5 Smoldering Questions on the Pittsburgh Steelers: Remembering the Titans

I have yet another person to be thankful for—Hombre de Acero, whose Smoldering Questions have been a regular feature. Before you start thinking about frying your turkey or dosing your eggnog, give some thought to these questions:

Pittsburgh welcomed Tennessee to Heinz Field last Thursday night and the Steelers thumping of the Titans offered Steelers Nation a sight for sore eyes, as the offense exploded for 40 points while the defense delivered no fewer than 9 splash plays. This week brings Green Bay back to two, but before we can focus on stuffing our Thanksgiving Turkeys, this corner of Steelers Nation must first resolve these 5 Smoldering Questions on the Steelers.

1. While many areas on the depth chart have performed well throughout this season, one position area that has excelled without any need to tack on any qualifiers what so ever is the Steelers 2017 defensive line. It’s hard to find a game where Cameron Heyward, Stephon Tuitt, Javon Hargrave and/or Tyson Alualu haven’t stepped up and made a play.

Do you think it is appropriate to start comparing this line to the trio of Aaron Smith, Casey Hampton and Brett Keisel? If not, defend your decision to decline. If so, expound upon your reasoning and offer and assessment of which line merits a higher rating.

Blast from the Past: Second Round Part 2

Charles LeClaire, USA Today Sports

There was so much to say about 2010 pick Jason Worilds that I left the picks for 2011, 12, and 13 for later posts. I’m going to cover 2011 and 2012 in this post, since the Steelers went for the same position two years in a row.

2011’s pick was OT Marcus Gilbert. Out of curiosity I looked up the pick for 2011 on the Behind the Steel Curtain community mock draft. Here’s what editor Michael Bean said about their pick:

5 Smoldering Questions On the Pittsburgh Steelers, Week 14

via Pittsburgh Post-Gazette/Peter Diana photo

by Hombre de Acero

The Pittsburgh Steelers went into Paul Brown Stadium and defeated the Cincinnati Bengals 33-20. In so doing they improved their record to 8-5 and gave their AFC North Title hopes another week of life.

This week’s contest brings the Denver Broncos to Pittsburgh, but before we find out if the Steelers can buck the Broncos, Steeler Nation must first struggle with these 5 Smoldering Questions on the Steelers.

1. Many in Steelers Nation were up in arms over Pittsburgh’s loss to Seattle three weeks ago, but at the time, much of the media took a lot of positives away from their performance. Steel City Insider’s Jim Wexell expanded on that theme following the Bengals win observing:

“I believe one of the biggest keys to maturation is learning to become comfortable in uncomfortable situations. Nothing does that better than playing difficult road games. I thought much was gained in the near-win at Seattle a few weeks ago and I believe the Steelers showcased that sharpened iron in Cincinnati.”

Do you agree or disagree with Jim Wexell? Defend your choice.

Coaching Accounts: OL Mike Munchak and DC Keith Butler

via Steelers.com

I started to title this post “Two Methods, One Result,” because the interest to me is the very different way the two coaches seem to be approaching their task. Two items which appeared last Friday got me thinking along these lines. The first was a full article on Offensive Line coach Mike Munchak by Tribune-Review writer Mark Kaboly.

After noting that the offensive line has had four coaches in six years, and that the offensive line was mostly downright bad, Kaboly wrote:

That’s not the case anymore, and the Steelers have Mike Munchak to thank.

 “He’s been awesome,” guard David DeCastro said. “It is just a great atmosphere. We are very loose but very focused at the same time. But first and foremost, he knows what he is doing.”…