All offseason, the hype was about how the Steelers offense was going to be different.

Now I don’t know about you, and in all honesty it might look schematically different, but from Section 534 or from any TV at home, the results still look similar to last season, and a lot of the same questions are being raised by the talking heads on TV.

‘What will they do if they can’t run the ball?’

‘Should the Steelers just keep playing Fields and trade Russell to Miami?’

‘Did Matt Canada sneak back into the booth?’

Well, maybe I made that last one up. But the offense was a sore point for 3 years under said former Offensive Coordinator, and after 8 quarters of play in the 2024 season, it looks to be a trudging work in progress to continue getting the Steelers offense out of the mud.

The DEFENSE, however, looks to be in midseason form already. In fact, they are doing all the heavy lifting in the early portion of the season to keep the team going.

Now let’s be honest, this is the blueprint we envisioned the team having to use to win games: An offense under construction paired with a defense that everyone would agree was built to dominate.

The offense has struggled to find rhythm under Justin Fields, but that isn’t to say that he hasn’t done well. In fact, he has MANAGED the games quite well for only having been on the team for 6-ish months in a new offensive scheme. And to be fair, that IS the role that most envisioned for Fields when he took the reins in Week 1 and then again in Week 2: Game Manager, not Game Breaker.

The offense is still anemic, even by Steelers standards, ranking 25th in Pts/Game (15.5), 29th in Yards/Game (260.5), and have scored as many touchdowns this season as the Carolina Panthers.

Let’s not kid ourselves here, the offense has done just enough ‘to get out of the stadium with a W’ as Coach Tomlin is want to say at times.

The defense is definitely doing IT’S part, as it leads the league in Turnover Margin (+2.5), Opponent Pts/Gm (8.0pts), and Opponents 3rd Down Conversion (19%).

But we’ve seen this type of anxiety and stress inducing gameplay before, and we know how it ends up: with the Steelers underachieving all season until their backs are against the wall, then finding their footing at just the last moment to get back to .500 or sniffing a Wild Card Playoff game.

Wow, I just made the connection.

You could use the same line for the Pittsburgh Pirates, except they are on the other side of the Mendoza Line regarding .500 and the Playoffs.

Both bad bigger offensive expectations this season that never got fully off the ground.

Well, at least the Steelers still have time to get it straightened out.

Russell Wilson should be back on the field soon, as well as Isaac Seumalo. And while Frazier and Anderson have been doing a good job filling in, let’s not kid ourselves that having Seumalo back will be a huge boost to an Oline that is watching the ruining development of Bro Jones in realtime.

Speaking of which, is it me, or is the discipline of this team still only a whisper away from ‘non-existent’ altogether?

Bro Jones just got ANOTHER holding call while I was writing this…

After the first two games, the Steelers rank 31 of 32 in Penalties/GM (9.5/gm), 26 of 32 in Penalty Yds/Gm (69yds/gm), while allowing the most Penalty Yards/Penalty to Opposing Teams (Steelers commit 11.3/yds/penalty to Opposing Teams).

Self inflicted wounds that kill drives or extend those of the opponent. Free yardage that will inevitably lead to points if it continues.

If ANYTHING is holding this team back from being more efficient overall, from scoring more points, from more George Pickens jaw-dropping greatness, is the lack of discipline at critical moments.

Twice now in two weeks, George Pickens has shown why he COULD end up as WR1, but the Steelers continue to shoot their own foot while the gun is still in the holster, Barney Fife style.

For all that the Steelers are doing to get their offense up to NFL standards, nothing will help more than fixing the penalty issue, and penalties are a result of a lack of discipline.

Can you make the argument that ANYONE, at ANYTIME, could be flagged?

Absolutely, and I’ll be the first to weight in on any conspiracy involving the League and its use of penalties to help bookmakers.

I said what I said.

But that isn’t what I’m saying here. While officiating has its big, ugly warts to contend with, the Steelers gave the Ref’s reason to throw the flags to begin with.

I’d wager that the Steelers would probably be scoring another 7 Pts/Gm if they cleaned up the penalties. I remind you again of the penalties that were called on the long Pickens catches in back to back weeks, that wiped massive plays off the board.

Discipline would quite literally be a 12th man for this team, and account for 70 Yds/Gm (penalty yardage avoided). That type of yardage, one could argue, is probably worth a Touchdown as well.

In most fantasy leagues, 70 Yards and a Touchdown is good for around 14-15 points, which makes that a quality fantasy flex play, if not a borderline starter.

