Perspective Of An Average Steelers Fan: Russ Cooks, ’74 Team Honored

Mike Tomlin played coy, but everyone knew that Russell Wilson would start his first game as a Pittsburgh Steeler. Many critics consider Tomlin too conservative. That he projects “don’t live in your fears” unto himself. But this is a bold move. Justin Fields led the team to a 4-2 start. He’s thrown five touchdown passes and scored five more on the ground. And he’s largely corrected his turnover problem. Fields has just one interception and one lost fumble although he has fumbled six times this season. If the Steelers lose or even win by a low score, we’ll hear fans screaming why did Tomlin make the change.

But I’m saying this is as good a time as any to see if Russell Wilson can run a smooth offense. We have two games until the bye. We know what Fields can do. And he will be ready to jump in if Wilson falters. We’ll see.

Pittsburgh has a new starting center Ryan McCollum, playing in for injured Zach Frazier. The Jets will test the offensive line, especially McCollum. And Alex Highsmith returns.

The Jets acquired Davante Adams whose nagging hamstring injury suddenly healed. But New York has injury issues of its own in the secondary. Will Wilson have the time to find open receivers? I will be interested in how Adams and George Pickens match up statistically.

But hey, enough of the preview. I’m on my way to Pittsburgh!

From Booing to Cheering

Steelers fans went through a full range of emotions, from booing Russell Wilson to cheering him moments later. Many folks were disappointed at the home crowd’s early chirping, but I was okay with it. The Steelers had three-straight three and outs after giving up an early touchdown. The offense gained nine yards on nine plays. Wilson was throwing the ball into the ground. His arm looked like a wet noodle. Fans are impatient. It’s been over seven years since Pittsburgh has won a playoff game. Plus, another 13 years since their last Super Bowl game. And over 15 years since the team last hoisted a Lombardi Trophy. A lot of frustration has accumulated over time.

But then Wilson launched a deep pass to George Pickens. And the boos became cheers. Wilson has the patience of the experienced professional that he is. He received immediate feedback from the fans. Unhappy when the team was not moving the ball downfield, going nuts when they did. Wilson was not going to force the ball, and he showed that limp noodles were not attached to his shoulder when the opportunity was there.

Rookie Lit Up the Stadium

Beanie Bishop Jr., an undrafted rookie free agent, lit up the stadium. The fans’ frustration shifted to defense. Breece Hall turned a short reception into a 57-yard gain after Steelers defenders whiffed on tackles. A blocked extra point turned into a two-point conversion after an incorrect call on a penalty. Down 15-6, the Steelers punted for the final time of the game. The Jets started driving from their own 7-yard line. Then Aaron Rodgers launched a pass into Pittsburgh territory. Bishop intercepted the ball right in front of the receiver.

The Steelers scored off the takeaway to finish the half down by just two. And the fans were rocking. The second half belonged to Pittsburgh. Bishop picked off another Rodgers pass. Then a defensive stop on fourth down after Renegade increased the intensity into a crescendo. Twenty-four unanswered points in the second half were punctuated by Najee Harris scoring from 10 yards out. We had ‘em all the way.

Special Teams

Special teams are an underappreciated facet of the game where one big play can shift momentum or even decide the game winner. The new kickoff rules should test the special team coordinator’s ability to adapt to the changes.

Here is an overview of the special teams play during the game:

KICKOFFS

Chris Boswell kicked off eight times. Danny Smith tested the Jets’ return team. And the Steelers’ kickoff coverage unit responded. Boswell placed his kicks close to the goal line on five of his first six kickoffs. Jets returners never reached the 30-yard line. His final two kicks went deep for touchbacks with the Steelers protecting a big lead.

Greg Zuerlein kicked off into the end zone for three touchbacks.

THE STATS

Advantage Steelers.

PUNTING

Corliss Waitman punted four times. Xavier Gipson attempted to return the first two. He muffed the first at the Jets’ 12-yard line, but the ball rolled forward six yards careening out of bounds at the 18-yard line. Then Gipson returned the second just four yards before James Pierre forced a fumble that went out at the Jets’ 21. Gipson wisely fair caught the third punt at the 13-yard line. Rodney Williams downed the last punt at the 7-yard line. Waitman flipped the field after three successive three and outs by the offense. Clutch.

Thomas Morstead punted four times. Miles Killebrew nearly blocked the first one. I’m not sure how Morstead managed to launch the ball. But Calvin Austin III signaled for a fair catch at the Pittsburgh 36-yard line. Then the Jets caught Austin for no gain at the 34 on the second punt. Another fair catch made on the 31. Austin made a nine-yard dash to give the Steelers the ball at their 21-yard line after the Jets’ first possession of the second half.

THE STATS

*Gipson muffed one catch and fumbled his four-yard return out of bounds.

Advantage Steelers.

FIELD GOALS AND EXTRA POINTS

Chris Boswell kicked three field goals and is tied for the lead in the NFL. He added three extra points. Boswell needs three more extra points to tie Roy Gerela for third place in franchise history.

Minkah Fitzpatrick blocked Thomas Morstead’s second extra-point attempt. Unfortunately, officials flagged him for a “leverage” penalty. But the replay shows Fitzpatrick in the air without using the opponent to propel himself upward. Nevertheless, the penalty stood, and the Jets scored on a 2-point conversion to take a 15-6 lead. But Danny Smith’s unit was not finished. Dean Lowry plowed up the middle to block Zuerlein’s 35-yard field goal attempt to preserve a 23-15 lead. An outstanding Steelers special teams display.

THE STATS

*Fitzpatrick blocked an extra-point attempt, but it was nullified by bogus leverage penalty. Dean Lowry blocked Zuerlein’s 35-yard field goal attempt.

