U mad, bro?: Penguins fans still frothing, Steelers fans show little faith ahead of the draft
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The Pittsburgh Pirates really must be playing well. A month into the season and not even a mention in this week’s “U mad, bro?”
If you just read that after waking up from a month-long nap, you must then assume that the Buccos are in first place — or the Penguins must’ve finally missed the playoffs and the Steelers fanbase is just preemptively ripping the draft class before it has even been picked.
Here’s a hint … it’s all three!
We’ll start with Don this week. He is still angry about the Penguins. He’s responding to a poll question we asked in one of our stories.
“They all think they’re good. On paper they are, but (not) the play on ice. It’s not like this is a locker room full of guys who don’t know how hard it is to make the playoffs. They all want to keep this group together. I guess they like watching playoff games more than playing in them. The poll asked, ‘Which Penguin will be traded?’ It should say, ‘Which Penguin should they keep?’”
1. Sidney Crosby
2. Iceburgh
3. Anyone else before Mikael Granlund
Fred followed up on a quote from Crosby in a column I wrote about their frequent collapses with the lead late in games this year. Crosby said the Penguins had to learn from that experience.
I agree. But based on what I saw this year, I’m not sure they are capable of learning that lesson. Fred appears willing to second my opinion.
“You can throw in not putting the Rangers away in the playoffs last spring despite holding leads in each of the last 3 games that they lost. Didn’t learn from that either, I guess.”
The prosecution rests, your honor.
More sports
• Chris Adamski’s Steelers mock draft: Don’t overthink this, stick with Joey Porter Jr.
• Tim Benz: In quantity vs. quality draft debate, Steelers should try to move up
• Joe Rutter’s Steelers mock draft: Search for left tackle leads to Georgia’s Broderick Jones
Jim appears a little fatigued about the negative coverage surrounding the Penguins.
“I am not going to lose sleep over them having a bad season. All good things eventually end.”
True, Jim. But the playoff streak didn’t have to end by losing at home to a Chicago Blackhawks team that had the worst record in the Western Conference at the time and was actively tanking for the top pick.
And in terms of losing sleep, I’m still having nightmares about the David Volek goal in 1993 to end the playoff series against the Islanders, and that was almost 30 years ago.
William likes the idea of the Steelers drafting an offensive tackle Thursday night in the first round. But he doesn’t like the idea of trading up to do it.
“Offensive Tackle at 17 (is) a must. Hate to move into the top 10. Target 13 or 14 if you must move up. And I dread the thought of settling for the ninth or 10th best OT. That smells more like Dan Moore type than instant starter.”
Well, if they do take a tackle at 17 and have to wait until 32 for the corner, what does the sixth or seventh cornerback smell like?
Because I’m getting (sniff, sniff) hints of burnt toast. What fragrance is that? Armani Eau D’Artie Burns (No. 25)?
I mean, if they go with a tackle in the first round, you aren’t going to be assured of getting a first-round-worthy corner. If they go corner in the first round, they aren’t assured of getting a first-round-worthy tackle.
Look, I’m with you to this extent. If Broderick Jones (OT/Georgia) is there at No. 17, I take him. But if he’s gone, I don’t necessarily take Darnell Wright (OT/Tennessee) over a potential top 20 cornerback. Because it’s unclear if Wright can play left tackle. And the Steelers need help there, more so than on the right side, unless they want to move Chuks Okorafor to justify the pick.
I don’t.
Dave S. sent a long email with concerns about the Steelers’ recent high-round drafting record. He mentioned the likes of Bud Dupree, Burns, Terrell Edmunds, Devin Bush, Chase Claypool and James Washington.
Here is his summation.
“Great players. Difference makers like Big Ben, Troy, Santonio, and James Harrison help win championships. Bad players like Artie Burns, Devin Bush, and JuJu help lose games when they make mistakes at the biggest moments. It’s not where you draft, it’s who you draft. This is why the Steelers have become an average team. Mired in mediocrity. ‘The standard’ is second-rate.”
In Pittsburgh, we used to say cavalierly that, “You can never miss on your first-rounders.”
We used to say that cavalierly, because the Steelers so rarely missed, that we never worried about it happening. But now, with some of those players you mentioned, it’s been happening a lot more often that it should.
Uh, by the way, did you leave Jarvis Jones off your list for some reason? I’d mention him way before JuJu Smith-Schuster, who wasn’t even a first-rounder.
Now, don’t get me wrong. Many in Pittsburgh are still trying to forget that Jones pick ever happened. It just seems that you have successfully done it.
Finally, I saw this tweet referencing the fact that Steelers coach Mike Tomlin has — wait for it — “never had a losing season.”
Steelers have yet to finish under .500 with Mike Tomlin as head coach pic.twitter.com/tEaQbGYGGH
— PFF Bet (@PFF_Bet) April 24, 2023
No, I couldn’t resist. This is how I replied.
I'm amazed no one else has ever pointed out this stat before…. https://t.co/Vq9ZnICOso
— Tim Benz (@TimBenzPGH) April 24, 2023
That induced this tweet from a Steelers fan in England.
That’s sarcasm right.
Thought all of #SteelersNation was aware our coach has never had a losing season.
— Gordon Dedman (@SteelUK) April 24, 2023
Sorry, Gordon. Yes, I suppose that sometimes sarcasm gets lost in the translation from English to … English.