Druin Mailbag: Tomlin's Accountability, Fixing the Steelers Offense and More
Almost down to the day, my mailbag from a year ago looks quite similar to current topics those in Pittsburgh Steelers nation are discussing, answering questions about Mike Tomlin's Coach of the Year chances to Bud Dupree's future in Pittsburgh, and even what a healthy black and gold team would do in the playoffs.
2020 has certainly been an odd year, and the Steelers have captured that essence perfectly. After starting the season 11-0, Pittsburgh has now dropped their last two games while potentially letting the number one seed in the AFC slip in the process.
The offense appears to be in shambles. The defense continues to be plagued by injuries and COVID-19. With Pittsburgh ready to turn upside down right before the postseason, what better time to do a mailbag?
Yours truly answers questions about Mike Tomlin, potential Ben Roethlisberger successors and more:
Question: Are you suiting up as an emergency OL next week?
Donnie: I might as well be, with all the injuries sustained to the big guys upfront. It's been brutal. However, the Steelers did just sign Danny Isidora off the Chiefs' practice squad, so maybe I'm just being used as a pseudonym for Isidora? The world will never know...
Question: Why will they still win the division? Why will they lose the division?
Donnie: With a simple victory over the Bengals on Monday Night Football needed to secure the division, there's a very high chance the Steelers take care of business and secure the AFC North within the week. Why will they win the division? Because they're superior to the Bengals and simply just need to be better for four quarters to crown themselves AFC North champs once again.
And then, of course, there's the other outcome, losing to a far inferior Bengals squad.
Losing the division would have to consist of... well, everything that's happening with the Steelers right now. An offense that just can't figure anything out and a defense that simply can't catch up with injuries doesn't bode well for any team in the league, let alone one trying to seal their division. Losing the division means they haven't fixed any of their problems, and when taking the last two weeks in mind, that certainly seems probable with a Browns squad heating up to end the regular season.
Question: Is Mike Tomlin going to actually address the lack of creativity and production on offense? It seems the game plan is the same every week
Donnie: That's been an underlying problem that deserves to be talked about. I am number one on the "Fire Randy Fichtner" train. Trust me. I am conducting while also serving drinks to passengers on that train.
I understand that Tomlin doesn't call the plays nor design the offense, yet at some point, responsibility has to be taken. You see the offense falling apart. We see the offense falling apart. Collectively, we know what the overall problem is (Fichtner), although many other problems exist within the offense. Tomlin, being the man in charge, has to acknowledge what's going wrong with the offense.
To answer your question, I'm not sure Tomlin addresses it simply due to him having too much trust in his coordinators. It's well documented Tomlin trusts his guys to do their jobs to a fault, and with a banged-up offensive line and a plethora of drops, that just gives more leeway to Fichtner in the grand scheme of things.
The lack of offense is not faulty due to Tomlin, yet something has to be done if issues aren't corrected. So far, they aren't corrected, and a Fichtner problem has now become a Tomlin problem, too.
Pittsburgh didn't start 11-0 by accident, however, and with the standard falling short of the standard, I'd expect something to change soon. We're just not sure what exactly that might be.
Question: Realistically where do you rank the Steelers right now as far as power rankings? Also is about time to draft Bens successor with our first-round draft pick?
Donnie: Power rankings are so hard to configure, simply due to them based on sole opinion and having to configure the team's current form with actual standings. I think today, with the Steelers playing like they have in the past few weeks, I'd take the following teams over them: Kansas City Chiefs, Buffalo Bills, Cleveland Browns, Tennessee Titans.
I want to make a few things very clear, however. With all cylinders clicking, the only team that should be able to beat Pittsburgh on a good day are the Chiefs. The Steelers have already beaten the Titans/Browns and hung with Buffalo last week despite playing anything but close to par football.
Yet the Browns/Titans are playing very good football as of late, and the Steelers haven't shown me enough to be confident in ranking them ahead of both squads. Let's revisit this after the Steelers visit Cincinnati.
Also, if it were up to me, Jalen Hurts would be a Pittsburgh Steeler. Yet there's probably a reason I'm writing this and not in a front office somewhere. I'm not opposed to the organization spending a high pick on a young quarterback this offseason, yet I'm not quite sure that happens. The Steelers are perfectly comfortable with Mason Rudolph as their guy... for now. Things may change when push comes to shove and ball games are ready to be played in the future.
Question: What options are there for Mike Tomlin to fix the offense for the end of the season? Thanks!
Donnie: That's tricky, and essentially becomes reliant on who the team is able to keep in free agency/select in the draft. The best thing he can do is freeing the team of Randy Fichtner's play-calling by relieving him of his duties once the clock hits 0:00 in their final game.
First and foremost, the offensive line should see an overhaul after this season. Any offensive success begins with a solidified offensive line unit, and that's something the team simply doesn't have at the moment. I'd expect Villanueva/Feiler to be gone, with Dotson filling Feiler's role and a fresh face at left tackle if either Okorafor/Banner don't fit there in Tomlin's opinion.
I'd also expect a new presence in the running back room, as James Conner's run in Pittsburgh appears all but over. Whether that's another back via the NFL Draft or a veteran brought in is still undecided.
As far as pass-catchers go, I'm not sure what can be done to fix their issues. Maybe gift all of them JUGS machines for Christmas? Their talents are through the roof, and even in the event of a JuJu Smith-Schuster departure, the receiving corps is still talented to not drastically worry about.
All in all, I think a new offensive coordinator would pay the most dividends. We'll get a better picture once the offseason is actually here.
Question: How did you grow up to be such a handsome young man? *pinches your cheek*
Donnie: …. Grandma?
Question: Why has the Matt Canada influence disappeared? They're using some motion but none of it is useful anymore.
Donnie: That's a great question, and it'd be a real shame to "I don't know" you... but I don't have a damn clue. I wasn't a fan of the motion to begin with, or at least how the Steelers were using it. I thought it was largely ineffective, as defenses weren't quite threatened by it and/or didn't get caught looking when it happened. My best guess is the Steelers followed the same train of thought.
Canada is still likely involved behind the scenes, but his fingerprint is nowhere to be found in the offense's current form.
Donnie Druin is a Staff Writer with AllSteelers. Follow Donnie on Twitter @DonnieDruin, and AllSteelers @si_steelers.
