Steelers Love Merchandising

I'm on the Pittsburgh Steelers mailing list, and the team sends out multiple emails per week. During the off season, while many messages focused on the draft (since it was in Pittsburgh), draft picks, free agent signings, the schedule release, and ticket sales, the majority were about various clothing and other gear. Basically, the Steelers were taking a play out of the Spaceballs playbook.

If you want Steelers beach and pool gear, or Steelers' merchandise to celebrate America's 250th birthday, you got an email about it!

But that's not all. How about other opportunities to purchase items from official Steelers partners!

It's really impressive how many partnerships and different types of merchandise the team sells. Now let's see if the Steelers match their output in merchandising with wins on the football field!

Steelers Coaching Candidates

With Mike Tomlin resigning, the Steelers are looking for a new head coach for the first time since 2007. In case you're wondering, yes, I wrote about the Steelers hiring Mike Tomlin back then since this blog is old! There is a lot of speculation about potential candidates to be the fourth head coach of the Steelers since 1969. I'm here to add to that speculation! Some of these people listed below are legitimate candidates. Some are not. In any event, I hope that you enjoy this.

(The picture above is from a much younger Mike Tomlin when I compared his expression to a Game of Thrones character.)

Many people are clamoring for someone associated with the Indiana University football team to take over in Pittsburgh. While you probably believe that I'm writing about current IU coach Curt Cignetti, who turned arguably the worst major football program in college football history into a national championship contender and someone born in Pittsburgh, worked at Pitt, and got his first head coaching job at Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP), I'm looking at someone else. 

Antwaan Randle El 

Randle El is one of the best players in IU history, but he also played five seasons for the Steelers. More importantly, he served as an offensive assistant in Tampa for two years (and got a championship as a coach when the Buccaneers won Super Bowl LV), held the wide receiver coaching position with the Detroit Lions for 4 years, and is now the wide receivers / assistant head coach for the Chicago Bears. He's a winner and has had success in all of coaching stops. El Yeah!  Oh, he also did this.

Hines Ward

Currently, the Associate Head Coach and Wide Receivers Coach at Arizona State University. He previously worked for the Steelers, Jets, and at Florida Atlantic University. A 3-7 record as the head coach for the XFL's San Antonio Brahmas is a little concerning. Oh, he also did the thing in the video above.

Danny Smith

Big Gum has been patient, lurking in the background of the NFL. They have a stronghold in baseball, where major league dugouts universally have large containers of gum. Big Gum may feel that the time is right to make its mark in America's biggest sport. The poster person to represent Big Gum is clearly Danny Smith. He's also from Pittsburgh and graduated from Central Catholic High School.

Cam Heyward

The Steelers could make history by becoming the first team in the modern NFL to have its head coach also be an active player. And who better to do that than Cam Heyward. Seems highly regarded and well respected by his teammates. He's a leader. Curly Lambeau and George Halas were successful in both roles with the Packers and Bears respectfully in the 1920s. Let's try it again for the 2020s! (Tom Landry and Dan Reeves were both players / assistant coaches, and they both did pretty well too.)

Larry Foote

Current run game coordinator / outside linebacker coach for Tampa. Definitely seeing a trend of former Steelers who go to Tampa to coach. More importantly, I get to share this picture again!

Byron Leftwich

Former Steelers QB who won a Super Bowl as the offensive coordinator in Tampa (again!). He deserved to be a head coach then. It seems like he worked for Deion Sanders at the University of Colorado last season, but he’s not listed as part of the coaching staff on Colorado's website, and there were reports that he may have been a volunteer. For once, the internet is not really clear on if or when he was employed at Colorado.

Joey Porter, Sr.

Thanks to drawing a personal foul penalty on Adam "Pacman" Jones, he helped the Steelers win a playoff game against the Bengals. (Many people may remember the two personal foul penalties to essentially seal the game for the Steelers, but the entire last few minutes of this game were absolutely bonkers.) 

(Sorry - You have to watch the video of the end of the January 2016 Steelers-Bengals playoff game on YouTube. Won't let me embed it here.)

Cedrick Wilson

I have no idea what Wilson is up to, but I feel like he needs to be included here since he was also a wide receiver on the Super Bowl XL winning team with Ward and Randle El. Don't want him feeling left out.

Ryan Clark

He's good on TV. While that means absolutely nothing, he and Pittsburgh broadcasting legend Sally Wiggin seem to have mutual admiration for each other, so that counts for something.

Bill Cowher

Bring back the Hall of Fame coaching legend from retirement. Plus, if he wins a Super Bowl in the first few years, we can all say that he won with Tomlin's players!

