U mad, bro?: Plenty of Steelers fans applaud team's 9-8 finish, and push back on anyone who doesn't

I would’ve loved to have included more Pittsburgh Steelers posts in this week’s “U mad, bro?” But I couldn’t because my fellow Trib Sports writers and I are busy coordinating coverage for the Steelers victory parade.

Yup. The Steelers annual “Non-Losing Season Celebration” is underway. The route started on Grant Street, rolled through Downtown, passed Acrisure Stadium and ended in my Twitter mentions.

It’s a city-wide party for Steelers fans to honor their team’s yearly accomplishment of barely avoiding sub-mediocrity. And because I choose not to march right along with most of you, I’m deemed to be a Grinch by everyone wearing Black and Gold in Whoville.

Did you miss this week’s parade? Don’t worry, you’ll have another chance in the spring when the Penguins lose in the first round of the playoffs again, and we figure out a way to rationalize that too.

For those who are unfamiliar, here’s a smattering of the feedback I received along the way.

Jeff from Glassport thinks that Mark Madden and I weren’t chipper enough in our assessments of the Steelers’ 9-8 2022.

“Tim, I do respect yours and Mark Madden’s columns in the Trib. My question is why are both of you so negative about the Steelers, no matter what they do?? It would be refreshing and uplifting if for once yinz would focus on the positives, like coming back from 2 and 6, playoffs still a possibility, Tomlin without a losing season, and definitely the whole Steelers team improving? I think the Steelers are on the right path. They ended the season on an upswing. Try being behind them instead of against them.”

Pfft! Forget our columns. Do you know what would really be “refreshing and uplifting”???

A playoff win. Remember those?

“Playoffs still a possibility.” Oh boy! Way to go, fellas. Orange slices for everyone!

Respectfully, Jeff, it’s not our job to “be behind them.” You’re a fan. That’s your job.

It’s our job to give opinions about what we see and think. We are columnists who write about a multi-billion dollar NFL franchise. Not parents who publish a newsletter about a local Pop Warner team.

If you are a fan who is comfortable settling for 9-8 seasons after 2-6 starts and no playoff wins in six years, good for you. I’m not telling you that you are wrong, or how to root for your team.

I’m just telling you why I think that bar needs to be raised. And, if it isn’t, we need to stop looking at this franchise as being unique when all the data (see link below) of late is pointing to it being average at best.

I agree that next year they should be better. After free agency and the draft, when I know what the 2023 roster will look like, expect columns with that tone to be written. But, for now, the 2022 season just ended. So that’s what I’m discussing.

We are a long way from the old “City of Champions” standard. Your email underscores that vibe. That was the point of my column on Tuesday. If you are ignoring the facts, trends and stats I outlined, it’s because you are doing so on purpose to make yourself feel better about mediocrity.

Don’t blame us for pointing that out.

More Steelers

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Here’s an email from “sbeall68.” He thinks my recent column complaining about the Steelers’ pattern of bad starts dooming their seasons is misplaced.

“Like in 2020? 11-0 really got the job done, huh? I don’t think it matters how these (Mike) Tomlin teams start. The result will remain the same: Disappointment bordering on embarrassment.

The key to having a successful season is having a good football team and supporting cast of coaches. if that is in place, the type of starts they have typically work themselves out in the end. See 2005.”

Ummmm, Steve, the 2005 Super Bowl team started 7-2. That group didn’t have a bad start that needed to “work itself out.” It had a three-game lull in the middle of the year and rallied to win its last four.

If your greater point is that you are more concerned with how they’ve finished than how they start, you’ve got some evidence there. The 2018 and 2019 teams collapsed out of playoff spots with late-season skids. And the 11-0 team of 2020 ended up 12-4 with a loss in its only playoff game in ugly fashion to the Cleveland Browns.

That part I can’t debate based on the three years before this one.

Aaron thinks I should embrace the Steelers’ 9-8, non-playoff season more than I am.

