Pittsburgh Steelers fans are bound together by their shared distrust of many things, including all AFC North rivals, Tom Brady's New England Patriots, Hunt's ketchup, and Pro Football Focus, better known as PFF. The fact that PFF's majority stakeholder is Cris Collinsworth, a former Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver, is a significant reason why Steelers fans stand united in their skepticism and reluctance to accept their analytics.
Sports Illustrated
Former Cincinnati Bengals QB Cris Collinsworth is now an analyst who owns most of PFF.
Not just fans speak out against their methodology; players do as well. During the 2023 season, Patrick Peterson was frustrated that the Steelers defense did not get the credit they deserved. JJ Watt complained about how he thinks PFF is part of the reason TJ Watt got snubbed for Defensive Player of the Year. And former Steelers offensive guard Ramon Foster, regularly talks on the podcast he co-hosts about how he feels like they don't grade offensive guards correctly.
On Foster's show, The Ramon Foster Show, which he co-hosts with Pittsburgh sports reporter Dejan Kovacevic, on DK Pittsburgh Sports, Foster shared that he was recently on a PFF podcast and the hosts mentioned the fact that Foster is a "PFF hater." The PFF co-hosts Sam Monson and Steve Palazzolo said Foster yelled at them about their methodology.
Monson said they were on a training camp tour, and several PFF analysts were standing on the sideline watching. Out of the blue, Monson said, Foster calls them out in front of everyone. Foster laughed and agreed that is exactly what happened.
"I did. And I said this, 'Hey you guys suck!'" Foster said.
Foster joked that he may or may not have added a few extra words at the end. He stands by his stance, which he explained is because the offensive line already has one of the toughest jobs in football. People don't appreciate what they do, but are quick to blame anything that goes wrong on them. So, to have PFF grade them or say they gave up sacks they know they didn't, he feels it is unjustified a lot. He appreciates now that they elaborate more on the how and why.
ESPN
Steelers Ramon Foster during a game.
Monson said they have worked hard to add explanations and not just grades to help fans understand their approach. Foster still feels like the offensive line positions are not as easy to grade as other positions, such as a receiver or quarterback. It is much more subtle. This leads to a lot of misunderstanding on the part of fans.
"What you guys print, what you guys put into the atmosphere. The biggest judgers that we have outside our coaches and the ownership is fans. If it's something bad that comes out, you say this guy graded out bad this week. Because of social media and the exposure you have, they run with it. Not realizing that at our position, the offensive line goes, there are 70-plus plays that we have to play, and one or two bad plays can equal a bad grade. But you don't talk about the 68 other plays that you did well," Foster added.
Monson said that over the past few years, he has experienced that Steelers fans are "unhinged" if they say anything nice about Myles Garrett, even if Pittsburgh isn't mentioned. Foster told them that because they are based in Ohio, fans assume they are Pittsburgh haters. What they say appears more friendly to Cincinnati or Cleveland.
USA Today
Steelers left tackle Dan Moore Jr. has been able to hold his own against Browns star Myles Garrett in their meetings over the past two years.
Foster bluntly brought up the "win rate" stat they used to justify Garrett being the top defender. It feels like they can paint the picture how they want based on who they are or the team they play for. Palazzolo mentioned that the offices used to be in the U.K., and Foster said that argument doesn't help their cause; most Americans feel that a U.K.-based group should not have such clout in grading a uniquely American sport.
Steelers Fans Still Dislike PFF
While Foster might be explaining PFF's methods to the city, it likely won't help. Sometimes, the dislike of something isn't totally rational. PFF would have to show unwavering fairness in scoring the Steelers, and that seems to be beyond the realm of possibility.
It is made even more complicated by players pointing out their inconsistencies. For example, when Peterson complained about them, he felt they had his stats totally wrong. On his own podcast, he went through the game play-by-play and couldn't make sense of what they said. Peterson said the actual yardage from the one pass he gave up, 12 yards, did not equal the 20-24 yards PFF cited.
When JJ Watt spoke up about his brother, he had similar complaints. TJ bested Garrett in all major statistical categories for defense. JJ said that PFF acts like "football czars" who decide who is good and who isn't. They don't work off actual data, but instead use imaginary numbers they create. They can continue to call Steelers fans "unhinged," but we have the data to support our arguments.
(Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
Steelers TJ Watt punishes Bengals during 16-10 victory in Week 12.
What do you think about PFF? Do they intentionally slight the Steelers? If so why do you think that is? What did you think about Garrett winning DPOY, was it fair? Are you buying anything PFF says, how much stock do you put in their stats? Click to comment below.
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