The Pittsburgh Steelers surprised many when they jumped out to a hot start last year. They were on top of the AFC North for much of the season. Unfortunately, they couldn’t seal the deal, losing their final four games of the regular season. This year, they’re hoping to not only improve upon that, but fight to win the Super Bowl. That’s why they signed Aaron Rodgers. However, former NFL WR Greg Jennings, who played with Rodgers, doesn’t have high expectations for the Steelers.
“[Rodgers] was a spectacular quarterback,” Jennings said Thursday on FS1’s The Herd. “He’s not that version of Aaron Rodgers that we’ve seen in years past. Can he show flashes of that? Of course, but the level of consistency of having that be sustained, we haven’t seen it.
“We have not seen it since his second-to-last year in Green Bay. I’m not picking the Pittsburgh Steelers to do anything this year. It doesn’t have a whole lot to do with Aaron Rodgers. I’ve seen this team, in years past, just barely get by because of other teams in that AFC conference not living up to what the expectations were for them.”
Jennings’ criticism of Rodgers is fair. He hasn’t been as consistently great as he once was. Part of that is because of his injury issues, and another is because he’s in his 40s. Not many quarterbacks continue to play that well at this stage of their career.
However, Jennings also makes it clear that Rodgers isn’t the reason why he’s down on the Steelers. He just doesn’t believe that they can continue to maintain the success that they’ve had.
It’s true that the Steelers have been doubted a lot in recent seasons. People have been expecting Mike Tomlin to have his first losing season as a head coach. That noise was particularly loud last year, but the Steelers overperformed, finishing 10-7.
Jennings isn’t wrong that some AFC teams have underwhelmed recently. Last year, that included the Cincinnati Bengals, Miami Dolphins, and New York Jets. However, their failures have nothing to do with the Steelers. Also, teams disappoint in the NFL. The Steelers have been one of the most consistent teams in the league, and that shouldn’t be a knock against them.
Could this be the year that the Steelers finally have a losing record? Maybe, but that hasn’t happened since 2003. Through a lot of different changes, the Steelers have continued to remain in the playoff picture. Their roster looks talented. They might not be Super Bowl contenders, but the Steelers should be able to fight for a playoff spot again.
