Pittsburgh Stuck in Steel

When sports teams are created, they often times take on the persona of the cities they are in or attached to in some capacity. From the Rams & Chargers embracing the laid back life of Los Angeles to Philly fans embracing their inner anger and frustration to Dallas fans continuing the hope that this is "their year" if you will. Yet no team has embraced or even helped to define what a city is all about like the Pittsburgh Steelers.

For years, the Steelers have been, more or less, the definition of what Pittsburgh is all about. In fact, there was a time where they could've been known as the definition of Pennsylvania. Their dynasty of four Super Bowl wins in the 1970s was their ticket into the lexicon of America's pop culture. We know The Steel Curtain, Terry Bradshaw, Swann & Stallworth, Franco Harris, and of course Chuck Noll. All beloved even to this very day.

Then can a time when the Steelers were transitioning out of that era and seeking a new identity for the team. Once again, they would embrace the city and it's toughness by way of defense with the nickname, Blitzburgh, being used to describe the insane ability to get to the quarterback from the likes of Kevin Greene, Greg Lloyd, Levon Kirkland, and Chad Brown. This would see the Steelers make their fifth Super Bowl appearance in 1995, though they would lose to the Dallas Cowboys thanks to Neil O'Donnell.

And then came the 2000s, which saw "The Chin" Bill Cowher win his only Super Bowl in 2005 with another great defense and strong ground game. And it would only be three years later that the Steelers would once again be back in the Super Bowl with head coach Mike Tomlin and played, what could be considered, one of the greatest Super Bowls in NFL history to win their sixth title. They would only need two years before they would be back again in 2010 against the Green Bay Packers, where they would come up just short.

However, this would be the team's last championship appearance to date. As of the this past season, Pittsburgh is 3-9 in the playoffs under Mike Tomlin, with four straight losses coming over the last five seasons. Yet despite all this, Tomlin's 18 non-losing seasons record is what always seem to be mentioned. 

To be upfront, Tomlin's feat is a truly amazing testament to his coaching prowess and pedigree at the highest level. There is no doubt (in my mind) that he will be headed for the Hall of Fame when he finally calls it a career. But I do think it's time though that we had serious talk about the direction of the team.

Perhaps a tad of an exaggeration, but it seems like the Steelers have continued to embrace the same culture and team style for just over 50 years: play great defense & establish the run while personifying the city of Pittsburgh's toughness. It's worked for so many years in producing numerous playoff & AFC championship appearances alongside their six titles. 

How's that old saying go again: if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Makes sense for most things, right? Why ever fix what's worked well & achieve the results and outcome that everyone desires.

And to suggest the Steelers' long term style is broken would probably be wrong. However, it is possible to say that their style of play is outdated and overrated at this point and time.

The Steelers' recent move to trade pro bowl safety Minkah Fitzpatrick to the Miami Dolphins for pro bowl cornerback Jalen Ramsey & tight end Jonnu Smith seems like a move to help upgrade the Pittsburgh's offense adding a pro bowl TE while maintaining some consistency on defense, with the likelihood of moving Ramsey from CB to FS to fill Fitzpatrick's role. 

But digging deeper, it feels like a desperation heave to add a pass catcher to roster thin on receiving targets outside of star wideout DK Metcalf (who felt like an overcompensating move) & starting TE Pat Freiermuth on offense while adding basically the same player on defense with more accolades. Definitely not what I would call a "championship move" at first glance.

Especially when you look at the current salary cap of $279M & the Steelers have more than half of that ($154.4M) allocated towards the defense (ranks 1st in the NFL) and their top defensive player, EDGE/LB T.J. Watt, is sitting out wanting a new contract from the team (or proof they're trying to win a championship).

And adding Jalen Ramsey puts another very outspoken personality on a roster with two already on it with Metcalf and newly signed quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Now the Steelers have had outspoken personalities in the locker room in the past, but history shows that they will not last long once they start to "act up" and/or voice their opinions in any capacity (See any example of Antonio Brown, Le'Veon Bell, or Chase Claypool.)

Pittsburgh is a team that has not found a suitable replacement at QB since Ben Roethlisberger retired in 2021. They drafted Kenny Pickett in the 1st round 2022 out of Pitt after he put on a show for the college football world (though much of his success would be applied to star WR Jordan Addison). But after two average-to-below-average seasons of QB play, they traded Pickett to Philadelphia.

