The Pittsburgh Steelers’ season is over, but if you think the news surrounding the black-and-gold is over — think again. For the drama-filled Steelers, things are just heating up, and this is where the daily links article comes in. You might have missed some key news, and we fill you in and give you the latest, and sometimes greatest, news surrounding the Steelers.

Today in the Black-and-gold links article we take a look at how a recent report stated there were Philadelphia Eagles players who weren’t happy with the team sticking with Carson Wentz, rather wanting to retain Nick Foles.

In fact, some went as far to talk about how Wentz as a teammate and leader on the team isn’t good enough.

Sound familiar? Seems the Steelers aren’t the only team to air out their dirty laundry publicly.

Let’s get to the news:

Multiple Eagles defend Carson Wentz, slam report

By: Nick Shook, NFL.com

The convoluted future of the quarterback position in Philadelphia has spawned an incendiary story on this, the 21st day of 2019.

Multiple Eagles players, just a week into their offseason, have been quick to declare the story -- which included the anonymously sourced quote “Carson Wentz’s biggest enemy is Carson Wentz,” and was written by PhillyVoice.com’s Joseph Santoliquito -- as nonsense.

Wentz was named the team’s starter going forward by coach Doug Pederson after the Eagles were eliminated from the playoffs by the New Orleans Saints. This announcement came despite the team experiencing a rapid turnaround late in the season, riding the magic of Nick Foles to an unlikely playoff berth and wild-card win over the Chicago Bears. It again revived the Foles-Wentz debate, but with the Eagles having spent the No. 2 overall pick on Wentz -- who was a legitimate MVP candidate before his knee injury ended his 2017 season -- it’s understandable for them to go in the direction of the younger QB.

Santoliquito’s piece, citing multiple unnamed sources, tells a tale of an entitled quarterback who “created friction within the offense” and required former Eagles assistants Frank Reich and John DeFilippo to “rein Wentz in and stop him from going off-point.” The story also cites Wentz’s dependence on tight end Zach Ertz, whose 116 receptions were a career high and the second most in the NFL for any pass-catcher, as a crutch that held back Philadelphia’s offense.

Wentz isn’t going anywhere, though. With Foles positioned to make $20 million in 2019 salary that is fully guaranteed on the third day of the new league year, a parting of ways is imminent. And if Philadelphia is going to choose one of the two, it’s Wentz, who is younger, has another year on his rookie deal (before he gets his expected payday) and still owns MVP potential, should he finish a season fully healthy. The decision is fairly simple, even if Foles’ play has been incredibly difficult to ignore.

(For more, click the link in the headline...)

VIDEO: Adam Schefter claims the NFL is concerned about the integrity of the game

To view the video, click HERE.

Tim Benz: Art Rooney’s constant defense of Steelers culture actually proves its flaws

By: Tim Benz, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Boy, Art Rooney II sure is willing to die on this hill, isn’t he?

Last week, the Steelers owner said he disagreed with the popular fan and media assessment that his Steelers are “a circus” and don’t have a “culture problem.”

Like many Steelers fans and Pittsburgh media members, I vehemently disagreed.

Instead of reading the room and gauging the temperature of his fan base, Rooney ramped up his defense of the black-and-gold clown car that has become his locker room.

On Friday, Rooney followed up his comments on the talk radio circuit, appearing on both WDVE and KDKA-FM. Here are some excerpts of what he said to defend his position that the constant distracting headlines surrounding the Steelers haven’t negatively impacted the team’s results.

• “I certainly don’t think we have a culture problem,” Rooney told 93.7 FM. “We won 13 games (in 2017), so if you have a culture problem, if you have a discipline problem on your team, those kinds of teams don’t win 13 games in the National Football League. Those are the facts we have to deal with.”

• “The bottom line is when you point to last year, and everybody talks about the drama, that was a team that won 13 games. The first test for me is the performance on the field. Are we winning games? Do we have a winning culture? I think the record speaks for itself.”

• “Our fans judge us primarily on wins and losses. This team has won pretty consistently under (Mike Tomlin’s) tenure here.”

Basically, it’s Rooney’s stance that because the Steelers win more than they lose, there’s no proof that off-field chaos impacts on-field results.

Let’s examine that. Because I’d suggest that for a team that doesn’t often lose, as Rooney points out, quite a few of their losses are tainted by those off-field fiascos.

A lot of people affix the “start” of “Team Turmoil” to Antonio Brown’s Facebook Live streaming of Tomlin’s postgame speech in the 2016-17 playoffs following the organization’s victory in Kansas City.

We’ll start there.

• A week after Brown streamed Tomlin using some colorful language about the Patriots, the Steelers went up to New England and lost in the AFC Championship Game.

• In the weeks that followed the national anthem fiasco, players admitted it negatively impacted the locker room and contributed to a loss in Chicago last year during Week 3. Even Ben Roethlisberger allowed that there was at least “a little” cause and effect.

• Tomlin’s midseason “Sunday Night Football” interview predicted an AFC Championship Game rematch against the Pats in 2017. That never happened. It aired hours before the club almost got upset by a bad version of the Packers without Aaron Rodgers.

• Le’Veon Bell missing a walkthrough, showing up late and looking past Jacksonville on Twitter all occurred right before the playoff loss to the Jaguars. So did Mike Mitchell screaming at them down the hallway at Heinz Field.

• The Steelers lost their game against the Chiefs this year. It was a contest that featured a sideline temper tantrum from Brown.

• And some players intimated Brown’s behavior before the Cincinnati game was part of the reason why the club almost lost to the awful Bengals in Week 17.

So, you tell me. Is there a connection between the Steelers off-field chaos and their on-field results or not? Sure looks like it.

(For more, click the link in the headline...)