Can you believe we’re just about halfway through the National Football League regular season schedule? It’s going by quickly, just like the autumn leaves falling from fake plastic trees.
Although for Steelers Nation it seems like it’s already been a few years of a “bugs in the teeth” mountain highway motorcycle ride.
Who would have blamed us for having high expectations after such an impressive draft class and an equally inspiring preseason performance?
Only to fall out of the clouds without a parachute into the cold, cruel, turf of that season-opening game against the San Francisco 49ers.
Yes, we’re 5-3 and still competitive in one of the most competitive divisions in the NFL. So why so sad?
It’s just…some of these games? I can’t help the feeling I could blow through the ceiling.
It wears me out. It wears me out.
Which is why we have prepared a half-time speech for the team playing for the best franchise in the world, cheered on by an elite fan base.
Come in guys, gather in the locker room, get some orange slices and a cool sip of Gatorade and we’re going to tell you what’s what.
It’s halftime speech time, so let’s give it a Spin.
No Surprises
This season shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone who has been following this team under Coach Mike Tomlin for the past ten years. Just when you’re at the peak of frustration being forced by fandom to watch the unwatchable, he’ll turn around and give you an impressive, season-changing win like he did against the Baltimore Ravens. In Tomlin-esque fashion, he just points to the scoreboard and says, “This is what you get when you mess with us.”
Jigsaw Falling Into Place
There have been two matches since the last Spin. The Jacksonville Jaguars loss was certainly a disappointment, yet the short week turnaround with a solid home game victory over the always physical Tennessee Titans restored confidence. A 5-3 record at this point in the season is markedly better than 4-4. With the softer than years past playoffs formula now allowing for three wildcard entries for each conference, the Steelers are already positioning themselves nicely for postseason play.
Everything In Its Right Place
With the fact being the Steelers aren’t desperate for wins each week, now is an essential time for Tomlin to make the decisions that will matter most during the postseason play. The wildly popular coach is particularly skilled at building winning seasons, it’s been the “What now?” in the playoff opportunities that has been his Achilles Heel for years. If he is going to avoid another Groundhog’s Day type of year, he has to start swinging for the fences. A pleasant record aside, this team is nowhere close to being able to compete with the elite teams in the league, especially in a playoff setting where you have to stack consecutive wins against increasingly tough teams. The “just win ugly” approach is going to leave this storied franchise short of fuel and inspiration by the Wildcard round.
It appears Tomlin is already starting to put “everything in its right place.” Let’s start with having Offensive Coordinator Matt Canada on the field rather than in his bubble up above. I like the idea that 350-pound men can glare at him as they are coming off the field after another poor and eagerly booed set of play calls.
Canada’s patented “Three And Out Offense” may keep him employed from high in the sky, but at the paydirt level, the currency is exchanged differently.
Tomlin is also doing what fans were requesting from the beginning of the year. Getting his star rookies on the field. This whole garbanzo beans about promising youth “needing time to develop” on the sidelines while inferior older players steal away on-the-job training opportunities need to go the way of leather helmets.
It can be argued that some of the best on-field play (when they get to be on the field) this season has come from Joey Porter Jr., Keeanu Benton, Darnell Washington, Nick Herbig, and Broderick Jones.
Airbag
The jury seems to be out on QB Kenny Pickett this year. Half of Steelers Nation and the collective talking heads believe the Steelers need to keep out the Help Wanted sign. The quarterback half-full group, which includes me in a poignant fashion, feels Pittsburgh already has their guy. In truth, some of his passes last game looked like Alley Oops to Wilt Chamberlain, but there is evidence to believe a bad case of barbecued ribs was to blame for that.
A couple of things that are undeniable about Pickett are that he is a natural leader and that he is a tough kid. Many of us believed his season was going to be over with his knee injury only to have him miraculously start the next game. So, too, with his injured ribs against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
It’s like he has the benefit of a safety airbag out there. He just keeps taking all kinds of hits. You can be sure his teammates are going to be taking note of this and it will only add to his ability to lead. That, and his fourth-quarter cool with the games on the line.
I’ll ride with Kenny. I believe his teammates will, as well.
