The Steelers went 8-8 last year and the other day I wrote that the sky was falling. 8-8 and heartbreak. Well, it's true, the Steelers are in bad shape and I don't see any prevalent signs that things will get better, unless the Steelers have one of their greatest drafts in NFL history.
What's even more puzzling is the Steeler's choices of signings and releases this offseason mixed with what I hear are their "interests". Especially after their franchise quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, restructured his contract to help the cap situation, for the second time in his career. Compared to other teams around the NFL, the Steelers have no idea how to tread a franchise quarterback.
First off the Steeler's don't need any big time offensive lineman in the draft or in free-agency. Personally, as a fan of the team I'm pissed off that they even said that they were interested in Jake Long. Who wasn't interested in Jake Long? They were interested in Jake Long like I'm interested in having a threesome with Selena Gomez and Kate Upton, except I like my odds better. The Steelers offensive line should be their best unit since 2005 next season. They'll have Mike Adams (former second round pick), Marcus Gilbert (2nd round pick), Maurkice Pouncey (1st round, All-Pro), David Decastro (1st round pick) as their starters, along with either Kelvin Beachum or Ramon Foster starting as well. I like that and the Steelers actually committed to building a talented offensive line for Big Ben.
That being said what the fuck else have they done to help the offense and their franchise quarterback? Roethlisberger was having a great season last year before he got injured against Kansas City, throwing 20 tds and just 3 picks. But now, Roethlisberger's running game just got worse with the departure of Rashard Mendenhall, who ran for over 1100 yards in consecutive years in 2009 and 2010.The Steelers had the SEVENTH WORST rushing attack in the NFL last year.
Right now Jonathan Dwyer is your projected starting running back. Yikes. What happened to improving the running game and getting back to "Stillers" football? Instead it seems like they just gave the fuck up. No running game means no play-action and it means your quarterback who is getting older, and has been getting killed his entire career, gets killed even more.
Of the 12 playoff teams, seven of them were in the top 12 in rushing yards per game. The Atlanta Falcons and the Indianapolis Colts were the only two teams that made the playoffs while finishing in the bottom 12 in rushing. Why didn't the Steelers make a bid for Steven Jackson or Ahmad Bradshaw? Hell, why didn't they even pretend to go after them like they pretended to go after Jake Long? Felix Jones and Peyton Hills are still out there and yes they are upgrades over the what they have at that position now. Unless you want to see 3908345 fumbles in a single game again.
So no running game for Ben we got that. How about How about the wide receiver situation? Well, back in 2005 the Steelers let go Plaxico Burress, who was Ben's favorite teammate at the time. Now Burress is back for another year after he's past his prime and went to prison for shooting himself in the leg a few years ago. That's ok I think Plax will actually help this sorry ass offense next year. Then after the 2009 season the Steelers traded away their number one receiver Santonio Holmes for a fifth round pick. They said it was because of Holme's behavior. That's funny because I'm pretty sure backup nose tackle Alameda Ta'amu, who was fourth round pick, who didn't even get on the field last year, tried to run over some cops while drinking and driving. He got to stay though. The Super Bowl MVP who had a great rapport with the star qb got traded for a fifth round pick. Should have been a fifth of vodka instead.
Now, once again the Steelers let a star receiver just waltz out to another team in his prime. Sure he was a douche but he over 4,000 yards and 32 receiving touchdowns in the last four seasons. He was the teams biggest deep threat and your quarterback has made a career of throwing the ball down the field. Antonio Brown is a good player but he has seven receiving touchdowns in three season. Wallace had four times that in just one more season. Emmanuel Sanders is a good young receiver but what has he accomplished yet. He had a big fumble last year, a few drops, and he's been injury prone. Not to mention that the Colts and New England Patriots are trying to sign him away from the Steelers.
Not only did Wallace leave but the Steelers signed one guy that can catch passes. Former Steeler's backup tight-end Matt Spaeth. ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME? Does anyone anywhere see something wrong with this? Your quarterback is in his prime and you are literally giving him nothing to work with. Now Big Ben knows how spike felt when he was on the "Little Giants" in the movie "Little Giants".
Look how the other teams around the league continue to acquire/keep talent around their franchise quarterbacks. The Denver Broncos already had two 1,000 yard receivers, and they went out and signed Wes Welker. You want Ben to put up Peyton Manning type numbers? Give him Peyton Manning type weapons. The Patriots lost Brandon Lloyd and Wes Welker but they still have two amazing tight ends, a 1200 yard rusher, and they signed Danny Amendola. They're also trying to sign another receiver and it could be Sanders. The Packers re-signed James Jones and Jeremichael Finley, and they're looking to sign Ahmad Bradshaw. The Giants kept Victor Cruz and Hakeem Nicks. The Seahawks signed Percy Harvin. And more importantly, the Falcons signed Steven Jackson and convinced Tony Gonzalez. Imagine if Ben was on the Falcons with his "clutch" gene. The Steelers have done nothing to improve a lethargic offense.
The Steelers have done nothing to help out their star quarterback. They even brought in an offensive coordinator last year, who is completely change the offense, which is taking away Ben's biggest strengths. If I'm Ben I'm pissed. If I'm Ben I'm saying "Why can't you guys treat me like Matt Ryan, or Aaron Rodgers?". If I'm Ben I really have to question if this franchise really even gives a shit anymore. They have six rings, they almost seem contempt with their accomplishments.
What was the point of Roethlisberger restructuring his contract again? I thought all of the restructuring was primarily for resigning Keenan Lewis but that didn't happen. Ben surely hasn't benefited from it. Unless you're a die-hard William Gay or Matt Speath fan, you didn't benefit from it either. Instead of saying the Steelers need a linebacker or anything on defense, why don't you people wake up and see what's really going on? This team might be really bad on offense. The defense was still the best in the league last year in terms of yardage. You get a good running back and another receiver, and the offense should be good. But if the Steelers do some dumb shit like draft a linebacker in the first round, well then consider me pretty much throwing in the towel. Pun intended.
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