2022 Pittsburgh Steelers

Don Wassall

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The Steelers aren’t as bad demographically as they were in the early years of the Mike Tomlin era, which likely will continue for a long time to come as the organization revels in its reputation as the only professional sports team that doesn’t fire its head coach going back to the hiring of Chuck Noll in 1969, but they aren’t that far from the old “Crawfords” days either.

As is often the case in Pittsburgh, there is endless drama and anguish over the starting quarterback, even though the city’s DWFs are notorious as being the worst in the country when it comes to how they treat White ones. Hall of Famer Terry Bradshaw was often booed, and future Hall of Famer Ben Roethlisberger was only fully accepted late in his career even though he at times carried the team on his shoulders for long stretches almost single-handedly.

As for the lesser ones, Cliff Stoudt was pelted with boos and snowballs when he returned to town as the QB of a USFL team in 1984.

In 1987, upset after a Steelers loss, a fan drove his car into Three Rivers Stadium, nearly hitting four workers before crashing. ″The only thing he said was that he didn’t like [starting quarterback Mark] Malone,″ a policeman told the media after the fan was arrested. ″He just rode in here in a white station wagon and took half the wall off my office, a concrete brick wall, then he ran into a couple of our four-wheel drive trucks with 70 to 80 gallons of nacho cheese,″ said Ted Winters, the commissary manager at the time.

Tommy Maddox’s home was pelted with eggs and debris in 2002 after a poor performance.

The only exception was during “The Great Eight Year Kordell Stewart Experiment.” Though some fans disliked the incompetent Stewart, who was relentlessly babied by Bill Cowher, he was treated like a conquering king compared to the treatment received by Stoudt, Malone, Maddox, et. al.

This is the psycho-drama in which Mitch Trubisky must try to navigate. Reviled in Chicago – probably a close second to Pittsburgh DWFs when it comes to hating White quarterbacks – Trubisky’s already slim likelihood of being accepted dimmed further when the Steelers drafted University of Pittsburgh star Kenny Pickett in the first round in April. Needless to say, Trubisky is on the shortest of leashes, at least with the fans, who can’t wait to start clamoring for Pickett. But of course they’ll also quickly turn on Pickett too unless he is the rare rookie QB who is great right out of the gates.

Mason Rudolph is the third-string quarterback, a talent who didn’t play much as Big Ben’s career wound down and who has already been written off by the DWFs, though he could still be a quality starting NFL QB if another team gives him an opportunity.

Pittsburgh has 5 White starters, and that’s generously including FB Derek Watt, who is a WSTD who occasionally sees the field as an extra offensive lineman in the backfield. Given the superb athletic prowess of his brothers J. J. and T. J., one would think a team would be interested in seeing if Derek could be a good power back, but that’s not how the NFL works.

T. J. Watt is the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year after a monster 2021, in which he tied the league single season sack record with 22.5 even while missing roughly four games with injuries. Injuries would seem to be his Achilles Heel, as he is currently on the IR after incurring a pec injury in the first game of the ’22 season. Optimistic reports have him returning in mid to late October.

Tight End Pat Freiermuth played very well as a rookie, hauling in 60 passes and scoring 7 times. Few tight ends do well in their first season so Freiermuth would appear to have a very bright future ahead of him.

Gunner Olszewski is the team’s punt and kickoff returner after coming over from New England, and sees the field at times as the fourth or fifth receiver.

ILB Robert Spillane is well known in CF circles for playing very well but being constantly denigrated because he doesn’t run a 4.4 40 or look like D. K. Metcalf in his skivvies. He is currently behind colossal first round bust Devin Bush but stands a pretty good chance of starting at some point during the season.

This team is in the D-/F+ range but because of the presence of three talented White QBs, Freiermuth and T. J. Watt I’ll be generous and give them the higher mark.

C: Cole Mason, J. C. Hassenauer
RT: Jesse Davis
TE: Pat Freiermuth, Zach Gentry
FB: Derek Watt
QB: Mitch Trubisky, Kenny Pickett, Mason Rudolph
WR: Gunner Olszewski

OLB: T. J. Watt
ILB: Robert Spillane

Number of White Starters: 5
Total number of White players on 53 man roster: 14
Grade: D-

PK: Chris Boswell
LS: Christian Kuntz

Practice squad: T William Dunkle (may be mixed), G John Leglue, C Ryan McCollum
 

Freethinker

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Great write up as always and thank you for the little history lesson on the DWFs treatment of past White quarterbacks. That truly seems like mass psychosis that the fan base exhibits, and sadly it seem hereditary, as it gets passed down generation to generation.