Am I missing other legitimate candidates? Absolutely. Is it more fun to write a post about people with Pittsburgh ties? Also absolutely!  Here We Go!

Keanu Reeves, Steelers Fan

Keanu Reeves recently appeared on the Kelce Brothers podcast, New Heights. Per the video here, the big revelation from the podcast (at least in my world) is that Reeves grew up as a Steelers fan.

While I’m not going to dispute Reeves’ childhood and fandom, I find it odd that this seems to be the first record of Reeves being a Steelers fan. That was going to be the premise of my post. In all his years as an actor, I figured Reeves spent time filming in Pittsburgh and at some point he would have mentioned in a local news interview that he liked the Steelers as a child. Turns out, it seems that Reeves hasn’t spent much time in Pittsburgh. It was a big deal when he got coffee in Pittsburgh in 2023 prior to playing a gig with his band Dogstar.* He also filmed the movie The Prince of Pennsylvania in 1988, but I can’t find any blog posts or reels of Reeves from when he filmed that.

So instead of being confused as to why we never learned of Reeves being a Steelers fan until now, we need to encourage Keanu to make a movie in Pittsburgh!

* About 25 years ago, I worked as a beer vendor at several Columbus Clippers minor league baseball games. (I was one of the guys walking around the stands yelling "beer here.") Dogstar played a concert after one of the games. I stayed for the first song, and they sounded pretty good, but I was tired and left the stadium.

2025-2026 Pittsburgh Sports Predictions

For years, I've asked people to share predictions about teams and even elections. For example, before the 2025 Pittsburgh Pirates season, I asked for predictions about the overall record of the team, the status of the team's manager (I hope that you're doing well, Derek Shelton!), and who would lead the team in home runs. This is a little different. Today, I asked people for predictions for multiple Pittsburgh-area teams in multiple sports for over a one-year period.

Here are our fabulous participants in these festivities:

Josh: Author of Josh’s World and the reason why I included Penn State questions here. (Bluesky)

Chris Carter: Steelers Reporter and host of North Shore Drive Podcast for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Host of Locked On Steelers too and regular on WPXI. Chris is everywhere and can always be found when there’s a score of 13-9. (Bluesky)

Matt Gajtka: Broadcaster and fitness coach among his multiple roles. (Twitter)

Chris Dokish: Covered Pitt for many years and may know the program better than anyone. (Twitter)

Saxboy: World-traveler, creator of amazing videos, and host of The Saxcast podcast. (Bluesky)

Sean: Founder of Sean’s Ramblings in 2005. Been doing this way too long! (Bluesky)

2025-2026 Steelers

Josh: 10-7. They miss the playoffs

Chris: 11-6, 2nd place AFC North, lose AFC championship game

Matt: 11-6 and they win a Wild Card playoff game, before falling in the Divisional round. I think Rodgers has one last solid season and Pittsburgh will be the beneficiary of it. They are not Super Bowl caliber, but we can finally stop talking about the playoff win drought. 

Chris D.: The defense should be excellent, and if it's not there's going to be a lot of explaining that they'll need to do. The offense, with Aaron Rodgers, should at least be average, which should improve them to 11-6, and maybe finally a first round win. Also, I think Payton Wilson is going to become a star this season.

Saxboy: 9–8, miss playoffs mid draft pick, rinse and repeat. 

Sean: Makes the playoff and win a first-round game.

2025-2026 Penguins

Josh: Yikes, I have not followed the off-season at all. I will say 44 wins, with a first round playoff win

Chris: Miss playoffs again

Matt: 87 points and a couple of wins out of the playoffs. This isn't truly a 'tanking' roster and Malkin gives it an extra boost with a final-season push. But, there's not enough here to put them in the top half of the NHL. At least one more year with the also-rans.

Chris D.: It's hard to say what's in store for them at the moment. They're finally starting to ramp up their rebuild, and if they do that by trading some of their better veterans, then they'll almost definitely have a worse season than this past year. As the roster looks now, they're not really bad, but they may get to that point if they make those trades.

Saxboy: Tank season successfully executed, high draft pick, draft 18 year old kid from Ontario

Sean: Finishes about 10 points out of the playoffs. Team trades Erik Karlsson during the season and Letang and/or Malkin retire after the season.

2025 Pitt Football

Josh: 6-6. Then a loss in a bowl game

Chris: 8-4 regular season, decent bowl game

Matt: 8-4 and they beat West Virginia as part of a 3-0 start. After that ...

