When you manage an NFL website with a team of contributors, the offseason can be a challenging time of year. With the NFL offseason the longest of any professional sport league, news comes at a minimum for most teams, and when you have such a great and active community such as BTSC you are bound to read comments like: "Boy you can tell this is the offseason." "Why is this even an article?" "The writers sure are reaching for content aren't they?". It comes with the territory, but for Pittsburgh Steelers faithful, you should happy there isn't much news to discuss at this time.
Think about the alternative. The San Francisco 49ers have essentially seen a good majority of their roster step away from the game. We aren't talking someone at the end of their career retirement, we are talking Jason Worilds' types of retirements. Players just stepping away from the game.
The Philadelphia Eagles are the NFL version of TMZ with bringing in the ever-so-polarizing Tim Tebow for a spot on the offseason roster while cutting their Pro Bowl running back and bringing in the biggest free agent running back in DeMarco Murray. Oh, and as of yesterday they released their starting guard Evan Mathis.
What am I getting at here? Fans love those news stories, but would you really want the Steelers to be mentioned with this type of fodder? Although it would be great for the website, as a fan it is a resounding 'NO'.
The Steelers 2015 offseason has had it's moments, but nothing Earth-shattering. There was the Worilds retirement, but all reports were the Steelers were prepared to move on from No. 93 regardless of his decision. Le'Veon Bell's suspension was finally announced at three games while Ike Taylor and Troy Polamalu hung up the cleats calling it a career. Dick LeBeau left for the Tennessee Titans, and Keith Butler was promoted to defensive coordinator. The NFL Draft happened, and all 32 teams enjoyed their yearly football Christmas gifts in the form of shiny new athletes donning their favorite teams' colors for the first time, and the team brought in DeAngelo Williams to fill the backup RB position vacated by LeGarrette Blount.
There was news, but nothing which would severely impact the 2015 season, and yes, that includes Bell's suspension. Wonder what severe injury news would like be during rookie minicamp and OTAs? Just ask the Jacksonville Jaguars who saw their stud first-round pick lost for the year to a knee injury, and another rookie safety lost for an extended period of time due to a broken arm.
Instead, the Steelers have been extremely fortunate in terms of injuries, and have simply gone about their business as usual. Locking up their Super Bowl-winning QB to a new contract and essentially staying off the radar.
Some fans clamor for the juicy news, the free agent acquisitions and the hot takes provided by so many teams who live and die by those types of transactions. Instead, the Steelers have kept their stellar offense in tact, plugged some needed holes on defense and added a wide variety of talent through the draft. It may not be exciting, but it also could be a recipe for success.
In an NFL world where "Breaking News" becomes front page material for the local newspapers (i.e. - Deflategate), the Steelers have essentially stayed on Page 2 in the sports section, where they belong in the offseason. It may be boring, but in this instance it is a good thing.