Steelers Breakdown from PennLive.com

Steelers already have their 2020 first round pick in the form of proven playmaking safety Minkah Fitzpatrick. Good thing, too, because this could be the most unpredictable NFL draft of the modern era due to the limitations of the coronavirus. Strap in, Steelers fans. It’s going to be wild. When it’s over, let’s hope the Steelers have one or two really special players who’ll pay some 2020 dividends...

Both James Conner and Ben Roethlisberger should be very interested in the Steelers’ upcoming draft. It could just determine the future roles for both offensive stars, should the team spend a premium pick to select their successors. So who will it be for the Steelers at pick 49? Quarterback Jalen Hurts, running backs Jonathan Taylor or J.K. Dobbins – or another position altogether, even defense? We...

Sure, Eric Ebron is nice, new and nifty in his Steelers’ uni. But he’s not nearly enough in today’s pass-happy Patrick Mahomes-dominated NFL. And Steelers fans should find no comfort if Antonio Brown actually flocks with the Ravens this season. Such a deal would signal a measure of comfort by both parties that this will be a successful partnership. Brown knows it’s his last chance – and by joining...

Steelers are finalizing their draft day moves, just as their former star Antonio Brown looks to be out of moves after a former Pittsburgh coach shuts him down cold. I’m talking about current Tampa Bay Head Coach Bruce Arians’ hard pass on pairing Brown with a willing Tom Brady, who was brought in to take over the Bucs’ offense. This stiff-arm from Arians, who covets his offensive toys like no othe...

The release of two big NFL names with big NFL arms has stirred visions of Big Ben backups with Steelers-starter potential in the minds of Pittsburgh fans. So who’s the better 412 area code fit -- Jameis Winston and his interceptions or Cam Newton and his injuries? Maybe neither - but not how you’d think: Don’t believe for a moment the Steelers are content to stand pat with their current QB depth c...

Shakespeare once said, parting is such sweet sorrow. For Steelers fans, watching good players go, it’s bitter as could be. Yet, the Steelers have played free agency the same way for decades. Early days when big money buys up the biggest, hottest names, the Steelers opt to sit it out, biding their time and awaiting bargains. The challenge this critical offseason will be landing players at bargain p...

There’s plenty of pot-stirring going on right now in Pittsburgh. But soon, bullets will fly for real when free agency begins March 18th. Rest assured, the Steelers are quietly and secretly targeting their kind of talent, aiming to improve the team the “Rooney Way.” That means less hype, less ego – but bigger heart, better bargain and high character. In other words, far from the flash that generate...

The Bud Dupree franchise-tag dilemma requires some serious re-thinking by the Steelers. The team should be very nervous when conventional wisdom is so squarely on the side of the player Pittsburgh fans so recently wanted to ride out of town. It screams of a contract-year flash-in-the-pan that could burn the Steelers already tight budget. T.J. Watt is the true Steelers star at outside linebacker, u...

A 5-second video of a bushy-bearded, badly-bloated, blue-shirted Big Ben Roethlisberger lightly tossing a soft football inside a gym has all of Pittsburgh predicting the Steelers will be back in the playoffs in 2020. Ever-confident Steelers management is doubling down, doing nothing to downplay expectations, despite the fact that Big Ben’s bad elbow didn’t last two full games in 2019. Despite Ben’...

Don’t believe in Mike Tomlin’s mental mastery. Get yourself a transcript of Tomlin’s comments to Stephen A. Smith on Monday’s ‘ESPN First Take.’ Study it. Parse every word. Devine the multiple meaning behind every sculpted sentence. Then, truly appreciate what a wise leader, master motivator, quintessential coach and superb football business executive Mike Tomlin truly is. Or just listen to my bre...

Antonio Brown has something to prove, all right. But it’s not in the ring with some YouTube yapper, Logan Paul. It’s to himself, as a supremely talented football player, and to the fans who saw him do incredible things over 9 seasons – some of whom still believe in Brown, despite his best efforts to repel them. Antonio’s only redemption comes with an NFL return and an earnest, all-out bid to recap...

Perhaps Antonio Brown has been properly humbled. Maybe taking away all those fat NFL game checks finally got his attention. Whatever the wakeup call was, Antonio the grinder seems back -- and he’s grinding toward a goal of returning to the NFL. For now, he’s making the right moves gaining the sympathy of NFL players, coaches, analysts – even all-powerful Commissioner Roger Goodell. Brown could be...

The Steelers traded up in 2003 to secure soon-to-be Hall of Famer Troy Polamalu, and he promptly became the key cog in their two-time Super Bowl-winning defense. Now even Tom Brady says Troy belongs in Canton. But the bigger question is whether the Steelers have landed another Polamalu-like player with last season’s trade for safety Minkah Fitzpatrick. Fans can only hope he generates similar “Supe...

