The Steelers are now back at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex, facing down a long regular season that looks a lot more promising given how things have gone leading up to it. Finishing just above .500 last year, they anticipate being able to compete with any team in the league this season with second-year QB Kenny Pickett leading the way.
They’ve done a great deal to address what they identified as their shortcomings during the offseason, which included addressing the offensive and defensive lines as well as the secondary and the inside linebacker room, which is nearly entirely different from last year. The results have been positive so far.
Even well into the regular season and beyond, there are going to be plenty of questions that need answered. When will the core rookies get to play, or even start? Is the depth sufficient where they upgraded? Can they stand toe-to-toe with the Bengals and the other top teams in the league? We’ll try to frame the conversation in relevant ways as long as you stick with us throughout the season, as we have for many years.
Question: Will Mike Tomlin turn to Mason Rudolph at quarterback until Kenny Pickett returns?
Is the Steelers haven’t reached the bottom of the barrel yet, they’re steadily making their way. Dropping three in a row and plummeting out of the playoff race, they are approaching “major changes are coming in the offseason” territory.
Now 7-7 with three games left to play, I don’t see how anybody can be confident of them winning again. Each of the teams they have left to face are arguably better than they are, including at the quarterback position, the most debatable being the Seattle Seahawks in two weeks.
Kenny Pickett might be able to return from his ankle injury by then. It’s very unlikely, I would think, that he could make it back in a week’s time to face the Cincinnati Bengals on Saturday, however. Assuming that he doesn’t, a decision has to be made.
Do they put Mitch Trubisky back in the starting lineup, the man they’ve paid twice to serve as one of the top two quarterbacks on the team, or do they stick with the move they made and continue with Mason Rudolph?
Head coach Mike Tomlin pulled Trubisky late in yesterday’s game after tossing his second interception, but there wasn’t much that could be done at that point. He did say after the game that they will not continue to do the things that they’ve been doing, but the last time he said something like that, they just wore pads in practice.
Asked very specifically about Trubisky’s performance and his performance alone, Tomlin completely and utterly refused to discuss it individually after the game. “None of us were good enough starting first and foremost with myself”, he said, as he continues at all costs to protect his fragile offense.
I don’t suspect that Rudolph playing will improve things much, perhaps lessen the bust potential with a more careful quarterback, but speaking personally, I don’t see the point of trotting Trubisky back out there. He just had his chance and he blew it as far as I’m concerned. Let the Buffalo Bills take him back as their backup to Josh Allen.
