Why are the Pittsburgh media joining the national pundits in raising these questions about being overrated? “Sure, the Steelers are undefeated, but skepticism is warranted”

Mark Madden from 2015

… “How would that performance fare against Kansas City?”

Steelers fans are ecstatic about an 11-0 start, yet they are antsy. That means that they are “agitated, impatient, or restless,” according to the dictionary definition of “antsy/“

Yet, while performances like the one against he Baltimore Ravens on Wednesday and that against the Dallas Cowboys earlier in the season making them restless, many are outraged at the lack of respect being given to the team.

For instance, there is this radio host named Colin Cowherd who is on Fox with a program called “The Herd with Colin Cowherd.” Hard to think that the fans would take seriously a man with a name like Cow-herd, but such is life in the 21st Century,

They overwhelmed Cleveland and they get up for big games, but I’ve fallen for this a half dozen times in the last decade, where they’re really good in the regular season, they kind of play to their competition, and then they get to the postseason and you got an Andy Reid, a Bill Belichick, a Tony Dungy, or a Peyton Manning. They got Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes around the corner. That’s all about details, that’s all about efficiency, and those guys just waltz through the playoffs. When I watch Pittsburgh I think they’re a really great television show, and think they’re a ‘good’ football team. 

I know they’re talented, I know they’re tough, but you gotta blow out more teams. They tend to win our hearts, the favor of our fantasy teams, the networks like them, they’ve got a highly emotional, coach, they’re physical, they get in your face, and they knock you out -- they FEEL like football. It’s a really great television show. I think they’re a ‘good’ football team… [but] I don’t trust them.”

Colin Cowherd on “The Herd”

So, that is the national media, but when local media starts to question the team, then the natives are really restless.

I did not go cold turkey

Some disclaimers. I said that I would never watch a professional or college football game in 2020, and I have not done so.

However, the withdrawal has been gradual. I have watched clips and have read the stories, though not in the usual amount that I did previously. I have read a little about college, but more about the NFL. 

So, I did not go cold turkey. I still read about the Steelers, but have not watched them. I still root for them, though not like I did in the past. 

And, I am tempted every Sunday to listen to Bill Hillgrove and Tunch and the Wolf man on the radio. 

But, I did not. 

Now, about Mark Madden. 

Madden does tell like he sees it

I still remember the late broadcaster Howard Cosell who bragged that he “told it like it is.” What Howard was saying is that he told is as he sees it, which is what all of us do. 

Mark Madden is not my favorite Pittsburgh sports personality or columnist, but I do read him on occasion. What I will say about him in terms of praise is that he is not afraid to say things that go against the grain of Pittsburgh fans. 

So, when he analyzed the Steelers after the debacle of their game against the Ravens, he was blunt, but realistic,

The Steelers are 11-0.

It’s a weak 11-0.

That sounds (is) absurd. But the Steelers have three wins of much note. Beating Daniel Jones, Jeff Driskel, Carson Wentz, Garrett Gilbert, Jake Luton and Robert Griffin III doesn’t add up to a championship-level resume. Those victories against rotten quarterbacks duly noted, the Steelers also beat a bad coach (Bill O’Brien) and perennially lousy Cincinnati.

Heck, defeating Baker Mayfield isn’t all that dazzling. But Cleveland is somehow 8-3.

Skeptics unimpressed by the Steelers got a lot of ammunition Wednesday when the Steelers barely got by Baltimore’s JV. For an easy game, it was really difficult.

The Steelers never looked like they would lose, but consider three big plays: Joe Haden’s pick-6, Minkah Fitzpatrick’s break-up to deny Baltimore a go-ahead touchdown at the end of the first half, and James Washington’s third-down catch in traffic that let the Steelers keep the ball late.

Eliminate any of those, and the Steelers could very easily have lost to a Ravens team that only dressed 36 players, with eight of them making their NFL debut.

How would that performance fare against Kansas City?

Mark Madden, “Sure, the Steelers are undefeated, but skepticism is warranted,” Tribune-Review, December 4, 2020

It is that last question that lingers at the back of the Steeler fans, particularly the young ones who remember the last decade and not the previous six Super Bowls.

Record since 2010 is abysmal by Steeler standards

Coach Mike Tomlin likes to say that “the standard is the standard,” but his record since that 2010 Green Bay loss in the Super Bowl, one that fans believe they could have won if not for Ben Roethlisberger’s pick-six and Rashard Mendenhall fumbles horrible fumble on what appeared to be a winning scoring drive. 

In 2011, they lost a wild-card game to Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos in OT, 29-23, a game that should never have been that close. 

And Tebow never again played in a playoff — or anywhere else. 

Then, in 2014, they lost to the Ravens in a wild-card game. 

Then, in 2015, the lost a divisional playoff game to the Broncos, albeit with Peyton Manning as QB. 

Then, in 2017, their last playoff game, they lost their first game to the Jaguars, 45-42.

Sandwiched in there was a trip to the ÅFC title game in 2016, one that ended in a humiliating, overwhelming loss to the New England Patriots and Tom Brady. 

For “the standard,” that is woeful — and that is what worries Madden and Steeler fans. 

Winning in the playoffs

Madden is blunt about what worries fans,

After starting 11-0, anything less than making the AFC championship game would be disastrous. Not winning a playoff game makes the season a total bust. That applies even (and especially) if the Steelers go 16-0.

Mark Madden,Tribune-Review, December 4, 2020

The playoff record over the past decade is what people remember, not that they won two Super Bowls over a period of four years from 2005 to 2008. 

And some fans like to point out the Tomlin’s first Super Bowl win in 2008 came essentially with Bill Cowher’s players, not his own — fair or unfair. 

Why are they throwing the ball so much?

Madden questions why the Steelers were throwing the ball so much in recent weeks. And he points out that they appear to be doing what they did in 2018 when Roethlisberger threw for 5,000 yards but did not make the playoffs,

It’s trouble if the receivers don’t get more sure-handed because the Steelers offense relies almost exclusively on passing. The running game is feeble and on life support. 

Roethlisberger seems determined to pull the plug, or maybe smother it with a pillow.

In five of the Steelers’ last six games, Roethlisberger has thrown 42 times or more. He was 36 for 51 for 266 yards Wednesday. That’s a good day if half the drops get caught.

In those six games, the Steelers have attempted to pass on 68% of their offensive plays. That’s akin to 2018, when they did so on 70% of their snaps.

That didn’t work in ’18: The Steelers went 9-6-1 and missed the playoffs. It’s working this year against foes such as Luton and Griffin.

Will it work in the postseason? Would it work against Patrick Mahomes?

Mark Madden,Tribune-Review, December 4, 2020

Throwing in short-yardage

Madden also explained that Roethlisberger and his OC are happy to throw the ball in short situations even when they have little yardage to go. That is not vintage Steeler football, but it appears to be Mike Tomlin-style,

It’s popular to say the short pass can replace the run. In many respects, that’s true. The Steelers prove that by ranking second in the NFL for time of possession.

But you need to convert a few short-yardage downs on the ground, especially near the goal line, where the passing game has less room to work with.

On Wednesday, the Steelers had six plays where it was third or fourth down with 2 yards or fewer needed. The Steelers passed five times, converting once. The Steelers made the sticks on their only try running the ball.

Whatever works, works. But passing in short-yardage situations doesn’t.

Mark Madden,Tribune-Review, December 4, 2020

If the Steelers struggle today with the national team from D.C. which appears to be as woeful as the national government, then Madden will be saying, 

I told you so.