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.

QB Talk

My what a week can do to the narrative, right? Through the first three weeks Justin Fields was the most improved player in the league in his first stint with the Steelers. The loss against the Indianapolis Colts saw the offense put up over 400 yards and 27 points, and Fields’ play in the second half had people believing.

Last week Fields finished 15/27, 131 yards, 4.9 ave., 2 TDs. 0 INT, 3 sacks for 16 yards, 93.3 rating, 6 carries, 27 yards, 4.5 ave. and now fans want him replaced with Russell Wilson?

Before you ask, yes I watched the game, and I realize Fields didn’t play the most inspiring game. But if that is Fields’ new “floor” then I think that is something the Steelers can live with as they hope he finds a new ceiling. Nonetheless, some people want to see Wilson, and I get that, but I’m just not there yet.

Can we talk “information”?

Something I wanted to bring up, and did so briefly in my Wednesday podcast, is to realize how there are back channels in the news and information which gets to the fans. Let me put it this way, not all sourced information comes from within the organization. A lot of it can come from agents and a player’s “team” who speaks to the media.

Here is a great example of what I’m talking about. On the Sunday Night Football broadcast Sunday Mike Tirico and Cris Collinsworth talked about how Russell Wilson was nearing health and should be ready to play next week.

Do you think Mike Tomlin honestly told them this in a production meeting? How about Arthur Smith?

Yeah, me neither. So, who told them this information? It most likely came from either Wilson himself, or his “team”.

Why would they say this and hope it makes it to the broadcast? Simple. They want the NFL world to know their guy is healthy, and if he isn’t going to play in Pittsburgh he’ll want to play somewhere. To date, Wilson has been a great teammate and lauded for his team-first approach, but at 35 years old don’t think he doesn’t realize his time in the league is waning. No one wants to spend their final years in the league watching from the sideline.

Putting the wheels in motion about Wilson’s health trending in a positive direction is exactly what they should do. If the Steelers want to stick with Fields, then send him somewhere he can play.

Keep this in mind regarding the back channels of information regarding players throughout the calendar year.

What are your expectations?

The Steelers haven’t lived up to the expectations of many, nor have they lived up to the hype of their 3-0 start, but let’s not dumb down our expectations just because the team is underperforming. No, I think all Steelers fans should keep their expectations high and hope the team can meet those.

Now, don’t get that twisted. I don’t believe a “Super Bowl or Bust” philosophy is the smartest, but how the Steelers go about their business matters. If you are sick of the Steelers scratching out wins against teams who shouldn’t even be within 10-points of the Steelers, you don’t need to parrot “wins are wins”, but can demand a better product.

Keep those expectations high, and hope the team who still boasts about “the Standard” can meet those new standards.

Same story, different year…sort of

As the Steelers prepare for Week 6 vs. the Raiders, I can’t help but think about how there is a similar theme happening on the offensive side of the ball.

Younger quarterback being treated with kid gloves in an offense which looks like the epitome of “safe”. Or, shall I say, “just don’t kill us”.

Sound familiar? Yeah, I’m talking about the Kenny Pickett and Matt Canada era.

But couldn’t we say the same about the early returns of the Justin Fields and Arthur Smith offense?

You can see these quarterbacks hesitating to make high risk throws, even though their instincts tell them to let it rip. It does make you wonder what, or who, is the common denominator in these equations? We all know that answer.

Media Bias?

Back-to-back losses has the media turning their ugly head against the Steelers, this after weeks of praise after a 3-0 start. You hear the typical blow hards like Colin Cowherd and Stephen A. Smith giving their monologues surrounding a sudden Steelers demise. You see locally writers trying to find whatever angle they can, 99% of the time it’s negative, to make themselves different and unique. To somehow stand out among the fray.

All I see are media trying to get clicks, views or attention. Just another reminder to not pay too close attention to these accounts/media…and, yes, I realize I can now be lumped into this category.

Division Race a 2 Horse Race?

It’s crazy to look at the AFC North Standings and how much they’ve changed since the start of the season. The Bengals and Ravens come out cold as ice, and while the Ravens have thawed out the Bengals and Browns find themselves at the bottom of the pack.

