By Jacob Jensen
SteelerNation.com
The Steelers are all in.
With the Pittsburgh Steelers trading up 10 spots in the NFL draft last Thursday and selecting a franchise type player, it’s easy to see the plan for the Steelers. After having an uncharacteristically busy off-season, the Steelers topped it off by trading up to select Devin Bush. This move shows that with QB Ben Roethlisberger signing his three year extension last week, that the Steelers are going all in on getting Big Ben (at least) one more Super Bowl before he retires.
This next season already has a special feel to it. The Steelers have already been ruled to be underdogs in their own division, with the Cleveland Browns (the Browns!?!?!) having better Super Bowl odds. Many sports analysts are already giving the Browns the AFC North title. This gets me excited because I know the players are seeing this, and I can just see them getting themselves ready to prove everyone wrong. Ben Roethlisberger is already going to have a chip on his shoulder, due to the nonsense involving former Steelers WR, Antonio Brown. Roethlisberger plays his best when he’s angry. A lot of the casual fans in the NFL have counted out the Steelers, but the feeling in the Steelers facility, in Pittsburgh, and on Steelers Twitter is that this team is coming with a vengeance. This team is more family like then it has been for years. The Steelers have made a point to bring in team players with something to prove this year in free agency and in the draft. I fully agree with Mike Tomlin when he says there has been a cleansing, and from what I can see, there has been a culture change.
.@stephenasmith had to go off on @Realrclark25 for co-signing Greedy Williams' comments about the Browns going to the Super Bowl. pic.twitter.com/KoU4WCiwef
— First Take (@FirstTake) April 30, 2019
There is one goal for this team, and that’s the Super Bowl. There is no longer any selfishness in that locker room. No more "me" before the "team." No more my personal brand before the team brand. This feeling that I’m getting from this team reminds me of the 2005 Steelers. That feeling of "no one outside of this locker room believes in us" feeling. That kind of thinking is what brings teams together. It’s never the best team that wins the Super Bowl. It’s the team that goes to war for the person next to them. The team that comes together when it matters most. The team that is full of players that play for the team, the city, and the fans. We saw this last year against the New England Patriots. They weren’t the most talented team last year. In 2018, the Philadelphia Eagles had a backup quarterback who played the entire second half of the season, including the playoffs. The year before, the Patriots triumphed back from 28-3 to win. Hell, the Steelers have had the most talented offense ever, since 2014. On paper they should have made at least one Super Bowl. But you can’t win championships with the egos that the Steelers had. Football is the biggest team sport there is, and you need all 53 players to have the same goal in mind. That’s the vibe I’m getting from this team and it’s hard to harness my excitement for this year.
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