Last week, Answer Man tried to talk Steelers fans down off the bridges in the wake of the one-sided thumping by the San Francisco 49ers.
A week later, things look a little brighter and Answer Man is feeling the flush of accurate prognostication.
The original thought was based in part on the reality that the Steelers are the NFL’s Rasputin. You need to shoot them, poison them, drown them and hang them before they are vanquished. Also, the Steelers still could and should win 9 or 10 games due to the pathetically easy schedule, coupled with the fact that the division rivals can’t seem to sweep the Steelers.
If you watched Cleveland choke Monday night, and lose star running back Nick Chubb for the season in the process, you got a little preview of how AFC North opposition seems to tremble at the mere sight of the three hypocycloids (stylized red, blue and gold stars) in the Steelers’ logo.
Already Cincinnati is 0-2, with star quarterback Joe Burrow limping due to a lingering calf injury.
Baltimore is 2-0, but the Ravens still have the wildly inconsistent Lamar Jackson at quarterback. Even as the announcers were praising Jackson during a Sunday telecast, he made one of his characteristic poor reads on a passing play, narrowly avoiding an interception.
Then, an apparent strip sack of Jackson and subsequent Cincinnati recovery was wiped out by a questionable penalty against the Bengals
Shifting narratives on a dime, the telecast then showed a montage of Jackson fumbles from the previous week.
Jackson will make mistakes at critical junctures. Count on it.
Yes, the Steelers can’t expect to score two defensive touchdowns a game, as they did vs. Cleveland. And there will come a time when Kenny Pickett won’t be able to count on the opposing quarterback out-stinking him.
But the Steelers also have what should be easy wins vs. the Las Vegas Raiders and Houston Texans coming up, so they should be 3-1 heading into an Oct. 8 home game vs. Baltimore.
Now Answer Man reaches into his metaphorical mailbag, the one he stuffs with questions of his own making.
Q: What did you think of former Yankees star pitcher David Wells showing up for an oldtimers day event, taping over the Nike logo on the jersey and generally blasting the Woke movement that has invaded sports? Sign me, Auntie Antifa from Bitter End, Tennessee.
A: Auntie (Anti?), it did my heart proud to read what Wells did, then to see him double down on it all during a Tuesday morning appearance on a cable television business show. I just wish he had more current athletes standing up to the politicization of sports.
Q: Are you buying more optimistic talk from the Pirates’ front office about the future? Sign me, I.M. Doubtful from Nothing, Arizona.
A: Hey, Doubtful, it’s been wait until next year almost annually since I was a young man. This year the slogan seems to be at least we’re not as bad as Oakland and Kansas City. The Pirates could be better next year, but you seldom go wrong betting on the organization to find a way to screw up things.
Q: When are big-time college sports going to cut the student-athlete crap and admit to being the semi-pro operations that they are? Sign me, Nomar Hypocrisy from Embarrass, Wisconsin.
A: Nomar, if someone can keep a straight face regarding the Colorado football program, with 86 new players on its roster this year, then there is no hope for truthful discussion. This sort of thing, and the free-agency of the transfer portal, has turned college football into an outright NFL minor league. College men’s basketball is no better, being largely an NBA farm system. Don’t forget these “amateur” student-athletes making money from merchandising their names, images and likenesses. Sure, those performing in most women’s sports, as well as men’s minor sports such as fencing and wrestling, tend to be traditional student-athletes. But as far as the high-profile college sports, to quote from the Great Biden, “Come on, man!”
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