The beginning of fall means many things – the trees look pretty, pumpkin spice chais are back at Starbucks, holiday season is on the way, and football season is back and in full force. Once again my house is filled with broadcaster’s voices every Monday, Thursday, and Sunday. My dad is coaching the team from the couch, decked out in black and gold if the Steelers are playing. My brothers are both excited, yelling at the TV and coming up with the most effective runs for the receivers, or dissing the players for the Ravens whenever they have a game. There is no better season. However, football has been a rough subject lately.
The Steelers have had an interesting couple of years without Ben Roethlisberger, their former quarterback and Hall of Fame inductee. It isn’t often that you find a quarterback as good as he was during his prime. However, a couple of players have managed to really stand out recently. Though it is important to remember, standing out is not always a good thing. TJ Watt, a linebacker for the Steelers, stands out for all of the right reasons, while Mason Rudolph, (somehow a backup NFL quarterback), is the absolute worst. Respectfully.
Given that his brothers, JJ and Derek, both also play for teams in the NFL, it is no surprise that Watt is extremely talented. Football seems to run in their blood, and they have created a legacy for their family. Watt joined the NFL to play for the Steelers in 2017 and has stayed in Pittsburgh since. He became the first rookie to start as a linebacker, and worked his way up to being the highest paid defensive player in the NFL during the 2021 season. This was the same season that Watt was named NFL Defensive Player of the Year and Team MVP of the Steelers.
In the second week of this season, Watt brought his career total of sacks to 81.5, breaking the current franchise sack record held by James Harrison. He then scored the game winning touchdown with a 16 yard return off of a recovered fumble. He was just named Defensive Player of the Month, and is leading the league in pressures and sacks. It is impossible to deny the immense impact he continues to create for his team. What can’t TJ Watt do?
Every time I’m watching a game with my dad and see #90 heading for the quarterback, I assume something good is going to happen. Most of the time, the quarterback ends up flat on the grass in the pocket, or Watt is at least able to get a hand up if the ball is already thrown. My brothers are always cheering him on as he celebrates another sack to his name, or yelling at a player to pick up a deflected pass. He is just a consistently amazing player, and extremely fun to watch. He’s aggressive, has good instincts, and is a quarterback’s worst nightmare. My worst nightmare is Mason Rudolph.
Whenever Mason Rudolph is on the field, I can feel the possibility of the Steelers winning slowly disappear. It is like clouds appearing in an otherwise perfectly clear, blue sky. Out of nowhere, the mood suddenly plummets. Everyone begins to think a collective “Great”. There is absolutely nothing worse.
Rudolph was chosen by the Steelers in 2018, and has done very little since. He has not had a career highlight or award since 2017. Every time I hear that Rudolph is playing, I know I’m about to watch the ball get intercepted countless times. Somehow he is still on the roster for the Steelers, and makes seven figures every year. One of the scariest experiences of my life was the possibility of him becoming the starting quarterback for the Steelers, though luckily that never happened. Hopefully nothing ever happens to Kenny Pickett, first-string quarterback, because considering Mason Rudolph and Mitch Trubisky are the backups, it would not be good.
The Steelers have been making a lot of adjustments in order to build a team that can survive playoffs. Some of these adjustments might be questionable, like keeping Rudolph, but even with a couple of dead weights, there is a lot of good potential. There are also continuously great players, like TJ Watt, who have stepped up and worked extremely hard to create success for their team. Hopefully all of these efforts can combine and form a team favored to win the Superbowl in the next couple of years.
You seem to know your Steeler football. Nice job at using the correct terminology throughout the piece. Impressive. Your commentary expresses a passion for the team. Good luck with the rest of the season. I don’t have much to say since I am Bears fan. Painful seasons year after year. Thanks for sharing.