SCB Steelers Quick Hitters: The “Rooting Interest” Edition

Good Monday to you Steelers fans.

One of my “favorite” questions this time of year is “Now that the Steelers are out of the playoffs, who are you rooting for?” Wait… What? Who am I rooting for??? I’M NOT ROOTING FOR ANYONE! If anything, I’m rooting AGAINST rather than FOR. I don’t understand this question and I never will. “But don’t you want to see so and so win it?” No! If my team isn’t in it then I don’t give a crap! Am I happy for true, die-hard fans of a team like Detroit? Sure, it’s a great story and those fans deserve this ride but I’m not throwing on a Lions hat or a (GOD FORBID) Ravens jersey just because my team is no longer in the postseason. That’s what nine-year olds do.

Another Quarterback?

As I watch the postseason I can’t help but pay close attention to two things; quarterback play and play-calling in general. The play-calling piece will take care of itself dependent upon who the new coordinator is but as watch these QBs I’ve really started to wonder if drafting a quarterback isn’t in the plans for the Steelers this year. Hear me out… Do I agree that Kenny Pickett deserves a chance with a more competent coordinator? Absolutely, 100% I do. This is largely why I believe the Steelers will NOT draft a QB with the intention of replacing Pickett or Mason Rudolph (who also deserves a chance should he re-sign). What is hard to dismiss however is that being athletic, being in control of the offense and knowing where the ball should go matters. If the Steelers choose to go into 2024 with Pickett, Rudolph and ‘insert third guy here’ then we must ask ourselves just how high our expectations should be. The team can win with both guys as we’ve seen but it may come down to a coordinator prove us right or wrong.

Scratch One OC

Shane Waldron, a very well-thought of coordinator with Seattle looks like he’s headed to Chicago. I have no idea how he’ll pan out there or how we have done in Pittsburgh but that was a name I was watching. Don’t be a bit surprised if the Steelers bring in Byron Leftwich and I’ll tell you right now, I’m not a fan.

Watt isn’t Winning the DPOY

I think we all need to recognize that T.J. Watt isn’t going to win the Defensive Player of the Year Award. There’s plenty of reasons why he should, but there’s too much talk about this PFF bullshit. Despite Watt having better numbers than most of his contemporaries, journalists who don’t know any better are citing PFF for their arguments as to why Myles Garrett will win the award. Can you imagine using something as subjective and arbitrary as PFF to have picked an award over Lawrence Taylor or Jack Lambert or Mean Joe Greene?? Awards have become nothing more than popularity contests.