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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 more rookies being signed leaving only Kendrick Green remaining and with a young Steeler courting an All-Pro. It seems like the musical selection that best fits this week’s Fact or Fiction could be the Jim Steinman-penned classic, I Would Do Anything For Love (But I Won’t Do That).
Here’s a sample...
And I would do anything for love
I’d run right into hell and back
I would do anything for love
I’ll never lie to you and that’s a fact
But I’ll never forget the way you feel right now
Oh no, no way
And I would do anything for love
But I won’t do that, oh
No, I won’t do that
And some days it don’t come easy
And some days it don’t come hard
Some days it don’t come at all
And these are the days that never end
And some nights you’re breathing fire
And some nights you’re carved in ice
Some nights you’re like nothing
I’ve ever seen before or will again
And maybe I’m crazy
Oh, it’s crazy and it’s true
I know you can save me
No one else can save me now but you
As long as the planets are turning
As long as the stars are burning
As long as your dreams are coming true
You better believe it
That I would do anything for love
Oh, I would do anything for love
Oh, I would do anything for love
But I won’t do that
No, I wont do that
You can ponder the significance or wonder whether these lyrics are really related here. Or maybe I just wanted an excuse to listen to some classic Meatloaf. 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.
Chase Claypool may want it, but the Steelers won’t trade for Julio Jones
Fact
It was cool to see the Steelers wide receiver tell TMZ how cool it would be for the Steelers to trade for disgruntled Atlanta Falcon All-Pro Julio Jones. “We’re stacked,” Claypool said. “But you can never get too many superstars.” Adding Jones to go along with No. 11, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Diontae Johnson and James Washington would be awesome and I’m sure that offense would be even more electric. But the cap room doesn’t support it, even though they could move things around if the front office wanted it bad enough. But the higher price is the mortgaging of the future to get a luxury piece that they really don’t need. I would love to see Julio Jones in Pittsburgh and it seems like Claypool would give up his digits to get it done... But the high draft picks that you have to surrender makes this a deal that they just can’t do,
A current Steelers’ player will change their number under the new rule
Fiction
It’s kind of late in the game to do so at this particular juncture, so I don’t expect this to happen at all. We just talked about Chase Claypool’s courting of Julio Jones and although that is a very remote possibility, the former Notre Dame standout would probably shift to his open number that he wore in college (No. 83) instead of going to a single digit jersey. Joe Haden mentioned that if this was earlier in his career that he would switch to No. 5. Many people thought that JuJu Smith-Schuster would switch to his USC No. 9, but his No. 19 is much a part of his brand now and it is already occupied by veteran kicker Chris Boswell. One Steeler that switched his numerals is no longer a Steeler. James Conner will wear No. 6 in Arizona.
An even-more motivated Alex Highsmith will find himself pushing double digits in sacks
Fact
Alex Highsmith recently mentioned that he is more motivated to achieve in his second year in Pittsburgh after fans wanted the team to draft an outside linebacker. They did draft one in the sixth round in the form of Quincy Roche’, but the team is obviously super high on Highsmith. And they should be. Yes, the third-rounder from UNC-Charlotte only had two sacks last season, but he didn’t start until December 8th last season. But No. 56 is a relentless pass rusher and in a full season playing opposite T.J. Watt and on the same side as Stephon Tuitt, all signs point to a superstar turn for Alex. One thing that Highsmith needs to understand though is that fans and media fear the unknown and other Steelers superstars like Troy Polamalu, Cam Heyward and T.J. Watt all were under the same scrutiny. But shoulder chips and extra motivation is a great thing. Let it fuel you, man.
Le’Veon Bell will never play for the Steelers again
Fact
First off, we’ve had this subject a zillion times over the past couple of years. But with Le’Veon Bell getting in a social media war with Steelers fans when he tweeted, “2021 will be the year y’all reminded”. After a fan quipped that Bell has said that the past three years, Bell followed up with, “They should’ve paid me what I wanted when they had the chance”. How delusional is the guy that calls himself “Juice”? The Steelers offered Bell a five-year, $70 million deal back in 2017. He chose to sit out the 2018 season before signing a four-year, $52.5 million deal with the New York Jets. He played just 17 games in New York and did very little with the Chiefs last season. Only a few fans want the guy back in black and gold, but with Najee Harris in the mix... there’s no reason to ever entertain a reunion.
Mike Tomlin will not finish his NFL coaching career in the Top 10 for wins
Fiction
If Tomlin continues his streak of not having a losing season, the most-recent “Iron Mike’ could actually achieve this amazing milestone in less than five seasons. In 14 seasons, Michael Pettaway Tomlin has 145 regular season victories. That total has him sitting in a tie at the 21st position in history (with Seattle’s Pete Carroll) just for notches behind Bill Cowher, his predecessor in Pittsburgh. The coach currently in tenth place with 186 is 41 wins ahead and that’s Chuck Knox. However, the Steelers’ head man is going to have competition for that honor with the aforementioned Carroll and New Orleans’ Sean Payton with 143. While it looks like Tomlin will pass Cowher for second place in Pittsburgh Steelers history, No. 1 Chuck Noll is in his sights as well at No. 8 all-time with 193.
Check out the Fact or Fiction podcast to learn even more about these topics every single week and listen for more on the player below.
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