Recently I was thinking about my time writing about the Pittsburgh Steelers. Throughout my career doing so, I’ve essentially done it all.

Commentary, news, breaking stories, features and even took a stab at simple film room breakdowns.

The one thing I’ve never done is work on just a random thought type format.

I can’t speak for you, the reader, but I am always thinking about writing and the Steelers. Thinking about different aspects of the team and game. Thanks to reading Myron Cope’s biography I decided to put a unique spin on this type of feature.

Now, for the name of the article, anyone who is familiar with the Styx song “Renegade” should know where it came from. If not, this is where it came from…

The jig is up, the news is out
They finally found me
The renegade who had it made
Retrieved for a bounty
Nevermore to go astray
This’ll be the end today of the wanted man

The jig is up…time for some randomness.

Let’s finish 2024 before talking about 2025

This past week on the Wednesday episode of the “Let’s Ride’ podcast I do what I always do on Wednesdays. I answer questions in the Mailbag Segment. This week I had several questions asking about 2025.

• Will the Steelers keep Najee Harris?
• How about Russell Wilson sticking around after this year?
• What is the bigger offseason need WR or CB?

I understand the intrigue which every offseason brings, but can we please just get through 2024 first? After all, regardless of what happened last week, and whatever happens this weekend, the Steelers have already locked up a playoff spot. Let’s see how this season plays out, mainly because how it ends could determine what the team does this offseason.

Strange things happen in Steelers vs. Ravens

I live in Maryland, and people love to talk to me about the Steelers and Ravens rivalry. I get it, and the biggest factor I always talk about is how weird stuff happens during these games. Let’s just look at the last two seasons:

• Remember last season at Acrisure Stadium when rookie center Tyler Linderbaum inadvertently snapped the ball to Lamar Jackson at the end of the half to try and catch the Steelers offsides? They went into halftime with no points.
• This past game against the Ravens when Russell Wilson threw one of the worst interceptions fans have seen at Acrisure Stadium in a long time?

These types of plays happen, the question is how do teams respond when they do? That interception by Wilson was negated by the freakish play of Payton Wilson covering Justice Hill down the sideline. I expect more of these type of plays to happen this Saturday in Baltimore.

Hard Knocks, Part Trois

We are three episodes into the HBO/MAX Hard Knocks series, and I honestly feel as though the series is starting to lose some steam. Well, half of it anyway. While the premise of the show is great, and the behind-the-scenes looks are always intriguing, the fact the Browns are eliminated from the playoffs already and the Bengals are hanging by a thread doesn’t necessarily make for great television. This week will be fun with the Browns and Bengals playing and the Steelers and Ravens squaring off, but if the Bengals lose and are eliminated, the show will be rather mundane when they follow the two Ohio teams. For the sake of entertainment, the hope is the Bengals stay alive for at least another week.

Time for the Offensive Line to get UGLY

The Steelers offense has been stuck in the proverbial mud for a while now, and the issue isn’t with the quarterback or even the play calling. I’ll go as far as saying it isn’t about the lack of George Pickens in the lineup either. To me, it’s about the offensive line. The offensive line, which is extremely young, has not been a group who is able to win those battles in the trenches. Not able to get nasty and ugly when it matters the most. If there was a game where the Steelers offensive front got “ugly” it would be this one on the road in Baltimore. A game where the holes were opening for Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren. In my opinion, we won’t see dominant offensive line play this season, but we can start to see signs of what will become in years ahead. Time to get ugly.

Screw scenarios, just win!

There is a pretty large sect of the Steelers fan base who was shook by the loss to the Eagles last Sunday. They feel it’s another “Same Old Steelers” team who can’t rise up and beat the premiere teams in the league. This group has gotten so loud on social media and other platforms, there has been a lot of talk about how the Steelers can win the AFC North without beating the Ravens Sunday in Week 16. This is indeed a fact. If the Steelers lose Sunday, but win their final two games against the Chiefs and Bengals, they will still win the division. The confidence in the Steelers is low right now, but I still have faith this team can rise up and beat the Ravens on the road and claim their first division title since 2020.

Russ has yet to lost back-to-back

Russell Wilson has been the quarterback for the Steelers for eight games now, and there have been plenty of ups and downs during his tenure. They’ve scored over 40 points, tallied over 400 yards, and also had some duds. But one thing which hasn’t happened with Wilson at the helm was the team losing two in a row. The last time the Steelers lose back-to-back games was when Justin Fields was the quarterback and the team dropped two in a row to the Colts and Cowboys in consecutive weeks. Some might say this is just happenstance, but I think it speaks to Wilson being a veteran leader who knows how to turn the page. Let’s hope this trend continues and Wilson doesn’t lose consecutive games for the first time in a black-and-gold uniform.

Announcers in Week 16

The Steelers fan base will be hearing Kevin Burkhardt and Tom Brady for a second straight week with this AFC North matchup being on FOX, not CBS. Before I talk about Brady and company, let me just say this is really weird. I know the NFL and their television deals have changed a lot of the years, but I miss the days when AFC games were on CBS, NFC games were on FOX, and if it was an interconference matchup the visiting team carried the coverage. Call me old fashioned, but that’s what I have grown accustomed to seeing week-in and week-out.

As for Brady, last week was the first time I heard Brady call a full game, and he wasn’t horrible. Was he tremendous? No, I still think Greg Olsen is better, but Brady being a part-owner of the Las Vegas Raiders has hampered him as an announcer. He can’t criticize officials, he can’t go into another team’s facility to interview coaches or players, those have to be done virtually, and he has to tread carefully with what he says. Last week in Philadelphia there were moments where you could hear the hesitancy in his voice, and that hurts the product. We’ll see how he does with a Steelers vs. Ravens game Saturday afternoon.

Officiating Crew Breakdown

This week’s officials are Bill Vinovich’s crew, so let’s see what we’re working with in Week 16…

This is probably one of the easiest officiating reviews I’ve done this season. Seems pretty straightforward, but when I see Aaron Santi is a middle school principal I have to wonder how these individuals handle being a part-time official in the NFL. The NFL does have some full-time officials, but most, as you can see, carry other day jobs. Does this principal just tell his assistant principals they have to hold down the fort until he returns from wherever the schedule has him this week? Does Tripp Sutter tell those who are in need of biopharmaceuticals it will have to wait? Inquiring minds want to know…

As for how this game could be called, this is from Steelers.com editor Dale Lolley:

Spare me the Joey Porter quips. The Ravens are tied for the league lead for the most penalties in the defensive backfield with 21 as a team. They are very grabby. Also have 27 holding penalties, which is on the high end. 119 flags as a team this season.

— Dale Lolley (@dlolley_pgh) December 20, 2024

We’ll see how Vinovich’s crew handle the Steelers vs. Ravens rivalry Saturday, and hope they call it straight up…that’s all we really want from these crews.

That does it…the jig is up, they’ve finally found me. This renegade is outta here…be sure to stay tuned to SCN for the latest news and notes surrounding the Steelers as they prepare for the Baltimore Ravens in Week 16.