It’s So Good to be Back Steelers Family

Yes, after a long hiatus I’m back. I would first like to take this chance to apologize for my absence. I’ve seemingly abandoned my readers for an abhorrent length of time leaving you to find your Steeler news elsewhere. As Leonidus would say before kicking you into the pit of death, THIS…. IS…. UNNACCEPTABLE!
 
And now to once again lend my insightful commentary on the topics that matter the most to all of us Yinzers across this great wide world. I’m talking about none other than the start of the most wonderful time of the year, football season. What an offseason we had huh? It was full of more twists and turns than a chiropractors’ office. And just when you thought we started to get something straightened out, we get blindsided by another wave of departures. Veterans and lesser known guys alike were dropping like flies. And to the untrained eye it makes you think that Art II and the boys upstairs have lost their minds.
But there’s more to this story than meets the eye…
 
You see, “Tricky Dick” and the boys in the back office have things well planned out, far better and more detailed than any of us in Steeler Nation could predict. There’s always a reason why things happen. I mean it’s not just a saying. Sure we could look at it from a purely financial standpoint. That’s by far the most noticeable notion. But you have to look much further into it. Take a bit of an objective look at things.
Before you get all crazy on me, hear me out.
 
For years the rest of the NFL has called us old. In their eyes we’re an aging bunch of lunatics that would rather play until our poor performances turned us into the Dallas Cowboys. Because we refuse to go out to pasture. Everyone from, I can’t even believe I’m writing this, “my favorite NFL analyst” Warren Sapp (gag) to the always funny and consistently accurate Phil Simms has basically said the same thing. We’re too damn old and things need to change. That we’ll never get anywhere with the current roster we have.
 
Even fans have begun to utter that same sentiment. Honestly it’s gone on for so long that it just seems to be something you say to keep the conversation flowing. But that all changed this offseason. Multiple franchise names including LaMaar Woodley, Larry Foote, Ryan Clark, and quite possibly Brett Keisel are gone. Names we thought we’d never have to go without seeing in the black and gold. But reality sets in quickly and these household names have vanished. What will the analysts talk about now? What can they possibly use as a talking point when it comes to the Steelers? Will they actually have to do their jobs? I was left feeling a little shocked. Happy and shocked. But mostly shocked.
 
I know, it even happens to me. Don’t tell anyone.
 
So as I’m rejoicing and celebrating that I get to listen to something other than old age jokes, I start to understand the grand scheme that’s unfolding right before my eyes. Steeler Nation is left with what it’s been wanting for the past several seasons. A COMPLETELY NEW START! It may not have come the way we wanted to or even as gradually. Almost as if someone decided to rip off the hot wax sheets before they counted to three. Some aren’t even sure how it happened so fast, but it did.
 
Now we have to roll with it. And roll we did. The silver lining here is that we’re put in the position to enforce the “Next Man Up” policy that we so lackadaisically adopted a few years ago. Apparently the front office really does know how to sign free agents, good ones at that, and actually understands the meaning of important picks in the draft. Rather than focusing on building depth these processes can be used for what they were originally intended for, to help in the here and now. Something the Steelers haven’t done in I’d say at least 5 years.
 
I could get into an argument over that last statement now, but I’ll wait till someone challenges my authority. It happens more often than you think.
 
So that leaves me with my final question, and we all know that this is gonna spark a lot of debate. Should we concentrate more on offense or defense in the first three picks of the draft? Should we go for high explosive offense or stick to the tried and true defense?
 
Leave me a comment, let me know what you think. I always enjoy a good witch hunt.