Notre Dame receiver Chase Claypool became the Steelers top draft pick in 2020. Yet, he was the 11th receiver taken off the board, as the Steelers lacked a first-round selection. No matter. Claypool has quickly become the most highly touted rookie receiver going into the 2020 season. But it’s one thing making acrobatic catches in practice. Can Claypool do it in regular season? And come December, will Claypool still be standing head-and-shoulders above all those other receivers in his 2020 draft c...
Aug 26, 2020•18 min
Finally, the 2020 Steelers training camp at Heinz Field is starting to resemble an actual training camp. This week, players put on the pads, and the organization allowed the media inside to get a closer -- but not too close -- look at players from Big Ben Roethlisberger and his surgically repaired throwing elbow to irrelevant rookies who may or may not make a mark in this coronavirus-canceled NFL preseason. With the sharp eyes of plenty of Steelers’ scribes watching, the top observations from ar...
Aug 19, 2020•21 min
My, how times of changed for the suddenly shark-like Steelers secondary. Once a pathetic Pittsburgh weakness, it’s now a fast-rising strength that should strike fear in the hearts of opposing quarterbacks. The clear catalyst was the trade last September to acquire Minkah Fitzpatrick from the Miami Dolphins. Now, Minkah’s talking about ranking with the great safeties of the past decade or so: “The Ed Reeds and the Polamalus and the Brian Dawkinses of the game,” as Fitzpatrick himself says. But th...
Aug 12, 2020•16 min
Steelers Nation, meet the new boss; same as the old boss. That being quarterback Big Ben Roethlisberger, who says he’s back and better than ever. In a training camp interview, Ben proclaimed his surgically repaired elbow is the best it’s been in years; he’s lighter than he’s been in some 14 seasons; and feels he has years left to his NFL career. So much so, there’s now a real bottom line business concern for the Steelers: Namely re-signing this suddenly young-again Steelers QB for the future bey...
Aug 05, 2020•17 min
Whether it’s Juju Smith-Schuster’s skin-tight unitard dance on the China-owned social media app, TikTok, or Zach Banner’s unexpected Twitter blowup over Stephon Tuitt’s stand on the National Anthem, the Steelers seem to be sowing division at a time they should be coming together as a team in training camp. This has some long-time Steelers analysts predicting doom and gloom in Pittsburgh. They say the latest social media missteps are proof the Steelers’ locker room remains a big problem. Are they...
Jul 29, 2020•15 min
To black and gold faithful, Antonio Brown stands as the ultimate fool’s gold. All flash, no substance. Plenty of style, but no steel. Stats, but no championships. A big talking, look-at-me player who put self above team. This makes Brown the ultimate failure and biggest disappointment in Steelers franchise history. But there’s another side to this coin – the bad Pittsburgh penny that was Antonio Brown. A cold-eyed assessment of what this unheralded sixth-round pick did with his nine Steelers sea...
Jul 22, 2020•21 min
Steelers Nation is in an uproar in wake of the new ‘Madden ‘21’ video game ratings that seem to diss one of their superstars, while hinting at a big comeback for a fan favorite. Is this simply the tale of two computer game ratings that won’t really matter much once the real season begins? Or a prescient prediction of things to come in 2020 – namely a reversal of Steelers fortunes with the Ben Roethlisberger-led offense flying high again and the defense and its lack of depth taking a significant ...
Jul 15, 2020•18 min
The image of the Steelers as the ultimate NFL misers is a bygone trope that won’t die. The Pittsburgh football team founded for $2,500 by Art Rooney does pony up and pay its stars. They have the salary cap troubles to prove it. But would they ever go as far as the Kansas City Chiefs just did in locking up quarterback Patrick Mahomes to a 10-year extension worth more than $500 million? It’s a dilemma the Steelers surely would like to have. Because to pay Patrick Mahomes money you first must draft...
Jul 08, 2020•20 min
Fans still have faith in seeing live, in-person football in Pittsburgh this fall. That’s why this Steelers season ticket holder plunked down cold, hard cash for 4 season passes, no questions or COVID worries asked. Why? Well, it’s Steelers football. That’s why. I’ve been part of it since the 80s at the old concrete bowl that was Three Rivers Stadium. I always imagined the place as a giant witch’s caldron -- crackling and gurgling with the unmitigated euphoria and unregulated rage of Steelers fan...
Jul 01, 2020•18 min
Ben Roethlisberger’s soul-baring comments have the feel of a man looking himself hard in the mirror, examining every scar, recognizing that some were self-inflicted, but accepting the long journey and the many mistakes it to get here. He’s not only still standing, but the better for it. Roethlisberger sounds like he’s stepping up for one last stand – a career comeback that could become legend. Just maybe, another championship. The Steelers’ 7th – the same number emblazoned across Big Ben’s broad...
