Steelers Are Mired in Mediocrity
Another season and another ugly first round playoff loss. The Steelers are mired in mediocrity. And, they have been for almost a decade. Something needs to change. Because continuing this cycle is insanity. When will Art Rooney II wake up? Or, is this the product he wants? When will the fans wake up? Or, is this the product they want to pay thousands of dollars to watch? I will tell you this. I’m getting numb to the Steelers like I got numb to the Pirates.
Wins vs. Big Wins
My son-in-law is a Jacksonville Jaguars fan. We get into some heated discussions about the state of the Jaguars franchise and the state of the Steelers franchise. My point is that I expect big wins. In other words, playoff wins. His point is that he would be happy to have wins during the regular season. This usually stems from a debate about Mike Tomlin. I always tell him he can have Tomlin. He always responds that he would take him in a heartbeat.
But, isn’t the goal of every team to get to the Super Bowl? It’s not to win ten games in the regular season and not make the playoffs. Or to win ten games and embarrass yourself in a wildcard playoff game.
I’m not angry at Tomlin. He’s a fairly good regular season coach. But, he is not capable when the big games come. You can see that the team is ill-prepared for the moment. A little more emotion from Tomlin would go a long way.
Cycle
I spend hours watching Steelers games every season. And, I even miss out on some things to watch them. I don’t remember being this frustrated with the Steelers. They win just enough games to get in the playoffs, then embarrass the franchise with an ugly playoff loss. The end result is that they get a low first round draft pick. And, then they butcher the first round pick. Just look at the last few years.
The franchise is in a cycle of horror. And, I don’t see a light ahead. In the past, there were downward spirals while they searched for a quarterback. Ultimately, they would have a bad season and draft a quarterback like Ben Roethlisberger. Then, they would break the cycle of mediocrity. That isn’t happening this time.
Defense
The Steelers spent millions upon millions of dollars on their defensive players. Then, they spend nothing on a defensive coordinator. In fact, the defensive coordinator would not be hired by any other team in the league. Anyway, can you say humiliating? They are so soft. And, they can’t tackle. More importantly, they don’t play to the occasion. Meaning, they don’t show up for big games.
TJ Watt keeps supporting Tomlin every season. Why? Are you comfortable playing out your career and never even sniffing the Super Bowl? If the answer is yes, then you are a very selfish player. Your goal should be getting to the Super Bowl for the fans that help pay your salary. Your goal should not be to protect a coach who is incapable of getting the team to the Super Bowl.
Offense
The Arthur Smith experiment didn’t work. Honestly, there were times I thought things looked brighter on offense. But, in the end, they looked like the same broken offenses from the past five years. It doesn’t matter how good of a coach you are. When the players stink, you don’t have a chance to succeed.
The Steelers need to find a quarterback who is ready to shine from the quarterback junkyard. Like the Minnesota Vikings found Sam Darnold. Don’t be enticed by the quarterback garbage that will be in free agency. Alert. The Steelers starting quarterback for next season should not be on the roster right now.
Coaching Tree
Name me one Tomlin coordinator that became a coach with another team. And, you can’t say Bruce Arians because he was a Cowher carryover.
Conclusion
It comes down to this. Fire the entire coaching staff and start again. Or, find a superstar long-term quarterback. In the NFL, you must have competent coaches and a reliable quarterback to succeed. Period. And, the Steelers lack both as of today. At least the Jaguars have the quarterback.
