The next man up at quarterback is Mason Rudolph, who will be bringing two quarters of NFL experience and a conviction to “step up to the plate” with him to San Francisco this Sunday.
A historic series that’s lost its steam is seemingly poised to run its course. That’s bad for Pitt, bad for Penn State, bad for Pennsylvania and bad for college football.
JuJu Smith-Schuster and the wide receivers insist they’re more about the team than themselves, and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger suspects they’re sincere. But head coach Mike Tomlin will need to be convinced in the regular season.
Training camp and the preseason were many things for the Steelers. They’ve emerged with a confidence and an identity that’s about to be tested, beginning with the regular-season opener on Sept. 8 in New England against the Patriots.
There is little obvious poetry in managing the day to day. But this month, spend some time with musicians who are scholars of the small emotional spaces that pop music can often overlook, artists who find magic in the maintaining.
Clint Hurdle’s team was respectable, and in a contending position at the All-Star break. Then the bottom fell out, and the Pirates have looked like Little Leaguers ever since. All that remains now is to see how far they can actually sink.
The Steelers couldn’t find a franchise quarterback between Terry Bradshaw and Ben Roethlisberger. Now, with Roethlisberger as the sole remaining link to the team’s Super Bowl success, the time for another championship run is now — or it might not be for a while.