Chris D.: They have two All-Americans in Desmond Reid and Kyle Louis, a returning offensive coordinator, the returning starting quarterback in Eli Holstein, who looked like an All-American at the beginning of the season, skill players that now fit the system, a veteran offensive line, and a potentially excellent defense. They flopped the last two seasons, but on paper, they should be a 9-win top 25 team. But it's hard to give them the benefit of the doubt because of how the last two seasons went. I don't predict records including a bowl because those are total crapshoots now, so I'll say an 8-4 regular season record. Anything less is a failure, and I'm not sure with all that they have that 8-4 wouldn't even be a little disappointing. The only other teams that have two All-Americans are elite programs. Like it usually works with Pitt, and especially Narduzzi, it will come down to how well the quarterback does.

Saxboy: 9-3, would love that. Holstein is gonna do his thing.

Sean: 8-4 and a bowl win at either the Go Bowling Military Bowl in DC or the Pop-Tarts Bowl in Orlando.

2025 Penn State Football

Josh: 12-0, National Champs!

Chris: 10-2, College Football Playoffs make Final Four

Matt: One-loss national champions. Don't know much about college football, so why not.

Chris D.: On paper, there may not be a more talented team in the country, but James Franklin has a way of being out coached. Until he shows that he can coach better than his opponents, I have to assume that he'll come up short again.

Saxboy: 11-1, lose Natty 

Sean: Loses to Ohio State in conference play and then in the quarterfinals of the playoffs. Makes Josh sad.

2025 Pitt Men’s Soccer

Josh: Ummm, they win the ACC

Chris: sweet 16

Matt: A trip to the NCAA tournament again, and a berth in the national quarterfinals.

Chris D.: Don't know enough about them

Sean: Makes the NCAA tournament but loses in the second round.

2025 Pitt Women’s Volleyball

Josh: Final Four

Chris: National championship loss

Matt: Another tourney trip, but this time they fall out before the final four.

Chris D.: The best program at Pitt over the last few years, but until they win a championship, they're going to be looked at always coming up short when it counts the most. That sounds harsh, but that's what comes with being No. 1 for most of the year, and also having the best player in the country in Olivia Babcock. Pitt needs a national championship again, and hopefully this is finally the year.

Sean: Not as good as last year. Loses in the national quarterfinals.

2025 Penn State Women’s Volleyball

Josh: Back-to-back National Champs!

Chris: Final Four loss

Matt: Another big year, even if it ends in the national semifinals.

Chris D.: Don't know enough about them

Sean: Trip to the championship, but not back-to-back titles.

2025-2026 Pitt Men’s Basketball

Josh: Slightly better than Penn State men's basketball

Chris: Bubble team just miss NCAA Tournament with 21 or so wins.

Matt: Let's call it a winning season, but a .500 season in the ACC and not enough to make the tourney.

Chris D.: Jeff Capel is very good at accumulating talent (from high school, the portal, and internationally), but I don't think he's a good enough coach for his team to be better than their talent. And the talent this year is not among the best in the ACC. I don't think they'll be bad, but I don't see a tournament run either. I would guess that they'll have somewhere around 16-18 wins. On the other hand, nobody thought a team of Nelly Cummings, Jamarius Burton, Blake Hinson, and Greg Elliott would make the tournament a year after the Panthers were 11-21. Probable starters Damarco Minor, Dishon Jackson, and Cam Corhen are solid, but not game changers, so if the team performs better than expected, they'll have to have big seasons from at least three of Beebah Cummings, Omari Witherspoon, Roman Siulepa, and Barry Dunning, Jr., but that may be asking a lot.

Saxboy: NCAA tournament berth by play in game. L in that

Sean: For no reason other than being a homer, the team makes the NCAA tournament and advances to the round of 32.

2026 Pirates

Josh: 74 wins

Chris: Losing record, no playoffs

Matt: 82-80. I figure they almost have to be better. It'll be another banner year for Skenes and we start to see some supplementation from the farm. I have a hard time saying they'll be legit playoff contenders, though, even in an era of three wild cards per league.

Chris D.: Not to be dramatic, but I honestly see no hope as long as Bob Nutting is the owner. They are both cheap and incompetent, and that's a deadly combination. They have the best pitcher in baseball, and the top prospect in the minors- one a superstar, and one on the verge of being a superstar- and there still feels like there's no hope because Nutting simply doesn't care if they win or not. He just wants the money.

Saxboy: I can’t

Sean: The team finally either trades for a good hitter or signs a free agent hitter under 32 and the team finishes over .500 and competes for a Wild Card spot.

Will any 2025-2026 Robert Morris or Duquesne men’s or women’s basketball team make the NCAA tournament?

