The Pittsburgh Steelers have always been disrespected by the National Media. Whether it's the game day commentators continuously loving on the opposing team, or the fact that when you turn on SportsCenter, or NFL Network you're being force fed Tom Brady, Patrick Mahomes, or Josh Allen news. How about Tua Tagovailoa and the Tyreek Hill love affair? It's brutal for the population of Steelers across the globe.
Karl Roser / Pittsburgh Steelers
This morning on a segment of Good Morning Football which airs every weekday on NFL Network the team got onto the topic of teams that aren't getting enough coverage. The Ravens, Colts, Saints, and finally the Steelers were mentioned by the different panelists.
"I'm going to go with the team that should be talked about more that was in the playoffs last year," NFL Network Reporter Kyle Brandt said. "These guys right here. [holds up Steelers jersey] Look at that logo, drink it in and tell me that that logo, that that logo is going to go 6-11 this year. You can't, because they're not going to go 6-11. They never do, they never will."
He isn't wrong. The age-old story is that Mike Tomlin has never had a losing season. You can go back to 2003 as the last time the Steelers only won 6 games. Prior to that it was 1998, and 1999 as the last time the Steelers failed to have a winning record. All three of those seasons coming under Bill Cowher. And those were the only three seasons in Cowhers 14 years as head coach that he failed to post a .500 or better record.
"Heres what's going to happen," Brandt fired off. "It's going to be late October and we're going to be sitting around here as a show, early November, and be like 'wow look at the Steelers, they're 6-3 how did that happen?' Because they're the Steelers. I don't give a damn if it's going to be Mitch Trubisky, or Kenny Pickett. I don't care who it is, I don't think it really matters."
In 2019 when the Steelers lost Ben Roethlisberger for the season they went out and quickly acquired Minkah Fitzpatrick to sure up their secondary. In 2022 the Steelers went out and added Levi Wallace, Myles Jack, and Larry Ogunjobi to fill provide upgrades to an already solid group. They also added some depth on the defensive line with rookie DeMarvin Leal in the third round. And Defense is exactly why Brandt says the Steelers aren't going to start sucking any time soon.
"This division gets talked about so much. The Browns for that ridiculous mushroom cloud over the organization. The Ravens for the stuff Mike [Robinson] was talking about, Lamar and his future. And then the Bengals because they're the belle of the balls. These guys right here will win. Defense. Running Game. All the old trappings, I don't care who the quarterback is as long as the coach is there, and the Defense is there. Minkah Fitzpatrick signs this massive deal, one of the best safeties in the league. It's not even a blip on the radar because we got to talk about you know the quarterback room for the Dolphins for the 10,000th time."
Yeah, we agree with everything he's selling. The defense is still going to be much better with the addition of a healthy Tyson Alualu, and having Ogunjobi to plug in to replace Stephon Tuitt. If, and it's a big IF Devin Bush can get back to the type of player he was pre-ACL injury then this defense could be elite.
Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker, TJ Watt (#90) celebrates a sack at Heinz Field on October 17, 2021. | AP Photo / Matt Durisko
"Kyle, I love the Pittsburgh pick because if there's one coach that I would have to bet on or whatever you're talking about it's one coach that I have to lean on to uh make lemonade out of lemons that's Mike Tomlin," Michael Robinson chimed in. "He's very respected in that building. He's very real with every player in that building. They have a tough defense, and they have Najee Harris and they're able to run the football."
It's been something that's always worked for the Steelers. Run the ball, and play defense. Even with the NFL making rule changes to allow offenses to be able to score more it's still teams that can be balanced on offense, and play defense that are playing in the Super Bowl.
