Mark Madden: It's unrealistic to think the Steelers can reload right away

[Djfan]

Mark Madden: It's unrealistic to think the Steelers can reload right away​

Mark Madden: It's unrealistic to think the Steelers can reload right away

Monday, Feb. 14, 2022

The notion that the Pittsburgh Steelers can reload a mediocre team immediately after their Hall of Fame quarterback retires seems insane, but par for the course locally. (Ben Roethlisberger might not have always looked the part in his final campaign, but his guile and guts engineered six fourth-quarter comebacks on the way to an improbable playoff berth.)

The Steelers had nine wins, only one by more than one score. They got beat by 21 in their playoff game at Kansas City, marking five years without a postseason victory.

It’s a stretch to call the season successful, and it certainly wasn’t convincing.

But that’s what Pittsburgh does with the Steelers: It flatters to deceive.

Because everyone talks nonstop about the quarterback position, here’s some reality: Aaron Rodgers or any other big name won’t be a Steeler, Pitt’s Kenny Pickett will be gone by the time the Steelers pick 20th, whatever veteran the Steelers do get will be in the Tyrod Taylor mold, and Mason Rudolph will be the starter come Week 1.

The Steelers will have the worst quarterback in the AFC North by a wide margin. More than ever, the NFL is a quarterback’s league. The Steelers will be buried under an avalanche of Joe Burrow for the next decade.

The Steelers’ available cap space is another hope spot. They have about $32 million to use. That number could rise if they cut a few bums like Zach Banner and Joe Schobert.

But Cincinnati will have about $56 million in cap space. Like the Steelers, the Bengals need help on the offensive line. Given choice, who would you play for?

The Steelers usually don’t get involved in the first wave of free agency, preferring to bargain-shop after. Will they break with that tradition because they have money to spend? (There have been exceptions: James Farrior, Ryan Clark, Jeff Hartings, etc.)

The Steelers aren’t properly invested at football’s three most important positions: Quarterback, cornerback and left tackle. They might make Minkah Fitzpatrick the NFL’s highest-paid safety, though. (Safety isn’t that important, and Fitzpatrick isn’t Troy Polamalu.)

The Steelers offense ranked 23rd in yards, 21st in points. The Steelers defense ranked 24th in yards, 21st in points.

The offensive and defensive lines are both in shambles, as is inside linebacker. There’s not a legit No. 1 receiver. Cornerback will be a mess after Joe Haden departs via free agency. Every coaching and administrative vacancy gets filled from within, killing any influx of new ideas. (There’s a rumor the guy in the mailroom got promoted to special defensive assistant.)

What are the Steelers’ strengths beyond a few scattered stars on defense?

The idea that the Steelers will get better, not worse, in the wake of Roethlisberger quitting and after a 9-7-1 season that saw them sneak into the playoffs based a miracle final Sunday seems absurd. (As is the assumption that whatever quarterback the Steelers next draft will be the next Roethlisberger. It was 21 years between Terry Bradshaw and Roethlisberger.)

Most of the optimism is based on fantasyland quarterback dreams and free-agent gets that are very unlikely to occur.

It’s also based on a hubris that starts with ownership and trickles down through administration, coaches, players, media and all the way to the fans. That arrogance is the result of an unwillingness to admit problems and a decided lack of big-picture thinking. The Steelers never look past the next season, though it seems, finally, an opportune time to do that.

Mark Madden: It's unrealistic to think the Steelers can reload right away

 

[Djfan]

I generally thing Madden is a putzinheimer, but he's got this one right.

 

[Sarge]

And that's just it. There are a lot of morons out there that think if you just go grab Aaron Rodgers or Russell Wilson the Steelers are instant contenders again. Not. Even. Close. Bud. The Steelers need upgrades at several positions. If they don't waste draft capital on projects like Malik Willis or stupid trades for Rodgers or Wilson and build this right, they can be right back in contention in 2-3 years. Next season is simply not a realistic possibility.

 

[SteelerInLebanon]

I disagree. We have a lot of potential on offense and young O-Line who may make strides in the off season. We could have Tuitt back and Alualu plus a seasoned Loudermilk. Get some more lineman and a MLB resign Witherspoon and maybe Haden. Then all we need is a decent QB to be competitive. The Bengals had significant deficiencies on their o-line and still made the big game. No reason we can't with just a few pieces. We can't and won't be perfect everywhere. No one was this year. I could see Mason taking us to the playoffs if we make the right moves up front and at MLB.

 

[Troglodyte]

It’s ironic that he writes this shortly after Bengals win the AFCC after winning a combined six games the two years prior. Madden doesn’t reveal anything we weren’t already painfully aware of. Everyone seriously doubts that the Steelers will be anything better than mediocre in 2022, but beyond that, who knows? Things can change dramatically in the NFL.