One thing that will likely hold back Pittsburgh this year (most years really) is their 4/5ths sumo offensive line. If these pea brained DWFs had the cognitive ability to recognize patterns, maybe they would direct their rage toward the line, and not the hapless quarterback who gets treated like a crash test dummy.
 

Phall

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All of 6'8 of Zach Gentry makes for an interesting story at tight end. He was a 4-star high school QB prospect out of New Mexico and signed with Michigan for its 2015 class. During his first year on campus, Michigan signed 5-star QB Brandon Peters (who did not thrive and eventually transferred to Illinois) to be the heir-apparent to transfer QB Wilton Speight. Gentry lost the "competition" in camp to his fellow 2015 QB, 4-star Alex Malzone (who never actually cracked a depth chart), and was moved to TE as a sophomore. It was my opinion as an empathetic observer that Gentry didn't really embrace this position switch and also never really came to love the Harbaugh coaching staff. Michigan had plenty of quarterbacking woes over those next two years, and I imagined that Gentry was steaming inside.

I was surprised when he was invited to the 2019 combine. He tested like crap, which did not surprise me (I mean, he is 6'8). That Pittsburgh took a flier on him in the 5th round raised my eyebrows. I'm really impressed that Gentry has not just continued to make the roster but is now catching a few balls. He's now listed at 265 lbs (nice).

Odd trivia: his younger brother Andrew Gentry is a 6'7 freshman tackle at Michigan, old for his age because he also did a Mormon mission.
 

Don Wassall

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I had the misfortune to listen to Matt Williamson again today while running errands. Host Mark Madden was asking him about the Steelers' defense, which gave up two long fourth quarter touchdown drives to Zach Wilson and the Jets yesterday and lost the game, dropping them to 1-3 with four very tough games in a row now facing them starting with Buffalo in Week 5. Williamson took the opportunity to blast Robert Spillane, once again saying he "doesn't belong anywhere near a football field," as if he was responsible for the defense's poor showing. (I posted about Williamson's anti-Spillane rants before but a search failed to find them.)

So here's the snap count yesterday for the team's linebackers:

Myles Jack: 67 (96%)
Alex Highsmith: 62 (89%)
Devin Bush: 58 (83%)
Robert Spillane: 27 (39%)

But remember, it's all Spillane's fault.

The reality is that the Steelers have yet to win a game over the past two seasons when T. J. Watt has been injured. He's that good, and the rest of the defense is that bad.
 
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I had the misfortune to listen to Matt Williamson again today while running errands. Host Mark Madden was asking him about the Steelers' defense, which gave up two long fourth quarter touchdown drives to Zach Wilson and the Jets yesterday and lost the game, dropping them to 1-3 with four very tough games in a row now facing them starting with Buffalo in Week 5. Williamson took the opportunity to blast Robert Spillane, once again saying he "doesn't belong anywhere near a football field," as if he was responsible for the defense's poor showing. (I posted about Williamson's anti-Spillane rants before but a search failed to find them.)

So here's the snap count yesterday for the team's linebackers:

Myles Jack: 67 (96%)
Alex Highsmith: 62 (89%)
Devin Bush: 58 (83%)
Robert Spillane: 27 (39%)

But remember, it's all Spillane's fault.

The reality is that the Steelers have yet to win a game over the past two seasons when T. J. Watt has been injured. He's that good, and the rest of the defense is that bad.
T.J. Watt is by far the best player on the Steelers and their best draft pick of the previous decade despite caste disciple Kevin Colbert drafting bust after bust on defense.
 

Don Wassall

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No doubt about it, so many early draft picks have been wasted on defensive players who never pan out. Watt was the rare exception, as was the selection of Pat Freiermuth on the other side of the ball in the second round last year. But of course, NFL teams never "learn" for obvious reasons.
 

white lightning

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It's almost impossible to begin to comprehend just how good the Watt Brothers are! You could write a book or a movie script and even
then most people wouldn't believe it and call it a fairy tale. Yes they are incredible and as athletic if not more so than any other defensive
stars in then nfl. Yet the teams still continue to look down on white players on both sides of the ball. Iowa and Wisconsin prove year after
year that whites can be the best at playing defense. So do the Watt Brothers and many others we follow. What will it take for the casual
dwf's to wake up? Will they ever wake up? I will never understand how majority white fans can pay their hard earned money to root for
a majority black team and never question anything?

