Even for an old-school runner like Jerome Bettis, he knows the path to the Pittsburgh Steelers prospering means finding a quarterback. Opining why the Steelers continue to struggle, Bettis pointed to a lack of high-end talent around their current average quarterback play with a lack of finding a franchise quarterback to carry everyone on his shoulders.
“Right now, the Steelers have gone through this window of time where they’ve been trying to figure out the quarterback situation and they have failed,” Bettis said Thursday on the Dan Patrick Show. “They have not gotten it right. So I think that’s what they gotta figure out. I think if you put Russell [Wilson] in the position where he’s got two really good receivers, a really good offensive line, a good running back, he can be successful.
“But to ask Russell Wilson to carry this football team on his back at the quarterback position, I think it’s unfair to him at this stage in his career.”
Most quarterbacks would succeed with a great roster around them. The Steelers are clearly short of that. They have a talented No. 1 wideout in George Pickens, a competent tight end in Pat Freiermuth, a young o-line that has potential but hasn’t met it, and an average backfield. Despite consistent changes, the Steelers haven’t made that side of the ball potent. Nor have they found a long-term franchise arm. It hasn’t been for a lack of trying, the Steelers turning to a new quarterback every year since Ben Roethlisberger retired in Mitch Trubisky, Kenny Pickett, and Russell Wilson, but no one has stuck.
Bettis was high on the Wilson signing, remarking in May that he’d be “special” for the Steelers, but his season ended with a whimper as Pittsburgh went down with a five-game losing streak.
If the team can’t find a franchise arm, then building up the offense around whoever is at quarterback is Bettis’ approach.
“They need a second receiver,” he told the show. “A big-time receiver. They don’t have one on the other side of George Pickens. They’ve got to figure out about George Pickens in terms of can he be the player that they need him to be. On the field, off the field.”
The Steelers did little to address the hole left by Diontae Johnson following his trade to the Carolina Panthers and what they tried didn’t work. Van Jefferson, Mike Williams, and an injured Roman Wilson weren’t the answers.
Jerome Bettis’ answers are fair and accurate. Find a quarterback. Add a big-play receiver. Create a great offensive line. But all easier said than done for a Steelers team struggling to turn those questions into solid answers.
