Madden Monday: Steelers 'think they are far better than what they are' — the offensive line may be their undoing
Mark Madden of 105.9 The X and TribLIVE was watching the coverage of the Pittsburgh Steelers preseason game against the Detroit Lions, and he was struck by some of the things Cameron Heyward and T.J. Watt said about the state of the team during interviews.
“The thing with the Steelers is, they think they are far better than what they are,” Madden said on this week’s “Madden Monday” podcast. “Everybody says that during interviews. But you could tell by the way they talked, they really believe that they could do something crazy, like win the division. And they just can’t.”
Madden said embracing the underdog role, instead of pumping themselves into something they aren’t, may be beneficial to the franchise.
“If you know you are an underdog — and think and play from an underdog’s perspective — you have a better chance,” Madden said. “Case in point last year. He never said it out loud, but Ben (Roethlisberger) knew they weren’t that good and he managed the game thusly. And that gave them a shot in the fourth quarter, because he did. I don’t think these guys think that. I think Watt and Heyward think they are a contender for the division title … which is insane.”
Where Madden might be right is that the Steelers offensive line has been so bad in the preseason, it might be a fatal flaw for the whole team.
“There is nobody that’s any good,” Madden said. “They don’t have any physical toughness or strength. They don’t have a glue guy. There is nothing worth holding together anyway.”
Madden thinks the line is so bad, that factor is going to keep the Steelers out of the trade market for Mason Rudolph. In other words, the line is so leaky, that it might get both QBs in front of Rudolph on the depth chart — Mitch Trubisky and Kenny Pickett — injured in the offensive backfield.
Related:
• Tim Benz: Despite 3-0 preseason record, very few Steelers' questions have been answered
• Mark Madden: If there was a Steelers quarterback competition, Mitch Trubisky won it
• First Call: Ravens mascot injured; potential name is off Steelers outside linebacker wish list
• Trubisky leads TD drive in 2-minute offense, helps Steelers beat Lions in preseason finale
And, like in 2019, the Steelers may have to turn to Rudolph again this season.
“They just stink from left all the way to the right. They stink so bad, that I found myself wondering if (John) Leglue and (J.C.) Hassenauer might be better alternatives,” Madden said.
You could make a case that right tackle Chuks Okorafor is playing the best among the O-linemen. You just may have to ignore his stunningly high $29.25 million contract to do so.
“Chuks stinks a little less than all of them. That’s not encouraging,” Madden said. “Canada’s game plan and Trubisky’s escape ability can only get around that so much. It’s like last year, Ben with all of his guile and getting off the ball so quickly. It did provide some level of antidote to the lack of offensive line quality. But not enough.”
Also in this week’s podcast, Madden and I discuss the AFC playoff picture, the Aaron Donald helmet-swinging incident and Liverpool’s 9-0 win over the weekend.
Tim Benz is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tim at tbenz@triblive.com or via X. All tweets could be reposted. All emails are subject to publication unless specified otherwise.
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