Josh: Yes

Chris: No on RMU/Duquesne

Matt: I'll go ahead and say the RMU men's hoopsters make the tournament again. They've gotten in a nice groove in the Horizon League. 

Chris D.: Don't know enough about them

Sean: Not this season.

Will any player on any team win an award? (If yes, who and what?)

Josh: Skenes-Cy Young

Chris: Jalen Ramsey DPOY

Matt: Rodgers gets votes for Comeback Player of the Year, and a freshly-engaged Skenes wins the NL Cy Young in '26. Dan Muse gets some support for the Jack Adams.

Chris D.: I think Paul Skenes is pretty much guaranteed to be the National League Cy Young Award winner.

Saxboy: Bad decision of the year award: saxboybilly18 - for going to the Seattle-Kansas City-Minneapolis

Sean: Olivia Babcock wins national player of the year in volleyball. She’s Pittsburgh’s best athlete not named Skenes or Crosby!

Please share any other predictions here (ex. Steelers draft pick, coaches fired, etc.). 

Josh: Steelers trade up to get a QB in the first round. The Pirates do not sign any hitters, aside from their usual reclamation projects

Chris: Steelers pick LaNorris Sellers first round in 2026 NFL Draft

Matt: The Penguins have a few lottery balls in the hopper, but there's no Gavin McKenna lifeline coming their way!

Chris D.: The Steelers are going to get their next starting quarterback in the first round next year, even if they have to trade up to make sure they get the one they want. And it's going to be a very dramatic scene since it will happen in front of a huge throng of Pittsburghers. Don Kelly won't be retained. If Pitt basketball has a poor season, I would not be surprised, if the buyout isn't high, that they get rid of Jeff Capel. But it would take a really bad season and a very low buyout.

Sean: Snoop Dogg, Pat McAfee, and Bret Michaels will all have some role in the NFL draft in Pittsburgh.

Finally, will Paul Skenes and Livvy Dunne get engaged before the end of the 2026 MLB season?

Josh: No, they get engaged at Taylor and Travis' wedding

Chris: No comment on Skenes/Dunne LOL

Seems like Matt answered this question above with a yes!
 
Chris D.: No. He's too busy dominating.
 
Sean: Yes!

Please feel free to give your own predictions in the comments section below, and we'll see how we did at the end of 2026!

Photos by the incredible Dave DiCello, the Pittsburgh Panthers website, Ethan Shulman of The Pitt News, and Roe Ethridge of GQ.

2025 Steelers Draft Recap

I often post recaps after Pirates, Steelers, and even Penguins drafts. They are generally unique with random comments and facts about players' names and backgrounds. While I'll get to some of that momentarily regarding the newest members of the Pittsburgh Steelers, we have to discuss the Steelers quarterback situation. Prior to the draft, the Steelers had two quarterbacks on the roster, Mason Rudolph and Skylar Thompson. Rudolph was the Steelers' 3rd round pick in 2018. He has a career 14-14-1 record with 28 touchdowns, 20 interceptions, and 4,615 yards in 29 games. He is an average NFL QB though he gets bonus points for previously dating former Canadian tennis star Eugenie Bouchard. 

I like Rudolph. He can win games in the NFL, but he's not at the same level as other AFC quarterbacks like Mahomes, Allen, Jackson, Burrow, and Herbert. Thompson was Miami's 7th round draft pick in 2022 and seems to be early in his career as an NFL journeyman. You wouldn't be surprised to see Thompson as the 3rd quarterback on someone's roster in 2030. You would be surprised seeing him start more than 1 NFL game in 2025. With all of this, the expectation was that the Steelers would draft a QB. And they did in Will Howard in the 6th round. As an Ohio State graduate, I love this pick, but this doesn't solve the Steelers QB situation this season. 

All of this leads to the assumption that the Steelers will sign 41 year-old Aaron Rodgers, a likely first-ballot Hall of Famer. I am not a fan of Rodgers. Everything seems to be all about him. So much drama surrounds him. That's fine when you're the league MVP. It's annoying when you're close to 42 and have been a league average QB at best the last few years. Rodgers seems to love the attention and the mystery. Does he want to sign with the Steelers? Would he rather retire? Will he go on another darkness retreat to decide? 

