This is a very fine time of year on the calendar for Steelers fans. We are in the period in which we hardly experience the annual indignity of the team.
We are just far enough away from the hurt we have suffered since the franchise came out of the dispute.
That empty, empty space between the end of the game and free association as we think to ourselves: ‘Last year was not as bad as we thought. The club is just a few adjustments away from another Super Bowl run! ‘
This time of year, Pittsburgh football fans traditionally return to a long list of Steelers errors. Things about the organization that we simply establish because we want it to be true, whether it is now or not. Beliefs about the team built on flawed beliefs or unhealthy arguments.
You know, things like …
“It’s a Super Bowl team if Ben Roethlisberger doesn’t get hurt.”
• ‘They were only a few plays away in 2018.’
• “Things would have turned out differently if the refs had not confused the Jesse James call.”
• ‘They just had a few bad breaks with injuries.’
If my Twitter email and email are an indication, in 2021 it looks thicker than ever. The answers I get are a full 180 degrees. Two months ago, I felt like most readers all wanted to run away from the city.
Now people want to know why I no longer have confidence in the Steelers’ chances in the AFC playoffs.
Here are some of the ‘mistakes’ that are gaining steam as I feel that many people are throwing themselves into a false optimism for 2021.
The 11-0 Steelers were the real Steelers: And, by extension, the 1-5 end of the 2020 season was ‘just a slump’.
It suddenly became the most common rallying point in the fan base. However, there are three problems with this narrative.
First, the way the team ended is a more indication of the ‘real Steelers’ than how it started, as it’s clear that opponents’ coaches needed about ten weeks to figure out what exactly offended the Steelers. do.
Specifically what they hid. Like a total lack of confidence in the running game and the inability of the offensive line, receivers and Roethlisberger to create an interim pass that needed more than 2.2 seconds to develop.
Second, if you lose in the playoffs against Washington, the Cincinnati Bengals, and a coveted edition of the Cleveland Browns, then it’s really at the end of the season.
And third, if the 11-0 Steelers were the ‘real Steelers’, how can you trust that they will be just as good in 2021 as losing their best receiver, rusher, maybe three attacking lineouts, the first off line, at least one cornerback and maybe tackle the nose?
If the 11-0 team was really that good, boy, would he lose a lot of what made it so good in the first place. Am I right?
Alex Highsmith showed something last year: Really? What exactly did he show? How was this discussion point taken up so quickly in Pittsburgh?
In Highsmith I saw a smart guy. Stable. Adult. A player who is not overwhelmed as a rookie. I saw a man who looks like he’s going to be decent one day.
I potentially saw Arthur Moats or maybe Clark Haggans.
But I did not see the ability to see 19.5 bags in 26 games, as I saw from Bud Dupree before the knee injury probably ended his Steelers career.
What I saw was one bag in six starts. I saw one solo attack in the playoffs. So let’s pump brakes to hand over the full – time job to Highsmith and expect a lot of impact.
Things Will Be Different When Devin Bush Comes Back From Injury: You sure? Because I’ve seen a defense quickly defend without Dupree, while I’ve seen one keep his head above water with Robert Spillane in place of Bush.
In fact, I saw six wins in a row without Bush. I saw the defense go 1-5, after Dupree left the tie.
It’s funny that there’s a belief in Pittsburgh that Bush will come back from his ACL injury and be just fine, but Dupree will not be planning wherever he goes into free service due to his knee injury.
Hmm. Give. I wonder why this is so?
The offensive line will pick up by seeing subtraction: This one is not completely wrong.
Age seems to be catching up with Alejandro Villanueva and Maurkice Pouncey. And Matt Feiler’s move was dumb from the moment it was attempted.
If all the guys go away, it might not be the worst result ever. But whoever replaces it should also be part of the conversation.
I feel good about Kevin Dotson on left guard. Maybe David DeCastro will get well again in 2021. But the starting day of the attack could be Chuks Okorafor and Zach Banner recovering from knee surgery. Or a rookie concept choice on the one hand.
The center could be an unknown rookie, JC Hassenauer or BJ Finney – who just washed up in Seattle and Cincinnati.
Part of ‘addition by subtraction’ is who the team adds to replace those deducted. And if it’s about the offensive opening day, I’m still significant about the unit.
The Steelers always find a way: Over the past ten years we’ve seen four seasons where Mike Tomlin’s teams missed the playoffs and four years when they lost their first playoff game.
In their last three playoff games – losing everything – they have collectively allowed 129 points. And in their last three seasons, they went from 11-0 to 12-5 (losing to Cleveland), 7-2-1 to miss the playoffs, and 8-5 to miss the playoffs.
So if the Steelers always “find a way”, I wonder where that “direction” is headed.
And I wonder to myself that in 2021 it was more than ever before.
Tim Benz is a staff writer for Tribune-Review. You can contact Tim at [email protected] or via Twitter. All tweets can be re-posted. Unless otherwise stated, all emails are subject to publication.
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