There, There
Speaking of teammates, WR George Pickens is proving to be a work in progress. His talent is undeniable, only matched by his proclivity to mope if he’s not getting the ball.
This is despite the fact, as his leadership-talented quarterback has noted, that he’s continuing to play a considerable role for the team. He’s drawing consistent double teams which is opening up the offense for his talented cohort Diontae Johnson to rip apart defenses. Touchdown droughts aside, Johnson is a legitimate number-one receiver with as much twitchiness as practically any other player in the league. If he can stay healthy, at some point teams are going to need to adjust back his way.
There, there, George. Keep blocking and drawing the double teams and remain a central part of the team. When your fellow receiver gets his first touchdown in what seems like forever, celebrate for him at least as much as you do when you get a first-down completion.
It should be noted that teams are having success in slowing Pickens down. This can be expected with double-teaming defensive strategies, yet this is a reminder of how supernatural a former Steelers great was for the team.
Remember Antonio Brown at his peak? He wasn’t drawing double teams. Defensive coordinators were triple-teaming him…and he still was uncoverable.
What a talent. What a shame.
Hopefully, Pickens can take some inspiration and hard-learned lessons from Brown’s meteoric rise and fall.
Letdown
There is no question the worst part about the National Football League is the injuries. An otherwise good day at the office for the Steelers turned sour when LB Cole Holcomb suffered what was universally described as a “gruesome knee injury”.
You get carted off, get a few cheers, and then, just like that, you’re forgotten for the season. It’s an awful part of the game.
Despite the pain and his inability to continue playing for the team this year, it’s tragic that Holcomb was really starting to find traction with the defense and making his mark.
It reminds a bit of Jerry Olsavsky who suffered a similar injury while playing with the Steelers in the 90’s. He did come back, but he was never the same player. He too, was just beginning to be on the rise with the team when he got injured.
It’s an unlikely scenario, but let’s hope the team can stay healthy for the rest of the year.
Exit Music
Looking at the second half of the regular season here are the games that lay ahead for the Pittsburgh Steelers:
Home – Green Bay Packers (2-5)
Away – Cleveland Browns (4-3)
Away – Cincinnati Bengals (4-3)
Home – Arizona Cardinals (1-7)
Home – New England Patriots (2-6)
Away – Indianapolis Colts (3-5)
Home – Cincinnati Bengals (4-3)
Away – Seattle Seahawks (5-2)
Away – Baltimore Ravens (6-2)
You wouldn’t exactly term the schedule ahead as “soft” yet it’s not all that daunting either. The Steelers would be wise to have their playoffs business wrapped up before the last two games of the season. Playing the Seahawks in Seattle, especially when they will probably be battling it out with San Francisco for division leadership will be a tall task. So, too, will be having to end the year in Baltimore, although odds are the division will be decided before that game and players might be rested on both sides.
The Steelers as they are today, won’t have a chance in tomorrow’s playoffs. Let’s just be frank here.
This is why this “win any way possible” strategy is going to end up with the same-old, same-old, product the Tomlin factory has been fabricating for years. Just above what’s proved to be a low bar.
With a Thursday night game behind them, the Steelers have a week and a half to imagine a more glorious future for the team. One with aggressive play calling and an offense that joins in the fun.
The argument that this team lacks talent or is too young to meet expectations is merely a lame excuse. There is enough talent to excite. They need the lights to come on and this is on coaching.
It will take more than having Canada ride an elevator down to the field. There can’t be any more games where the punter is getting more of a workout than the wide receivers and where the Steelers have single-digit points, and sometimes total yards, well into the second quarter.
This offense right now?
It wears me out. It wears me out.
Daydreaming
They’ve taken strange and ill-advised roads to arrive here, but the Steelers after eight games have somehow managed to provide us with a firm push of the reset button. This next game against the Green Bay Packers at home will be like opening day once again.
We were SO enthusiastic about this season before the San Francisco 49ers put us in our place. Now the Niners are in a funk and we have a chance to be on the rise.
Do we still have time to do something special this year? Or are we just daydreaming?
Like any halftime speech, I’ll end up by saying, “Gentlemen…you’ve worked hard to keep the dream alive. Now, let’s do the work to make it come true.”
After all, we’re still in the fantasy part of the football season, where all dreams remain on the table.
