Steelers fans can often be heard chanting, “Here we go”.

They should add a word to that chant these days. Again.

Here we go again.

A defense worth more than some small countries’ GDP just allowed a statue-like 40 year old quarterback to carve them up like a Thanksgiving turkey. And it isn’t even November yet.

Jamar Chase is one of the best wide receivers in the NFL, but you would think after watching 23 passes go his way —16 of which were complete— that maybe, just maybe, some type of adjustment would be made.

Adjustments? Not a Teryl Austin coached defense. The man has no clue. 

Mike Tomlin had a chance to retain Brian Flores as his defensive coordinator but chose to let him leave. See, Flores may challenge some of Tomlin’s nonsense. He absolutely wants nobody on his staff challenging his ways. Enter meek and mild Teryl Austin.

It was nothing less than embarrassing watching Cincinnati run the same plays over and over with little resistance from the Steeler defense. Oh, and they weren’t much better against the run. Chase Brown ran for 108 yards versus the vaunted Steelers defense. Brown was averaging 33 yards per game prior to facing the “Steel Curtain”. 

Again, embarrassing. And I didn’t even mention the Bengals offensive line was ranked as one of the worst.

That was the most frustrating part of last Thursday night. The Bengals have a disgraceful offensive line protecting an immobile 40 year old quarterback. The scheme the Steelers defense used allowed Joe Flacco to get the ball out quickly. He threw slant after slant after slant. On the other occasions Flacco was rarely pressured. The Steelers registered two sacks and a couple hurries. Essentially, Flacco was never threatened. He was even able to sneak around the end for a 12 yard run.

Did I mention embarrassing?

Meanwhile, the Steelers aged quarterback, Aaron Rodgers, had the Steelers offense humming. He spread the ball around from tight end to tight end, and even long lost Roman Wilson got involved. Jaylen Warren ran for 127 yards and caught four passes. The Pittsburgh Steelers scored 31 points. With the highest paid defense playing against a washed up 40 year old quarterback, 31 points should have been more than enough to secure victory.

The worst part of the game was easily the end. After miraculously taking a 31-30 lead, the Steelers defense just had to make one stop. They were coming off a rare three and out on their last defensive possession. Alas…embarrassing reared its ugly head.

On the first play from scrimmage, Joey Porter was in bail out, prevent mode, allowing Flacco to play catch with Chase for basically a free 15 yards. Then came my favorite play. The good old pointing fingers in confusion pre snap leading to the guy with 23 targets roaming across the middle like he was a lost soul crossing the Sahara desert. Here, see for yourself.

 


Embarrassing.

A few plays later the Bengals kicked a chip shot field goal for the win.

The Steelers corners, Jalen Ramsey and Joey Porter, had decent coverage in most cases, but the best of corners need some safety help when going against Chase and Tee Higgins.

It was just the latest example of coaching malpractice from Tomlin and his flunkies, and a poor effort from a bunch of guys that demanded more money. TJ Watt was ineffective, as happens far too often. Ditto Alex Highsmith. The best pass rusher on the team is Nate Herbig. His snaps were limited, despite Tomlin saying they would not limit Herbig’s snaps. Crybaby Cam Heyward plays hard, but at his age needs more and more plays off.

The only guy that got a bunch of money on offense was DK Metcalf. Metcalf is rarely open. Many of his catches are on contested balls. One case of that Thursday led to an interception. Part of the reason for that is the elementary routes offensive *cough, cough* coordinator Arthur Smith has the receivers running.

Let’s take a close look at the Steelers record. 4-2. They needed a 59 yard field goal to beat the still winless Jets, a basketful of turnovers to beat New England, and a win against a rookie quarterback in Cleveland. This team could easily be 2-4.

Tomlin is the best “circle the wagon” coach in the business, and he will have to be again this year. The Steelers still have games against the Packers, Colts, Chargers, Bengals, Bears, Bills, Ravens twice, Browns, Dolphins, and Lions. There is a whole lot of trouble on that list for a defense that continually embarrasses themselves.

Nothing with the Steelers will change until Tomlin is gone. He is stubborn, often delusional, and too egotistical to hire quality assistants. Last Thursday night was the latest example of a coach, team, and front office who are completely out of touch with reality.

