Pittsburgh Steelers Fact or Fiction: Wilson Phillips edition

There’s always so much to talk about when it comes to the Pittsburgh Steelers. But the inquiries surrounding the black-and-gold are definitely ever-evolving, especially this week with the Steelers seemingly completing the hiring process for their coaching staff. It seems like the theme of this week’s fact or fiction could have come from the Wilson Phillips catalog of songs like “Release Me”, “Hold On”, “Impulsive” and “The Dream is Still Alive”. Here’s a sample...

“Some day somebody’s gonna make you want to turn around and say goodbye. Until then, baby, are you going to let ‘em hold you down and make you cry? Don’t you know? Don’t you know things can change? Things will go your way if you hold on for one more day”.

Ponder whether they are related here or if I just wanted an excuse to listen to some girl-group action. But anyhow, there is surely a lot to wonder about. BTSC tries to answer some of the poignant wonderings ahead of time. Take a gander at some bold statements on this and more as we label them as fact or fiction.

Are we on point? Only time will tell.

Promoting from within doesn’t signify change in coaching philosophies

Fiction

A lot of Steelers fans seemed disappointed that the Steelers promoted Matt Canada to the role of offensive coordinator and Adrian Klemm to that of the new coach of the team’s offensive line. It has less to do with the coaches themselves and more to do with the fact that they were hired from within. After the offensive scheme woes and the issues with the line, fans wanted wholesale changes with some of the coaches. Well here’s the thing regarding the philosophies of assistant coaches. Sometimes people aren’t able to implement their ideas, when the head of the department or the boss has a different manner of thinking. Klemm was endorsed by Ramon Foster, among others, as being a great hire and players seem loyal to Canada already. Just because they aren’t new to the team, doesn’t mean that they won’t have fresh ideas.

The Steelers should pick up the 5th-year options on both Minkah Fitzpatrick and Terrell Edmunds

Fact

Although drafted by two separate teams, the Steelers have two first-round safeties from the 2018 NFL Draft in their starting lineup. Minkah is a no-brainer to not only have his option picked up, but to be re-signed to a long-term deal to stay in the Steel City. When you trade a first-rounder and more for a player and said player is twice named First Team All-Pro...you want to hold on and never want to let go. As for Edmunds, he should definitely have his option picked-up too. The biggest problem with Terrell is that the Steelers selected him in the first round. Have they had selected him in Round Two or Three, he would be an absolute favorite of Steeler Nation. The safety plays hard and has improved every single year. The stigma of not being a superstar and being selected first has plagued No. 34 since arriving in the Steel City. Edmunds has been solid for the Steelers. His play has not been poor like Artie Burns and Jarvis Jones, who didn’t get their options picked up. He is a contributor, they were not.

Now that Alan Faneca is finally in the Hall of Fame, Hines Ward is the next-best Steelers candidate

Fact

Hines Ward really is deserving of a call to the Hall, but it’s probably going to take a long time for the Steelers’ legend to get in. No. 86 ranks 26th all-time with 12,083 yards and 14th with 1,000 receptions in his illustrious career. But look how long it took for both John Stallworth and Lynn Swan to get in. I think Hines will get in and not need help from the veterans committee to get in, but its going to take time. Ben Roethlisberger could actually get in before the Super Bowl XL MVP, but they both should be enshrined in Canton from the new millennium Steelers.

The Steelers won’t win a Super Bowl under Art Rooney II

Fiction

They might not, but the franchise is not in such a sad state of affairs that are crippling their championship chances. It took his grandfather 41 years to be a winner and his father, Dan Rooney, 26 years to get a Lombardi back to his family and the city of Pittsburgh. Art II is a good owner, but he’s not his dad and grandfather. They were established winners. Art II is a winner as well, but he has a different style than his dad. Fans are down on him for the state of the team right now, but seem to forget that Art II played a major role in the Steelers’ success that led to rings in 2005 and 2008. AR2 has a better chance than not to bring a Super Bowl victory black to black-and-gold.

The appearance of Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell in the Super Bowl is not an indictment of the ‘Steeler Way’

Fact

A lot of Steelers fans are bothered by the fact that both Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell are appearing in Super Bowl 55 this weekend. The reason being is the fact that fans feel that the team may have dropped the ball with these two former Steelers. However, the circumstances with both AB and Juice were forced by the players and beyond the control of the franchise. Reports are abound that Brown was privately always a problem in the locker room and kind of lost his marbles even more in 2016 when he was pummeled in the AFC Wildcard Round by Vontaze Burfict. No. 84 spiraled out of control after that and his insubordination forced a trade out of Pittsburgh. Bell, in turn, got bad advice from his agent and went AWOL on the Steelers. However, Bell was typically known as a good teammate and not a problem in the locker room. He just followed the money out of town and handled his affairs in the wrong manner in my opinion. Both of these Killer B’s are bit players for the Chiefs and Bucs, who would most likely would be in the big game without them. That doesn’t mean that they won’t contribute and can’t come up big in the Super Bowl. But the Steelers didn’t lose gambles with these two, they simply had to play the cards that they were dealt.

Check out the Fact or Fiction podcast to learn even more about these topics, and their status, heading into this week’s game and listen for more on the player below.