Those Steelers fans who want Rodgers point to the end of the 2024 season for some type of resurgence. Looking a little closer, the Jets scored 9 points against the Rams in week 15 and lost 40-14 to the Bills in week 16 where Rodgers had 112 passing yards and 2 interceptions. Rodgers had good games in week 14 against the terrible Jaguars and week 17 against the already eliminated Dolphins. Not impressed. I don't want to deal with headlines about Mr. Rodgers' Neighborhood all season (which is an insult to Fred Rogers). I'm resigned to the fact that the Steelers will probably sign Rodgers at some point, but that probably won't happen until Rodgers can get the most possible press. At this point in his career, is he that much of an upgrade over Rudolph? Probably not. There has only been one NFL quarterback over 40 to have any success, and I don't think Rodgers is going to be the second. I'm not looking forward to rooting for Rodgers this year, and I don't think he's going to be very good. I also have a feeling I'm going to use this quote about Rodgers a lot this year.

Okay, enough of that. Let's let to my usual random draft notes. Here's are the 2025 Steelers' draft picks

Round 1: Derrick Harmon, Defensive Tackle, Oregon

Round 3: Kaleb Johnson, Running Back, Iowa

Round 4: Jack Sawyer, Edge, Ohio State

Round 5: Yahya Black, Defensive Tackle, Iowa

Round 6: Will Howard, Quarterback, Ohio State

Round 7: Carson Bruener, Linebacker, Washington

Round 7: Donte Kent, Cornerback, Central Michigan 

* Even though I still don't truly acknowledge Oregon and Washington as being in the Big 10, it's pretty remarkable that every selection until Kent is from that conference.

* I feel like Jack Sawyer's parents were really big fans of the TV show Lost

* I see a red door, and I want it painted Yahya Black!

* Fun fact: Carson Bruener is the son of long-time Steelers TE Mark Bruener. Another fun fact: Carson probably can't catch as well as Mark or he would have played on offense.

* How did Donte Kent go to a MAC school that wasn't Kent State? Missed opportunity.

* Lots of questions about the new Steelers QB. Will Howard have a chance at the starting QB job? When Will Howard sign a contract and start learning the playbook? Will Howard be the Steelers QB of the future? Will Howard like that his first name is the same as a question or is he used to it?

The Steelers also signed the following undrafted free agents:

Sebastian Castro, Safety, Iowa
J.J. Galbreath, Tight End, South Dakota
Ben Sauls, Kicker, Pittsburgh
Roc Taylor, Wide Receiver, Memphis
DJ Thomas-Jones, Fullback, South Alabama
Aiden Williams, Offensive Guard, Minnesota-Duluth
Ke'Shawn Williams, Wide Receiver, Indiana

* I definitely want DJ Thomas-Jones or if he goes by DJ TJ to provide music for a party! Maybe Thomas-Jones will team up with T.J. Watt and they can be DJs TJs!

* Roc is a great name for a wide receiver. Of course, I thought Dwight Stone was also a great name for a WR, and that had mixed results.

* Fun fact: The Steelers didn't draft or sign anyone from an SEC school. South Dakota, Minnesota-Duluth, and Central Michigan, but no Alabama, or LSU, or Georgia. 

Steelers Win, But How?

The Steelers faced off against their division rival the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday and somehow prevailed 18-16. Here are some key stats from the game:

The goal in football is to score more points than your opponents. To do this, you usually need to score touchdowns. The Steelers scored the same amount of touchdowns as me on Sunday with 0.

Wide receivers Van Jefferson, Calvin Austin, and Mike Williams combined for 1 catch for -1 yards. Again, that's one less than my cat Lucy.

Baltimore rushed for 124 yards on 19 carries for 6.5 yards per carry. With that type of success, many are asking why the Ravens didn't run the ball more. Derrick Henry, arguably the best running back in the NFL, only had 13 carries.

The Steelers were 4 for 16 on 3rd down conversions. That's a lot of failed 3rd down conversions. 

The Ravens scored two touchdowns in their two red zone attempts, while the Steelers went 0-4 in their trips to the red zone.

Based on these stats, you would definitely think the Steelers lost. Again, they scored no touchdowns against the highest scoring team in the league! However, the Steelers forced three turnovers and kicker Chris Boswell went 6 for 6 on field goals and that was the difference in the game.

8-2 is nice. Go Steelers!

Finally, I need to give credit to Taco Bell for using Harvey Danger's Flagpole Sitta in one of its newer commercials. Love this song. 

Much better than Davante Adams looking miserable that he has a Taco Bell in his house. (Just ignore everything other than the commercial in the video.)

