Good Thursday to you Steelers’ fans.
Usually, the Commissioner of the National Football League gives his “State of the Game” Address on the Friday prior to the Super Bowl. This year however, current Commissioner Roger Goodell instead gave his address yesterday. In what has to be the easiest presser I’ve seen, Goodell touched on a number of things including the fact that he “isn’t thinking about retiring any time soon.” Hell, why would he? Have you ever seen anyone make the amount of money he does for doing less? Goodell makes roughly $17 million dollars a year and the reason he does so is because he makes money for the owners who employ him. Yesterday’s topics were as vanilla as they come and not a single reporter tried to ask Goodell anything of substance. “We’re worried about Antonio Brown’s health, not his playing future right now.” OK, but what else was he going to say? “We need to look into the Rooney Rule because it isn’t working.” He offered nothing in the way of potential change other than “we’re looking into it.” Furthermore, there was no discussion of officiating or should I say, poor officiating. How do you not address the biggest elephant in the room? I admit, I’ve not been a fan of Goodell’s since his ‘war on football’ started by attacking the Steelers and James Harrison. That of course was all instigated by former players suing over head trauma. As disgusting as I find Goodell I still go back to the journalists sitting there. When domestic violence came up and Goodell danced around it like a bear at the circus no one followed up or bothered to get a real answer. As the great Hub Arkash over at Pro Football Weekly put it, these aren’t ‘State of the Game’ addresses, they’re ‘State of Denial‘ addresses.
Tweet of the Day… Another Mr. Rooney you should follow on Twitter.
It’s Super Bowl week in Miami and I’m grateful to be here sharing my father’s unique leadership story from #ADifferentWaytoWin. #NFL100 #SBLIV pic.twitter.com/Gb8uAwRG2P
— Jim Rooney (@ADiffWay2Win) January 30, 2020
What Wouldn’t Surprise Me…
I can see several scenarios where the Steelers draft an offensive lineman with their second round pick. I say this because there is going to be a lot of OL talent available there but I also think the unit is far from set. With Ramon Foster likely gone, that will create a vacancy at either his spot or if Matt Feiler takes it, a vacancy at right tackle. I do not see Chuks Okorafor or Zach Banner as immediate starters there. So it’s possible a guard or tackle could be taken there. There is also an argument for a potential replacement for Maurkice Pouncey too. There is still a long way to go before we to the Draft but my head is already spinning.
What Am I Reading????
Not everyone agrees with what I say here every day and that’s part of the deal. When you share news and more importantly your opinion people are going to disagree. After reading Mark Kaboly’s piece about Terrell Edmunds in The Athletic, I felt like someone had stolen Kaboly’s login credentials and wrote an article under his name. The basis of the piece was that Terrell Edmunds struggled in 2019 in large part due to the addition of Minkah Fitzpatrick which changed Edmunds’ role. While this is likely true in ‘some’ respects, I think it’s a bit of an excuse. Kaboly notes that while Edmunds’ tackles went up by 25% he also recorded no interceptions, no forced fumbles, no fumble recoveries, no sacks and just two tackles for loss. While Edmunds has been durable, he also became quite a target by opposing offenses and in my opinion struggled period. Not just because of Fitzpatrick. Kaboly suggested that his role could change again if Mark Barron is cut and Edmunds replaces him. Where my jaw dropped is when Kaboly claimed that Barron “played well in his hybrid LB role.” Apparently I was watching something very different because if Barron had played well I don’t think they’d be cutting him. Again, most of Mark’s work I agree with and enjoy. Can’t say that in this situation.
Have a great day Steeler Nation!
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