It hardly requires inside information to see that the Steelers' offense is a chaotic mess.
But two sources inside South Water Street told me this week that the chaos isn't limited to what's seen on the field. A few items culled from those conversations:
• Both offensive coordinator Matt Canada and now-departed offensive line coach Adrian Klemm wanted to go with J.C. Hassenauer at center several weeks before Mike Tomlin finally made the change, and even then only after Kendrick Green was hurt. Green's healthy now, and Hassenauer's the starter, drawing praise from Tomlin.
• It can't be overstated how under-equipped Green was to be a starting center in the NFL in 2021. He's still being taught basic hand techniques.
• Tomlin really listens to Canada. And even when people all around Canada wonder what he's doing in a given situation, the head coach has his back. As such, Canada doesn't sweat anything internally.
• It was Canada who'd been urging Najee Harris to wait and wait and wait at the line for holes rather than simply attacking the first he saw. This wasn't met with universal agreement on the staff, but Canada had Tomlin's backing on it. Once Harris was cut loose a little more against the Browns two weeks ago, the yardage came.
• Ben Roethlisberger has appreciated the blocking of John Leglue at left guard well beyond the standard niceties. And Ben hasn't been alone in that regard.
• Zach Banner wowed Tomlin with the conditioning he showed upon reporting for training camp, but it's been a struggle to keep weight off in the mostly idle weeks since then.
As ever when I report stuff like this, please understand that it's not intended to reflect universally shared stances. This is Friday Insider, and it's a place for our staff to share what we hear. All I'm doing.
MORE STEELERS
• The national reports from the networks that this is likely Kevin Colbert's last season with the Steelers shouldn't come as a surprise to weekly readers of this site. It's something that was reported here in early December. Now that the rest of the world has caught up on that, realize that the Steelers might not necessarily be looking for their next GM once Colbert retires following this year's draft -- assuming he doesn't change his mind, and he's not talking. He certainly could do that if the Steelers get shut out on the quarterback market and he doesn't want to leave the franchise in a tough spot. But just because Colbert holds the title of GM doesn't mean his replacement will also have that same title. Prior to 2010, Colbert's title was director of football operations, the same as his predecessor Tom Donahoe. Colbert received the title of GM from Art Rooney II as a sign of respect, but also because when he went on scouting trips, he was placed outside in the stands while the rest of the GMs -- many of them with nowhere near Colbert's resume -- were placed in much more advantageous spots. But his main duty remained, as always, being in control of the college and pro scouting. For many of the book keeping duties and contract negotiations, Omar Khan has been leaned heavily upon, hence his title of Vice President of Football & Administration. The Steelers have never had a GM in the truest sense of the word. In fact, that was part of the issue between Donahoe and Bill Cowher which led to Donahoe's eventual firing. Because Donahoe had sat in on the coaching search to replace Chuck Noll, he felt he was above Cowher in the organizational pecking order. In reality, the were equals and answered directly to Dan Rooney. And that wasn't and isn't going to change. The Steelers could simply look at Colbert's eventual replacement as a way to restore that order and hire a new director of football operations who would be their head of scouting. They're not going to hire a GM in the truest sense of the word who would be Mike Tomlin's boss. There's one boss within the organization, Art Rooney II. -- Dale Lolley on the South Side
• Ben Roethlisberger always used to choose tails when he had the opportunity for the opening coin toss. Last week against the Ravens, he chose heads -- both times. He lost at the start of the game and the start of overtime. The Ravens deferred on the opening coin toss and took the ball in overtime. "I did, it didn't matter to me. I tried to mix it up and it didn't work," Roethlisberger said. It's the luck of the flip, after all. The interesting question is if the Steelers do happen to win the coin toss in Sunday's Wild Card game against the Chiefs, will they defer to the second half or will they want the ball? "I have to look at the weather a little closer," Roethlisberger said. "I think there's a big part to do with that if there’s any weather issues." Tomlin gets to make that choice, but Roethlisberger has input. Temperatures are expected to be in the teens in Kansas City Sunday night. Wind and or snow could determine if the Steelers try to play the field position game or if they want to take the ball first and try to score. The Chiefs won the toss in the first meeting and deferred. The Steelers got a first down but then punted. It will be interesting to see if Tomlin trusts his offense or his defense to open this one if he gets the choice. -- Lolley
PENGUINS
• When COVID-19 forced the Penguins to call off the planned 30th reunion of their 1991 Stanley Cup-winning team, it was decided to combine that celebration with one of the club that won another Cup the following year. Great idea, bad luck. The pandemic clearly has persisted, and the Penguins have abandoned plans to honor either squad (or both) in 2021-22. Next season obviously won't represent a nice round number for either of those championship groups, but that shouldn't dissuade the Penguins from celebrating their accomplishments. Especially when they were the first two Cup winners in franchise history, and set a standard that has guided the organization ever since. -- Dave Molinari in Los Angeles
• The Penguins had a pretty good idea of what they had with Sam Lafferty: A depth guy who was capable of filling a fourth-line role at this level, even if he didn't always bring the physicality he likely needs to secure a steady spot in the lineup of a good team. That he, as a Hollidaysburg native, also was a good story -- after all, there isn't exactly a steady flow of talent from Blair County to the NHL -- was a bonus. So what did they get by trading Lafferty to Chicago for Alex Nylander? A guy whose perceived ceiling was high enough that Buffalo made him the eighth overall pick in the 2016 draft, but who is 23 years old and still hasn't had a significant impact in the NHL. It's quite possible that he never will, that Nylander will join the long list of Round 1 selections who flame out as a pro, especially if he doesn't upgrade his defensive work. But it's also conceivable that Nylander, whose creativity and skills set dazzled more than a few scouts heading into his draft year, will turn out to be a late bloomer, that joining an organization that has done a pretty good job of developing young talent will allow him to unlock the potential so many observers believed he had as a teenager. For that reason, trading for him was a worthwhile gamble. The Penguins knew what they were giving up, and had to understand that it's not out of the question that they surrendered an asset and got nothing in return. Then again, they just might have added someone who will be able to give their lineup an infusion of young talent at some point in the future, and that would be invaluable for a team that has traded away so many early-round draft choices. -- Molinari
• Ron Hextall made his first trip of the season to see Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in person over the weekend, traveling to Hershey for the Penguins' games there Saturday and Sunday. Sam Poulin and Nathan Legare were each scratched for one of those games for performance-related reasons. -- Taylor Haase at PPG Paints Arena
• The injury that has sidelined goaltender Filip Lindberg for the last two months is an ankle injury, according to coach J.D. Forrest. Lindberg was practicing with Wilkes-Barre for awhile before the holiday break, but hasn't practiced with the team since the break. Forrest said Wednesday that Lindberg's injury is one that's "tough to get to 100%," and that there's still no timeframe for his return. -- Haase
PIRATES
• Two years ago, right-handed pitcher Cody Bolton was a fast-rising prospect in the Pirates’ system, but his stock has taken a serious hit after not appearing in a game since 2019 after a right knee injury sidelined him all of last season. Don’t call it a lost season, though, because he got to clean up several parts of his delivery with the Pirates’ rehab and throw teams in Bradenton, