Nothing like a little green mouthwash to take that bad taste out of your mouth.
The Pittsburgh Steelers will get that opportunity as they face the Green Bay Packers at home this weekend under the bright lights of Sunday Night Football.
A win against Aaron Rodgers’ former homies would do wonders in providing some amnesia regarding the disappointing loss against the Cincinnati Bengals a week and a half ago, which seems like it was forever ago.
The Steelers had a chance to virtually wrap up the AFC North race with a win against the Bengals, but instead, they watched Evan McPherson kick that expected triumph through the uprights in the waning moments of the game.
Now, Pittsburgh faces a Packers team that is considered to be on the rise and a real contender in this year’s championship drive.
What about our Steelers? Are they contending…or pretending? Let’s give it a Spin.
Speaking Of Green
When the Steelers drafted Darnell Washington in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft, many old-timers reminisced about the “What could have been?” days with former Pittsburgh tight end Eric Green, who played for them in the 90s.
Green was equal in body type to Washington and exploded on the scene in his rookie year, proving to be an unstoppable touchdown machine. He used his enormous girth and athleticism in ways that provided him with an unfair advantage against cornerbacks, safeties, and even many of the linebackers in the league at the time.
Sadly, it was Green’s off-the-field issues that stunted the early hopes of his career.
This is why many of us were so excited when the Steelers drafted Washington. Maybe he could pick up where Green had left off.
Instead, Washington started his career as a forgotten man in the Steelers’ offensive scheme. Forgetting a man that large at his position is no easy task.
Which is why it’s been so pleasing to witness Washington finally being used in all of the ways we had dreamed up for him in the first place.
A 300+ plus tight end, with the ability to take linebackers on wheel route rides. This offensive lineman-sized athlete ran a 4.64 40-yard dash in the NFL Combine. That is moving for a big man.
So, as Washington is finally getting featured in the team’s offensive plans, we’re left to ask, “What took so long?” He had established himself as a highly touted high school player and followed this up with a stellar collegiate career. Why didn’t that translate more instantly to the pros? Why wasn’t he used as a prominent weapon in his first and second years as a Pittsburgh Steeler?
What’s probably most intriguing is hearing his coaches say he could slot into an offensive tackle position and be one of the best in the league. Not too many coaches say that about their tight ends.
If they are being sincere about this statement, and it’s not just coach speak, then Oman Khan should walk the big man into his office and have him ink a 10-year contract. Why not secure a player who could start his career as a top tight end, then finish it as a blue-chip offensive tackle?
Players’ Advocate
Coach Mike Tomlin was recently asked in an interview what he thought about his reputation as a players’ coach, and it was clear that this label ruffled his feathers.
Instead, he explained he preferred being known as a “players’ advocate”. He advocates for his players, but that doesn’t make him a players’ coach.
However, regardless of how Tomlin would like to describe himself to the rest of the world, what can’t be argued against is the consistency of his players’ advocacy of him as a coach and mentor—not just his current players but virtually all the past ones as well.
For all the many years he has been coaching, how many times have you heard former players trashing him after they leave the building?
Pretty much none of them.
Complain about him all you want (and I partake in that sport often here in the Spin), but you can’t question his gifts of being a leader of men.
We just need to make sure that as we measure his alleged faults in game management, strategic analysis, and implementation, we don’t lose sight of his extraordinary talents as well.
Explaining The Angst
As national broadcasters start to report more about the grumblings rising among Steelers fans regarding Coach Tomlin’s tenure in Pittsburgh, it’s important to clear up something.
Nobody dislikes Coach Tomlin. Not really. There aren’t that many in Steelers Nation who don’t appreciate that he is such a highly talented human being in so many ways. In fact, most would say that Pittsburgh has been blessed by his time with the Steelers’ organization.
What they don’t like is being ignored. In fact, that’s what fans hate. They don’t dislike or hate a person…they hate being marginalized. We’re not stupid. We can see what we can see.
When things don’t change year after year, and it doesn’t seem like the coach or the organization is making real efforts to change what needs to be changed…that is what makes people angry.
When it comes down to it, no Steelers fan should be disappointed with Tomlin. It’s not his job to hire himself. It’s not his role to fire himself. It’s not his task to ensure he’s growing in his position.