Everyone outside of Pittsburgh views this as wildly successful. We are spoiled and have high standards here. The reality is that this team has massive holes and outperformed what it should have done. It was a good coaching job.

— Aaron Jamery (@ajams2407) January 9, 2023

They went from 9-7-1 and a playoff berth to 9-8 and no playoffs. “Everyone” thinks that’s “wildly successful”? How does that qualify as “high standards” then?

If expectations were that low at the start of the season, how come I was crucified by Steelers fanboys when I predicted 8-9, and that they’d finish eighth in the conference? That prediction ended up being nearly spot on.

Yet I was deemed a hater, a pessimist and a contrarian at the time. Yet now, I see tweets like yours acting as if the Steelers vastly surpassed that expectation. So it’s OK to mock any negative projection in August, but when they scramble late to barely pass that mark, it’s “wildly successful”?

We really need to stop moving the goalposts.

Note, that may also help Chris Boswell’s field goal percentage.

Walt wants to chime in on this debate and defend Tomlin too.

Belichick now has 2 losing seasons without Brady. Losing a HOF QB isn’t easy.

— Walt Harbaugh (@WaltHarbaugh) January 9, 2023

The last four healthy years of Ben Roethlisberger’s career didn’t end with any playoff wins either, Walt.

But please, keep the excuses coming. I could do this all day.

Heck, I’ve been doing it for six years.

Let’s get back to the Steelers in a moment. Richard didn’t like the shot I took at NFLPA president J.C. Tretter in my recent column about the response time of the NFL to cancel the “Monday Night Football” game when Buffalo Bills defensive back Damar Hamlin collapsed.

“Unions are formed and negotiate collectively over three things: Wages, Benefits, and Working Conditions. Given that you generally only hear from union reps when dealing with a violation of those three conditions it is understandable why the misperception you wrote about is developed.

But it is also not the entire truth. There are multiple personal stories that I can share with you that would belie the generalization you so casually dropped. It is also unfair to lump ALL union reps in with a comment that you personally take exception to. Union folks work hard to create and protect a workplace that is safe and worth coming to, for some very dangerous and difficult jobs in some cases.”

In one form or another, I’ve been forced to be in a union for about 20 years. Let me list below all the ways being in that union has benefited me in that time:

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Did you get all that?

It’s a column, Richard. I’m allowed to express my opinions, views and my own life experiences. Based on being in my union, that’s been my take away. You can call it stereotyping. I’ll call it personal experience.

You’ve obviously had better experiences with union representation than I have had. And even if that wasn’t the case, I could see through what Tretter’s agenda was with his comments.

Here’s a tweet from my pal Dave Dameshek of the “Minus-Three” podcast and a frequent contributor to the “’DVE Morning Show.” This tweet wasn’t sent directly to me. But, as you’ll see, it’s aimed directly at anyone who shares my opinion of the Steelers’ 9-8 finish.

Point of clarification for those Stillers media/fans who are suffering from the team not having won a playoff game in 6 yrs:
It's not that you're not "allowed" to express your dissatisfaction. It's just that the rest of us enjoy laughing at you.

— Dave Dameshek (@Dameshek) January 10, 2023

Folks like Dave can take as much glee in 9-8 as they want. Are they laughing as hard as the rest of the NFL was when the Steelers allowed a fourth-quarter comeback to Zach Wilson and the Jets?

Because, in the end, that’s essentially what cost them a playoff berth.

Finally, I’ll end with Danny. Someone who actually agrees with me about how we are letting the previous Steelers standard of excellence slip.

“Your article about ‘The Standard’ was absolutely correct in every way. A once great and proud organization has fallen into mediocrity in pretty much every way, and they don’t even realize it. You explained how I’ve felt for the last decade. Thanks.”

Oh, they realize it, Danny. Trust me. The Steelers brass is just hoping enough of their fans don’t.

Unfortunately, based on my inbox and my Twitter feed, the front office and coaching staff are getting their wish.