Hey Steelers Fans. Welcome to Tuesday.
The Kickoff
The longer this thing drags on, the less I get upset with Aaron Rodgers. Can you really blame the guy for dragging his feet on this? A month or so ago? Absolutely I could but Rodgers has been enabled in a sense. My real disappointment is less with him and more with Omar Khan and Mike Tomlin for allowing things to reach this point. I pondered the future of this coming season yesterday and the more I think about it the more I realize what we are likely in for in 2025. As the kids say, “I think we’re cooked.” I’m not saying the Steelers can’t make another run at better than .500 or even a postseason appearance but I really think that is the furthest extent of where this season is headed. Clearly Khan and Tomlin have told Rodgers to take all the time that he needs. That’s fine but I don’t want to hear one damn thing about how “the offense isn’t clicking yet” or “not everyone is on the same page” when September rolls around. Say what you will for Mason Rudolph, at least he’s been present and putting in the work. Again, I won’t blame Rodgers nearly as much as I will the organization for even allowing it to come to this.
Around the North
I find the Cleveland QB room fascinating. Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders are all vying for a place on the roster. Yes, DeShuan Watson is still there but he won’t play this year. Don’t be a bit surprised if Kenny Pickett is the odd man out there… The Ravens locked up Derrick Henry last week. The guy who I think is still running over the Steelers’ defense will be around a couple of more seasons and that’s not good… Remember that 44-38 win over Cincinnati last season? I have a feeling, especially if the Bengals can’t get Trey Hendrickson figured out, that every Bengals’ score will look just like that in 2025.
Pushing the Tush
The NFL Owners are expected to meet this week and vote on the infamous “Tush Push.” Again, I do not view it as a ‘football play.’ It is a ‘Rugby play’ in which a ball carrier’s success is not based on those blocking others but rather, it’s about assisting the ball carrier from behind. I believe it also takes creativity out of short yardage play calls and is overwhelmingly advantageous for the offense. This is likely to affect other aspects of the game as well like ‘pushing the pile’ which happens frequently in games. My sense is that it gets voted out by the owners.
Onside Kick
It appears that rules for the onside kick will always be brought more in line with common sense. Last year, a team could only perform one in the fourth quarter, if they were trailing AND they had to announce their intentions. A new proposal would allow a team to do this any time during the game as long as they are trailing. The proposal also suggests moving the two sides from ten yards to nine in order to create more chances for the kicking team to recover the ball. From a ‘player safety’ viewpoint this is stupid. Teams already instruct “gunners” to take out the front-line guys in an effort to get the ball loose. This will only make it worse.
Random Reads
I lost power this past weekend from a downed tree. It was the result of some horrible rain and wind from Thursday night (the podcast had a couple of brief interruptions but we made it) and then the tree finally came down on Friday evening. We finally had power back by Sunday night. Anytime I lose power, I feel as though I’ve gained some much needed perspective. There are folks in North Carolina and California to name a few who have been without power for MONTHS. I feel like I can handle 48 hours whether I like it or not… Although I don’t watch the WNBA, it’s been hard to ignore the growth of it and the attention it’s getting. Based on what I’ve seen, there is a real dislike of Caitlin Clark by Angel Reese. I saw it when they played in college and based on the highlights I saw from this weekend, it hasn’t changed. Makes me wonder what Larry Bird-Magic Johnson would have been like had there been social media back then… Speaking of social media, what a nightmare that has become. I always hoped it could offer something positive and I suppose in some ways it has, but largely? It has been truly awful… I often find myself wondering what must be going through the heads of Cam Heyward and T.J. Watt as they see this Aaron Rodgers saga unfold around them…
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