Another Spin. Another spin around the sun. Another year in the life of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
It all begins with a game scheduled by the NFL marketing department against the New York Jets, under the big lights in the city that never sleeps. Well…actually, it will be hosted in East Rutherford, New Jersey, but they probably don’t sleep much there either.
Won’t that create incredible drama? Aaron Rodgers having to play in front of tens of thousands of J-E-T-S fans? Will he get revenge? Will he melt under the pressure?
Nah. He don’t care. Rodgers had the same message for all his fans…be they in Green Bay, Pittsburgh, or East Rutherford.
“Relax.”
Rodgers was so chill this year, he didn’t let the Steelers know he would be playing ball with them until the last waning moments of High Noon. Even Gary Cooper was left to wonder.
He didn’t extend the courtesy of signing the deal before the NFL Draft, so the team could properly assess how they should best choose their picks. He didn’t do it right after the draft either, so the young players could start practicing right away with their quarterback.
It wasn’t until the first week of June that ink met paper.
Relax.
Yeah…but no one was relaxing. After years of post-season disappointment or post-season absences altogether, not too many Steelers fans are in Relax Mode anymore.
Steelers Nation has been boo-happy for years now, and if there is a rough start to the season, the choruses of antipathy will be more vibrant than ever. Not even Renegade will prove to be an adequate opium of the masses.
So…will the Steelers be able to leverage a 41-year-old surgically repaired body into a deep run into the playoffs? If anybody says they know, they know nothing. You know nothing, Jon Snow.
There is perhaps more uncertainty leading into this season than there has been in a long, long time. The Steelers have plenty of pieces to a possible championship puzzle. But do they have a championship team? Or will they rinse and repeat underperforming hopes and expectations once again this year?
Those are impossible questions. But we’ll go ahead and give it a Spin.
Duct Tape And WD-40
When you write up a list of the Steelers’ most important players this season, one characteristic will stand out. They are quite old—one would say ancient—museum grade. Together, they are consuming large quantities of the team’s salary cap. How they can hold up in this extended season of NFL football is the story of the year.
The list of members in the 30+ club includes Cam Heyward (36), Darius Slay (34), T.J. Watt (30), Jonnu Smith (30), Jalen Ramsey (30), Isaac Seumalo (31), Chris Boswell (34), and, of course, the aforementioned Rodgers, who is actually closer to getting Social Security benefits than receiving college scholarships.
Those are just the standout players. There are several more in their 30s on this AARP-influenced roster as well. This isn’t exactly a “building for the future” play by the Steelers’ mind trust.
Perhaps running an old folks’ home in the locker room will provide dividends through wisdom and experience. But if the plan works, it will only work because the medical team is able to use duct tape and WD-40 like it has never been used before.
The Ghost Of Super Bowl Past
One of the most bizarre elements of Rodgers’s arrival at the team is that it brings a close to the arc of the story where I believe the Steelers’ greatness as a dominant team was last truly witnessed. It was February 6, 2011, in Super Bowl XlV.
The Steelers entered the big game with a record of 12-4 that season, whereas the Green Bay Packers had eked into the playoffs with a regular-season record of 10-6.
Ben Roethlisberger finished the game 25-of-40 in completions with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Aaron Rodgers outdueled him soundly by finishing 24/39 with three touchdowns and no interceptions.
The last drive, in particular, for Roethlisberger was the most disappointing. It was kind of like three failed bubble screen attempts to Mike Wallace in a row. It was strange play calling, and not Big Ben’s brightest moment that day as an otherwise exciting matchup ended with a whimper.
Yet, that wasn’t the oddest part. At the end, Roethlisberger was quick to proclaim Rodgers as the best quarterback in the NFL. This was a sentiment he re-uttered throughout the next year and beyond.
This was in contrast to the rookie Big Ben, whose teammates said that he was one of the most competitive individuals they had ever met. He would knock over Grandma to get to the ball in a game of ping-pong.
Of course, Roethlisberger performed impressively for many years since, and certainly at a Hall of Fame caliber. No argument started there.
Yet still. There was something left on the field for the team that day, in terms of playoff game clutchness that they haven’t picked up since.
Seeing Rodgers out there in a Steelers uniform is a haunting reminder to me of what once was.
Line Up
As far as prognostications for the Pittsburgh Steelers, I’m laying it all on the line. The offensive line, that is. The Steelers have been investing heavily in the offensive trenches for several years now in terms of high draft picks and expensive free agents.
Arthur Smith’s brightest NFL moments came from developing a road grading crew for the Tennessee Titans years ago.
There seems to be no reason why Pittsburgh can’t boast a top-five rugged, run-blocking offensive line this year. In fact, they should, or the Steelers will need to check on the warranties and return policies of those expensive investments.
This was one of the largest disappointments in the preseason. Why can’t this offensive line create large holes and push the pile collectively? This was even during times when the ones were playing against the other team’s twos. People aren’t going to be able to blame Najee Harris anymore.
Maybe they have been saving their best for the real season…the one that starts Sunday. For me, either they step up significantly as an offensive line this year, or this will be another season in the rocks with holes in the ship’s hull.
Center Of Attention
On that subject, I’m keeping my eyes open carefully to watch Zach Frazier. He ended up being one of the most pleasant surprises of last year’s rookie class. Not only is he being recognized as one of the NFL’s finest young players at his position, but he is already considered one of the top-performing centers overall.
I don’t doubt his value to the team or his talent at the NFL level. I admit to being just a dumb columnist, a voice railing from the cheap seats. But I still don’t totally “get it” yet about the young man.
Certainly, with Dermontti Dawson, the weekly highlight reels of his epic pulls and linebacker blowouts were blatantly clear to see. The same with Alan Fanaca, who would single-handedly open up goal-line gaps that…even a Bus could drive through.
With Mike Webster, his leadership at the line (one packed with great linemen) was obvious every time the Super Bowl-era Steelers broke the huddle.
But Frazier’s highly touted skills seem to be more subtle. I’m looking forward to being more enlightened this year. I do love me a great Steelers center.
Two Easy Ways To Be Stupid
Throughout the Mike Tomlin era (yes…I’m old enough to have watched the last three coaching eras, including Bill Cowher and Chuck Noll…today is my 60th birthday), I’ve learned one thing: It’s easy to be stupid.
You’ll come out looking like an idiot if you doubt Coach Tomlin’s ability to pull his team out of a deep ditch, if the season gets in trouble at any point. Trust me. Stay on the bandwagon. It’s a long, lonely walk otherwise, and that dunce cap gets heavy.
He always gets back up off the mat. He has an uncanny ability to turn things around like no other coach of his time.
At the same time, you can be stupid if you think he will be able to out-scheme other teams when it comes to the playoffs. It’s not that he isn’t a brilliant coach. He is, especially in the area of people management.
But he’s never been a geeky, high-level chess master in this game. It’s not his thing. This team will need to be dominant in player quality and performance in order to have enough momentum to pull them through all the way to the glorious end.
So, this year, I’m going to take Rodger’s advice. I’m going to Relax. I’m not going to get too hyped if they get on a roll. I’m also not going to get too depressed or angry if they hit a rut in the road.
Relax.
That’s the theme for this year.
Because as to the question of “How good could the Steelers be this season?”…we’re truly heading into The Great Unknown.
One thing is for certain. This season won’t be boring.
So here’s to another year of Spins, dear friends. Are you in? The show is about to begin.
