In 2022, the much-heralded George Pickens out of Georgia put up four touchdowns as a Pittsburgh pro, while grabbing 52 catches for 801 yards, having played in all 17 games. Yet, he topped 100 receiving yards just once on the season. There were many reasons for this – all of which the 2023 playbook, coupled with second-year progress by both Pickens and his sophomore QB, Kenny Pickett, will look to correct. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
May 31, 2023•24 min
Don’t look now, but Mason Rudolph is back in the black and gold. Right now, he’s penciled in as the No. 3 QB behind starter Kenny Pickett and his backup, Mitch Trubisky. But if one does the math, the Steelers’ No. 2 QB just might be too expensive, especially when the team is looking to sign star linebacker Alex Highsmith to a big new deal before the start of the regular season. Thus, Mason’s return to the team that drafted him in the third round back in 2018 just may make Trubisky expendable. Le...
May 17, 2023•24 min
The Steelers’ highly praised 2023 draft class has greatly raised expectations for the coming season. Whether all that Steelers Nation optimism is warranted will largely be determined by the 2022 draft class. One player, in particular. I’m talking about Kenny Pickett, whom the Steelers took at pick 20 out of Pitt as the heir-apparent to Ben Roethlisberger. Pickett’s strong finish to the 2022 season which began with him on the bench for the first 3 1/2 games has black-and-gold fans believing Kenny...
May 03, 2023•22 min
A receiver who isn’t even on the roster anymore could be responsible for the dawning of the next great Steelers era. I’m taking about receiver Chase Claypool, whose contribution to the coming era cannot be overstated. In fact, it just keeps growing and growing. One could easily argue the roots of this Steelers’ retooling began at pick 49 of the 2020 draft, when the Steelers called Claypool’s name. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
Apr 26, 2023•21 min
With three picks in the top 50 of the draft, Steelers GM Omar Khan and Pittsburgh are in prime position to add a trio of blue-chip players fresh from college who should be Steelers’ playmakers for the next decade or so. The work Khan has accomplished in free agency gives him some freedom to select that mythical of all draft prospects – “the best player available” at picks 17, 32 and 49. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
Apr 19, 2023•23 min
So far, the Steelers’ brain trust has played the offseason like a grandmaster moving pieces on a chess board. The story has been the exact opposite down in the supposedly charmed city of Baltimore, where the Ravens are being ripped apart by the trade demands of disgruntled QB Lamar Jackson. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Apr 12, 2023•22 min
As quarterback of a team named after a city full of tough-as-nails steel workers, Kenny Pickett’s work ethic is perfect for Pittsburgh. Whether all his offseason labors result in real improvement in his second year remains to be seen. But it’s hard to dispute the Pitt product’s rapid and steep learning curve throughout the course of his rookie year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Apr 05, 2023•25 min
Pittsburgh is loaded with plenty of draft firepower to execute on a variety of team-changing trades and other moves aimed at remaking the 2023 roster. As GM Omar Khan eyes his first-ever draft at the helm, he’s extolling the flood of fresh ideas in the remade GM office and the maximum flexibility afforded by holding three draft picks in the top 50. He’s promising all of Pittsburgh he won’t hold back. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
Mar 29, 2023•20 min
It didn’t take Steelers assistant GM Andy Weidl long to tap his love of big bodies and his experience building the NFC Champion Eagles to shape two significant free agency acquisitions for the Steelers. I’m talking about the additions of former Eagles’ guards Isaac Seumalo and Nate Herbig. This shows the Steelers are finally serious about shoring up the franchise’s shaky foundation – that patchwork offensive line. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
Mar 22, 2023•28 min
NFL free agency bargains are in the eye of the beholder. The Detroit Lions, seeing a young, smart and versatile cornerback in the personage of Cam Sutton, wasted no time signing him to a 3-year, $33 million deal, including a $10.9 million signing bonus. The Steelers, who were paying Sutton a paltry $9 million split over the last two season, balked at the price hike, despite professing much interest in re-signing him. Thus, the 28-year-old savvy corner whose game is still on the come will take hi...
