There’s simply no juice.

When you look around the NFL for teams to get excited about this year, maybe you glance to LA, Chicago, Buffalo, Detroit, Seattle, New England, Cincinnati, back to LA, or Houston.

Pittsburgh?

Nah. No juice in Pittsburgh.

Defense isn’t first and foremost what lights fans up. The Steelers should have a solid defense, with a chance to be slightly better than solid. The Black and Gold are some quality middle linebackers away from having a potentially elite defense. As has been the case lately, the defense should be the better side of the football in Pittsburgh.

Offense is what gets fans geeked up. There is very little on offense for Steelers fans to get their geek meter registering.

The best player on the offense is arguably Zach Frazier, the center. When the center is your best player on offense, you have nothing to be excited about.

The rest of Pittsburgh’s offensive line is suspect. Troy Fautanu is returning for his sophomore season to play left tackle. Mason McCormick is at left guard, making the left side marginally respectable. On the right you will find Spencer Anderson and Dylan Cook, with rookie Max Iheanacor waiting in the wings. The right side should scare you —and Aaron Rodgers— to death.

The receiving corps is average at best. DK Metcalf is the number one receiver, but is highly overrated. Metcalf is good for running down the field, where he will catch —MAYBE— 50% of the passes thrown his way. Michael Pittman is a solid veteran with good hands and who is not afraid to go across the middle. After that the Steelers have a lot of question marks. Rookie Germie Bernard may blossom into a quality NFL receiver. He may also become another average receiver nobody cares about. Roman Wilson will make you yearn for Calvin Austin. Ben Skowronek is a special teamer doubling as a receiver. Kaden Wetjen is a punt returner doubling as a punt returner.

The running back room’s most interesting player may be rookie Eli Heidenreich. To me, Heidenreich was a shoo-in to make the roster. He may turn into something unique, and working hard won’t have to be questioned. Jaylen Warren is a solid NFL runner, as is backup Rico Dowdle. Neither is close to spectacular.

I do love the tight end pairing of Pat Friermuth and Darnell Washington. Friermuth up the seam and Washington over the middle could be dangerous. Washington is an absolute freak.

The biggest reason for my lack of enthusiasm is at the quarterback position, of which the Steelers mysteriously kept four. The best move would be the boldest move. Use Aaron Rodgers in the Kirk Cousins role. Start him until you feel like Drew Allar has a handle on the offense enough to start. Allar may just be the next franchise quarterback in Pittsburgh, so why not get that ball rolling. Of course, this will never happen because the Steelers have deluded themselves into thinking they are contenders. They want the proven commodity under center.

There is no reason to keep both Mason Rudolph —who we all know how that movie goes— and Will Howard, a future backup. Again, Rudolph stays so this “contender” can cover a couple games with him in case Rodgers gets hurt.

My total lack of enthusiasm and faith in this team stems from having a soon to be 43 year old starting quarterback. Rodgers wants to avoid getting hit, a risky request with this offensive line, and will want to get rid of the ball quickly. Even though there are new coaches and a new offensive system, I wonder how different the offense will truly look.

Rodgers is a future Hall of Famer, but he is well, well, well past his prime. Because of his innate ability, he will have moments that cause you to sit up and take notice. Too often, however, he will look like a 43 year old who doesn’t want to get hurt. That is understandable, but not great for the Steelers. They made this bed, so now they will have to lie in it.

The one thing that excites me is the fact that we won’t have offensively inept coordinators calling the plays. Ohio State can deal with that now. Mike McCarthy is an offense first coach, who specializes in being a quarterback whisperer. He may have to speak up this year, what with a 43 year old quarterback at the helm.

Still, that doesn’t do much for me.

I called for a change from Mike Tomlin for the past three or four years, but I was really disappointed in the selection of McCarthy as the new head coach. His last outing as a head coach was in Dallas, and McCarthy was less than stellar. I know people are excited because he is a Pittsburgh guy, and the thought is he knows the importance of having a winner in Pittsburgh more than most. Really? Another coach wouldn’t understand winning is the objective?

I hope his offensive wizardry shines through. Pittsburgh is thirsting for a real honest to goodness NFL offense. With Old Man River at quarterback, I have my doubts. A bad season wouldn’t be the worst thing. Get a high end player in next year’s draft, promote Allar to starter, and cross your fingers.

The owner has been happy with 9-8 for quite some time. He is the worst Rooney we have seen captaining this ship. He lacks football acumen and a thirst for excellence. The GM, Omar Khan, had his worst draft last year(IMO) and has yet to truly make a big difference.

From the top down, the Steelers have caused a lack of enthusiasm in my fandom. I, as most were, was thrilled to know there would be a new coach. But they hired an old retread, mainly because he’s a local guy. Next, they convinced themselves they could contend and brought back an over the hill quarterback. They finished things off with a lackluster draft.

I hope I am wrong —on everything except Drew Allar— because it has been a while since Steelers fans had anything to truly cheer about. I fear I am not. The schedule isn’t going to help matters. Winning nine games looks like the ceiling to me.

I’m just not feeling the 2026 Pittsburgh Steelers. There just isn’t any juice.

Tweet of the Week

I have been saying this forever. August college football is bogus. No need to start the season before Labor Day.

 


The Weekly Shiny Penny

This is so good and so spot on for the current state of college football, particularly LSU.

 


A Penny For My Final Thoughts…

One topic this week for my final thoughts…

It didn’t take golf long to find the next Tiger Woods. I am pretty sure this one won’t cheat on his wife and get addicted to pain relievers.

Scotty Scheffler was unbelievably impressive this year without winning a lot. Take a look.

 


Scheffler won to start his season, then didn’t win again until the FedEx Cup started. He then proceeded to win two of those three events, including the Tour Championship. The only FedEx Cup event he didn’t win is because he played with hand, foot, mouth disease and could barely grip his clubs.

Scheffler has become just like Tiger in that once he gets the lead, it is lights out. He has converted ten straight 54 hole leads, and that’s not counting tournament,ents like last weekend where he takes the lead in the final round. The other players tend to wilt while Scheffler keeps making shot after shot. He is like a machine. There is a lot less flare than Tiger, but very similar results. The other players know it, too.

What makes Scheffler so good? Listen to what he tells Brandle Chamblee about his meticulous notes.

 


Hard work. Meticulous. Desire to be the best.

Sound familiar?

The next Tiger Woods is right in front of you.

Scottie Scheffler is the most dominant golfer in the world, and it isn’t close.

Just my two cents…