Welcome back to your weekly Pittsburgh Steelers mailbag. As always, we’re here for the next hour to answer whatever is on your mind.
To your questions!
Jeremy: Yahya Black is a first off the bus guy. Who are your first 5 current guys off the bus to give maximum intimidation to the offense? Who is a historical guy (other than Shade Tree) who might not have been an All Star, but definitely belonged in a first off the bus group?
Alex: Hey Jeremy. Fun question. Here’s my list. I’m just going to include the whole team to intimidate the offense or opposing defense.
1. DK Metcalf – Obviously. Freakiest-built receiver in the NFL.
2. Cam Heyward – Hot take but the grey in his beard is intimidating. Says “I’ve been here for a long time and still kicking butt.” And he is. Dude is also 6’5, 300 pounds.
3. Isaac Seumalo – Guy is all business. Mean mug itself will rattle the opponent.
4. Darnell Washington. That guy plays tight end is how I assume most would react if they didn’t know any better. Because he looks like any offensive tackle.
5. Jeremiah Moon – I’ll give a sleeper name similar to your suggestion of Black. Moon came out of Florida at a listed 6046, 247 pounds with 35-inch arms. You can’t build a player better than that. Of course, he’s not lived up to that potential but off the bus, he looks like the guy.
All-time? If we put aside the stars and obvious choices (Joe Greene, Mel Blount, Greg Lloyd, and the like), I’ll rattle a couple names off:
1. DT Big Daddy Lipscomb – A great player in his day and one of the first true athletic “big men” in NFL history. And the thought of someone asking who that guy is to hear “His name is Gene but everyone calls him ‘Big Daddy.'”
2. Levon Kirkland – This one probably borders on the more obvious pick but you could land a 737 on his shoulder blades. They don’t make ’em like Kirkland anymore and that’s a shame.
Jacoby54: Hey Alex! Appreciate all you and the crew do for us starving for information fans! In your opinion, who are the three guys you’re most looking forward to seeing in Training Camp? Rookie or vet. To me, the obvious one is Broderick. What can he do in year 3, what can he do on the left, what can he do with his playing experience? All comes down to this season for him, imo. Next would be Troy F. I think/hope he can be everything we hoped for and more. He looked great in TC, for the most part, looked solid in his very limited action. Don’t need 5 all stars on the OL but hope he can have a season like Frazier last year. Third is either Roman or JPJ. Can the second year man make a jump after missing the entire season? Or essentially the entire season. Can JPJ put it all together and keep the flags in the refs pockets? Those three are what I’m looking forward to the most! Just curious if yours differed. Thanks!
Alex: Hey Jacoby, thanks so much!
That’s a great but difficult question to answer. To try and narrow it down to just three. I try to go in with a clean slate on everyone except the stars who you don’t need to pay much attention to because they’re so established. I think you’re right on when it comes to the tackles. If Jones can bounce back. Fautanu in hopefully a full season off his injury. And then I’ll say Roman Wilson for similar reasons.
To choose a non-young guy, I’ll say Darius Slay and how he looks well into his 30s. Played well last year but want to see what he looks like another year older.
Stephen Jacobson: Hey Alex! Thanks for your work as always. I am curious to see your grade for the Khan/Weidl front office through 3 drafts and free agency. I believe that its B+ work. Just curious about your thoughts. Thanks
Alex: I don’t have one, to be honest. Not yet. Still hard to evaluate say, last year’s draft, one year in. Especially with some of the guys hurt. A B+ doesn’t sound bad. I might say B. But I really hadn’t given it a lot of thought. I see the vision thought to go all-in to address the trenches. And I can appreciate that approach. No doubt influenced by Weidl’s background in Baltimore and Philly and even Pittsburgh, where he was an intern in ’98 when the Steelers drafted Alan Faneca in the first round.
Kelly ohl: Great work Alex… I have this weird feeling Rodgers is waiting for another opportunity to arise before he signs with the Steelers. I think he knows he has until at least mandatory minicamp, maybe training camp. All the secretive hints are just to string the team along. He’s a smart dude and other than respect for coach T, nothing else excites him about this team. Thoughts? P.s. sorry for bringing this up and I’m ready for it to be over one way or another
Alex: Who knows. I’ve had the thought of Minnesota jumping back in. Not that I necessarily believe Rodgers is waiting for that or Minnesota has a secret plan but the Vikings basically wanted to evaluate McCarthy in the spring. His health and play. If they feel uneasy about either, could they look at Rodgers? When that chatter came up before, the door seemed closed because most (myself included) figured Rodgers would’ve signed/decided by now. And yet…here we are. So something I’m keeping an ear out for.
My belief for why Rodgers hasn’t signed? He doesn’t want to go to OTAs or minicamp. He’s a vet and most would prefer to skip. Not signing allows him to do so without him personally feeling any obligation or requirement to do so.
Banastre Tarleton:
Hi Alex!
A lot of people have commented about being tired of the Rodgers saga. What are the top five stories you got sick of writing about since you began SD?
Alex: (I misread your question at first but will leave my answer of top five articles below).
Top five I’m sick of…Aiyuk was definitely one of them for virtually the same reason as Rodgers. Never-ending will-he/won’t-he where you/the media just run out of things to say about a week in but have to keep discussing it for months. Boring.
Other stories I was sick of? Not 100% sure. The Fields/Wilson debate got tiresome last year but not quite to the same degree. Lots of the “will they fire/trade Tomlin” is dumb. Damien Woody even mentioning it today. Why? Dude, it’s May. Pick something else.
(my original answer of my faves below)
Oh wow, awesome question. And we’re like you guys. We’d prefer not to write about it and have an answer by now. Especially after the Aiyuk stuff last year.
I’d have to spend some more thought to give you a best answer and I’m sure I’ve forgotten about several stories I really enjoyed writing. I’ve loved getting to write about Steelers’ history. Researching Paul Moss, who scored the first offensive TD in team history, was a lot of fun. Can’t believe I wrote it back in 2017.
My mock offseasons are always fun. That’s an annual series but I do enjoy the heck out of them. A chance to write more freely and creatively is always welcomed. Similar with my best/worst case scenario for each rookie class. 2025’s will come soon enough. A couple others to mention.
My “Big Book of Arthur Smith” I felt was really comprehensive and I got good feedback on. And my breakdown of a Vikings blitz that broke the Steelers’ protection was a fun X’s and O’s article.
I’ll link to each below.
Paul Moss Article
Mock Offseason
Best/Worst Case Scenarios
Big Book of Arthur Smith
“Purple Rain:” How Minnesota Broke Pittsburgh’s Protection
