My thoughts on the wildcard

I wanted Mitchell too but it's too early to give up on Fautanu, the whole OL had a rough game.

 

nothing fits a roster that is led by Tomlin and Smith and a faux DC.......

 

Miami was a dumpster fire had the trade not happened Ramsey/Smith likely would have been part of it as well. Minkah staying in Pittsburgh would have contributed to the mediocre secondary play they had all season. It's a wash at this point.

 

Fautanu picked a bad time to have his worst game of the season
The secondary is really slow Echols was getting cooked
Disappointed in Watt and Highsmith I thought they would apply more pressure on the QB
Rodgers wasn't good but the OL didn't give him enough time to make plays
It seems every play to Jonnu is negative to no yards, yet he stays on the field

 

This is the only one I disagree with. I'm no huge Rodgers fan. But he's given us the best QB play since Ben.

He was under SEIGE the whole game against Huston. Our OLine looked completely INEPT. They were abused. Every move by a Huston defender left someone in their wake - either whiffing or getting set on their a$$. And when he did have a little time to throw, Rodgers didn't get any support by this inept receiving corps. Metcalf was the biggest offensive disappointment of the season. He's a specimen of an athlete and the only one who could get open with any consistency against Huston. But he also has inconsistent hands of stone. And he's a headcase.

And with the way Rodgers was getting pressure, I don't know why they didn't call more plays to roll him out of a pocket that rarely existed for more than a second.

The entire offensive unit and staff needs an overhaul. There are a few players that deserve to come back, like the running backs. But otherwise, I'd do a lot of house cleaning. No way is Metcalf worth his contract. No team in the league fears defending this receiving corps.

 

A what was a great dynasty down the drain.

 

Point one: Well, except fot anyone who played the '85 Bears...

 

All true but they shouldn't have even been there if a Rat made a FG last week. So, win some lose some.

 

And being the highest paid defense in football to boot. ROI sucks.

 

I get this idea. And if we had a guy I thought could ascend at QB, I'd be all for it. Maybe Howard can be that guy, but I'd like to see him play in a preseason game before anointing him as a starter. Mason is just a guy IMO (although it was so refreshing to have a JAG come in for Kenny). I also don't have much faith in the draft class. And after Kenny, I don't want us to draft a QB just to draft a QB.

But the team isn't going to tank.

The business model is to try to put the best team they can on the field every year without selling out the future. We don't really put guys in for development.

I won't be upset if they let Rodgers go. But if they do the team will likely be worse. So I think they'll try to bring him back.

Same thing with Tomlin.

I'll be OK with it if we blow it up. But I don't think we will.

And if we don't blow it up, I think bringing Rodgers back gives us the best chance to be watchable next season (instead of another Kenny-type season).

And if we gave him 2 NFL WRs, maybe the offense could be something.

 

I hate to say it, but I think AR coming back might be our best option for 2026.

We snagged the #21 pick in the 1st round. We are not getting a top QB from that. Heck, we would be lucky to get the 7th QB available because so many ahead of us also need a QB. Additionally, the Steelers are not going to start a rookie QB. Of all the consistencies that Tomlin has, that is a pretty set in stone one. He plays veterans. Rookies play when a vet is injured. Year 2, rookies play a little bit and if they do well, they get some more play time. So IMO, we are never starting a rookie QB going into the season.

We have a lot of holes to fill. They must adjust the money split between the defense and offense. Our extremely expensive defense has been routinely owned by bad QBs. We do need some holes plugged on the defense, but just as important, we have to lower our money obligations on the defense so some can be moved to the offense. The offense needs help. They have been wildly inconsistent all year, but never putting up a really stellar game. They had good games, but not awesome ones. Our run has been successful against teams that suck. Against teams with a good run D, we have been shut down. We had 30ish yards of rushing 1 game. It should never be that bad for a team that prides itself on a physical run game. And we all know about the WR issue. We are never going to have a passing game when there is a single WR of note and a big chunk of the plays seem to go to the least productive TE on the team (Smith).

It is kicking the can down the road, but having an awesome QB won't do much for this team if we can't fix that O line. The Joe Burrow problem. If he ever had a truly good O line, the Bengals would set NFL scoring records. Their defense would probably suck, but at least they would put up a lot of points. So I actually see a QB as a problem, but one that is a smaller issue than many other holes on the team........and that does not even get into the coaching issues.

So, I think that bringing AR back can kick the can down the road 1 more year and maybe allow us to shed some cap weight as we plug some holes that must be plugged to allow a QB to succeed and maybe face a draft with a bit less competition for a top QB......but, he has probably had more than enough of a 'no losing seasons' culture and is ready for the beach with his new bride and so won't even be an option.

 

Jonnu, only 3 targets on Monday (felt like a lot more). 2 receptions, -1 yards total.

 

I don't like it, but I think it is going to have to happen. The issues we have are not going to be fixed in a single season, and that is with coaching that can fix the issues which we don't have (IMO). Although, I suppose we could just play Rudolph and take our medicine. The result will probably be similar. I just don't have any hopes that 2026 is any better than 2025. There are too many pieces missing. And the Steelers never move fast on big items. We will think, talk, dither and finally come to a decision to get a QB or new HC (if Tomlin leaves) only to find that all the top picks are already gone. But we will get someone, overpay them and end up with a crappy result like always.

 

If the best QB play we have had since prime Ben only gets us to 10-7 and 6 points with 3 turnovers by the defense then I don’t want it.

 

Keeping Watt is a business decision (face of the franchise, sells season tickets). Not a football decision.

As a team that won't ever tank, they aren't going to sell off the best player the team has had since Ben because it signals the wrong message.

They aren't going to do anything that significantly damages the present for the medium term. It's just how this team is run.

 

I wouldn't mind if we sold off some of the present to try to be better in the medium term.

But if that's not something we're going to do (I don't think we will), Rodgers is probably our best bet.

 

Jonnu's entire season with the Steelers:



And yet the OC felt it was a good idea to have him on the field more than Muth. Go figure.

 

If the failures were spectacular like this, I think it would be easier for Rooney to blow the whole thing up.

Our problem is that we're consistently like a better version of the Bills when they were between Kenny and Allen. Better because we're good enough to make the playoffs more often than not. But still not good enough to actually do anything. And not bad enough to pick a good QB.

 

I'm not giving up on him entirely, but I am absolutely certain that he will never be as good as Mitchell. The Eagles got two years of elite play from Mitchell already. The Steelers got almost nothing out of Fautanu as a rookie, and they got largely poor play out of him this year. He is never going to be good enough to justify the value they gave up in Mitchell.

 

It was a stupid decision. Ultimately, fans root for laundry, not faces of the franchise. The Steelers used to have the sense and the balls to move on when it was time. This past offseason was time to move on from Watt. They screwed it up.

That may not be how they are run now, but it used to be and it still should be the way they are run.