 

[TDX27]

With the cap space we have, we should be able to rebuild/reload in 2 years. Now, assuming we draft a QB and they hit on a good one, he still won't be fully up to speed until year 3 or 4. Any QB in this draft definitely needs a year to sit and even a QB next year should still probably sit a year.

 

[livingthrudying]

With the cap space we have, we should be able to rebuild/reload in 2 years. Now, assuming we draft a QB and they hit on a good one, he still won't be fully up to speed until year 3 or 4. Any QB in this draft definitely needs a year to sit and even a QB next year should still probably sit a year.

it's going to take longer than that. Maybe just Maybe if the stars align and we shove some horseshoes up our butts so that we hit on every draft pick and free agent being a just decent starter then maybe. Nothing in Tomlin's tenure has shown me that we will even hit on 3/4 of our picks from one draft let alone two. This team has a lot and i mean a lot of holes. I mean how long have we been waiting for Tomlin and company to hit on DB in the draft (his area of expertise). we need a few of those. I fully understand being optimistic but have to be realistic. Even the best Coach and GM tandem would need a lot of luck and innovative ideas to build this team up in two drafts. we have no innovative ideas, not even sure who our next GM will be and a coach heavily involved in the draft that misses more often than he hits.

 

[JP1977]

With the cap space we have, we should be able to rebuild/reload in 2 years. Now, assuming we draft a QB and they hit on a good one, he still won't be fully up to speed until year 3 or 4. Any QB in this draft definitely needs a year to sit and even a QB next year should still probably sit a year.

We have 22 million inn cap space. To put that in perspective the Bengals have 56 million in cap space. Free agents will not flock to the Tomlin **** show and we will have huge competition with teams to get players. This rebuilding effort is being led by Tomlin a sure recipe for disaster.

 

[madinsomniac]

Turnaround in the nfl can easily happen in one season… and the Steelers have more raw talent than people here think… but just building the team next season is going to leave little wiggle room for adding a pricey free agent

First and foremost Fitzpatrick needs an extension…. He is too key to ignore or risk losing

Secondly the oline needs a stud. Hopefully we get that in the draft because in free agency that’s going to be very pricey

Thirdly tge secondary needs three pieces… hopefully they resign Witherspoon, but even then they need another outside guy and another inside guy… there are always cheap options inside, but outside they will need to figure out who starts in hadens spot or backs up Witherspoon if they go that route…

Then they have to figure out what tgey are doing with the mess at ilb… hey one or both of those guys could be the answer but they better have a plan if Bush checks out mentally again… even if they cut shobert, that money is going right back into the position

Then they need another wr… maybe two… one can definitely come in the draft but the other is probably going to be a pricey ufa

Lastly the dline… if tuitt comes back, great, if not they will need to invest in the position… id still make a play to obtain fletcher cox…

After all of that and the minor resigns and draft guys tgey have to pay… i don’t see how they could afford a rodgers or wilson or even the oft injured jimmy G….

Basically their best hope is that Haskins or Rudolph really make a big step forward this year

 

[Black & Gold Bleeder]

And a punter

 

[madinsomniac]

And a punter

We can draft one of those in the fourth lol… maybe third

 

[Djfan]

I could see Mason taking us to the playoffs if we make the right moves up front and at MLB.

I agree. He's not God, but he's also not the Elephant man. We'll be ok or better with him.

 

[livingthrudying]

It’s ironic that he writes this shortly after Bengals win the AFCC after winning a combined six games the two years prior. Madden doesn’t reveal anything we weren’t already painfully aware of. Everyone seriously doubts that the Steelers will be anything better than mediocre in 2022, but beyond that, who knows? Things can change dramatically in the NFL.

Absolutely right things can change in a season for any NFL team. The teams that experience that change usually have a serious change in the coaching or team management mindset. Not really a area that the steelers embrace or pursue change.

People (myself included) knock Tomlins player evaluation a lot. What gets truly missed (not always) is his absolutely abysmal Coaching talent evaluation. That's where we are seriously at the bottom of the pool. Who knows what some of these players might have been or could be if they had better coaching. I don't know the real issues cause I'm not there or in the meetings or the practices. What i do know that speaks very loudly is how many of Tomlin's coaching hires have gone on to bigger and better things. Why year after year do we never have to worry about anyone being poached or asked to interview elsewhere?

Are we cheap? Is tomlin scared of someone knowing more than him? are we to stuck on this promote within? if so is it cause we are cheap? I don't know the answers but there def seems to be a issue and its compounded by the fact that nobody at or above Tomlin's level seems to notice or care or worse they think he's doing a good job.