I'm excited to see Watt back soon. With Pickett at qb I think they are going to win alot of games soon!
 
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The Watt brothers really are spectacular. J.J. is a hall of famer and T.J. is already on his way there. It's incredibly unfortunate we haven't been able to see Derek Watt get much playing time on offense. If Tomlin had any sense he'd give him some carries because Najee Harris is looking like a major bust.

I suspect Pat Freiermuth will have the same career Heath Miller had. Two very talented but underutilized players. Anyone who watched him play knows Heath could have done so much more if given the chance, but he was absolutely underused.
 

Don Wassall

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One of the Steelers' o-linemen said that Kenny Pickett was allowed to audible when he came into the game on Sunday. By contrast, Mitch Trubisky wasn't allowed to audible and the offense was nothing but dinks and dunks, rather than playing to Mitch's strengths including running and improvising. In other words, Trubisky was set up to fail.

Mike Tomlin said today that Pickett is the starter, while the team is reportedly trying to trade Mitch. That would be the best scenario for Mitch even though he's likely a permanent back-up now. Meanwhile, good luck to Kenny, would be great to see him have a successful career.
 

white lightning

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One of the Steelers' o-linemen said that Kenny Pickett was allowed to audible when he came into the game on Sunday. By contrast, Mitch Trubisky wasn't allowed to audible and the offense was nothing but dinks and dunks, rather than playing to Mitch's strengths including running and improvising. In other words, Trubisky was set up to fail.

Mike Tomlin said today that Pickett is the starter, while the team is reportedly trying to trade Mitch. That would be the best scenario for Mitch even though he's likely a permanent back-up now. Meanwhile, good luck to Kenny, would be great to see him have a successful career.

I think it's because the NFL hates white duel threat quarterbacks as much as they hate white running backs, cornerbacks and outside receivers. It' shows that whites have speed and the athletecism to do the same thing black players can do! We know they can but they don't want the
majority of fans to think that. Push the propaganda. Just like in the nba with McClung and many others. Isabella would be hidden on most
teams as he is just too fast and the league doesn't want people to wake up and smell the coffee. Trubisky deserves better.
 

Don Wassall

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Buffalo could have named the score yesterday against the Steelers. They were up 31-3 at halftime and already had over 400 yards of offense, 351 of which was Josh Allen's passing yardage. I wonder how often in NFL history a team has had 400 yards at halftime, it's gotta be rare.

The Steelers' "defense" was again barely high school level without T. J. Watt. Allen was never close to being sacked. And, oh by the way, it's the highest paid defense in the league.

One of the local stations has three sportswriters discuss issues every Sunday night after the news, and last night two of the three were harping on everyone's favorite target, back-up ILB Robert Spillane, who played just over one-third of the snaps against the Bills. Because everyone knows only Blacks can play defense despite the fact that many can't.
 

Leonardfan

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Buffalo could have named the score yesterday against the Steelers. They were up 31-3 at halftime and already had over 400 yards of offense, 351 of which was Josh Allen's passing yardage. I wonder how often in NFL history a team has had 400 yards at halftime, it's gotta be rare.

The Steelers' "defense" was again barely high school level without T. J. Watt. Allen was never close to being sacked. And, oh by the way, it's the highest paid defense in the league.

One of the local stations has three sportswriters discuss issues every Sunday night after the news, and last night two of the three were harping on everyone's favorite target, back-up ILB Robert Spillane, who played just over one-third of the snaps against the Bills. Because everyone knows only Blacks can play defense despite the fact that many can't.
Did they not watch the game? It was the Steelers secondary that was beat not Spillane. The truth is an inconvenience to these morons
 

wile

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I cannot stand to see Cowher, the awful Stewart experiment to me was a low point for the NFL.
 

Don Wassall

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I've successfully blocked The Great Seven Year Kordell Stewart Experiment out of my mind. That was the primary reason to dislike Cowher, but there were a number of others as I've mentioned over the years.

My accountant used to be the accountant for Kordell and some other Steelers. He had some interesting stories to relay about them.
 