Tomlin needs to steal the Al Davis mantra and just win because that is the standard he always speaks of in Pittsburgh. Spending beau coup bucks on defense in this era of offense shows how out of touch they really are. Each season is like another episode of Groundhog Day.

So, yea, here we go….again.

Tweet of the Week

Hey, Penn State, this is your man. I don’t know if he would win the big games, but there wouldn’t be a dull moment.


 

 

The Weekly Shiny Penny

The shiny penny was an easy choice this week. Shohei Ohtani accomplished something we will never see again. Something straight out of the movies —think The Natural. Ohtani hit three home runs, one of which went completely out of Dodger Stadium, and threw 6+ innings of shutout baseball —oh, he struck out 10 Brewers— in an elimination NLCS game. Incredible isn’t word enough for this performance. Check out my Musings of a Sports Fanatic podcast this weekend for more on this and why we should be thanking the Dodgers for making another World Series.

 

 

 


A Penny For My Final Thought…

Florida, Penn State, Oregon State, Virginia Tech, UCLA, Arkansas, Oklahoma State, Colorado State, and UAB. Those are the schools that are looking for a head football coach, and it isn’t even Halloween. There are more coming. Any hour Mike Norvell will be out at Florida State. Hugh Freeze could be in trouble at Auburn. Despite a vote of confidence from his AD, Luke Fickell’s seat seems very hot at Wisconsin. Others, like Brian Kelly, could wiggle their way onto the hot seat.

Remember those old Crazy Eddie commercials? It’s insane.

This isn’t a coaching carousel, it is a rollercoaster going off the tracks.

Athletics departments are paying lots of money to compete in college football. Patience are out the window. It is win now or else.

Every school’s fans are equally quick to ask for the scalp of their coach when things don’t go well. USC fans, of which I am one, are no different. After losing on the road —again— to a good Notre Dame team, Trojan fans are calling for a Lincoln Riley firing.

Stop it.

The price USC paid for Riley’s services means the criticisms are justified. In year four the build should be done. It doesn’t help when Curt Cignetti goes to Indiana and turns a moribund program into a contender in one season.

Riley’s play calling have been spot on all year, until Saturday night in South Bend. When the Trojans can’t run the ball effectively, Riley gets spooked. It leads to unnecessary trick plays.

In two years of Big Ten play, Riley has shown an inability to win on the road. His teams have failed to put games away time and time again.

Saturday night showed what the real problem is with Riley’s teams.

Not. Enough. Talent.

They weren’t in the same stratosphere as the Fighting Irish. Notre Dame was bigger, stronger, and faster. USC was shoved all over the field.

Yes, the Trojans could have won the game. Notre Dame kept it interesting with their own stupidity. Plus, USC’s skill people are electric. Still, there was a good reason Vegas had the spread at 9.5.

Now, Riley is certainly to blame for not managing the portal well and not recruiting up to USC standards. It may be hard to believe after watching Saturday, but Riley and his staff have improved the trenches. Just not nearly enough.

In order to become elite you must be elite in the trenches. You have to be able to hold your own against elite teams in the trenches.

You can complain about Riley for all the things I mentioned, but he isn’t going anywhere. Nor should he. 

It may be frustrating, but Riley doesn’t go on the clock until next year. USC has given Riley a competitive NIL system, built a state of the art practice facility and football building, and hired one of the best GM’s in the game who realized the importance of USC dominating California recruiting.

USC currently has the number one recruiting class for 2026. Most importantly, there is a 5 star offensive tackle, two 4 star offensive linemen, and four 3 star offensive linemen. There are three 4 star defensive linemen, two 4 star edge rushers, and two 4 star linebackers. In other words, Riley won’t have any excuses starting next year. And that list also shows Riley gets it. Fix the trenches.

It is fair to be frustrated with an 11 million dollar a year coach not having the team in better shape after four years. But that is the reality. Once there is an infusion of talent in the trenches next year, then you can start sharpening your axes.

The college football world has enough coaching openings as is, without a knee jerk reaction from fans of the Trojans.

I was screaming at my TV, too, but at least Lincoln Riley acknowledged his mistakes.

Avoiding this runaway coaster filled with unemployed coaches seems wise. Bringing in an elite recruiting class will raise the expectations. 

Baby steps Trojans fans, baby steps.

Just my two cents…