The Oldest Trick In The Book

Late in the fourth quarter of the Pittsburgh Steelers-Washington Commanders game, the Steelers had the ball with a slim 28-27 lead. The Steelers ran three straight running plays with Washington using all of its time-outs to stop the clock after each play. The Steelers had 4th-and-1 with 1:02 remaining on Washington's 49 yard line and chose to bring out its offense instead of punting. I said to my kids that the Steelers were going to try to draw Washington offsides because there was no way they would go for it and risk giving Washington the ball only needing about 15 yards to get into field goal range. (I only said the first part.) Everyone knew this. Well, maybe not one person. Let's go to the video.

As the Steelers celebrated the win, all I thought of was this:

Don’t Root For Your Team To Lose

Today, I’m writing about the Pittsburgh Steelers and specifically about Steelers fans wanting the team to lose. Look, I get it. Even with the Monday night win over the Colts, the team is below average this year, and Steelers fans aren’t used to losing. Even in down years over the last 15-20 years, the team is almost always at or above .500 and battling for a playoff spot. Because the team isn’t going to make the playoffs this year, there is a fairly significant portion of the fanbase who want the Steelers to lose to improve their draft pick. In the NFL, this is just ridiculous. 

“Tanking” for the top draft pick makes some sense in the NBA where one player makes a huge difference with only five players on the court per team at a time. LeBron James, Tim Duncan, and Anthony Davis were all top picks while Ja Morant and Kevin Durant went 2nd overall. In football, one player (outside the quarterback position) generally doesn't make a huge difference on a team's performance. For the sake of argument, let's say that tanking for the top QB is somewhat acceptable since that position really does impact a team. However, even the #1 overall pick isn't a guarantee of success. For every Joe Burrow and Peyton Manning, there's Sam Bradford, JaMarcus Russell, and Baker Mayfield. How did the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Arizona Cardinals, and LA Rams fare based on their picks of Jameis Winston, Kyler Murray, and Jared Goff respectively? With the top pick, you expect Hall of Famers or at a minimum consistent Pro Bowl and/or playoff appearances.  

So if the #1 pick has mixed results, what happens when you get later in the first round? Is there really a significant difference historically between the #6 pick and the #9 pick? The Steelers drafted Troy Polamalu at #16, Cameron Heyward at #31, David DeCastro at #24, and T.J. Watt at #30. It's about the player, the evaluation/scouting by the team, and the development by both the player and coaching staff. And yes, I understand that there are 7 rounds of the draft, but again, the players drafted at #125 and #129 are going to be right around the same level.

Let's get back to this year's Steelers team. The Steelers are starting a rookie quarterback in Kenny Pickett. Traditionally, rookie quarterbacks in the NFL perform poorly. Peyton Manning had 26 touchdowns in his first year, but also had 28 interceptions on a 3-13 team. Troy Aikman went winless in his starts with 9 touchdowns and 18 interceptions. Josh Allen went 5-6 with 10 touchdowns compared to 12 interceptions. Patrick Mahomes played in one game his rookie year while Aaron Rodgers only threw 59 passes over his first 3 NFL seasons. Comparably, Pickett has performed pretty well. According to Alan Saunders of Steelers Now, Pickett's 88.5 Pro Football Focus grade on Monday night was the highest for a Steelers QB since Bg Ben in week 10 of the 2018 season. Pickett seems to be improving each week and gaining confidence too. Is he going to make mistakes over the next few weeks? Of course. He's a rookie quarterback. You want him to gain experience and learn from mistakes and situations. So why are there Steelers fans out there watching Pickett and the game and hoping that he and therefore the team fails? You would think that Steelers fans hope that he succeeds and that carries over to next season where the Steelers can draft an immediate starter no matter where the team picks in the first round in 2023.

I'm going to continue rooting for the Steelers to win this year. I'm going to root for T.J. Watt and George Pickens and Alex Highsmith and Minkah Fitzpatrick and the entire team because I'm a Steelers fan. Stop hoping for the #7 draft pick instead of the #10 pick. It's a silly argument and discussion. And that's my hill I'm willing to die on.

You can see more of my "Hills I'm Willing To Die On" posts here.

Photos by Karl Roser/Pittsburgh Steelers

Introducing Pittsburgh Steelers Wine

It is a tough time to be the owner of an NFL team. Sure, the league signed television contracts with Amazon, CBS, ABC/ESPN, NBC, and FOX through the 2023 season for $113 billion, but $113 billion doesn’t go as far as it used to. And yeah, teams continue to make money through ticket sales, sponsorships, and merchandise sales, but the cost of running a team is exorbitant. So during this time of high inflation, teams are looking for new revenue streams just to make ends meet. For the Steelers, I guess the contract to name the stadium Acrisure wasn't enough, so the team announced the launch of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ new wine brand and club, Steel Curtain Napa Valley.

