Pittsburgh Steelers defensive star, Cam Heyward recently released a new podcast, Not Just Football, as a part of the "new media." He discussed several topics around football in his second edition of the podcast, released Wednesday.
Perhaps no part of it was more interesting than the discussion regarding this year's Steelers team. In fact, he gave a specific prediction in regards to 2022. In the midst of his interview with All Elite Wrestling (AEW) star Britt Baker, he gave an exact prediction for the black and gold's record this year.
"I'll say 12-5," Heyward said confidently. "That's my job [to fulfill expectations]. I got to handle that and make sure you guys [fans] look right, or you guys look wrong."
Heyward was speaking in terms of fulfilling fans' expectations and proving them right or for those who doubt the team like Baker, proving them wrong. Players are always going to be confident about their respective teams heading into the season, and this is no different. With that being said, it's nice to hear Heyward give a realistic result for the Steelers. If he were to say 16-1, everyone would laugh and acknowledge his obvious bias.
Courtesy of All Elite Wrestling
Shortly before the prediction from Heyward, he asked for the diehard Steelers fan, Baker to give her own record prediction. As a matter of fact, Baker participated in last week's Three Rivers Celebrity Softball Game, which is led by Heyward and Pitt All-American, Dorin Dickerson. After she predicted eight wins for the 2022 black and gold, the defensive lineman had this to say:
"Eight wins? That means nine losses," he said as his face was in disbelief.
She officially joins the national media crowd in those that are pessimistic, well other than Good Morning Football's Kyle Brandt, about the Steelers' chances for the upcoming year. Heyward's prediction was quite the contrary to those of the "experts" this off-season, and apparently Baker as well. His 12-5 prediction is still very good, and the five losses acknowledges some forecasted weaknesses for the team this season. The Steelers have been underappreciated from the moment the 2021 season ended.
That is, the same season they made the playoffs, losing to the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Wild Card round. Improvements have been made since then, while head coach Mike Tomlin remains at the helm. So, why is there such low optimism surrounding the Steelers? Likely due to the quarterback change, the first one in nearly 20 years after Ben Roethlisberger retired shortly after the end of the season. I think we can all acknowledge the fact that either Kenny Pickett, or Mitch Trubisky, will be an upgrade over the 2021 version of Roethlisberger.
Credit: All-Pro Reels Photography
Again, Heyward predicting 12 wins for this year's team is no surprise. Players will never predict a below-.500 record for their team. It's nice to see a realistic, honest answer, something the new media is striving for. His comments should only get you more hyped for the start of football season, which begins with training camp next week.
How lucky are we to have Cam Heyward as the leader of this team? Yinz, how excited are you for this year's team? Or are you pessimistic? What's your prediction for the Steelers' record in 2022? Share your excitement and predictions in the comment section below!
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