Steel Will and Why I Need Diapers
On this beautiful Sunday night in America, families from all walks of life storm grocery stores to grab their turkeys for Thanksgiving. I like Thanksgiving, I love Thanksgiving. A time for which we as a nation indulge in the three things that make us wonderful. A day off of work, endless feasting and football. This is a week for which I look forward to. There are three days throughout the year that bring me joy. Super Bowl Sunday, Red River Rivalry Saturday and Thanksgiving. Other days are good but there’s nothing like those three days for me. However on this fine Sunday evening, my week was almost ruined. I am a die hard Chargers fan, I’ve been a fan since 07. Stuck with the team through the rough final years in San Diego with the failed stadium deal, with the sudden but expected move to LA and with the end of Philip Rivers career. However the flame that ignites my football heart burns bright through the arm of Justin Herbert. I wasn’t sold on drafting him but there’s a reason I’m a writer and not a NFL GM (yet hopefully). On this Sunday night, my Chargers faced off against the Pittsburgh Steelers with the winner moving into a wild card spot in the AFC. A Steelers defense without top players T.J. Watt, Minkah Fitzpatrick and Joe Haden was perfectly set up for a Justin Herbert carving. That’s exactly what he did. Herbert posted 3 touchdowns to 1 interception with 382 passing yards to complement his 90 yards rushing. With a commanding 27-10 lead entering the fourth quarter, in typical Chargers fashion, they let the Steelers score 27 points to take a 37-34 lead. I was stunned, sitting in my powder blue Keenan Allen jersey at a cramped booth inside Buffalo Wild Wings. Herbert had one shot. Ball in his hands. 75 yards. Perhaps it was the sugar from the five Pepsis I drank or the sugar metabolizing from carbs inside my pretzel bites. Maybe it was the 60 degree air pumping from the vent above my head or the fact that I’ve seen this story written before but I had the shakes. My teeth were chattering as if I was on a ride at Disneyland in February. Nervous, scared, emotionally shitting my pants. I was a mess. Herbert only took three plays to score, aided by a Steelers blown coverage which allowed Herbert to hit Mike Williams in stride for a game clinching touchdown. A defensive stop by the Chargers gave them their undeserved sixth win of the season. This was a heart stopping game. A weekly occurrence for a Chargers fan like me. I internally shit my pants every week, I can’t remember the last time the Chargers trotted to an easy victory. Maybe against the Jaguars once if that but the Chargers are serious playoff contenders. However if they want to go for a championship, they need to learn how to finish.
On one sideline, victory. On the other sideline, agony. The Steelers should’ve been written off in this game, they should’ve been written off weeks ago. The first month of the season had fans screaming for Big Ben’s retirement and analysts wouldn’t give them not shot to compete. They called Roethlisberger the worst quarterback in the AFC North, their win against the Bills a fluke and the team a disaster. Now look at them, competing at the highest level under Ben. I hate the notion that both Ben and head coach Mike Tomlin need to go. They’ve never had a losing season, two Super Bowl appearances and a ring together. They won their division last season and the lack of both front office ability to build a championship roster and misfortune have prevented the Steelers from winning their seventh championship. For a long time Tom Brady and the incredible defense of “Sacksonville” stopped the Steelers from once again reaching the pinnacle of football. Now it’s the lack of an offense. Ben today had a marquee performance. 273 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. The Steelers defense when healthy is a top five defensive unit. They have top players all across the field. Watt, Hayward, Tuitt, Bush, Fitzpartick, Haden and others led the Steelers to a division title last year. This year, they’re still the same cats when together. However the Steelers have no number one receiver, a tight end in Eric Ebron who is due to drop passes and an oline who couldn’t stop a nose bleed in a hospital. They lost Alejandro Villanueva, Matt Feiler and Maurkice Pouncey and decided Trei Turner and releasing All Pro guard David DeCastro was the solution. They haven’t gone after a receiver in the first round in ages, only now trying to replace the production of Antonio Brown and Le’veon Bell. Quite frankly its a mess. I think Ben still has a little more juice in him. If I was the Steelers, here’s what I would do. Re-sign JuJu Smith-Schuster. Go after Tyler Linderbaum (Center, Iowa) in the first round. He’s a top talent and will provide that offensive line leadership vacated by Maurkice Pouncey. Take a receiver in the second round, the 2022 draft is filled with studs and for all that is right in the world, please get a suitable left tackle. Big Ben is ending his time in the league but tonight proved he ain’t done yet. He wants to win, even taking a paycut to do so. Use the money, use the draft capitol and bring home the Lombardi. Steel Will is still strong in Pittsburg.
