Praising Pittsburgh Steelers? Don’t bury them quite yet

By STEVE KING

I have not come to bury the Pittsburgh Steelers – not yet, at least – but to praise them.

Praising the Pittsburgh Steelers? It’s like admitting that you need to have a root canal, you get caught sleeping in church or that you find that your significant other has run off with your best friend – your former best friend, that is.

It’s extremely tough. It’s painful. You’d rather be doing just about anything else.

But give the devil his due, and when I … well, do, I go against the grain – the majority. I am not ready, by any stretch of the imagination, to bury The Team Over East – to say that they’re on the way to crashing and burning, if they haven’t done so already.

Yes, it looks pretty bleak.

Yes, it looks like a mess

Yes, it looks like a bunch of little kids – spoiled brats – and a bunch of clueless, way-too-lenient adults – trying to get along, and having all kinds of trouble doing it.

Yes, it looks like a real-life definition of the word “dysfunction.” So, then, where’s that ESPN writer when it comes to dysfunction in the Steelers front office?

Anyway, as much I would like to say that the Steelers are through. I just can’t. History tells me I can’t.

There are smart people running the Steelers. Their last name is Rooney. Perhaps you’ve heard of them?

They don’t panic. They don’t ebb and flow with each and every catastrophe. They put good people I charge and let them do their jobs.

And about this rumor that Mike Tomlin’s job may be on the line, consider that the Steelers have had only three head coaches since just after Lyndon Johnson left office.

The Steelers have been – by far – the most dominant team in this division – first the AFC Central and now the AFC North – since it was formed 49 years ago, way back in 1970, when the NFL-AFL merger was finalized. That’s a long, long time.

My guess – my strong suspicion, actually – is that the Steelers will figure it all out and get back on track sooner rather than later.

So if the Browns are finally going to begin flexing their muscles in this division over an extended period of time, then they are likely going to do it by soaring higher than the Steelers, who will also be soaring, instead of just stepping over their dead body.