyal, claiming they won’t move off QB Kenny Pickett, because the Ocean Township, New Jersey native is a “local kid” due to the fact that he also attended the University of Pittsburgh.
“Mike Tomlin manufactures win with defense like nobody I’ve ever seen. Pittsburgh’s 3-2, they feel like they’re 1-4. All we’ve done is complain. All they’ve done is complain. Ninety percent of their talent’s on defense, feels like 90% of their payroll’s on defense, they’re not paying anybody on offense,” Cowherd said on The Herd today. “It’s why the Steelers never have a losing record. They manufacture wins on the defense side like it’s the ’70s and ’80s. But it’s also why they haven’t been a legitimate Super Bowl threat in over a decade.”
He then went back to his familiar default, citing the reigning Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs not spending on defense compared to their offensive spending. Then, Cowherd got into Pickett.
“Kenny’s making about one big throw a game. Do you move off him? One of the reasons the Steelers have historically not liked to draft University of Pittsburgh kids, they don’t want to move off him. They’re not moving off Kenny Pickett. He’s a local kid,” Cowherd said. “So they’re in on this Kenny Pickett thing for a long time. I would be shocked if they drafted another quarterback. This is a way to 9-8, 10-7.”
Even if Pickett had gone to the University of Maine, I’d be shocked if the Steelers drafted a quarterback high this year. It’s Pickett’s second season after they took him 20th overall in 2022. They’re not drafting another quarterback to come in and take over after this season, and it has nothing to do with the fact he went to Pitt. It’s just a dumb take from Cowherd that they wouldn’t take another quarterback just because Pickett went to Pitt.
He’s also made his point about defensive spending more than enough. Find a new slant, Colin. The Steelers’ identity is their defense. That’s how they’ve won games. Now, if Pickett looked like Patrick Mahomes right out of the gate, that might change. But he’s a young quarterback who hasn’t yet ascended to a top-15 or top-10 level yet. So the Steelers win on the strength of their defense. If their defense is talented and winning them games and their quarterback is on a rookie contract, it only makes sense to pay those guys and build up that side of the ball.
The Steelers’ offensive spending is so low because they haven’t had to pay Pickett a second contract yet. On defense, they have four Pro Bowl-level players in DL Cameron Heyward, OLBs T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith, and FS Minkah Fitzpatrick. Letting good players walk isn’t a smart practice, regardless of what position they play.
The Steelers are 3-2 and lead the AFC North, and they’re ahead of the Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens. What do those three teams have in common? They gave mega-deals to their quarterbacks and now have struggled to meet expectations this season. Maybe Cowherd needs to realign his thinking about spending.
Not every quarterback is a Patrick Mahomes-level generational talent. Just like not every EDGE rusher is a T.J. Watt-level generational talent. You pay your good players, whether they’re a quarterback or a long snapper. But then again, this is coming from the guy who thinks the Steelers should trade Watt in a massive package to get USC QB Caleb Williams in the 2024 NFL Draft.
As far as the quarterback goes, if Pickett struggles the rest of this season and next season, the Steelers will make a change. They’re not going to be afraid to build the best team possible just because of the college he attended. But they’re also not giving up on him after this season.
The Steelers have a bye before they take on the Los Angeles Rams in Week Seven, a team that’s led by Cowherd’s favorite type of coach, an offensive one in Sean McVay. It’ll be an interesting matchup to see if the Steelers can keep some of the momentum from their Week Five win over the Baltimore Ravens going.