So if ‘Player Discipline’ is available in your Fantasy Leagues, you may wanna go out and snatch him up ASAP. You can thank me for the tip later.

So for all the continued offensive struggles, and the apparent excellence and outright dominance of the defense, Danny Smith’s special teams units are playing well. Chris Boswell continues to prove that he’s the best Kicker in League (and yes, I know who Justin Tucker is, I said what I said).

That, combined with the fact that no one has the brass jiggly’s to kick it off to Patterson, as the Steelers are a LEAGUE WORST in Kickoff Return Yardage, but only because they have had ONE opportunity all year to return a kick (13 yards on that return, for those counting). Everything else has been touchbacks or penalties on the other team.

Even with prized Free Agent acquisition Cameron Johnston lost for the season due to injury, his replacement Corliss Waitman comes in on a moments notice and was banging 50 yard punts. Now granted that’s easier to do in the thin Denver air, but he played well in a pinch, and looks to at least be a solid replacement for Johnston this year. At least we don’t have to call up Jeff Hartman’s favorite all-time Steeler, Jordan ‘Weasel’ Berry.

Jeff asked on the #BurningQuestions article on Friday if Style Points mattered in the wins. I wholeheartedly replied in confidence that the answer is a resounding ‘NO’.

Just as I mentioned Friday, I am old enough to remember when an opponent scoring 14 points on the Steelers was a monumental achievement, the Defense was THAT GOOD.

I also mentioned the eerie similarities between this Steelers team and Fields at QB to an early 2000’s Steelers team with another mobile QB backed by a lights out defense…

In ‘98 and again in ‘02, this team would go to the AFC Championship Game riding that very formula.

So with all of this craziness surrounding the Steelers, and the chatter getting louder with an offense that is still struggling, the fact remains that this 2024 Pittsburgh Steelers team is 2-0, and won both games on the road.

At the end of the year, that is the only number that matters, so the Steelers just need to continue to do whatever it takes to move the needle in a positive direction.

Now comes to town a banged up Chargers team. This is exactly the type of trap game the Steelers cannot afford to let their guard down on. There were Justin Herbert injury worries coming out of Los Angeles, so that will bear keeping an eye on, but again, the Steelers must bring their discipline if they want to avoid an early season let down.

But even then, as a Pittsburgh Steelers fan, you have to like the position the team is in going into Week 3 against “Small Wang Harbs” (Jim being the younger brother of patron saint John “Big Wang” Harbs, coach of the Baltimore Ratbirds).

At this point, after watching this Pittsburgh Steelers team, even with ALL of the question marks surrounding the offense, you have to be asking yourself one question…

… (channels Russell Crowe voice)…

… am I NOT entertained?!?

… AM… I… NOT… ENTERTAINED?!?

The early bookmaking lines on the Steelers v Chargers game has the spread at -2.5 points to the Steelers at home, meaning the Chargers are favored to win a toss-up matchup on the road.

The home team typically gets a -3 point home field advantage on bookmaking sites, so for the Steelers to only have 2.5 points means that the Chargers are actually favored.

The Over/Under on the game is 36.5 points, so when the spread is taken off, Vegas expects the final score to be roughly 19-17 (36 total Points/2.5 point spread) or 20-17 (37 total points/2.5 point spread) Win for the Chargers.

The Moneyline tells a different story though. The Steelers have a -130 and the Chargers have a +110. Vegas sets these lines based on the action they are trying to sway. A +Number gets you more money if you win, and Vegas will tease those odds to get more people to play it. But as Admiral Ackbar from Return of the Jedi so eloquently says… ‘IT’S A TRAP!’

So what the -Number really means is that team is actually favored by Vegas, and it is not set on a line of points, as it is above. This is a straight up, head-to-head bet on who will win the game, and Vegas has stated, at least early in the week, that the Steelers will win.

If you’re like me, you’re still trying to make sense of who the 2024 Pittsburgh Steelers really are. It’s hard for me to even bet money on spreads or O/U’s until I can get a firmer grasp on what the Steelers are going to BE on offense.

A little bit about me and my betting. I don’t bet a lot of money on games to begin with. I never bet more than $10 on any game or set of games. I’m a $1 here, $2 there, add in a Parlay Payout Bonus on $3 there type of bettor.That’s just who I am.

I don’t judge anyone for betting more or less, or not betting at all. I DO however, judge you if you KNOW you have a gambling problem and are too prideful to ask for help.

Don’t EVER be afraid to ask for help, with gambling or ANYTHING for that matter. Just like with investing, NEVER bet more than you can afford to lose my friends!

Let’s Go Steelers!!!