The Pittsburgh Steelers just added some alpha dogs to their pack

The 2020 NFL Draft is in the books, and all that is left is the discussions and debates. It sure was nice to actually have some honest to goodness sports anticipation and excitement again. We are surviving our sports withdraw gourging ourselves on a limited buffet of game replays, repetitive sports talk shows, and wonderful sites like BTSC trying to successfully get our football fix. These will have to do till we can get the real thing. It may be the equivalent to a placebo pill, but it's better than nothing.

There will always be opinions on both sides of the isle about who the Steelers actually selected versus the prospects who happened to be available at that time. You can please some of the people some of the time, but it is impossible to please all the people all of the time. Steelers Nation is no different.

Some of us are accused of seeing all things Steelers through Steelers colored glasses, while others always seem to wonder what might have been. You know, the grass is always greener on the other side. We may be different, but like any large family, we all have a unifying theme, our love for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Sometimes we may bicker and quarrel, but nobody better not mess with our Steelers family. Like anytime a fan from a division rival drops by to comment on a BTSC thread. Usually they are respectful, but Heaven help them when they are not. They are cruising for a bruising.

This years draft class created plenty of spirited debate immediately here at BTSC. Most BTSC members are well informed and make me proud to be associated with our site. We are blessed in this way, and if you don't believe me just visit some other Steelers sites, like I am prone to do. I am a member of multiple sites, and every site has strengths and weaknesses. However, some have more than their share of casual fans who struggle to keep up to date with current affairs with the team. There is nothing wrong with that mind you, but it is especially aggravating when said fans want to argue with you about things they obviously know nothing about, so I avoid those situations.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. We all have our opinion on the draft class, which is ours alone. However, just because it is our opinion doesn't make it fact. It's pure insanity to argue opinion. Best to harvest what there is to learn from an opposing opinion, and move on.

I was reading a member's comment recently attempting to explain why they felt this year's draft class left much to be desired in their opinion. They based their evidence on the fact that the Steelers failed to select a single player from a College Football Playoff contending team in last season's rankings. They surmised that the best prospects come from the best programs, and the Steelers were continuing to miss out on all that talent. That would seem to make sense, to a point.

There are two sides to every story. Many times a prospects weaknesses can be hidden or diminished by the surrounding talent, while the opposite can be just as true. Some players are forced to fight tooth and nail in an all out effort just trying to keep their team competitive. Valuable personal insights are gather even in defeat, lessons learned that can shape a better person and player.

Claypool was the focus of every opposing defense, and he still produced. Highsmith was the one defender that each offensive coordinator had to plan for, and he improved every year. The same can be said about the majority of this year's selections. They were the underdogs, and saved some of their best games for their most talented opponents.

It's not hard to look good when you play for one of the most talented teams in the nation and are blowing teams out by thirty every week. The guys on the other sidelines are playing for something more, something special. Respect for themselves and their team, an education leading to a better life for themselves and their families, and the love of the game. Different life lessons you can be assured.

It's easy to be a gracious winner, but nobody wants a good loser on their team. The immortal Vince Lombardi once said, "Show me a good loser, and I will show you a loser."

It's not the size of the dog in a fight that matters, it's the size of the fight in the dog. At first glance it appears the Steelers got some dogs with plenty of fight in them in this year's draft class.

I heard the words "junkyard dog" and "underdog" thrown around a lot about these guys this past weekend. Sounds like Steelers type players to me.

Who's ready to let the dogs out?