They then tried this past season to uses, not one, but two different QBs to create an offense for themselves in Russell Wilson and Justin Fields. Combined, they threw for over 3000 yards & 21 TDs while running for over 400 yards & scoring 7 TDs on the ground. All that with a 10-7 record that gave then a wildcard spot in the playoffs. Sounds like a good season. That is until you look closer.

Fields won 4 of the first 6 games of the 2024 season, but only threw for over 200 yards twice in that time against the Chargers & Colts. He then was benched for Russell Wilson (who was injured during preseason into the regular season) for the rest of the year, where he would win 6 of his first 7 starts. But over the last 5 games of the season, the Steelers would go 1-4 with Wilson throwing for over 200 yards twice as well in that stretch (first against the Ravens & then against the Chiefs).

Now they move on to Aaron Rodgers; a QB that is a certified Hall of Famer coming off two years spent with the New York Jets. Some would say it's an upgrade over last year, which by his numbers (3897 Yds, 28 TDs 63.0 Cmp%), most would agree. But after another offseason of stories & passive aggressive attitude combined with declaring this is his "last year", it doesn't feel like solid ground to stand on.

Add on to the fact that they just traded former No.1 team wideout George Pickens to Dallas alongside a young and inexperienced offensive line & average running back room, Pittsburgh's offense still feels stuck in second gear. It's possible that they got thrown back into first at this point.

Their offense ranks 29th in offensive spending, which isn't always bad. The Falcons, Panther, Bears, & Cardinals all rank in the top 10 in offensive spending & none made the playoffs last year. But the Chiefs, Rams, Commanders, & Lions are also in the top 10 and all made the playoffs and made deep runs. 

Perhaps the team they should look towards would be their in-state neighbors: the Philadelphia Eagles. They won last year by running the ball & playing great defense that took them all to becoming Super Bowl champions while being 20th in offensive spending and dead last (32nd) in defensive spending.

Should be said that spending more or less on either side of the ball does not always make a difference in a team winning or losing more games. It is a good gauge to see where a team is putting their priorities. And for a team like Pittsburgh that has not found stability at QB, lacks offensive fire power, & lacks experience in the o-line with a defensive-minded head coach just feels like an equation that comes the answer of just above-average.

Is it all on Tomlin? Of course not. This one feels like it falls to the Rooney family. They've owned the team forever & have every right to run it the way they see fit. But like the Bears and Giants, their culture and build has been based on the vision set forth by the owners. The Bears feel like a team escaping their past to finally enter the 21st century though. Pittsburgh still lives in the 1970s.

Mean Joe Greene. Jack Lambert. Jack Ham. Mel Blount. The Steel Curtain. We all love and respect the old timers. Nothing wrong with reminiscing the past. But that's the issues here. They don't just reminisce. They live in it. A ownership that hires personnel that enables a stale way of play that became outdated by the 2010s.

It's a winning formula, sure no doubt. The number of non-losing seasons is proof of that. But how old does that get too. How many times can we mention Tomlin's regular season record with the Steelers without looking at his losing playoff record & that it's been almost 20 years since his lone Super Bowl win. 

I would say we are approaching that same moment where we saw Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots "part ways", but I know the Rooneys love Tomlin too much to fire him & his winning ability keeps his staying power intact. 

Would there be a better head coaching option that was more focused on offense for them to hire? As of now, probably not. But considering options like Sean McVay or Kyle Shanahan or even Sean Payton have been out there, it's hard to imagine that they couldn't have sustained their level of play at least.

At the end of the day, the Pittsburgh Steelers are who we thought they are. The embrace their city as their identity and vice versa. They live off using running backs like workhorses & riding their defense till the wheels fall off with some passes from the QB mixed in there sparingly. The can try to fool us with a trade for Metcalf & Smith and signing Rodgers to be their QB. But I see through the facade.

The dream here would be to overtake the Ravens and Bengals to win the division and make the playoffs with a run to the Super Bowl.

 The reality seems to be destined for another just-above .500 season to preserves their coach's record and likely lose in the wild card again.

The nightmare however, could be a season filled with turmoil & frustration that leads to Tomlin's first below .500 season and missing the playoffs completely and finishing last in the division behind the Cleveland Browns.