Mar 15, 2023•22 min
Recent results from a first-of-its-kind NFL Players’ Association survey of team working conditions comes as a big blow to the image of the Steelers as a once-model franchise. Pittsburgh ranked a shocking 22nd out of 32 teams in terms of its facilities, amenities, equipment and support staff. All this according to current Steelers who took part in the union-wide NFL survey. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
Mar 08, 2023•19 min
Don’t let the draft season smoke get in your eyes, Steelers Nation. As the muscle-bound meat market known as the NFL Combine convenes this week, there will be plenty of sleight of hand by teams trying to shift focus from the players they actually covet. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mar 01, 2023•23 min
All indications are the Steelers are preparing to go big or go home in the 2023 draft. The Steelers' motto might as well be that old Wendy’s tagline from the Clara Peller commercial – “Where's the beef?” As his history with the Ravens and the Eagles shows, new Steelers assistant GM Andy Weidl loves is beef. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Feb 22, 2023•19 min
Rush the quarterback on defense, play ball control on offense, and don’t turn the ball over. This is the Steelers’ tried and true philosophy for winning football games. But does it still work in Today’s NFL? In wake of the Kanas City Chiefs’ 38-35 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl 57, the Steeler way not only seems outdated and stale but dead-wrong in a quarterback-driven NFL where elite teams routinely put up nearly 40 points a game, no matter what kind of offense and defense t...
Feb 15, 2023•25 min
As the NFL prepares to crown its 57thSuper Bowl champion on Sunday night, the Steelers are sitting home, biding their time, and fully believing they’re on track to get back to the Big Game. Every move the Steelers didn’t make early in this off-season communicates this quiet confidence. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Feb 08, 2023•20 min
Here’s what a 7-2 stretch run will do for you in Pittsburgh: Save the job of an off-criticized offensive coordinator despite subpar production over two seasons. Convince the team owner their no-longer-rookie quarterback is the guy to return the Steelers to the Super Bowl. Instill belief in offensive teammates and legions of fans that all the positive momentum and continued development will not only carry over into 2023 -- but advance in a quantum leap. Welcome to the Kenny Pickett bandwagon gain...
Feb 01, 2023•22 min
It’s a doubly depressing time for Steelers fans. Not only is their favorite football team home for the NFL postseason, extending a dubious streak of Steelers’ playoff futility to six years, we’re watching helplessly as division rivals Joe Burrow and the Bengals usurp the once-sterling Steelers’ standard. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 25, 2023•24 min
Down the stretch, the Steelers were hot. Their rookie passer, Kenny Pickett, was picking up his play and making big plays in the fourth quarter to win games. Najee Harris, Jaylen Warren and the offensive line became a wrecking crew to be feared on the ground. Harris, in particular, found another level of play in his many angry runs for extra yardage. The defense, led by stars T.J. Watt, Cam Heyward and MVP All Pro Minkah Fitzpatrick, was finally resembling the $108 million unit it was billed to ...
Jan 18, 2023•25 min
The weary eyes of Steelers Nation now look to 2023. But what do they see? Most eye a Steelers’ glass that’s half-full and then some. The reason for optimism, despite the persistent Pittsburgh playoff drought, is personified by rookie passer Kenny Pickett and the equally young guns on offense: second-year stars Najee Harris and Pat Freiermuth, along with the seeming superstar in the making, rookie revelation at receiver, George Pickens. But there’s another, dimmer, darker way of looking at what’s...
Jan 11, 2023•24 min
With the NFL frozen in place as Damar Hamlin continues to fight for his life in the ICU at University of Cincinnati Medical Center, Steelers Coach Mike Tomlin appeared at his regular weekly press conference on Tuesday, like clockwork. But Tomlin didn’t talk football initially. Rather, he began the session, unprompted by the assembled media, by speaking very personally – and emotionally -- about his personal connection to the Pittsburgh-born Hamlin. With that, Tomlin showed the rest of the NFL a ...