The text above is an introductory message on the Steel Curtain Napa Valley website. When I hear someone discussing “blue-collar grit that is forged in the fiber of the Steel City,” clearly the first thing I think about is “Immaculate,” a red wine selling for $95 a bottle (or $75 for members) made in Napa Valley. For those of you not familiar with American geography, I should probably mention that Napa Valley isn’t part of the Mon Valley.

The website also includes messages from the Steelers organization and the winery:

While I’m not a sommelier or someone who plays one on the internet, I’d love for Ryan Huzjak or anyone else to explain how this wine brand reflects Pittsburgh and the Steelers. You can make a case that Iron City beer represents Pittsburgh or look in a history book to see where the Whiskey Rebellion took place (Spoiler: Western Pennsylvania), but a wine?

I appreciate wine handcrafted with the same values forged in the fibers of Pittsburgh, though I’d prefer wine forged from grapes.

Look, a wine company partnering with the Steelers makes sense. For the winery, you get a loyal, established, and enthusiastic following and access to the team’s logo and marketing capabilities. (I learned of Steel Curtain Napa Valley through an email from the team.) Meanwhile, I’m sure that the Steelers will make money from this venture simply by having its name associated with the product. However, the blue-color grit and wine brand reflecting Pittsburgh is ridiculous. Just say that you’re selling wine to Steelers fans.

Update: @LloydStoleFirst on Twitter mentioned that the Pittsburgh Penguins have their own wine partnership. The website layouts are identical, but while the marketing for the Steelers wine is about blue-collar grit and a wine reflecting Pittsburgh, these are absent for the Penguins brand. Apparently, there is no overlap between the two fan bases.

2022 Steelers Draft Recap: The Missed Picks

The 2022 National Football League draft took place last week, and the Steelers used their first two selections on QB Kenny Pickett from the University of Pittsburgh and WR George Pickens from the University of Georgia. With no disrespect to the remaining draft picks of Demarvin Leal, Calvin Austin III, Connor Heyward, Mark Robinson, and Chris Oladokun, the Steelers missed an opportunity for a truly historic draft. Here are just some of the people the Steelers could have "picked" instead.

Wilson Pickett - Rock and Roll Hall of Famer best known for his songs Land of 1,000 Dances, Mustang Sally, and In the Midnight Hour. No one will get the Steelers energized like Wilson Pickett! Seriously, go to 1:50 of this video and try not to nod your head or tap your feet. It's impossible.

By the way, Pickett's WikiPedia page might feature the best thing I've seen in a long time. Are there a lot of people who confuse Wilson Pickett and Wilson Phillips? I'll "Hold On" while you get back to me.

T. Boone Pickens - Billionaire oil magnate and hedge fund manager. While I'm sure the Rooney family is doing just fine financially, this selection would infuse some money into the organization. 

Jean-Luc Picard - Captain of the USS Enterprise. There was no better leader available in the 2022 draft!

Kellie Pickler - She's more than an American Idol contestant. Sure, she can sing, but Pickler can also write, act, host, and dance as evidenced by her Dancing With the Stars win. She's a 5-tool player!

Tobias Picker - Grammy-award winning composer and current Artistic Director of the Tulsa Opera. He's versatile and looks to have a long career!  

Andrew Pickens - American Revolution militia leader and member of the US House of Representative. If you want a fighter and someone in the trenches, Pickens is your guy. Unfortunately, he's undraftable because he was a slave owner 

Joe Picker - He's an Australian rugby player. Those guys are tough. He would have fit right into the Steelers culture and locker room.

Tommy Pickles - Rugrats character. He's very young (and a cartoon), but Tommy has a good motor and a high upside.

Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz - While the guys from "American Pickers" aren't ready to play in the NFL, they'll be huge additions to the scouting team. They will be such an asset to film study and finding things others might miss.

Ben Johns - He's the #1 pickleball player in the world and just won the US Open Pickleball championship. Proven winner!

Overall, the Steelers draft seems fine and could become great, but there were definitely some missed opportunities here.

T. Boone Pickens photo by Sue Ogrocki/AP. Joe Picker photo by Anthony Johnson in the "Sydney Morning Herald."

2021 Steelers Draft Recap

Welcome to my annual-ish Steelers draft recap. If you're new to my draft recaps, I want to share up front that I'm not going to pretend that I'm a draft expert. This is for entertainment purposes only and hopefully you enjoy it and possibly even smile or chuckle. An occasional guffaw is welcome! So with that, here is everything you need to know about the 2021 Pittsburgh Steelers draft class:

Round 1: Najee Harris - RB, University of Alabama

Fun fact! The Steelers had a running back with the last name of Harris who won 4 Super Bowls and went to the Hall of Fame. The Steelers also had a running back in the 2000s with the first name Najeh who had 725 rushing yards (a 4.3 yards per carry average!) and 9 total touchdowns in 32 career games. I think the Steelers and the fans expect production for Najee Harris closer to the first Harris rather than Najeh.

