Hazy future: Steelers fade into the offseason with many question marks
From the notebook of a sportswriter who doesn’t want to say he had more optimism left in the tank at this same time last year:
n But it’s true. And at this point last year, we were just drenched in chaos.
n So if you have the slightest bit of optimism, you may not want to read the rest of this, because I’m not sure I have any answers.
n I just don’t see how a 38-year-old quarterback saves all of what we’ve watched these last three weeks. And that’s with a right arm that actually recovers fully from delicate elbow surgery.
n The one bit of optimism I can offer is that I felt good only a couple of weeks ago, and that I’m allowing a few bad weeks to cloud my judgment. That’s always a poor way to look at a big picture.
n Also, last week provided optimism in the brief showing by Mason Rudolph. He looked much better, like the QB we came to expect when he beat the Rams, and he does offer a bit of hope — in a Neil O’Donnell sort of way — that the QB cupboard isn’t completely bare.
n However, you’ve seen the QBs in this division. Lamar Jackson is the guy the Steelers should’ve drafted in 2018. I knew it at the time, when I was promulgating the drafting of Rudolph in the first round. Those columns were always written with the expectation that Jackson would be gone.
n But, the Steelers passed on him, and as Mike Tomlin was talking to media, with the TV on in our media room — and it’s never on during press conferences — Jackson was being drafted by the Ravens.
n At that very moment, I heard Doc Holliday say, “Why, Steelers Nation, you look like someone just walked over your grave.”
n Tomlin had to have heard that voice, too, because he looked up to watch.
n There’s also Baker Mayfield in Cleveland. Unimpressive thus far, perhaps his fourth coach in just two years will figure out what makes him tick. I think he’ll at least turn into a difficult out, if not a perennial playoff performer.
n And, now, in walks Joe Burrow to save the Cincinnati Bengals. He’ll be their first pick in April. The first time I watched him, I was in fact in his hometown of Athens, Ohio, and I thought of Joe Namath.
n I’m not sure Burrow is actually THAT loose and limber with the cannon hanging from his right shoulder, but he is bigger, faster and more accurate than Namath ever was. Even the Bengals will figure out how to win with him.
n So that leaves the dying embers of a 38-year-old’s career before the Steelers have the fourth-best QB in a four-team division. For all I believe that this season was beneficial to the development of depth at the QB position — and I’m not ready to bury Duck Hodges either, even after a third consecutive poor showing — that depth, in my opinion, can only pay off in 8-8, maybe 9-7 seasons when fully developed.
n Last year at this time, there was O-line depth and the best coach in the business running the group. I’m sure to learn more about the job Mike Munchak’s replacement really did as the offseason unfolds, but trust that there’s not nearly as much optimism in my belly for this group and this coach at this time.
n I do have a high opinion of the receiving corps Ben Roethlisberger will direct next season. JuJu Smith-Schuster can be lumped in with Stephon Tuitt and Roethlisberger as disappointing-by-virtue-of-injury this season. I expected more out of Smith-Schuster yesterday, because he finally looked healthy in the week of practice leading up to this game.
n He disappointed, but please don’t count me in with this creeping flood of negativity surrounding him. We’ve all seen what he can do. We all know he’s a beast. Don’t fall into that Pittsburgh dynamic of eating the young. That’s what this city does — in my ravaged and forlorn opinion during these final days of the decade.
n Maybe if I could decipher this running back group with some conviction I could have more confidence on a team-wide basis. Do you enter the offseason thinking James Conner — a Pro Bowler in his first season on the job — is your bell cow?
n I don’t see how you can. But I also don’t see how you can forget about him. Injury-prone in the past doesn’t mean injury-prone in the future. But, whew, he’s fragile, and that doesn’t work for a physical back whose primary trait is doling out punishment.
n Kerrith Whyte never really got that chance to do what Willie Parker did. Whyte didn’t get the ball enough to see if he can utilize his 4.3 speed to break a long run every now and then. From what I’ve seen, Whyte hasn’t shown Fast Willie Parker ability yet. FWP showed that at his first training camp. He was a guy you couldn’t wait to get on the field and try out. Whyte — who hasn’t had a camp yet with the Steelers — has yet to fill me with that type of confidence.
n Jaylen Samuels improved as a blocker. And I like him a lot as the receiver out of the backfield. So those two traits add up to a winning third-down back. In my opinion, he’s a keeper.
n Benny Snell has lived up to my forecast of him as the next Frank Pollard. Pollard, who carried the ball from 1981 through 1988, and epitomized the ’80s. He once almost gained 1,000 yards (991 in 1985). So, make of that what you will.
n I think Pollard-type numbers are what we’re looking at from Conner and Snell. In a deep upcoming crop of big-time running backs, the Steelers could improve that position — and probably their entire offense — by grabbing whichever one of the five or six top-caliber running backs is left at pick 50.
n But, again, at the expense of decent backs like Conner and Snell? Is that really where they need to go with their only non-comp pick of the first three rounds? Tough call.
n Wide receiver is the deep position of this upcoming draft, and some are calling for the Steelers to address that position with pick 50. But with the impressive development of Diontae Johnson, who looks like a Pro Bowler on the rise, and with the sturdy development of James Washington, to go along with what surely will be a revived Smith-Schuster next season, I’m not sure another big-time playmaker at this position is the way to go.
n Of course, Smith-Schuster could become a free agent following next season, so there’s that to consider. But I’m more apt to see which of this deep, deep WR crop falls into the middle rounds than I am looking for a Rookie of the Year at a position that’s not in need of early-round attention.
n It has to be running back, offensive line or tight end at pick 50, right?
n I’m not in the mood to look at more edge rushers this coming film season. Maybe that’s why I continue to ignore Bud Dupree’s replacement as a draft need, because I just don’t want to go there again.
n That’s selfish, but maybe I’m looking at the front office to find $16 million in cap space in order to throw a franchise tag on Dupree. Of course, cap expert Ian Whetstone points out that money isn’t going to be easy to find as the CBA comes to a close and most restructures won’t be allowed.
n As for the rest of it, I’m never one for firing assistant coaches. I’ll assume Tomlin knows who’s doing the job for him and who’s not.
n And of course I’m not a part of the revived “Fire Tomlin!” crowd. Even that disastrous fourth quarter at the end of a disastrous month in a disastrous Maryland monsoon isn’t going to sour me on the job he’s done this season.
n But, man, it sure is a nasty picture fans will be forced to carry into this bleak winter.