Jan 04, 2023•23 min
It’s such a shame the late Franco Harris won’t be there Saturday night at Acrisure Stadium for the Raiders game. The Immaculate Reception hero won’t get to hear one last roar from Steelers Nation. One final stadium-unifying chant of his name: Franco! Franco! Franco! One last mantra for any occasion black-and-gold-clad faithful gather: “Here we go, Steelers!” The game to mark Franco’s iconic play now becomes a special occasion for Pittsburgh to pay solemn tribute to the man who helped propel the ...
Dec 21, 2022•21 min
What a pounding Kenny Pickett took on Sunday. Forget that Pickett being swung violently to the Acrisure turf should have resulted in a roughing penalty on Ravens linebacker Roquan Smith. Smith had Pickett by the face mask on the play, to say nothing of whipping him down, resulting in the Steelers’ rookie landing in concussion protocol for the second time in eight weeks. Pickett sat on the turf after the hit. But he didn’t display any mobility problems as he exited the field following the Steeler...
Dec 14, 2022•24 min
Forget all the Steelers’ receivers sulking on the sidelines. Dismiss lip-reading the TV clips of rookie George Pickens shouting, “Throw me the (bleepin’) ball.” This Steelers passing attack belongs to the big dude with a quite mouth. I’m talking about second-year tight end out of Penn State, Pat Freiermuth.Certainly, Freiermuth has gained the trust and favor of rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett, who has made the big tight end his favorite target as disgruntled, less productive receivers Diontae J...
Dec 07, 2022•23 min
Week by week, we’re witnessing the maturation of Kenny Pickett as he proves himself franchise quarterback worthy in Pittsburgh. It’s happening right before our eyes. On a national stage Monday night, Pickett turned in his best game yet. Against the Colts in Indy, Pickett was decisive, getting rid of the ball rather than holding it and taking a sack. He sensed defensive pressure, moving in the pocket, scrambling and throwing on the run. He was accurate, hitting receivers all over the field. (Gran...
Nov 30, 2022•21 min
In the social media firestorm following the Steelers’ 37-30 drubbing by the rival Bengals came a tweet that summed up a game, a season, a team: “The Steelers have so many needs. They basically need an entire new offensive line, especially at offensive tackle. They need a defensive lineman, a linebacker, a true No. 1 cornerback. Another wide receiver. I’m I missing anything?” It fully captures just how far these 2022 Steelers are from competing in the NFL, never mind their own division, where the...
Nov 22, 2022•21 min
It was a slice of Steel City heresy. There were actual Steelers’ fans in the 412-area code advocating for their favorite football team to shoot for a high 2023 draft pick, rather than get off the mat and fight for respectability this season. All the nonsensical talk of a tanking Steelers team landing next year’s No. 3 draft pick has evaporated into the ether. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nov 16, 2022•20 min
The 2022 Steelers officially became a ghost on Halloween. That’s when this team, this season disappeared -- and everyone in Pittsburgh turned the page to 2023. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nov 02, 2022•24 min
Mitch Trubisky just played the best two quarters of any Steelers’ quarterback this season. In reward, he’ll be promptly shown the bench, so long as rookie passer Kenny Pickett can pass NFL concussion protocols in order to start Sunday night vs. the Dolphins down in Miami. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Oct 19, 2022•19 min
The startling demise of once-touted first-round running back Najee Harris is a symbol of all that ails the floundering Steelers, who are fast on their way to reaching rock-bottom. Simply put, the 1-4 Steelers’ deadly disease has been diagnosed as decided lack of talent caused by a history of bad drafting. Najee Harris is the posterchild for the problems in Pittsburgh. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Oct 12, 2022•23 min
Just 3 1/2 games into the season, the Steelers ripped up their entire 2022 gameplan. This opened the door for rookie QB Kenny Pickett to begin what’s expected to be a rocky path toward trying to establish himself as the future of the franchise. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Oct 05, 2022•21 min
