Fresh Eyes: Part V

Karl Rosen photo, Steelers.com

by Ivan Cole

Question # 5: Heading into the 2019 season, what is fantasy and what is reality? 

During a recent program that was covering the Democratic Primaries for president it was mentioned that voters of that party tended toward a desire to ‘fall in love’ with a candidate as opposed, presumably, to a more calculated decision process. 

That struck me as an accurate description of many Steelers fans during the preseason. We are looking to fall in love and that impulse leads us to identify those who will be ‘camp Darlings’. And in a compensatory manner we also select scapegoats and anti- heroes who must be cast out if we are to reach the Promised Land. 

A Look at the Actual Draft: Round 3a

After Round 2 saw the selection of a wide receiver, how many of you saw Round 3 featuring not one but two picks of offensive players? Me either.

But offensive players they were, and you would have thought it was actually offensive, given the cries resounding from Steeler Nation’s collective throat.

I won’t deny this was surprising. But let’s begin with the “two picks” part, because this is the result of something even more surprising—a plethora of trades by the Steelers.

An Update on the Real Issues Facing the 2018 Pittsburgh Steelers

By Ivan Cole

Since last we met on this topic the personnel situation has advanced significantly. The draft has occurred, free agents signed and a significant trade. How have these developments advanced the narrative?

A quarterback controversy

I don’t believe that we have had a full-blown version of this phenomena during the Ben Roethlisberger era, although there has been some drama and conversation surrounding back- ups. But the drafting of Mason Rudolph has impacted the entire quarterback room and will likely be a focus of conversation for years to come, regardless how the situation unfolds.

The current bottom-line as I understand it now is that unless there is an injury/IR circumstance like the one that unfolded during the 2010 season when Ben, Charlie Batch, Byron Leftwich and Dennis Dixon were all on the roster, when the 2018 edition of the Steelers begins play in September one the players in that room, Ben, Rudolph, Landry Jones or Joshua Dobbs, will be gone. What should we look for going forward?