Don Wassall

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Kenny Pickett said after the Steelers' latest loss, a blowout to the Eagles, that the team's receivers weren't studying and preparing enough. Undoubtedly true, but truth has become almost irrelevant in the USSA. And not surprisingly some of Pickett's teammates didn't like what the rookie QB had to say. Mark Madden was saying on his radio show yesterday that receiver Diontae "Hands of Stone" Johnson and at least one other current Steeler "liked" a tweet posted by former teammate Javon Hargrave of Hargrave sacking Pickett on Sunday. Looks like the "locker room" has already turned on Pickett.

Chase Claypool was traded to the Bears today. He's one of the ever-growing list of prima donnas who have inhabited the organization under Mike Tomlin's endless coaching reign. Claypool is a former second round draft pick who showed a lot of promise during his rookie season in 2020 but has gone steadily downhill since.

The Steelers are a mess right now and it looks like a long-term one. They are short of talent on both sides of the ball. Hopefully T. J. Watt returns soon to show yet again that he's far more talented than anyone else on the league's highest paid defense.
 

Leonardfan

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Kenny Pickett said after the Steelers' latest loss, a blowout to the Eagles, that the team's receivers weren't studying and preparing enough. Undoubtedly true, but truth has become almost irrelevant in the USSA. And not surprisingly some of Pickett's teammates didn't like what the rookie QB had to say. Mark Madden was saying on his radio show yesterday that receiver Diontae "Hands of Stone" Johnson and at least one other current Steeler "liked" a tweet posted by former teammate Javon Hargrave of Hargrave sacking Pickett on Sunday. Looks like the "locker room" has already turned on Pickett.

Chase Claypool was traded to the Bears today. He's one of the ever-growing list of prima donnas who have inhabited the organization under Mike Tomlin's endless coaching reign. Claypool is a former second round draft pick who showed a lot of promise during his rookie season in 2020 but has gone steadily downhill since.

The Steelers are a mess right now and it looks like a long-term one. They are short of talent on both sides of the ball. Hopefully T. J. Watt returns soon to show yet again that he's far more talented than anyone else on the league's highest paid defense.
Looks like the racial locker room politics are playing a role in Pittsburgh. Johnson sucks - just a high volume pass catcher that should have never been signed to an extension.

Good for Pickett to call out his bum teammates. I believe Johnson also had a blow up with Trubisky earlier this year.
 

Don Wassall

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In addition to Pickett's remarks I mentioned above, starting center Mason Cole is quoted in the paper today as saying this: "We're seeing on tape a lot of mental mistakes across our offense. This is the National Football League. This is our job. This is what we get paid to do. For guys not to know what they are doing on a play solely falls on them. Guys have to know what they are doing. We are given all the tools. We're given the assignments. It's our job to know where we are supposed to be and how we are supposed to do it."

Besides Pickett and Cole, second year TE Pat Freiermuth is the only other White who starts on offense (besides seldom used FB Derek Watt), and it's a safe assumption that Pickett and Cole weren't referring to Freiermuth. These clowns make millions of dollars and clearly most of them don't care, they're probably too busy smoking weed, playing video games and checking Tik Tok.

Mark Madden wrote some scathing remarks about the Steelers in his latest column: "Running back Najee Harris stinks. He had zero yards after four carries. He tap-danced after making a catch on third-and-3 when going vertical makes the sticks. . .

"Receiver Diontae Johnson signed a two-year contract extension worth $36.71 million before the season. He has zero touchdowns. (The Steelers only have 11 touchdowns in seven games and just four TDs in their last four contests.) Rookie receiver George Pickens had no catches on three targets at Philadelphia. How can Pickens be ignored? Jabroni Steven Sims also had three targets, for heck’s sake. Safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, he of the $73 million contract, got fricasseed by Eagles receiver A.J. Brown. Brown helpfully pointed it out once. . .

"The Steelers don’t do one thing well. They have nothing to hang their hats on. The Steelers aren’t building on anything. No improvement is evident. The Steelers are badly coached in every way you can be badly coached. Nine penalties provide evidence, including six on offense and three on special teams. The Steelers look disorganized and disheveled. They alternate between rattled and disinterested. Everything they do is all over the place, with no rhyme or reason. . .