Advantage Steelers

Weekend Experience

Over the years, I’ve learned to make Steelers home games a weekend experience. On Saturday, I drove up to my alma mater Penn West – California for homecoming and to celebrate 50 years of rugby at the school. The rugby club inducted its inaugural Hall of Fame class. I was humbled to be one of the first seven inductees. It was great to meet some of the younger Cal rugby players being almost as old as their grandfathers.

Alumni Dinner

Then I drove up to the stadium to join Ken Sterner for the Steelers Alumni dinner Saturday evening. The Steelers highlighted the 1974 team that won Super Bowl IX. The first of six championships. Twenty-four players from that team, three staff, and family members of four who departed too soon attended.

Bob Pompeani facilitated conversations with the players in small groups. They bantered among themselves and shared anecdotes from the 1974 season and the Super Bowl win over the Vikings. J.T. Thomas and Joe Greene went back and forth a few times. Each had his own perspective of how the team was feeling in the tunnel while standing across from the Vikings just before taking the field.

Where they both agreed is that they won that game in the tunnel. Thomas said fear was their 12th man until Glen Edwards broke the tension. Greene scoffed at the idea that the Steelers were scared. Edwards crossed the tunnel to say hello to a college teammate who was with the Vikings. His teammate towered over Edwards but would not make eye contact or acknowledge his greeting. Edwards told him right there, “We’re going to kick your F’ing ass.” Joe Greene said that was the reason he came out of the tunnel with his finger waving we’re No. 1.

It’s worth giving the program a listen. We had a special moment with Frenchy Fuqua and his sons. He was in a jovial mood. And he is still holding onto his secret.

The Vikings might have been bigger and more experienced, but Steelers on that 1974 team included rookies Lynn Swann, John Stallworth, Jack Lambert, Mike Webster, and Donnie Shell who were just going to outplay them with hustle and hard hitting. Those rookies along with third-year running back Franco Harris and Terry Bradshaw — he had to regain his starting position from Joe Gilliam, who started the season at quarterback and had a 4-1-1 record — were not yet Hall of Famers. But Chuck Noll and Joe Greene were just not going to accept losing.

1974 Alumni Honored at Halftime

The 1974 Steelers alumni were honored at halftime during the game. Normally, seats empty out toward the end of the second quarter as people use halftime to visit the restroom or buy concessions. But for this game, most remained in their seats as each of the attending 1974 players or surviving family members were announced. Pittsburgh fans showed their respect.

Hall of Honor Museum

The Steelers had their Hall of Honor Museum open Sunday morning since the game had an evening kickoff. This was my fifth visit since it opened in 2022. If you have only gone once, I encourage you to make another visit. They update the museum regularly with new exhibits and I always catch something I missed from the previous visit. This year the museum added an exhibit of the 1974 team.

Ken and I made it to Lenny and Cindie’s Renegade Tailgate about four hours before kickoff. We assisted with the setup since they had to improvise with the Science Center still open and the Secret Service protection detail adding to congestion in the lot. But they did a wonderful job as always and fed some of the security detail lucky enough to be stationed nearby.

Met my college fraternity brother Ron and his son, Chris, there. They sat in my regular seats during the game. Ron played tight end for Blackhawk High School in Chippewa back in the day. Meanwhile, I positioned myself in the rotunda for the game.

YOUR HOT TAKES DURING THE GAME

Thank you, Ross McCorkle, for keeping us up to date on the game’s Live Update and Discussion Threads. Steelers Depot respondents contributed 1,514 first-half comments. Respondents added 1,337 more second-half comments.  Here are the top three comments from each half. I don’t know the algorithm used by Disqus but here is how they stacked it up:

The top first-half comments reflected our hopes and fears:

1. First, Chad Sanborn explained why he favored Fields over Wilson: “In the Red Zone is where Fields was better because he was a threat to run. And since we don’t use the tallest player on the team in the Red Zone, the defense has nothing to fear and will attack Wilson every time.”
2. Steeler Fever believed the defense would recover after the Jets scored early in the first quarter. “Steelers D has been giving up early TDs, then shutting them down later. Here we go.”
3. And Chris92021 hoped for an easy win early in the game. A couple negative fans actually gave this post a thumbs down: “Please Russell Wilson, shut people like me up with a 3-TD passing game and a comfortable victory.”

The top second-half comments included compliments to Russell Wilson and one for the fans:

1. Mwahahaaa likes Wilson’s arm: “I’d rather have a QB who can get his TDs with his arm instead of with his legs.”
2. Independent73 gushed about the Steelers’ starting quarterback: “RESPECT for Russell Wilson. He put up with a lot of crap this off season. But he took it like a man. Kept this mouth shut. And (he) worked hard. Pretty good performance for his first live action. And he should get even better with more reps.”
3. Alevin16 was proud of the live update respondents: “I have to say I am proud of this board; we are mostly keeping politics out of this. Nice going all!” Of course, one jagoff had to reply with a political statement. Yinzers are going to Yinz, but most agreed with the spirit of the post.

We easily met the 1,000-comment standard in both halves. What a difference a win makes. Hope you all enjoy.

CONCLUSION

Pittsburgh has two capable quarterbacks. One can help the team win now. The other is available whenever needed and could be the quarterback of the future. Both have handled the situation commendably. And perhaps one will serve as the tutor for the heir apparent.

Mike Tomlin made a bold decision. So far, so good. Offense, defense, and special teams combined to create a statement victory. One more game until the bye week. An important game to notch another win before the daunting second-half schedule. Here we go.

Your Song Selection

I always like to include a bit of music. Russell Wilson took us for a slow ride. But then he got us in the mood when he got the rhythm right. Now we can roll all night. Here is Slow Ride performed by Foghat.