The Pittsburgh Steelers know that their 2023 campaign hasn't exactly been what everyone envisioned after a triumphant 2023 offseason and preseason. An influx of talent brought renewed hope after the 7-2 finish to the 2022 season, but things have been rocky since. Pittsburgh sits above water with a 4-2 record, but even within the local media, there are concerns that what we all see isn't necessarily what is real.
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Pittsburgh Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin has navigated the Steelers to a 4-2 start in 2023, but there are still plenty of questions to be answered.
Steelers Insider Joe Starkey Has An Excellent Question For Fans
As the Steelers' 4-2 record has some in the national media enamored with the last-minute wins and cardiac nature of Pittsburgh's wins, not everyone is satisfied. Joe Starkey, co-host of 93.7 The Fan, asked a very important question on their show on Tuesday, one that not many people are openly asking: are the Steelers good?
"Are the Steelers good and nobody's noticing? They are 11-4 in their last 15 games, I'm just asking! They're 4-2, they're 2-0 in the division... they seem to specialize in winning late and close, and what else is there but late and close in the NFL?"
It's a basic question, but in 2022, the Steelers didn't get their fourth win until late November in a Week 12 matchup with the Indianapolis Colts. One would think that after the 2023 squad began the season 4-2, there wouldn't be questions over whether the Steelers were good. If you haven't watched any of the games from 2023 so far, then you can be excused from wondering why a 4-2 team is being questioned over their basic ability to win. The truth is that while the team has put together four wins, the way they were achieved left much to be desired.
Starkey seemed to show glimpses of that preseason hope we all had prior to the start of the 2023 season as he dug into the topic at hand. Are the Steelers being questioned because of their offensive struggles, or is it because they insist on waiting until the very last moment to show up and win? If it's the latter, then he has some Mike Tomlin stats to share that should make concerns over those last-minute wins ease up a bit.
"Mike Tomlin is...19-7-1 over the past three seasons in one-score games. I'll give you an example from the division that contrasts that greatly: our old buddy Kevin Stefanski is 9-12 in one-score games. It seems as if [Kenny] Pickett and Tomlin love being in the muck at the end of close games."
There is certainly truth in everything that Starkey put forth, but does it make Steelers fans feel better about their anemic offense? For all the hope that Starkey was showing, his co-host Ron Cook seemed to be going in the exact opposite direction.
Dale Zanine / USA TODAY Sports
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett has dazzled in the fourth quarter, but must be more consistent throughout the rest of 2023.
Steelers Are Not A Good Team, Says Cook
Starkey may see the 2023 season as nail-biting, but still moving in the right direction, something that Cook does not see at all. The 4-2 record holds very little water for Cook, and he simply doesn't trust the 2023 team as it stands. Cook wanted to respond to Starkey's general question about whether the Steelers are a good football team, and it probably wasn't what many fans wanted to hear.
"People tell you [that] you are what your record is, right? They're 4-2. I do not look at them as a good team."
Like Starkey's question, that statement by Cook was simple, but certainly biting and to the point. The 4-2 record, to Cook, is more of a smokescreen than anything else, hiding the inefficiencies going on behind the scenes. There is a historical reason for Cook to be nervous regardless of record, and that is the recent 2020 debacle that occurred. We all remember the incredibly unexpected 11-0 start to the 2020 campaign, but nothing about that felt right or strong.
Jordan Schofield / SteelerNation (Twitter / x: @JSKO_PHOTO)
Pittsburgh Steelers receiver Diontae Johnson knows that for the offense to be successful, he needs to have an outstanding 2023 season.
As it turns out, nothing about 11-0 was real, and the Steelers spent the remainder of the 2020 season falling apart, with a blowout loss to the Cleveland Browns as the cherry on top. This isn't feeling as shaky as the 2020 season, but there are still very real concerns about the 4-2 record giving everyone - the team included - a false confidence.
Starkey brought up the fact that since 2022, the Steelers are 11-4, but Cook wasn't having any of that, saying that he doesn't look to 2022 to dictate how the 2023 season will go.
"I'm more concerned about this year [2023]. 4-2 is really good... San Francisco lost its second game last night. They're supposed to be a Super Bowl contender, but I watched them [Steelers] play, I've been to every game, I've watched every play... I don't see a good team down there. But then I look around at some of the competition, and I think, hey, they're every bit as good as those teams, so maybe that does make them a good team."
While Cook left the door slightly ajar for the 2023 Steelers actually being a good team, he immediately clarified by putting the Week 7 victory over the Los Angeles Rams into perspective, at least in his eyes.
"I don't look at them as a good team. I looked at that game Sunday as they survived, and I don't think the Rams are very good either. So they survived another average, mediocre team."
Those are harsh words for fans looking to the Steelers' recent victories as a reason for hope moving forward in the 2023 season. Both Starkey and Cook made good points in their own way, but the reality is that there is a ton of football left to play in 2023, and as the 2022 campaign showed, anything can happen during that final stretch of the season.
What do you think of the above comments? How will the team finish the season? Comment below!
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