"If the Steelers fire [Matt] Canada, it will pander and appease. But it won’t fix anything. Their malaise runs far deeper than a single scapegoat. This is about weak ownership. An overrated head coach being exposed for the fraud he has been dating back over a decade. A horribly inferior, low-pedigree coaching staff. A culture that’s gutless, leaderless and arrogant. Bad, random drafting that has all but ignored the offensive line since 2012. Hiring practices that are lazy, cheap and focus unreasonably on nepotism, local bias and the buddy system. (Wait till the Steelers take Joey Porter’s kid in the next draft.) The Steelers’ football philosophy is outdated. They think elite defense and dominating possession can still win. The Steelers don’t have an elite defense, despite paying $108 million on that side of the ball. . .

"The Steelers stink. It’s not a good franchise having a bad season. It’s an organization in decline that got kept marginally afloat a few extra years by a Hall of Fame quarterback who was also fading but had pride and knew how to win. The Steelers keep telling you who they are. At long last, do you believe them?"
 

Leonardfan

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Nice to see some pushback against the Steelers. Harris is awful. The O-line is awful. Secondary is awful. Nice to see a nod to Big Ben in there - just shows how integral he was to keeping the Steelers afloat. I think Pickett has the right mental make up and at least the media is not attacking him yet.
 

BeyondFedUp

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Good points Don and Leonardfan.

I think we are seeing on full display the mindset of Black entitlement among these "superior" athletes who are overpaid and don't deserve the praise, much less the pay they get. I don't know why the stadiums continue to fill, especially at the price the tickets are. The product is poor in Pittsburgh and in numerous places where these lazy attitudes of these pampered men playing a game they are obviously not preparing for as professionals should. They are cheating the fans, the viewers, the ownership (who deserve it oftentimes) and anyone else with an expectation of them doing the job they are paid to do. The game was much better when it was more of a White-led sport. The Blacks control the locker rooms now and it is a self-eating cancer and it shows. I cannot fathom how even the dumbest dwf can't see it...
 

Leonardfan

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Good points Don and Leonardfan.

I think we are seeing on full display the mindset of Black entitlement among these "superior" athletes who are overpaid and don't deserve the praise, much less the pay they get. I don't know why the stadiums continue to fill, especially at the price the tickets are. The product is poor in Pittsburgh and in numerous places where these lazy attitudes of these pampered men playing a game they are obviously not preparing for as professionals should. They are cheating the fans, the viewers, the ownership (who deserve it oftentimes) and anyone else with an expectation of them doing the job they are paid to do. The game was much better when it was more of a White-led sport. The Blacks control the locker rooms now and it is a self-eating cancer and it shows. I cannot fathom how even the dumbest dwf can't see it...

Well said. The entitlement of these affletes will be their ultimate demise. The me first, selfish prima donna cliched afflete template that was really spurred by Deion Sanders has filled a bunch of blacks with delusions of grandeur. It is the norm now and has only gotten worse. They are enabled by the media and benefit from the game being much softer. There are no more enforcers in the league - Bill Romanowski was the last of those.

Maybe now Gunner O. will get more snaps with Claypool traded away. The roster needs an overhaul and attitude adjustment.
 

SneakyQuick

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Or the fans in Pittsburgh will make fun of gunner’s name? And nothing will change. Which is more likely?
 

wile

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I've successfully blocked The Great Seven Year Kordell Stewart Experiment out of my mind. That was the primary reason to dislike Cowher, but there were a number of others as I've mentioned over the years.

My accountant used to be the accountant for Kordell and some other Steelers. He had some interesting stories to relay about them.
The one Pittsburgh Stinkers fan that deserves a reprieve the rest must bear that millstone about their necks till the Kingdom comes. Don't worry the Packers fans are about to get Gutenkisted.
 
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It's sad, that's all I can say. Pittsburgh is a great football city with a great football history (built mostly on underappreciated White players and loyal White fans). Any time the inmates gain control of the asylum (as has happened with the Steelers), everything goes to crap. Can't discipline anyone and tell them to play smart football because a fragile black diva ego might get bruised.

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A beautiful place to visit in the fall.
 

SneakyQuick

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Pittsburgh has to be one of the most underrated small cities in the US. Still hate the Steelers but it’s a good little city for sure.
 

Quiet Speed

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Not to get too far afield here because this is a Steelers' thread. But the last two post are making me think twice. The National Senior Olympics are being held in Pittsburgh next July. I have decided not to attend. Now I'm reconsidering, just because y'all make sound like it would be a pleasant time. :)
 
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