Tomlin doesn’t own the team, and the organization has made it clear that the fans, in both their words and deeds, don’t either.
The ultimate question will be, “How long will the fans be willing to be ignored?”
Warranting Attention
A rumor is circulating that the Steelers are interested in bringing in another running back before the trade window closes. The name being discussed is the Jets’ Breece Hall.
This is nothing against Hall, as he’s a fine player with a package of skills that don’t entirely exist on the Steelers roster.
But, if this move isn’t anything other than a whisper in the wind, then it says two things. One is that they are already giving up on their third-round draft pick, Kaleb Johnson.
Secondly, it’s that they aren’t properly valuing the contributions of their current starting running back, Jaylen Warren.
I was probably more of a Najee Harris fan than most, but even my appreciation of the former running back couldn’t dissuade me from believing Warren had earned the starting role, even while Harris was still on the team.
As an undrafted free agent in 2022, Warren has exceeded all expectations. He runs every hole as if it will be his last chance to carry a football, and he’s always been elite in his attitude on the field and with his team.
There are plenty of holes on this Steelers roster that need patching. Warren isn’t one of them, and he has long earned his opportunity to finally be in the spotlight.
Give the man the respect and time he earned to show what he can do in this league.
The Rise And Fall Of The NFL
This week’s shocking news of the unfolding betting and corruption scandal in the National Basketball Association should be a wake-up call for every professional sports organization.
If you think the nation’s organized crime syndicates operate exclusively as basketball aficionados, you’re about to have that bubble you live in burst.
The proliferation of gambling in every aspect of daily sports life has exploded so radically that getting all the worms back in the can will be virtually impossible.
Remember when you had to go to Las Vegas, Nevada to legally gamble at a sports book? Now, how many mobile apps are there that will take your wager within a few clicks?
Speaking of Las Vegas, are you, like me, still in shock that an NFL franchise is calling Sin City home?
The greatest of all threats to sports integrity is the prop bets. C’mon…what could possibly go wrong there?
You want to bet whether a player will tie their shoes in the fourth quarter? Lay down your wager.
You want to throw down on whether the ball boy will catch a stray field goal attempt in the game? Will that be cash or check?
If you thought what came out in the news this week about basketball and gambling was shocking, fasten your seat belts, sports fans. This scandal will have a terrible impact on every professional sport.
Oh…and did we say professional sports? That’s right…let’s not forget that college sports are professional now as well. Pretty soon, you’ll be able to bet on Pop Warner football. Maybe you already can.
Any of us who have put cash on a pony at a horse track a time or two are already aware that the fix is in. We’ve learned what it means when the odds on the board suddenly shift precipitously just before the horses burst out of the gate.
You might as well rip up that exacta bet right then. When that horse that broke all the training records and beat all comers in every other race they entered suddenly looks like he couldn’t outrun a Clydesdale in a Budweiser commercial…you know you just gave some crook your money.
We’ve let things get out of hand. The bad news is going to spread, and the National Football League won’t be immune. Sad, but true.
Green With Envy
It may seem strange to be so pessimistic about a team that is 4-2 and is a game and a half above the rest of its division.
But these first-place Steelers haven’t looked like a real contender this year. That is, with the exception of one game this season…their impressive 23-9 crushing of the Cleveland Browns.
Pittsburgh’s four wins came at the soft belly of their season. Up ahead are the Green Bay Packers, the Indianapolis Colts, the Los Angeles Chargers, and then a rematch with the Bengals, who just finished a complete mauling of the Steelers’ defense.
That’s not all that’s ahead in the front window. The Buffalo Bills, the Detroit Lions, and even the surprising Chicago Bears are on the docket.
As of right now, it would be difficult to favor the Steelers in any of those matches.
Following their troubling loss to the Bengals, if they suffer a subsequent setback against the Packers, the dominoes of seasonal doom could really start to fall.
On the flipside, a win against the Green Bay Packers, especially if it’s done in a compelling way, could be precisely what is needed to get Pittsburgh back into…well, contention.
“I could have been a contender.” Hopefully, those words don’t end up being the theme of this year.
We’re about to find out if that’s the case this Sunday.
