Looking inward for the best gifts
Steelers can do themselves a favor
The Steelers have received some wonderful Christmas gifts Dec. 25 over the years. In 1989, the Minnesota Vikings beat the Cincinnati Bengals to give the Steelers the final playoff berth from the AFC, breaking a fouryear postseason drought. They would go on to beat the Houston Oilers in a wild-card game before losing to the Denver Broncos in the divisional round at Mile High Stadium.
In 2016, Antonio Brown’s “Immaculate Extension” gave the Steelers a 31-27 victory over the Ravens and the AFC North Division title. The Steelers went on to beat Miami and Kansas City in the playoffs before losing to New England in the AFC championship.
The Steelers already have a playoff spot secured this year, but they certainly could use a lot of things this Christmas to break out of their late-season funk. Here are a few last-minute ideas for general manager Kevin Colbert:
1. Collared dress shirts — So they can be more buttoned up. One might have thought the Steelers would have learned their lesson long ago when it comes to being humble and not giving senseless bulletin board material to their opponents. It stems to 2017 when former Steelers defensive back Mike Mitchell and head coach Mike Tomlin said things they failed to back up. Tomlin told NBC’s Tony Dungy in November of that year the Steelers and Patriots were going to meet in the playoffs and “we should win it all.” Except the Steelers lost to the Patriots at Heinz Field a few weeks later to lose the No. 1 seed in the AFC and then lost to the Jaguars in the divisional round of the playoffs, denying the Steelers a rematch with the Patriots in the playoffs. The Jaguars were inspired by the slight and used it as motivation before waxing the Steelers on their home field. Nothing much has changed for the Steelers when it comes to their bravado for making such comments or irritating opposing teams through other means. Before the Steelers played the Ravens earlier this month, Stephon Tuitt, who missed the game while being on the COVID list, tweeted just before the game: “Good luck to the boys today. Pad the stats — should be an easy one.” It wasn’t easy, and the Steelers have gone 1-3 since those remarks. Worse yet, Tuitt has failed to play well upon his return when the defense has really needed him with others out of the lineup. Then there’s the whole JuJu Smith- Schuster dancing on logos controversy. The Steelers put an end to it this week, but is it too late? These are all distractions the Steelers can do without. They should revert to what they were doing earlier in the season when a workmanlike approach without any unnecessary drama made them a likable underdog.
2. Running shoes for Benny Snell — There was exactly one bright spot from the loss to the Bengals, and it was the reemergence of Snell, whose hard running set a tone for the Steelers offense at the beginning of the second half. The Steelers were already down, 17-0, so it didn’t help them win the game. But there is a lesson in there for the coaches. They need to ride Snell early in games to take the pressure off a struggling Ben Roethlisberger and a tired defense that is pressing in an effort to make up for the offense’s deficiencies. Move the chains, shorten games and give the defense a chance to make a difference. It also can make the offensive line and Roethlisberger more effective. They’re getting older and a diverse offense can keep opposing defenses off balance and unable to tee off on the passing game. Honestly, it might be their only chance to make any noise in the playoffs.
3. Game-used footballs — This can be the defense’s present to the offense. The Steelers are second in the NFL in takeaways, but they haven’t forced a turnover in two of the past three games and only have two in that span. For a team that was forcing two per game before this stretch, it’s a troubling trend that must be reversed. This Steelers defense is capable of carrying the Steelers to victories. The Steelers can win low-scoring games, but turnovers have to be part of the equation. The Steelers are giving up 25.3 points per game in the three-game losing streak while averaging 16.3 on offense. The defense has to start giving the offense shorter fields to help them while limiting possessions and opportunities for the opposition. It’s a formula that worked when Mason Rudolph and Devlin Hodges were quarterbacking the team last year. It can work again if Roethlisberger continues to struggle.
4. A magician hat — That offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner can use to create some trickeration to infuse into his offense. Oh, how the Steelers can use Ken Whisenhunt now. Whisenhunt, a former Steelers assistant, always had a trick up his sleeve that he could pull out at opportune times. A flea-flicker, a double-reverse pass, a halfback pass, his bag of tricks seemed bottomless. Fichtner can take advantage of overaggressive defenses that now crowd the line of scrimmage. Anytime an offense is struggling the coaches have to find ways to create yards from unexpected sources. An old top hat just might give the Steelers a reason to say “Happy New Year.”
5. Stocking stuffers — A long touchdown pass, a kickoff return for a touchdown, a punt return for a touchdown, anti-injury repellent, anti-aging cream, Stickum, a home playoff game, fans at Heinz Field for the playoff game ( socially distanced, of course), and finally, an all-expenses paid trip to Tampa Bay, Fla., in early February. It is the season of hope, right?