Rodgers

Absolutely. There are multiple teams that are clearly in the process of rebuild and whatnot around the league.

I do not believe the Titans are in any way shape or form attempting to go to the SB this upcoming season. Raiders, Cardinals, Jets similar. Those teams are all acquiring pieces and evaluating young players and new coaches.

 

AND EVERY ONE OF THOSE TEAMS
FEEL THEY WILL CONTEND FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP

 

I'm in agreement that there are teams that simply are not going to compete at a SB level right now. We know they aren't and they know they aren't. Do you think any of these teams are looking at the season thinking, might as well shoot for a top 10 pick then? I don't.

 

Why not? Patriots won 4 games in 2024 and made it to the Super Bowl in '25. Other than Maye... they didn't have much. Cam Ward could be better than Maye with the right weapons and OL around him.

 

I absolutely do. The Browns did not make the decisions that a team serious about winning the MOST number of games in a single season would have made. They made decisions based on player evaluation, dude's trying to save their jobs, and goodness knows what else.

Every former NFL employee that did things on coaching staff's or in front offices I have heard speak on it or have read things they said, has acknowledged that far less than 32 teams are honestly attempting to appear in the SB each year, much less win one.

 

And, yet, the Titans had over $17 million in unused 2025 cap space.

 

Titans are actually better off than Steelers right now. They have their franchise QB, more cap space and drafting in the top 10.

 

Did they or did they not go to the playoffs with Rodgers who the Jets didn't want anymore , and couldn't win with??
Did they, or Did they not take Russell Wilson who lost his job in Denver, to the playoffs, and then He got a contract with the Giants to lose his job again??
Did they , or Did they not take Justin Fields to the playoffs after Chicago couldn't win anything with him, and then the Jets sign him to a big deal because the Steelers made it look like He was fixed, and then the Jets benched him??
Did they , or did they not take Mason, Trubisky, and Pickett to the playoffs, all who can only be backups elsewhere???
You know it's one thing to dislike something, but it's a whole different thing to dislike something so bad that You will change actual facts in your own mind.
Tell me how if nobody else could do anything with those Qbs, yet we made the playoffs with them Did we do less with more, and make it actually make sense for people still interested in real-life thoughts.
Also in a league that has a cap. Nobody is doing more with less.

 

Then why can't Steelers win a playoff game?

 

Is it ok to use the Browns in an example now? Lol


I just do not believe teams are already thinking they will not even try. I think the Browns(you example) are looking at FA, draft, etc with the expectation to be competitive. It's not how they finished last season, it's the mindset how this season will start.

 

I laugh at all the a losing season could, or would help. Everyone points to Ben being draft after a losing season, but fails to mention the other losing seasons where we didn't get better, or a good Qb

 

Answer the questions I put forth.
You can't truthfully without it scrambling everything you want to believe

 

Steelers made the playoffs in 1989 after getting Woodson, Lloyd, etc.... after losing seasons in mid to late 80's.
Steelers made the playoffs in 1992 after Cowher's first draft of Kirkland, Searcy and Steed.

Losing seasons of '98 and '99 begat the team that made the AFC Championship in 2001.

So... losing seasons really did make the team better.

 

Actually........ losing seasons of '98, '99 and '03 begat SBXL and SBXLIII teams. Truth so pure.

 

How many SBs did any of that bring??
How is just winning a playoff game any better than just making a playoff game???
The Bills win playoff games every year, it sure hasn't helped to get to the SB matter of fact, we have been to the SB 3 times since they have.
The Texans have won a playoff game the last 3 years in a row, boy they are rolling in SBs. LoL

 

So have the Bills.

 

Do read what I actually write, or do you just glance at it??
I wrote the Bills in that already.

 

Sure. I can buy that. But once the Browns moved off Flacco and rotated through their various rookie QBs like used gym socks....they were no longer seriously considering winning games as a priority.

Teams with tens of millions of dollars in unspent cap space are not attempting to win the most amount of games possible. If they were, they would be spending right to the limit at all times to get the best 53 man roster possible.

Look at the moves the Dolphins are making right now. Are those the moves a team that is honestly attempting to win the 2026 SB makes?

 

EXCEPT AGAINST
Bills
US
Bengals
3 games to close out season
yep your theory holds water

 

Don't know what to tell you. If you think that every team in the NFL or any pro sports league for that matter, has as its #1 priority winning a championship each season....you are buying into a myth.

It simply isn't true. For instance, no one working in the upper levels of Raiders decision making really believes they are going to the SB in 2026. If they do, I would like some of whatever they are taking.

 

I honestly don't know what the Dolphins are doing. I know they fired the coach and GM, and cut Hill. But I think those were moves to get, 1. Better, and 2. Cap compliant. Probably more cuts coming if I heard the report correctly. BUT, they are not currently trying to get better draft position for next year's draft by being worse. That's the point.

 

Ok. I am fine if we want to draw a distinction between tanking and everything else.

But the Miami Dolphins have no intentions of competing for the 2026 SB. Anyone in their organization who says otherwise is a liar and potentially self-delusional.

And, honestly, the 2026 Pittsburgh Steelers are not competing for a SB either. They are installing a new system and finding a QB. Anything else they accomplish is gravy.

 

I believe you and I already agreed we believe this is a bridge situation with McCarthy to hopefully find and develop the next franchise QB. So yes, winning the SB while doing that would be gravy.

However, the point I'm trying to make is we are not trying to collect high draft picks over winning games while using this bridge HC.

 

I never meant to imply that the Steelers were. They clearly do not believe in season outcome planning the way some teams do.

While I am not sure that there are teams that go into every seasons planning on losing, I do believe that some teams lean into it once that becomes clear what is happening.

I am also as sure as I am sitting here typing this that there are multiple teams that at the highest levels know they are not honestly trying to win a SB in a given season. Players and coaches may feel and even believe differently. But team officials removed from the direct on the field results know.

 

Sounds good to me!