The Steelers’ offense is going to stink.
The Steelers have the worst wide receivers in football. Pounding the ball on the ground, playing it safe and keeping it close till the fourth quarter is outdated.
It’s 2024. You score more, and faster.
You think the Steelers play smart on offense. But really, they play scared.
Who’s going to come up big on the offensive side of the ball? The Steelers need a hero, not unlike Bonnie Tyler.
At 35, Russell Wilson isn’t very fresh from the fight.
But when it comes to a hero, the veteran quarterback might be the Steelers’ best bet. By default.
I go back and forth on the Steelers’ QB situation. If you examine this space over the past month or so, I appear to be arguing with myself.
Justin Fields has the higher upside, and his legs provide big-play potential.
But Wilson still throws a decent deep ball. He was efficient in the red zone last year with Denver: 20 touchdowns, one interception. He ran for 38 first downs. Wilson will keep the offense organized.
Fields would commit a ton of turnovers: 30 interceptions and 38 fumbles in 40 NFL games.
Fields would get sacked a lot, but so will Wilson.
But George Pickens is going to get double-covered into oblivion. Eventually, he’ll snap. Heroes don’t snap.
Maybe Najee Harris will turn into Jim Brown. (It would be cooler if he turned into James Brown. Get on up…)
Pat Freiermuth at tight end is just some ham-and-egger. He won’t blossom. He’ll get exposed. Oppenheimer will call on Freiermuth to do more, and he won’t.
Wilson doesn’t have a lot to work with. But he’s got the mental wherewithal to polish crap. Or do his best in the pursuit, anyway.
So, Wilson is my nominee for hero. A very bland, vanilla sort of hero. Take what you can get.
I don’t have much faith in the Steelers offense. But Wilson won’t be the reason it fails.
The Steelers’ offensive problems will come home to roost when they face third-and-long. When it’s third-and-7 or longer.
That might as well be third-and-a-mile.
Pickens, as the only legit receiver, will get doubled and tripled into invisibility.
Who’s going to get open, Calvin Austin III? He should sneak a stepladder onto the field.
Maybe Mt. Washington will show off his hands of stone.
Perhaps Fields can run a quarterback draw. Or he could run the wishbone with Harris and Jaylen Warren in the same backfield. I bet that’s Fields’ package of plays.
The Steelers will likely stick with something tried-and-true when it’s third-and-long: Throw short of the sticks.
What if the Steelers could still get Brandon Aiyuk? There’s your hero.