SCB Steelers Quick Hitters: The ‘Media Storm’ Edition

Good Thursday to you Steelers fans.

There is a gathering storm that you may be starting to feel. It started with some light breezes before the wind started to gain some strength and consistency. By the end of the day on Wednesday, the clouds had become thicker and the thunder and lightning had commenced. This “storm” is the media and they are seemingly centered directly over the fields of St. Vincent College now. I, for one, am not a fan of it. Suddenly, the media appears to be thinking that the Pittsburgh Steelers are a playoff team and their opponents should take note. Let’s keep in mind that this sudden change of opinion has apparently been spurred on by less than one week of Training Camp. What these ‘experts’ have seen to dramatically alter their opinions is a bit perplexing to me. Allow me to connect the dots for you as to why the Steelers are gaining so much momentum. First, the media loves Mike Tomlin and this is his time of year. Second, the team is always one of the first stops on most national guy’s’ itinerary because of its location. And lastly, there’s the George Pickens effect. Because of the second year man’s highlight reel grabs this week it has been only natural for the media-starved nimrods to immediately jump to hyperbolic conclusions. If I sound irritated, I am. This team has potential but it remains young and largely unproven. This isn’t the teams of 2005 and beyond that were talented and laden with veteran talent. Teams like this one are currently constructed and are much better flying under the radar. But media talking heads have to have things to talk about so when Pickens makes a superb catch or when Mike Tomlin utters a sound bite, they pounce. Perhaps we can get through a preseason game or two before we lose our damn minds like I saw on Wednesday.

The Podcast

Episode 328 of the SCB Steelers Podcast presented by DEK Roofing Inc will air live tonight on YouTube at 10pmET. We’ve got a full week’s worth of Steelers Training Camp to discuss and we might even air an “SCB Overtime” but you must be a subscriber to get that! The show originates from the Bradshaw Bourbon Studio!

Tweet of the Day… This is a great line and accurate!

George Pickens wasn't surprised by Darnell Washington winning his backs-on-backers reps against T.J. Watt.

Pickens: "You gotta think, Darnell was at Georgia with the whole Philadelphia Eagles D-line."

— Brooke Pryor (@bepryor) August 2, 2023

Wither Fitz?

I’m still in the dark as to what’s going on with Minkah Fitzpatrick. Mike Tomlin has said he’s dealing with a “personal” issue. I typically hate speculation but that’s part of what I’m left with here. I can’t image this is contractual as he has a nice new deal from just last year. There’s other things I can imagine but I’ll leave those to myself. Hopefully Mike Tomlin will give us more information this week.

Cory Trice, Jr.

I need to explain a few things about this young man who is now out for the season with a leg injury. First, Trice possesses the type of physical traits the Steelers covet. Good size and long arms paired with physicality. During his Purdue career, he unfortunately dealt with injuries which pushed him down draft boards ahead of the 2023 Draft. His overall evaluation from most draft experts was that Trice was a third rounder. It made every bit of sense when Trice was still available so late in the Draft that the Steelers took him. The idea was simple; maybe he stays healthy and the team catches ‘lightning in a bottle’ so to speak. I mention all of this because I think a lot of fans had the idea that Trice was going to easily make this roster. While I do believe he would have had a decent shot, the more likely scenario was that he would go on the Practice Squad first simply because they were a few more experienced guys ahead of him. Trice has dealt with a lot of adversity in his life and I hope he gets another opportunity in 2024 but we must also have realistic expectations too.

Camp Tidbits

It is literally inevitable in the game of football at every level that a team will have a bad practice early in the season. This typically happens in the early phases of full contact. Yesterday appeared to be that day as the Steelers were very sloppy in all phases of the game including as many as four fumbles by running backs. It happens. I’m not alarmed by this at all… Friday night is the annual scrimmage at Latrobe Memorial Stadium. As they say, get there early. It will be packed. My favorite part is when the players come off the school buses… Mark Kaboly of The Athletic reports that little-known LB Chapelle Russell was the best LB in coverage. I’m not sure if that’s good or bad… Anthony McFarland is having a really good Camp which is great but he had a good Camp last year too. I’m really hoping it’s all clicking for him this year. What a weapon he would be.