Good Wednesday to you Steelers fans.
At 35 years of age, Pittsburgh Steelers’ defensive lineman Tyson Alualu probably thought longer about this coming season than he ever had before. He was coming off of a broken ankle that required surgery and forced him to miss the 2021 season. But Alualu stayed the course. He went thru rehab and got his old form back and then realized just how important he wold be to the Steelers’ defense when Stephon Tuitt somewhat surprisingly decided to retire. As I’ve said many times, Father Time comes for us all at some point and for Alualu that time may be here. Yesterday it was revealed that he was demoted from first team to second team giving way to Montravious Adams. There is one thing about football that never lies and that’s the film. It is abundantly clear that Alualu isn’t getting things done the way he once did. In most cases, if he were still sound and reliable against the run but not so good against the pass, then Mike Tomlin may have lived with that. The honest truth however is that Alualu isn’t pressuring the QB and his run-stopping ability has suddenly become suspect. With T.J. Watt still on the shelf, there’s no question the pass rush needs serious help. I’m not convinced Adams is the guy to do that but his quickness and low center of gravity are still needed to to stop the run. Alualu has always been a consummate professional and while I’m sure this doesn’t sit well with him, I expect he’ll be ready to play when his name is called. Ultimately what this shows is that it doesn’t matter who you are, if you aren’t getting the job done then you can be replaced.
Stunning
I saw something yesterday that I don’t know I’ve ever seen before. NFL bets had our Steelers listed at +10,000 to make the Super Bowl while Jacksonville had significantly better odds. I’m not saying this has ever happened before because it has, but at the same time, I still find it stunning and a sign of how far off we’ve fallen in recent years.
Tweet of the Day… We have a professional pickleball league? Hey, whatever works!
BREAKING: LeBron James, Draymond Green, and Kevin Love are purchasing a Major League Pickleball team as part of consortium that includes:
▪️ Maverick Carter
▪️ SC Holdings
▪️ SpringHill CMO Paul RiveraThe team, yet to be named, will be part of MLP’s expansion to 16 teams.
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) September 28, 2022
Progress?
Mike Tomlin said yesterday that he sees “progress” in the offense and that there won’t be any major changes. Based on what I’ve seen during the first three games, I’m on the Kenny Pickett needs to start bandwagon. After all, what does this team have to lose right now? The answer is nothing in my mind. The problem that Tomlin has is that he wants to win 20-17 type games every week and that’s why he’s sticking with Mitchell Trubisky. He wants a QB that won’t turn the ball over, will manage the offense and make the key plays when he needs to. I can already see Sunday unfolding in my mind. The Steelers will find a way to win a low-scoring affair where the offense struggles but does just enough to win. It will keep many fans at bay because “a win is a win” but it won’t do much for the future.
FOCO
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