 

[Ron Burgundy]

it's going to take longer than that. Maybe just Maybe if the stars align and we shove some horseshoes up our butts so that we hit on every draft pick and free agent being a just decent starter then maybe. Nothing in Tomlin's tenure has shown me that we will even hit on 3/4 of our picks from one draft let alone two. This team has a lot and i mean a lot of holes. I mean how long have we been waiting for Tomlin and company to hit on DB in the draft (his area of expertise). we need a few of those. I fully understand being optimistic but have to be realistic. Even the best Coach and GM tandem would need a lot of luck and innovative ideas to build this team up in two drafts. we have no innovative ideas, not even sure who our next GM will be and a coach heavily involved in the draft that misses more often than he hits.

We're at least two good drafts away from a better team plus Tomlin has three years left on his contract so we're a minimum of four years away from improvement.

 

[Troglodyte]

Another thing to remember is that it is possible that some of the Steelers current young players CAN get better despite the recent trend of them hitting a ceiling or getting worse (Bush, Claypool, Edmunds, Washington, etc.)

 

[SteelBuckeye]

We have 22 million inn cap space. To put that in perspective the Bengals have 56 million in cap space. Free agents will not flock to the Tomlin **** show and we will have huge competition with teams to get players. This rebuilding effort is being led by Tomlin a sure recipe for disaster.

Close to 32 Million in cap space. https://overthecap.com/salary-cap/pittsburgh-steelers/
Also, the Bengals are estimated to have only about 44 Million once they actually sign the minimum 51 players. Steelers will have about 28 Million. https://overthecap.com/salary-cap-space/
Starting with $28 Million in effective cap space? They've done a lot with waaaay less in the past.

 

[insaniti]

Close to 32 Million in cap space. https://overthecap.com/salary-cap/pittsburgh-steelers/
Also, the Bengals are estimated to have only about 44 Million once they actually sign the minimum 51 players. Steelers will have about 28 Million. https://overthecap.com/salary-cap-space/
Starting with $28 Million in effective cap space? They've done a lot with waaaay less in the past.

And they can get to close to $50m with a few snips here and there. Guys like Schobert, Tuitt, and Banner could and should be cap cuts. That would add another $23m if designated as post June cuts. And someone correct me if I'm wrong, but depending on when Ben's contract automatically voids could also result in some cap situations...

 

[SteelBuckeye]

And they can get to close to $50m with a few snips here and there. Guys like Schobert, Tuitt, and Banner could and should be cap cuts. That would add another $23m if designated as post June cuts. And someone correct me if I'm wrong, but depending on when Ben's contract automatically voids could also result in some cap situations...

Ben could actually restructure his contract to lessen the load this year. There were a bunch of articles out last month about how that could happen. I can't remember the details. So, I won't hazard guesses. But, I know the Depot had an article on it.

 

[slashsteel]

And they can get to close to $50m with a few snips here and there. Guys like Schobert, Tuitt, and Banner could and should be cap cuts. That would add another $23m if designated as post June cuts. And someone correct me if I'm wrong, but depending on when Ben's contract automatically voids could also result in some cap situations...

Why cut Joe when you can just lower the hit? I guess I didn't see him as a liability...

 

[Drink IRON City]

And a punter

NOT sure if there was sarcasm intended or not.

I think Presley will come back after the off-season and actually be OK. He will have the time to re-group mentally and then we will see what we've got. Bring in TC competition for sure but Harvin will be there in the end, just my 4 cents



Salute the nation

 

[Drink IRON City]

Ben could actually restructure his contract to lessen the load this year. There were a bunch of articles out last month about how that could happen. I can't remember the details. So, I won't hazard guesses. But, I know the Depot had an article on it.

I thought I'd read thaT too and thought to myself, BEN is big enough to do thaT if he is asked.




Salute the nation

 

[Drink IRON City]

Why cut Joe when you can just lower the hit? I guess I didn't see him as a liability...

Bring in the one HIGH dollar FA ILB from Atlanta (hard to spell or pronunciation of his name). Shobert's cap cut equals about 1/2 what you will pay this guy.

But it will solid the ILB position up and compensate for a Bush in case he doesn't mentally make it.



Salute the nation

 

[insaniti]

Why cut Joe when you can just lower the hit? I guess I didn't see him as a liability...

Maybe not a liability, but also not worth the he 9.75m would cost next year. You could restructure, and could save close to 6m in doing so... But if your plan is to sign a FA ILB, is there a point in keeping him? Is he willing to restructure and be a backup?

 

[slashsteel]

Maybe not a liability, but also not worth the he 9.75m would cost next year. You could restructure, and could save close to 6m in doing so... But if your plan is to sign a FA ILB, is there a point in keeping him? Is he willing to restructure and be a backup?

I guess if their plan is to upgrade sure. I just figured their wants would run moreso with CB,RT,C,RG, DE and QB.

 

[livingthrudying]

The biggest problem with this article is i have to agree with Mark Madden for once.