Round 2: Pat Freiermuth - TE, Penn State University

On Saturday morning, my 10 year old woke up and asked me who the Steelers drafted the previous evening.

Me - They picked a tight end from Penn State.

The Moose (excitedly and interrupting me) - They got Pat Freiermuth!

Clearly, he needs to do these draft recaps!  

I hope that Pat is ready to hear HEEEEEEEEEEEATH cheers whenever he catches a pass.

Round 3: Kendrick Green - OL, University of Illinois

Green joins an impressive list of University of Illinois players drafted by the Steelers.

DB Terry Hawthorne - 2013, 5th round

RB Rashard Mendenhall - 2008, 1st round

DB Bobby Dawson - 1988, 11th round

TE Cap Boso - 1986, 8th round

LB Octavus Morgan - 1974, 16th round

E (what position is E?) Gary Francis - 1957, 24th round

E Walt Kerulis - 1950, 23rd round

Not quite an all-pro line-up here. In my opinion, Mendenhall wasn't bad, but he is not remembered fondly by Steeler Nation thanks to his fumble in Super Bowl XLV. To my knowledge, none of these other guys ever played on the Steelers in a regular season game.  

We all agree that Cap Boso is an amazing name, right?

Round 4: Dan Moore, Jr. - DT, Texas A&M University

One of my favorite lines from the short-lived sitcom Happy Endings is this:

If Mary Tyler Moore married and divorced Steven Tyler and married and divorced Michael Moore, then got into a 3-way lesbian marriage with Demi Moore and Mandy Moore, would she go by the name Mary Tyler Moore Tyler Moore Moore Moore?

Let's just replace Michael Moore with Dan Moore.

Round 4: Buddy Johnson - LB, Texas A&M University

Hey Buddy!

Hi Buddy!

Round 5: Isaiahh Loudermilk - DE, University of Wisconsin

Pittsburghers (including me) get really upset when people omit the "h" in the city name. Isaiahh probably feels the same way, especially since his first name ends with two Hs. Isaiahh seems like a perfect fit for Pittsburgh!

Round 6: Quincy Roche, LB, University of Miami

Quincy Roche is trying to become the second player in Steelers history to have the first name starting with the letter Q after WR Quincy Morgan. In case you're wondering, the Pittsburgh Pirates have never had someone with the first name beginning with Q in the team's over 125 year history. Although he was a multi-sport star with excellent jumping abilities, Q*bert never got invited a Steelers training camp or a Pirates spring training in the 1980s.

Round 7: Tre Norwood - S, University of Oklahoma

I got nothing. Sorry Tre. I mean, I didn't forget about Tre.

Round 7: Pressley Harvin III - P, Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech)

Besides it taking me a few minutes to realize that this is not former NFL wide receiver Percy Harvin, Pressley Harvin seems awesome. I love this pick.

The biggest revelation of the NFL draft wasn't any of these players. It's that Darryl McDaniels (DMC) is a Steelers fan! 

Go Steelers!

Please click here for other Pittsburgh draft recaps over the years.

Photo of Najee Harris by Caitlyn Epes/Pittsburgh Steelers

Muppet Night Football

Last night's Monday Night Football game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals was branded as "Muppet Night Football" with pre-game appearances by Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear and others. Unfortunately, except for showing Animal playing drums a few times going into commercial breaks and a quick bit with Statler and Waldorf during halftime and another after the game, ESPN didn't utilize the Muppets nearly enough.

Here are just a few ways that ESPN and the NFL could have incorporated members of the Muppets into the game:

* A halftime performance by Dr. Teeth and The Electric Mayhem.

* Sideline interviews by Gonzo.

* Walter could have played QB for the Steelers in the first half. Ben Roethlisberger was 7 for 16 for 19 yards with an interception and a fumble lost. Walter couldn't have been much worse!

* A cooking segment with The Swedish Chef and "Big Snack" Casey Hampton.

* Sam the Eagle being a part of the national anthem.

* Multiple shots of Scooter in the control room yelling at Steve Levy.  

* The Steelers using Bobo the Bear as a fullback on every short yardage situation.

* Statler and Waldorf skewering the current state of the Steelers.