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Michael D: Notwithstanding the impact of injuries and based solely on reasonable worst case performance, what do you think is the floor on how many games the Steelers win this season? Assuming Big Ben continues to show signs of age and becomes a pedestrian quarterback, reminiscent of the back half of last year. That the OL, which was a weakness last year, might actually be worse this year. And regardless how good their skill position players are, their offense will be very limited if the OL is leaky, especially in front of a QB that can’t throw deep. I can’t necessarily see the defense imploding like that but the NFL is still an offensive league and you have to be able to score big to win many games. When you factor in an absolute brutal schedule, would it be that far fetched that the Steelers wind up going 5-12?
Brian: Well, Michael, the last winless team in the NFL was the Browns in 2017 and only two have done it since the schedule went to 16 games. Now that there are 17, I think it’s safe to rule out an 0-fer for the Steelers’ floor — and just about every team’s floor in 2021.
But it is interesting to wonder how bad things could get if the bottom falls out, simply because it’s been so long since we’ve seen that kind of situation play out here. If it didn’t happen in 2019, when Ben Roethlisberger went down in Week 2, will the doomsday scenario ever come for the Pittsburgh Steelers?
You never say never, especially in a league with as much parity as the NFL, but it’s impossible to ignore this organization’s streak of non-losing seasons under Roethlisberger and head coach Mike Tomlin. I mean, they've won 10 or more in five of the last seven years and have managed eight wins every year since 2003 pre-Roethlisberger.
Then again, there were those back-to-back 8-8 seasons in 2012 and 2013. And they finished last year on a 1-5 slide (1-4 in games they didn’t rely heavily on backups). All the concerns Michael addressed are legitimate ones, too, and he didn’t even touch on a secondary that could be suspect in its own right outside of two-time All-Pro safety Minkah Fitzpatrick. Terrell Edmunds needs to prove he’s the 2020 version of himself more than the one prior. Joe Haden must continue playing like a top cornerback at age 32. And some combination of Cam Sutton, James Pierre, Justin Layne and a bevy of rookies must stabilize the other cornerback positions (outside opposite Haden and in the slot). That’s not even mentioning Devin Bush, Robert Spillane, Vince Williams and the inside linebacker position, which is often an extension of the secondary given the coverage responsibilities.
All that said, I’m not going to duck the premise here. Factoring in the schedule, the track record and all the above intangibles, I’m going to agree with 5-12 being the realistic floor (of course 1-16 is hypothetically possible if the whole team undergoes a Space Jam-type of stolen athleticism).
Any lower would likely mean losing to one of the Bears, Broncos, Lions and Bengals (x2), without beating anyone else. Any higher probably doesn’t adequately represent the chances of Roethlisberger either dealing with injuries or continuing to struggle the way he did late last season, in addition to all the other aforementioned considerations of what could go wrong.
Mike P: Good morning, Brian. Thanks for the great, dedicated coverage. I have a question about rules for reporting on OTAs. Journalists who cover the team like yourself have mentioned often that they are limited in what they can say about what's happening on the field. But I've seen reporters covering other teams report on a lot of details the past few days, including a play-by-play breakdown of Green Bay's practice yesterday by multiple reporters. So, I assume this a Steelers-only rule (and maybe a few other teams) and not an NFL-wide rule? In your experience and I'm sure in talking to other teams' beat reporters, do you find the Steelers are more heavy-handed in what info gets out about the team than other organizations are? If so, why do you think they do that when others don't?
Brian: As far as I know, there are some NFL-wide policies governing media access but other aspects of it that are left up to each individual team. And, as you note, during this relatively dull portion of offseason practices, many organizations are allowing very detailed reporting out of rookie camps, OTAs and minicamp. For folks in Green Bay who are watching Jordan Love’s every move, or those in Chicago eager to evaluate Justin Fields, it’s great. For those of us on the South Side trying to give you a glimpse at a new offense and some new players, the guidelines are a bit of a challenge.
The Steelers have the same rules in place during the regular season, and it seems their general philosophy is that when a full-team activity can only be viewed by staff members and credentialed media — so, every practice other than those open to the public during training camp — they want to limit what can be shared to the masses. The Steelers are a fairly private club by nature, as evidenced by their reluctance to ever discuss contract negotiations, outside free agents, even prospects in the draft who aren’t on any team and have never played a down in the NFL. They also don’t make it a habit of doing a ton of interviews from the top, be it Art Rooney II, Kevin Colbert or even Tomlin when he’s not in-season.
Just today, I saw a tweet out of Detroit detailing what Lions coach Dan Campbell had to say about the team signing, or not signing, free agent running back Todd Gurley. Campbell gave specifics as to the timeline of their conversations with Gurley’s representation, and added that, “We're not sweating it. Do we like the kid? Yes, we do. If it works, it works. If it does, it'll be on our terms.”
It’s hard to imagine the Steelers ever being that transparent, and really, why should they? One of the biggest goals for the Lions right now is probably to get people thinking, caring and talking about the Lions. For the Steelers, that’s never a problem. They play things close to the vest, and my assumption is that their regulations for practice reporting is just in line with the culture as far as that goes.
JuJu is a combat catcher. Why not embrace the slot? I don't get it
— Pittsburgh Steelers 21-22 Season (@fan4_steelers) June 3, 2021
Brian: Ah, man, I was hoping each mailbag question would come from someone named Mike, Michael or maybe Mikey. But at any rate, this one actually comes from a story I wrote last week, exploring the role allocation within the Steelers receiving corps. It’s an even better topic now that we’ve heard from JuJu Smith-Schuster, who on Wednesday made it very clear that he desires to play outside receiver rather than staying in the slot so much.
He has embraced the slot, and Smith-Schuster has never complained about his touches or his usage, at least not publicly. But he doesn’t embrace signing a one-year deal for $8 million, especially the same offseason Kenny Golladay — an outside deep threat from the same draft class — got a four-year, $72 million contract from the Giants. But hey, Golladay has never averaged fewer than 15 yards per catch in his career, and Smith-Schuster was at a measly 8.6 yards per reception in 2020.
Being a reliable safety valve on the inside is a valuable skill, no doubt. But it’s not as distinguishing a trait as taking the top off a defense and making the big grab downfield. There are fewer people who can do that consistently walking this earth than there are tough, gritty combat-catchers willing to do the dirty work in the slot.
Smith-Schuster’s reasoning is that he wants to prove he can do it all, though earlier in his career, he did show he can play outside and win those battles. Granted, that was with Antonio Brown commanding attention on the other side of the field, so it seems the JuJu jury is still out — and his market this offseason, or lack thereof, made that abundantly clear.
Think you have better questions than these ones? Email bbatko@post-gazette.com or write him on Twitter @BrianBatko.
First Published: June 10, 2021, 4:12 p.m.
