Madden Monday: Steelers offensive line could be ‘worst in the league’; team may never return to Latrobe for training camp
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We know that the Pittsburgh Steelers won’t be at Saint Vincent College for training camp. But we still aren’t exactly sure why.
The Steelers official statement read, “We were prepared to safely host Training Camp on campus with fans, but unfortunately our plan was not approved due to the NFL’s covid-19 protocols.”
But, in this week’s “Madden Monday” podcast, Mark Madden of TribLIVE and 105.9 The X said he’s not satisfied with that explanation.
“I keep getting told that the plan wasn’t approved,” Madden said. “But I get differing opinions on who didn’t approve it. The NFL? The NFLPA? The state? Who exactly didn’t approve it and why? So until they tell me that, I’m going to suspect shenanigans. I just don’t think the players wanted to go there. And I doubt that the Steelers will ever go to Latrobe again.”
From what I had been told, the team wasn’t even pushing for a full training camp at Saint Vincent College. Rather, they were considering just 10 days in Latrobe leading up to the Hall of Fame Game in Canton on Aug. 5 and then an immediate return to Pittsburgh after that game against the Dallas Cowboys.
“I hear more and more that the players didn’t want it to be at Latrobe. I wonder how much that impacted,” Madden said.
“Those guys just don’t want to live one day in Latrobe in a dorm room. Or 10, or however many it takes. It’s not going back there. It’s just not.”
Madden said he feels for the business owners in the community.
“I feel extremely bad for the economy of Latrobe. Those people — the restaurateurs, the hotel owners — who depend on that traffic,” Madden said.
One positive for folks in Westmoreland County is that at least they will be spared an extended look at the Steelers offensive line.
Woof!
We already knew that Maurkice Pouncey, Matt Feiler and Alejandro Villanueva were all going to be gone. Now David DeCastro has been released, too.
Look, the line wasn’t very good last year. Now it could be even worse with a bunch of guys who are either inexperienced, coming off of injury or making position switches or who are recycled veterans from other teams.
It’s not a pretty picture.
“I think the Steelers offensive line is going to be the worst in the NFL. Period,” Madden said. “I think the offensive line will be the death of the Steelers’ chances to make the playoffs. Perhaps they don’t even finish .500.”
Madden said that the offensive line issues aren’t restricted to the personnel either. As he pointed out, the unit has a first-year position coach (Adrian Klemm) guiding them. A first-year offensive coordinator (Matt Canada) designing plays for them. A rookie running back (Najee Harris) running behind them. And they are blocking for a 39-year-old quarterback (Ben Roethlisberger) who doesn’t move that well anymore.”
Aside from that, there shouldn’t be any problems.
Also in this week’s podcast, Madden and I preview the Stanley Cup Final, and we talk about Max Kranick’s outstanding first start with the Pirates, the potential of Marc Andre-Fleury’s return to Pittsburgh and the “The Forever Purge” movie.