Jun 24, 2020•17 min
JuJu Smith-Schuster was a second banana who flourished in the shadow of then-Steelers superstar Antonio Brown. When the spotlight -- and opposing defenses -- shone on JuJu in the No. 1 role, he wilted. Badly. Now with other receiving options rapidly rising as the Steelers retool and a returning Big Ben Roethlisberger looks to rev up the offense, JuJu will largely retreat to the comfort of his slot receiving role. A step down? Perhaps. But you’d never know it from his social media, which remains ...
Jun 17, 2020•21 min
Colin Kaepernick’s kneeling National Anthem protests now seems prescient. Eight-plus excruciating minutes of video showing a white police officer kneeling on the neck of George Floyd until his heart stopped beating has made it so. It sets up an explosive start to what was already going to be a very unusual football season due to the coronavirus pandemic. It’s a very good bet NFL players, including your Pittsburgh Steelers, will take a knee during the National Anthem this season. The most fitting...
Jun 10, 2020•17 min
The Pittsburgh Steelers spent plenty of draft capital on its defense over the years. But for various reasons, many of those picks didn’t have positive returns. But the team brain trust admitted their drafting deficiencies and made up for them by trading for Minkah Fitzpatrick, signing Joe Haden and Steven Nelson and discovering Mike Hilton – and that’s just the un-Steelers-like renovation in the secondary. Pittsburgh will always prefer home-grown players, but the defense being built by going out...
May 27, 2020•20 min
For Big Ben, his bushy Brett Keisel-like beard was a marker of his long recovery from throwing elbow surgery after the second game last season. The fact that Ben’s locks and beard are now nicely trimmed – along so it seems with his body as seen in that slick 38-second video – signals the Steelers’ future Hall of Famer is back. And with everyone from Gov. Tom Wolf on down jumping on Big Ben’s back, Pittsburgh is standing solidly with their star and stalwart passer. In the portion of Pennsylvania ...
May 20, 2020•17 min
You might want to pop a Prozac, Pittsburgh. There’s mounting gloom and doom swirling around the 2020 Steelers. I’ve rounded up all the recent arguments for why the playoff-starved team will struggle yet again. Unfortunately, it’s all here in this shocking – some would say, treasonous -- edition of the Steelers Update Podcast from PennLive. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
May 13, 2020•19 min
Antonio Brown – who’s looking to get back to the NFL on a paying basis anyway he can – would love to flock with the high-flying Ravens. In Pittsburgh, this prospect has spawned two schools of thought. On one side, Steelers fans' nightmares now run with Brown-Ravens highlight reels. This, as the social-media-savvy receiver rubs in every catch and celebrates each touchdown he scores in Charm City. But the other line of thinking smacks of a subtle form of sabotage that could wreck the Ravens and al...
May 06, 2020•17 min
About the best you can say is the 8-8 Steelers added some special teams players for 2020 and brought in rookies who’ll replace second-tier stars like receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster and linebacker Bud Dupree next season. This, so the Steelers have the salary-cap firepower to re-sign true superstars like T.J. Watt and Minkah Fitzpatrick. Still, the Steelers’ odds of returning to the NFL playoffs after a two-year drought did improve markedly. Not due to the draft. Rather, because the NFL playoffs wil...
Apr 29, 2020•24 min
Steelers already have their 2020 first round pick in the form of proven playmaking safety Minkah Fitzpatrick. Good thing, too, because this could be the most unpredictable NFL draft of the modern era due to the limitations of the coronavirus. Strap in, Steelers fans. It’s going to be wild. When it’s over, let’s hope the Steelers have one or two really special players who’ll pay some 2020 dividends in playoff starved Pittsburgh. As for who -- I have all the late-breaking Steelers speculation, a l...
Apr 22, 2020•27 min
Both James Conner and Ben Roethlisberger should be very interested in the Steelers’ upcoming draft. It could just determine the future roles for both offensive stars, should the team spend a premium pick to select their successors. So who will it be for the Steelers at pick 49? Quarterback Jalen Hurts, running backs Jonathan Taylor or J.K. Dobbins – or another position altogether, even defense? We analyze Pittsburgh’s critical draft day dilemma in the latest edition of the Steelers Update Podcas...
Apr 15, 2020•17 min
Sure, Eric Ebron is nice, new and nifty in his Steelers’ uni. But he’s not nearly enough in today’s pass-happy Patrick Mahomes-dominated NFL. And Steelers fans should find no comfort if Antonio Brown actually flocks with the Ravens this season. Such a deal would signal a measure of comfort by both parties that this will be a successful partnership. Brown knows it’s his last chance – and by joining up with his cousin, he’ll be in a position to be a mentor. In short, it could develop into a full-b...
