Steelers Update on Pennlive PennLive

Steelers Nation, meet the new boss; same as the old boss. That being quarterback Big Ben Roethlisberger, who says he’s back and better than ever. In a training camp interview, Ben proclaimed his surgically repaired elbow is the best it’s been in years; he’s lighter than he’s been in some 14 seasons; and feels he has years left to his NFL career. So much so, there’s now a real bottom line business concern for the Steelers: Namely re-signing this suddenly young-again Steelers QB for the future beyond 2021. No wonder GM Kevin Colbert passed on drafting a young arm in 2020. Ben could be at the helm for several stellar Steelers seasons to come -- but he’s yet to take a hit in an actual NFL game. So there’s that. Is Steelers Nation getting fooled again by a 38-year-old QB who didn’t last two full games last season? I give you all the best Big Ben takes in this edition of the Steelers Update Podcast. 
 
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Whether it’s Juju Smith-Schuster’s skin-tight unitard dance on the China-owned social media app, TikTok, or Zach Banner’s unexpected Twitter blowup over Stephon Tuitt’s stand on the National Anthem, the Steelers seem to be sowing division at a time they should be coming together as a team in training camp. This has some long-time Steelers analysts predicting doom and gloom in Pittsburgh. They say the latest social media missteps are proof the Steelers’ locker room remains a big problem. Are they right? Hear all the evidence and plenty of hot takes in this edition of the Steelers Update Podcast, then reach your own conclusion: Are the 2020 Steelers a “clown show” or simply exercising freedom of speech? The answer could make or break the Steelers’ season, which hasn’t even started yet. Wow! 
 
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To black and gold faithful, Antonio Brown stands as the ultimate fool’s gold. All flash, no substance. Plenty of style, but no steel. Stats, but no championships. A big talking, look-at-me player who put self above team. This makes Brown the ultimate failure and biggest disappointment in Steelers franchise history. But there’s another side to this coin – the bad Pittsburgh penny that was Antonio Brown. A cold-eyed assessment of what this unheralded sixth-round pick did with his nine Steelers seasons shows Brown could be the greatest pass catcher Pittsburgh has ever seen – and a sure-fire future Hall of Famer. I give you all the best takes on the still-evolving Antonio Brown reappraisal, plus, all the latest on the Steelers training camp – just 80 players will enter -- as we are just 50 days away from real football. A jam-packed Steelers Update podcast awaits, so listen up!
 
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Steelers Nation is in an uproar in wake of the new ‘Madden ‘21’ video game ratings that seem to diss one of their superstars, while hinting at a big comeback for a fan favorite.
Is this simply the tale of two computer game ratings that won’t really matter much once the real season begins? Or a prescient prediction of things to come in 2020 – namely a reversal of Steelers fortunes with the Ben Roethlisberger-led offense flying high again and the defense and its lack of depth taking a significant step back this coming season? Video game rating rage gives rise to some actual substantive analysis that up may be down for the 2020 Steelers. I round up all the best takes on outstanding outside lineback T.J. Watt; possible come-back player of the year, JuJu Smith-Schuster, who could still be heading out of Pittsburgh regardless – and which until will be better – offense or defense – in this prediction packed edition of the Steelers Update Podcast. So listen up, Steelers fans!
 
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The image of the Steelers as the ultimate NFL misers is a bygone trope that won’t die. The Pittsburgh football team founded for $2,500 by Art Rooney does pony up and pay its stars. They have the salary cap troubles to prove it. But would they ever go as far as the Kansas City Chiefs just did in locking up quarterback Patrick Mahomes to a 10-year extension worth more than $500 million? It’s a dilemma the Steelers surely would like to have. Because to pay Patrick Mahomes money you first must draft and develop a Patrick Mahomes-type player, then surround him with the coaches, scheme and supporting players to shine all the way to a Super Bowl. We explore this and the Ravens’ almost-certain troubles singing Lamar Jackson in wake of all this – plus plenty of Steelers news and a fond revisiting of Three Rivers Stadium in honor of its 50thanniversary – all in this edition of the Steelers Update Podcast.
 
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Fans still have faith in seeing live, in-person football in Pittsburgh this fall. That’s why this Steelers season ticket holder plunked down cold, hard cash for 4 season passes, no questions or COVID worries asked. Why? Well, it’s Steelers football. That’s why. I’ve been part of it since the 80s at the old concrete bowl that was Three Rivers Stadium. I always imagined the place as a giant witch’s caldron -- crackling and gurgling with the unmitigated euphoria and unregulated rage of Steelers fans. I loved being part of that potent Pittsburgh Steelers stew, brewed up and boiling over Sunday after Sunday. I shudder to think of the Steelers making plays in utter silence amid an empty, cavernous Heinz Field. It just wouldn’t be the same, not even close. Not even on TV. Here’s why – and how this season might work for fans wanting to attend Steelers games.
 
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