Madden Monday: 'I don’t think (the Steelers) will go QB in the 1st round. They’ll let Mason Rudolph start and see how he does'

In this week’s “Madden Monday” podcast, Mark Madden of TribLIVE and 105.9 The X has a warning for you: Don’t get fooled again!

After what we saw against the Los Angeles Chargers earlier in the year, don’t get tricked by that failed fourth-quarter comeback from the Steelers against the Minnesota Vikings Thursday night. Going from a 29-0 blowout to a 36-28 nail-biting loss, Madden cautions against fans talking themselves into the idea that the team can draw off of that late attempt to get back in the game.

“Nothing matters but the final result,” Madden said. “You can say that they had a lot of guts to come back in the fourth quarter. But if they had a lot of guts in the first place, they wouldn’t have fallen so far behind. All that matters is the winning and the losing. They are 6-6-1, and they are last place in the AFC North. Remember those old t-shirts they used to get? ‘We run the north!’ How about ‘Fourth in the North’? That even rhymes! That’d be a great shirt.”

What’s worse is that Madden said a quick fix is unlikely. And he blames the Steelers for being stuck in their ways.

“I think they are a long way away from being anything resembling a contender,” Madden continued. “They are going to have to replace a quarterback. There is a lot of work to be done. And what will hinder them from doing it is they will never take on a rebuilding job. They never do. It’s always about trying to patchwork and sneak into the playoffs. They just are an organization that has really lost its way. The way that worked for so long just doesn’t work now. The hole is too deep.”

Madden said that hole is deepest at the sport’s most important point.

“The thing that has shown up most consistently on the negative side of the street is that they are awful in the trenches,” Madden said. “They are getting battered senseless on both sides of the ball on the line. Until they fix that, there isn’t much chance of them fixing anything. And it’s not like either unit is a player or two away.”

Given all that necessary offseason work, Madden said don’t expect the franchise to prioritize finding a replacement for aging quarterback Ben Roethlisberger this offseason. Instead, expect a healthy dose of Mason Rudolph.

“I don’t think they’ll go quarterback in the first round,” Madden predicted. “I think they’ll let Mason Rudolph start the year and see how he does. I think you’ve got to go offensive line in the first round. But they’ve screwed (up) so many times, with so many different draft picks lately — not least and most recently Devin Bush — how can we get a read on their philosophy?”

Also in the podcast, Madden and I look at the state of the AFC North. Plus, we talk about Pitt’s Kenny Pickett and some recent Penguins victories.

Listen: Tim Benz and Mark Madden discuss the Steelers’ season and quarterback situation