Just a few short weeks ago the 7-5 Pittsburgh Steelers seemed like a lock to make the playoffs. But after Sunday’s ugly home loss to the Arizona Cardinals (3-10) questions about the Steelers as a legitimate playoff contender have begun to surface.
In wake of that surprising loss, former NFL coach Rex Ryan called them “frauds” during Monday’s episode of “Get Up” on ESPN.
Ryan, whose fiery personality has never helped his tongue, did say the Steelers, who are currently the fifth seed in the AFC, would make still likely make the playoffs. But he also sounded the alarm on their play, and that’s mainly a shot at their offense, which is ranked 28th out of 32 teams in scoring offense.
Ryan also said that Steelers struggled in all three phases of the game, which is another concern.
Steelers FRAUDS?
In a home game against a Cardinals team who’s playing hard, but mainly for draft position, the Steelers struggled to score double figures, and Ryan let them know about it.
“They’re frauds. How do you score 10 points at home against the 30th-ranked defense? That’s ridiculous. Here’s the funny thing, we’re going to watch them in the playoffs,” Ryan said.
Offensive struggles have been a theme all season in Pittsburgh, and it cost former offensive coordinator Matt Canada his job a couple weeks back.
It didn’t help matters that second-year quarterback Kenny Pickett left the game with a high-ankle sprain. In an effort to expedite his return the former Pittsburgh Panthers star underwent successful tightrope surgery on Monday, and his prognosis as of now is a couple of weeks.
Mike Tomlin Has Some Work To Do
Head coach Mike Tomlin turned to former No. 2 overall pick Mitch Trubisky on Sunday, and while he wasn’t bad, passing for 117 yards and the team’s only touchdown, he isn’t the answer. He’ll have to be for a few weeks with Pickett on the mend. The rookie is still the best option for the Steelers under center.
Tomlin knows it and that’s why he never pulled the kid even though his play may have warranted it at times.
Ryan Should Watch His Mouth Speaking On Tomlin’s Team
In his coaching career Ryan is 65-68, including playoffs. The loudmouth defensive savant fizzled out in coaching stops with the New York Jets and Buffalo Bills.
Calling Tomlin’s team a fraud is a joke. This is the same coach who’s never had a losing season in 16 seasons as a head coach. Tomlin’s career record (170-97-2, including playoffs) includes a Super Bowl win.
Ryan should know fraud. Most of his tenure as a head coach his teams were frauds, minus the back-to-back AFC championship losses in 2009 and 2010.