Some of Antonio Brown’s most recent bizarre behavior includes throwing phallically-shaped gummy’s at his former girlfriend and the mother of his three boys outside his Florida home. He’s had increasingly hostile clashes with local police called in to mediate the situation, then proudly posted the profanity-filled video on social media. Now, Brown finds himself in the middle of a felony investigati...

The Titans showed the football world how to go right at Lamar Jackson and the Ravens. They didn’t just get their feathers plucked, their deepest vulnerabilities were revealed. Both Jackson and his team face long-term game-planning headaches as the copycat NFL duplicates what Tennessee did. First among those mimickers will be the Steelers, potentially turning the 2020 season on its head.   See acas...

The ending to Tom Brady’s season wasn’t much better than that of the Steelers. When last we saw the aging GOAT, he was throwing a pick-six to the Tennessee Titans, en route to a crushing 20-13 Wild Card loss. To think it could be the GOAT’s last game in New England? But Tom Brady a Steeler? Pittsburgh fans have plenty to say about that – and it’s classic! I cover it all in the podcast. See acast.c...

Here’s all the iron-clad reasons why the Steelers are shoo-ins for the 2020 season of HBO’s ‘Hard Knocks’ – the annual all-access peek unto NFL training camps. Not only is Steelers Nation a built-in fanbase sure to boost ratings, out-of-football Antonio Brown won’t be able to resist hate-tweeting about every episode providing plenty of free publicity. Then there’s all the built-in Steelers’ drama...

Of all the shocks this Steelers season, the demise of receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster ranks among the biggest. He went from being given the No. 1 receiver position on a prolific offense to having become all but irrelevant player with lingering injuries. These maladies haven’t stopped his social media partying and hijinks one bit – and some fans are finally growing tired of his act. Meanwhile, the Ste...

How sweet it is for Steelers fans, who proudly took over the Cardinals’ stadium in Arizona to cheer on a fourth-string, undrafted quarterback, a bunch of rookies and no-names on offense, along with that swarming, smothering defense that has brought the Steel Curtain back after a long absence. Meanwhile, in a home loss to the Chiefs, Boston boo-ers were turning their backs on six-time Super Bowl wi...

Unheralded, undrafted Devlin ‘Duck’ Hodges flew over No. 1 draft pick Baker Mayfield as the Steelers bested the Browns. Now comes Kyler Murray, another No. 1 pick pedigree quarterback. Look for your stellar Steelers D to feast, your re-energized head coach to come up with a fool-proof game plan and your offense under Duck to quack just enough for the win to keep Pittsburgh’s playoff hopes very hea...

Plenty of Browns bluster is blowing into Pittsburgh for the big rematch of HelmetGate at Heinz Field. Meanwhile, Steelers Nation is embroiled in a quarterback controversy. Mason Rudolph is out, and a possible Duck Dynasty begins with Devlin “Duck” Hodges calling offensive signals, instead of making duck calls. Despite it all, on the week of Thanksgiving, we can all be thankful the Browns-Steelers...

After getting smashed over the head with his own helmet by the Browns Myles Garrett, Steelers quarterback has been getting beat up in the media for starting the Browns brouhaha. But the biggest causality is the Steelers offense, which now must rely on no-names signed off the street to beat Cincinnati. Oh by the way, the aptly named Bungles always manage to play the Steelers pretty tough. Expect th...

Steelers QB Mason Rudolph remains the reluctant starter who was thrust into service beneath Big Ben’s long shadow. Without doubt, he has much growing to do in order remain at the helm in Pittsburgh for the long haul. But will Steelers fans stay patient through Rudolph’s inevitable growing pains? Meanwhile, Baker Mayfield and the Browns were much ballyhooed all off season as AFC Super Bowl prospect...

Just call him the most eligible receiver in Pittsburgh: Massive offensive tackle Zach Banner has become something of a Steelers folk hero as he declares himself as an eligible receiver in about a dozen plays per game. It’s just one sign of the rising excitement sweeping Steelers Nation as the beloved black and gold are busy stacking wins for the first time in the 2019 season. I have all the best S...

Finding a franchise quarterback, even high in the first round of the draft, remains a crapshoot. The Steelers were lucky enough to have a lightning strike twice in 50 years with Terry Bradshaw in the 1970s and Big Ben Roethlisberger in the 2000s. Who knows when it will strike again in the vicinity of Heinz Field? And to already think it has, in the form of Mason Rudolph, is the real definition of...