Apr 08, 2020•20 min
Steelers are finalizing their draft day moves, just as their former star Antonio Brown looks to be out of moves after a former Pittsburgh coach shuts him down cold. I’m talking about current Tampa Bay Head Coach Bruce Arians’ hard pass on pairing Brown with a willing Tom Brady, who was brought in to take over the Bucs’ offense. This stiff-arm from Arians, who covets his offensive toys like no other, is notably damning for the future prospects of Brown ever returning to the NFL. The book on Brown...
Apr 01, 2020•18 min
The release of two big NFL names with big NFL arms has stirred visions of Big Ben backups with Steelers-starter potential in the minds of Pittsburgh fans. So who’s the better 412 area code fit -- Jameis Winston and his interceptions or Cam Newton and his injuries? Maybe neither - but not how you’d think: Don’t believe for a moment the Steelers are content to stand pat with their current QB depth chart – or lack of it. Thus, I surmise the Steelers harbor a secret plan to address this situation, a...
Mar 25, 2020•18 min
Shakespeare once said, parting is such sweet sorrow. For Steelers fans, watching good players go, it’s bitter as could be. Yet, the Steelers have played free agency the same way for decades. Early days when big money buys up the biggest, hottest names, the Steelers opt to sit it out, biding their time and awaiting bargains. The challenge this critical offseason will be landing players at bargain prices who can actually play. In other words, no Donte Moncriefs in this Steelers’ free agent crop. S...
Mar 18, 2020•19 min
There’s plenty of pot-stirring going on right now in Pittsburgh. But soon, bullets will fly for real when free agency begins March 18th. Rest assured, the Steelers are quietly and secretly targeting their kind of talent, aiming to improve the team the “Rooney Way.” That means less hype, less ego – but bigger heart, better bargain and high character. In other words, far from the flash that generates good headlines. But if it wins football games in the fall, winter – and best of all, in January – ...
Mar 11, 2020•17 min
The Bud Dupree franchise-tag dilemma requires some serious re-thinking by the Steelers. The team should be very nervous when conventional wisdom is so squarely on the side of the player Pittsburgh fans so recently wanted to ride out of town. It screams of a contract-year flash-in-the-pan that could burn the Steelers already tight budget. T.J. Watt is the true Steelers star at outside linebacker, utterly making Dupree. The Steelers could be about to tag and reward the wrong player. See acast.com/...
Mar 04, 2020•14 min
A 5-second video of a bushy-bearded, badly-bloated, blue-shirted Big Ben Roethlisberger lightly tossing a soft football inside a gym has all of Pittsburgh predicting the Steelers will be back in the playoffs in 2020. Ever-confident Steelers management is doubling down, doing nothing to downplay expectations, despite the fact that Big Ben’s bad elbow didn’t last two full games in 2019. Despite Ben’s 38th birthday next month, General Manager Kevin Colbert is boldly proclaiming a surgically repaire...
Feb 26, 2020•14 min
Don’t believe in Mike Tomlin’s mental mastery. Get yourself a transcript of Tomlin’s comments to Stephen A. Smith on Monday’s ‘ESPN First Take.’ Study it. Parse every word. Devine the multiple meaning behind every sculpted sentence. Then, truly appreciate what a wise leader, master motivator, quintessential coach and superb football business executive Mike Tomlin truly is. Or just listen to my breakdown of Tomlin’s verbal brilliance in this podcast. He’s the NFL’s version of EF Hutton. Google it...
Feb 19, 2020•14 min
Antonio Brown has something to prove, all right. But it’s not in the ring with some YouTube yapper, Logan Paul. It’s to himself, as a supremely talented football player, and to the fans who saw him do incredible things over 9 seasons – some of whom still believe in Brown, despite his best efforts to repel them. Antonio’s only redemption comes with an NFL return and an earnest, all-out bid to recapture his greatness. He needs to get his outsized ego out of the way in order to run precise and winn...
Feb 12, 2020•13 min
Perhaps Antonio Brown has been properly humbled. Maybe taking away all those fat NFL game checks finally got his attention. Whatever the wakeup call was, Antonio the grinder seems back -- and he’s grinding toward a goal of returning to the NFL. For now, he’s making the right moves gaining the sympathy of NFL players, coaches, analysts – even all-powerful Commissioner Roger Goodell. Brown could be back sooner, than later. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about...
Feb 05, 2020•14 min
The Steelers traded up in 2003 to secure soon-to-be Hall of Famer Troy Polamalu, and he promptly became the key cog in their two-time Super Bowl-winning defense. Now even Tom Brady says Troy belongs in Canton. But the bigger question is whether the Steelers have landed another Polamalu-like player with last season’s trade for safety Minkah Fitzpatrick. Fans can only hope he generates similar “Super” dividends. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad ch...
Jan 29, 2020•14 min
