The Pittsburgh Steelers have been able to say for so long that Mike Tomlin hasn't ever had a losing season that it began to feel like a given. That is swiftly starting to not feel like the case anymore in Pittsburgh, with the 2023 season serving consistently underwhelming results. It's never a good thing when a team goes into panic mode, but Chris Simms believes that the panic ship has already sailed. Unfortunately, Simms doesn't believe any drastic measures will be enough to salvage either a victory in their Week 5 game or for the 2023 season as a whole.
Michael Ainsworth / Associated Press
Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin is under the microscope in 2023, and there will need to be big changes in Pittsburgh.
Steelers May Press Panic Button But To No Avail
Simms was on NFL on NBC with Mike Florio on Thursday to preview the Steelers' 2023 Week 5 game against the Baltimore Ravens. Pittsburgh hosts Baltimore, and yet the Steelers find themselves as underdogs by four-and-a-half points despite playing at Acrisure Stadium. Florio saw the Steelers as wavering back and forth between panic and calm, using the panic when necessary, but Simms doesn't think that is going to do the 2023 squad any good.
"I think they're gonna press the panic button. I'm not sold it's gonna result in a win. I'm not there."
It would be a rare thing indeed for a team to admit that they were panicking, especially only four weeks into the 2023 campaign, but Mike Tomlin has already promised changes, so something needs to give. Simms didn't stop at questioning whether panic was enough for the Steelers, though, laying into the team and the struggles that have defined their 2023 season so far.
"I don't have a ton of faith in the Steelers defense, you know that. I think the Ravens will run on this Steelers defense, just like the Texans did... and I have no faith, still, in the Steelers offense, I don't. And I think the Ravens defense is... good."
For fans in Pittsburgh, those are truly harsh views to accept, even if it seems like Simms is trying to pick his words carefully. That is an experienced NFL insider saying that a proud, expensive, talented Steelers defense has reached a point where he can't trust them. Is it a testament to where the defense has fallen, or is it more indicative of how bad the offense truly is?
Karl Roser / Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers edge rusher TJ Watt knows how much is riding on him and the defense for 2023 to be any kind of success.
Steelers In The Same Cycle Without Success
Simms brought up a specific point when talking about the issues that Pittsburgh is going through. According to Simms, at least during the time he has worked with Florio, he's been reminded that the Steelers tend to get into these strange cycles that breed success despite no evidence that it's going to happen. While that may be a comfort to some, Simms didn't see anything about the past Steelers' successes to convince him that the 2023 team would make the same kind of victory appear out of nowhere.
Abigail Dean / Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers' George Pickens will have to step up against the Ravens in Week 5 of 2023 to get the season back on track.
In a rant dripping with sarcasm, Simms went through what many Steelers fans are probably hoping will happen again; the inexplicable rise from the ashes even though everything is pointing to more disappointment. This time, at least in Simms' opinion, the victory will fall to the Ravens, while the Steelers will go into the 2023 bye week with questions all over the place.
"The Steelers, as you've [Florio] mentioned nine million times since we've worked together, this is a Steelers moment. Play like **** last week, right? They got out-physical'd, out-coached, everything, and then this is the week when you go, 'Oh! I count them out, they look like crap,' and they come back and win a football game. I think this is gonna be a real good football game, I don't think they're [Steelers] gonna win it."
While I am sure no one in Pittsburgh appreciated the sarcasm, it's hard to argue with the logic in Simms' argument. The teams of the past had coaching that was light years ahead of the 2023 staff, and Canada wasn't overseeing a sad excuse for an offensive strategy. In those nostalgia-ridden years, there was at least the knowledge that, as rough as the season got, the leadership in the front office and locker room would be enough to right the ship. In 2023, however, that doesn't seem to be the case.
With the Ravens waiting around the corner in the 2023 Week 5 clash, the league will get to see what Steelers team shows up. Will the classic matchup of AFC North teams be enough to raise the energy that has been severely lacking in Pittsburgh? Simms doesn't think so, but stranger things have happened.
Will the Steelers rise to the occasion against the Ravens in Week 5? Comment below!
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