National Football League fans across the globe share one common thought this time of the year…all things are possible.
And certainly when it comes to possibilities, as one famous pig in Animal Farm was once quoted as saying: Some possibilities are more equal than others.
The Houston Texans are certainly a case study in rapid turnarounds with their acquisition of QB C.J. Stroud last year in the NFL draft. They went from league laughingstock to playoff contender in the course of a few months.
So, can the Pittsburgh Steelers expect the same kind of rapid rise in their fortunes during this offseason? Are they poised to finally reach NFL Nirvana in the 2024-25 season?
To find out…let’s give it a Spin. The first of the freshly hatched season.
50th Anniversary
Can you believe it? This is my fiftieth anniversary as a Steelers fan. Now, some of you old-timers may be saying, “Me too!”. A few of you have even more gray hair and moldy memories than that. But most of my beloved Spin readers are thinking loudly, “That dude’s old…did they still have leather helmets back then?”
My first day as a Steeler fan began on January 12, 1975. As a nine-year-old, I was invited to a friend’s Super Bowl party. We were all asked to pitch in a penny (yes…inflation is real) to wager on either the team in purple uniforms or the ones in white, black, and gold.
I chose Fran Tarkenton and Alan Page, but about halfway through, I started gaining an instant rapport with Terry Bradshaw, Franco Harris, and Mean Joe Greene. That would be the last time I EVER rooted against the Steelers unless you include throwing inanimate items at televisions.
As with many of you, this initial fondness shifted dramatically towards an unhealthy obsession, where losses would cause deep depression, deep into a school and, ultimately, college week.
Who else among you would buy those pencil packs back then with all of the NFL teams and throw out all but the one for the Pittsburgh Steelers?
Fortunately, I was part of the Entitled Generation, which grew to believe we SHOULD win every Super Bowl. There definitely were many more positive endorphins circulating in our brains in those years in the 70’s. This decade also showcased an impressive time of songwriting, it must be said. It was a time when you could look like the two guys in Steely Dan and still get a record contract because talent mattered most.
The 1980s were a fresh reminder that there were other teams who wanted to win Super Bowls as well. The San Francisco 49ers rose as the clear dynasty at that time, with incredible runs by Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, and a host of other Hall of Famers on that team.
The 90s were the grunge years, as the Steelers got their defense back, and music got its guitars back after a dismal season of drum tracks and synthesizers ruling the airwaves and charts.
The 00s were an exciting period of return to glory, with the Steelers finally realizing once again… that quarterbacks are important and that having “Kid Roethlisberger” brings the roar back to the Steel City.
The 10s were a bad trip of a tease for the Steelers. It was like attending a decade-long Rage where there were some flashing colorful lights and heavy beats to get your feet dancing. But those seasons always ended with a hangover full of disappointment and regret.
That brings us to the nowsies…the 20s. The decade of…I don’t know, you tell me.
If there is a central theme, it’s that the Steelers haven’t had one. This team has had no identity for a while.
It’s been Meh-plus at best, and every announcer on every national broadcast will remind you ad nauseum of our only claim to recent fame…a continuation of non-losing seasons. What they are leaving out is that these years are non-winning ones as well. Not when you’re considering the real prize.
Will things be different this year? All things are possible.
Return To Forever
Steelers President Art Rooney II has a clear message for any of Pittsburgh’s fans who aren’t huge backers of longtime coach Mike Tomlin.
His message? Find a new team!
With Mike Tomlin’s contract extended through the 2027 season, it means he will have been here…pretty much forever.
For many Steelers fans, Tomlin is the only coach they’ve ever had. Even for those of us who enjoyed both Chuck Noll’s and Bill Cowher’s lengthy careers…21 years of Tomlin (counting his extension) is an extraordinarily long time.
From Rooney’s perspective, Tomlin is the perfect head coach. Art’s term leading the Steelers has had much more of a “corporate feel” to it than that of his father Dan’s…who held much more of a “championship or bust” objective.
For Art Rooney, having Tomlin as his CEO means he has a predictable winner. Volatility and unpredictability are seldom good for business.
Under Tomlin, he’ll always have a quality-grade team that will fill seats and keep the enthusiasm for tickets and merchandise riding deep into the end of the year.
He also has a world-class workplace where people are treated well and everyone feels like family. Tomlin is a brilliant hire for attracting and keeping good talent.
Will this be a year where we see Tomlin exceed expectations and take his team to the top of the NFL elite? According to oddsmakers, it’s not a safe bet.
But who knows? This could be Tomlin’s greatest season as a head coach.
Because this time of the year? All things are possible.
There Is A Draft In Here
There have been few Steelers drafts that I’ve been more excited about than this one.
Yes…you wouldn’t be wrong if you summed up the entire draft class as bore-ing. I get you. It’s not very flashy when your top two picks are more Ford pickup trucks than Maserattis.