Baltimore Ravens – 3-2
Pittsburgh Steelers – 3-2
Cleveland Browns – 1-4
Cincinnati Bengals – 1-4

It’s early, but is this shaping up to be a two horse race to the finish? I’m not sure any Steelers fans are believing they can hang with the Ravens if they continue their hot streak, nor do I think the Bengals are just going to roll over and die. The Browns might, but the Bengals have too much firepower to do so, in my opinion. I think when all is said and done, it will be a race between the Steelers, Bengals and Ravens for the division crown, and the cushion the Steelers and Ravens have on their rivals is certainly helpful.

When to worry about Minkah

Yeah, I’ve heard the fans who are starting to wonder if Minkah is “washed”. They ask what’s wrong with Fitzpatrick, and why has it been so long since he’s gotten his hands on a football?

The answer to that question might be better suited for someone like our own Coach KT Smith, who could look at what the Steelers are doing in the defensive secondary and give you an X’s and O’s answer as to what’s going on. However, I can tell you the issues the team is having in the secondary the past few weeks are likely the common thread.

Some of the Steelers simply don’t know what’s going on in the secondary, but Minkah isn’t one of them. However, there are times you can see Fitzpatrick trying to cover for those who might not being doing what is intended. Likewise, when Fitzpatrick stays in his assigned area, there is a good chance there is a coverage bust somewhere else, making an easier throw away from Fitzpatrick a very realistic, and easy, alternative.

If Minkah is going to be Minkah the first step has already happened. That would be getting him out of the box and playing more center field. The next step needs to be having a secondary which knows their assignments and can execute said assignments with regularity. Lastly, is a pass rush who, if they aren’t sacking the quarterback, are hurrying throws. When all three of those things come to fruition, MInkah can, and will, still make plays.

No, I don’t think he’s “washed”, but is on the verge on the breakout. All he needs now is just for a few other things to fall into place and you’ll see that pigskin in No. 39’s hands again soon.

Announcers

For someone who doesn’t attend games anymore, that’s a story for another day, I tend to fixate on who will be announcing the Steelers games as I watch from the comfort of my home. Who CBS, or now FOX, has calling the game tells you a lot about what they think about the game. As an example, when CBS threw Spero Dedes and Adam Archuleta at the Steelers vs. Indianapolis game two weeks ago, that’s about as bad as it gets. It’s the equivalent of the D, or F, squad.

In other words, the network doesn’t find the game to be very attractive. They wouldn’t dare put their A team, Jim Nantz and Tony Romo on a game like that, and that holds true for the Week 6 game vs. the Raiders. But CBS does think this game will be well-viewed with two big brands going head-to-head, and it’s a reason why Ian Eagle and Charles Davis on the call. I have grown to like Ian Eagles as a play-by-play announcer, and Charles Davis is much better than Eagle’s former partner Solomon Wilcots who constantly mispronounced Steelers names.

I’ll never forget them calling a game in Miami where Ben Roethlisberger, he pronounced Rot-lisberger, hit Mike Wallace deep for a huge touchdown reception. Wilcots continued to talk for minutes about how fast Mike Williams, he meant Wallace, was, and continued to do so for at least the entire first half.

Oh, the memories…

Officiating Crew

Alan Eck’s Crew is the one in charge of the Steelers vs. Raiders game in Week 6. Let’s take a look at the crew:

Let’s analyze this crew for Week 6, shall we? Nothing really crazy about these occupations, although their colleges certainly have me asking some questions, but I have one main question about these officials on a weekly basis.

How do they handle these day jobs?

For Greg Meyer, a banker, does he take off every Monday? How about Dale Shaw who is in pharmaceutical sales? Are these employers okay with them saying, “Hey, boss, I have a game in Vegas this weekend, I’m going to need Monday off.”

I sure hope they’ve built up a lot of sick/vacation days to handle the NFL regular season. Also, do officiating crews get a week off? Their own bye week? I need to look into that…maybe next week.

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 Raiders Sunday in Week 6.