Buffalo (sort of) - Chess not Checkers

The Pittsburgh Steelers are in the middle of their preparation for the biggest game of the year. The Pittsburgh Steelers have clawed and scratched their way back to the NFL Playoffs. The Pittsburgh Steelers were left for dead on numerous occasions this season; not just by the local and national media, but by a reasonable chunk of the fanbase as well. The Pittsburgh Steelers have rattled off three wins in a row and are looking every bit of a playoff team, yet…there is still a significant amount of time being spent this week discussing the Steelers.com depth chart as it relates to the quarterback position. As much as it pains me to continue to discuss it and waste precious thought time and writing space in such an important week, I will provide some thoughts below:

“Chess not checkers.” This is a phrase that Mike Tomlin uses quite a bit. What I do not think he gets enough credit for is that this applies not just to schematics but to every part of his job. What many fail to realize is that he is constantly playing “chess not checkers” with personnel, players, practices, preparation, and most importantly-the media. Mike Tomlin knows how this business and the media work. He knows how players work and respond. He knows how impactful his words, both in private and public, impact things in the organization and the results on Sundays (and a lot of Saturday’s this year). I would like to point to an example that most may not have noticed. How often in Mike Tomlin’s comments does he “call out” players? How often does he specifically state that a player needs to do better? Very infrequently, but he does do it. The best example is how he handles Pressley Harvin III. There a few players that he has recently specifically called out, but Harvin is one of them. He has been this way with Harvin from the time he was drafted. There have been instances where Harvin needed to do better. In those instances, Tomlin, knowing his player and the person that player is, used specific tactics to force him to improve. He brought in competition (he is doing that now too by signing Brad Wing to the practice squad), he has called Harvin out in the press conferences as reasons why they lost, he has gone out of his way to publicly challenge this guy; and, it has worked. Numerous times he has done these things and there has been an improvement in Harvin’s game. This is Tomlin playing “chess not checkers.” Have you ever seen him do that to George Pickens or Dionte Johnson or even Ben Roethlisberger? No. It is not that these players have not deserved criticism or “calling out,” he just knows those guys as people and players better than you think. He knows the ways to motivate individuals, and it is not cookie cutter. This can apply to the current situation regarding the quarterback. What I still cannot understand is how quickly our society, and mainly in our NFL fandom, have become so short sighted. We live in the age of “X” and tiktok that mandates the “here and now.” Everything that happens in this moment or this week of NFL games is gospel. Everyone jumps on bandwagons of Tommy Devito, Jake Browning, Joe Flacco and fail to see a bigger picture or a potential future where those “feel good stories” dissolve as rapidly as they developed. The media views things this way and they have to because their news cycle requires immediate and constant stimuli and “drama.” What they do not see is that Mike Tomlin is playing chess, the media is playing checkers. The “Mason Rudolph story” in Pittsburgh and how it relates to Kenny Pickett is another example. He knows that the media wants to keep feeding off the Kenny Pickett story. There are a lot of people in the local and national media that have strong, unfair opinions of Kenny Pickett as the Steelers starting quarterback. The unfair opinions are on both sides of the coin. There are many that unfairly believe he is a “bust.” There are many that unfairly believe he is the “next Big Ben.” This is all unfair and it has led to two distinct camps that want to “be right.” Therefore, the media wants a story. The story they want is for the Steelers depth chart to list Mason Rudolph as QB1. This would provide the exact “proof” that Kenny Pickett lost his job and thus promote the narrative he is a bust (or at least provide fodder for further discussion and thus further clickbait). Tomlin is playing chess, not checkers. First of all, Mason Rudolph has been a professional football player with the Steelers since 2018. This is the first time he has played well enough to be a starting quarterback. Is anyone out there naïve enough to believe that the Steelers have been sitting on Tom Brady 2 for 6 years? Does anyone really think that the longest tenured coach in the NFL and literally every other NFL player evaluation team has not seen this diamond in the rough? No. Mason Rudolph’s tape both in game and during practice, training, pre season has made it very clear that up to this point he was not “starter caliber.” Please remember that this guy tested the free agency waters last year and had zero interest. And there lies the crux of this conversation, he still may not be starter caliber. This three (Cincinnati, Seattle, Baltimore) game stretch maybe a mirage. It may be a “right place at the right time” situation. It could have easily been the “turning the corner” three game stretch for Kenny Pickett if he was not injured. Kenny Pickett was playing very well after the Cleveland game. He played extremely well in Cincinnati and was on track to play well against the Cardinals at home too, but then he was legitimately injured. Mason Rudolph was finally given the reigns after poor play by Mitchell Trubisky, and when he got his chance, he played exceptionally. That, has nothing to do with Kenny Pickett. Tomlin knows that. NFL player evaluation teams both in Pittsburgh and across the league know that. The Pittsburgh Steelers offensive players and locker room rallied around Mason and have won three games to get into the playoffs. There is absolutely no world or reality in which Mike Tomlin would bench Mason right now, but that has nothing to do with Kenny Pickett. It has everything to do with his legitimate desire to win the game in front of him. He does not care about the debate in the local and national media about Kenny Pickett’s future. He only cares about winning the game in front of them as that is what is needed. The decision to not modify the depth chart in the week’s media guide is “chess not checkers.” He is not allowing an unfair thread to be spun about his QB1-Kenny Pickett. Tomlin, the coaches, and the players who voted him team captain this year believe their QB1 is Kenny Pickett; however, they all also know that right now you cannot deny the boost this team has received from Mason Rudolph. That boost and impact on determining wins right now has nothing to do with Kenny Pickett. It has everything to do with Mason Rudolph, the run game, the offensive line improvement, the opponents over the last three weeks, and the culture in Pittsburgh. Tomlin’s purposeful actions, words, and decisions are made right now to win, and not allow a media narrative that “Kenny lost his job to Mason.” He knows that would be both detrimental to their cause this week (and over the last few weeks) and detrimental to his locker room, his current starters, and his QB1. He is playing “chess, not checkers” with all of you.

The Pittsburgh Steelers are in the playoffs. Please focus on that game, that opportunity, that accomplishment. Not the media guides depth chart.