My only disappointment was that they didn’t use all three of their first picks for offensive linemen. But, fortunately, they got another keeper in the fourth round in Mason McCormick out of South Dakota, of all places.
There have been too many years in a row when the Steelers have been 1st and Five at the goal line, and they actually THINK about the play call.
I’ll see the offensive coordinator (just insert your favorite villain) and they are looking over a large, colorful, laminated, playlist and you can read their lips mumbling, “So many beautiful choices…what should I call?”
This is when I want to go all Gandalf on them, like when he was battling Balrog on the Bridge of Khazad-dum, and shout…
Run, you fools. Run!
But then again, could the Steelers take the Grey Wizard’s sagely advice even if they wanted to?
There aren’t too many frothing-at-the-mouth Najee Harris fans among the Steelers faithful, but has he really had a chance to express himself with the holes he’s had to wedge himself through as a young runner?
If you want to know what run blocking is supposed to look like, pull up some of Emmitt Smith’s runs in the early 90s when he benefitted from what I believe is the best offensive line of the modern age. Now those were some holes opened! With some of the camera angles, it doesn’t even look as if there is a defense on the field.
So…I realize this wasn’t an exciting year for sparkly draft picks for the Steelers, and it contributed to an unimpressive preseason. But, adding tackle Troy Fautanu and center Zach Frazier to last year’s sensation in Broderick Jones is going to set a youthful foundation of success for many years to come.
Holes don’t just happen. They take years to create.
Where Did Those Other Guys Go?
Who would have thought that Kenny Pickett, Mason Rudolph, and Mitchell Trubisky would completely vaporize from the Steelers quarterback room?
Wasn’t it just minutes ago we were hyping Pickett-to-Pickens as the pass-and-catch duo of the decade?
Pickett’s term in Pittsburgh was so short and inglorious that if he had been on the original Star Trek, he would have entered the scene wearing a red shirt.
And let me tell you. Getting smothered by Tribbles is a terrible way to go.
So, what do we have to say about the new quarterback room?
Let’s be incredibly honest here. These quarterbacks weren’t discovered in the new tire department. These are undeniably retreads, and in Russell Wilson’s case, an inordinately worn-out set.
I have friends who are diehard Seattle Seahawks fans who, when asked the question, “What should we expect from Wilson?” are only able to respond with incoherent words and uncontrolled laughter.
For those of my friends who are Denver Broncos aficionados, when they are asked if they are pained to have to eat $85 million to have Wilson leave town, they rapidly reach into their pockets and start throwing more money.
As for Justin Fields, the pattern for the Steelers is clear. First of all, we were kind enough to give Trubisky a second chance after his flop in Chicago. Now we have Fields departing from the same place and arriving with a similar reputation.
Let’s just say that Caleb Williams is terrified that he’ll be moving to Pittsburgh in two years as well.
Can Russell Wilson rediscover his form of 10 years ago?
Can Fields become a reliable passer in the NFL?
All things are possible.
Hot Potato
Have you seen the 2024 Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator jacket? It’s pretty sharp, however, it has a big red circle on the back.
Yes, if you’re going to take on the assignment of being an OC for Pittsburgh, you’re going to have a target on your back.
After Tomlin has paraded in some of the least qualified and capable offensive play callers in the history of the franchise the past decade, they are hoping that recently fired head coach of Atlanta Falcons Arthur Smith can break the disturbing trend.
Unfortunately, Smith enters the team after serving last year as a league-wide punchline throughout the NFL.
The joke? How do you destroy the hopes of every fantasy football team manager who drafted Bijan Robinson, Kyle Pitts, or Drake London?
So…with Smith’s reputation for squandering generational talent, will he be able to somehow produce quality results as the Steelers offensive chess player?
This might surprise you. It actually surprises me, to be honest. But, I think the answer is “Yes”.
The Steelers offense finally has some adult supervision for the first time in many years. This team doesn’t have a youthful Derrick Henry, but they do have the level of raw talent on the offensive line that the Tennessee Titans had years ago when Smith was their chief offensive architect.
Give this team time to gel, and for Smith’s run schemes to mature. That accomplishment will also limit the necessity to have an elite quarterback behind center.
Which, of course, is ideal because we’re a bit thin in that area.
So, What Say You?
The great thing about a preseason where you end up 0-3 and are outscored by a collective 53-32 is that you enter the arena without lofty expectations. In fact, you just skip the expectations part altogether.
What does this team look like in 2024?
It looks like a typical Mike Tomlin team. There will be highs. There will be lows. There will be really low lows. There will be an unexpected period of comeback. Then there will be disappointment in the end.
But I could be wrong. The team could go undefeated, and a well-doused-in-champagne Tomlin could raise the franchise’s seventh Lombardi in the air, turn to the camera and say, “Spin…I told you so.”
It could happen exactly that way. Because this time of the year? All things are possible.
