by Bill Neal, For New Pittsburgh Courier
:10—Here we go, Steelers…Here we go! And go they did, right out of the gate and in grand Pittsburgh Steelers fashion. And of course it’s early and it’s just preseason football, but “Great Balls of Fire,” what a start, preseason or not. And as a great, great man once said (his being the Emperor Chuck Noll), “If the games weren’t important, they wouldn’t play them.”
:09—Okay, so I’ll take the hit like the man that I am. I admittedly did not think Kenny Pickett was ready for “Prime-Time.” Yes, he won the ACC and a few awards along the way and in the running for the Heisman Trophy. But I thought he would need at least a year to be ready. Wrong!!! You can give him the keys to the car now.
:08—We will need to pump the brakes on that car to be sure. We have to see him go against a legit team with legit starters on defense. But I don’t care if you beat the Little Sisters of the Poor at the buzzer. That’s a great win… In point of fact, that’s the Steelers way! (At least it used to be?!)
:07—You beat a Seattle team without Russell Wilson… (By the way, and I don’t have to tell you, his wife, Ciara, is finer than frog’s hair.) But I digress, my bad… And we beat a Jacksonville team that has nowhere to go but up. All that being said, it ends up in the “Win” column nonetheless.
:06—Let me make this loud and very clear for you—and this you can take to the bank. Mitch Trubisky will be your starter until he really goes in the tank and rightly so. He has the experience and pedigree and that’s why they brought him into the ‘Burgh. Pickett will be your #2 guy, as I said, until further notice. Mason Rudolph will be traded, most likely for a 5th- or 6th-round draft pick… but don’t cry for Mason. It will do him good in the long run to find a new home and maybe a better opportunity. Chris Oladokun is just getting a paycheck and destined for the practice squad.
:05—Too early to bad mouth the O-Line. Let’s just wait and see. Maybe they know something we don’t know?????
:04—But what we do know is this—we’re looking at showcasing a top 5 wide receiver crew and if that truly is the case, it will make the running game that much better in spite of the O-Line. The passing game opens up the running game. Diontae Johnson, Chase Claypool, George “superstar in the making” Pickens, Pat Freiermuth, and Zach Gentry make for a top-notch squad.
:03—There are a few new moving parts that will fit into what will assuredly be a top 3 defensive unit. Cam Heyward, T.J. Watt, Tyson Alualu, Minkah Fitzpatrick and Myles Jack will all contribute mightily to help bring back the Steeler Steel Curtain dominance. As for Devin Bush? I think the current thinking on him is, “Who?”
:02—Let us not forget the importance, the quality and the understated and greatly underappreciated head coach. As Coach Tomlin enters his 14th non-losing season, I expect yet another season of the same with better results. Read on and see why I predict a Pittsburgh Steelers’ 11-game winning season.
:01—Week 1 – Cincinnati – L, Week 2 – NE – W (not the same Patriots team), Week 3 – Cleveland – W (QB issues for Cleveland), Week 4 – Jets – W (not ready for prime time), Week 5 – Buffalo – L, Week 6 – Tampa Bay – L, Week 7 – Miami – W (we have their coach, Brian Flores), Week 8 – Philly – W (just because), Week 9 – New Orleans – W (regrouping, not rebuilding), Week 10 – Cincinnati – L, Week 11 Indy – W (won’t be easy), Week 12 – Atlanta – W (man, please, we got more fans there than they do) Week 13 – Baltimore – L, Week 14 – Carolina – W, (just make Baker Mayfield mad), Week 15 – Las Vegas – W (‘cause it’s Vegas), Week 16 – Baltimore – W (we always win the second game), Week 17 – Cleveland – L :00—Pittsburgh Steelers—Right Here, Right Now—GAME OVER.
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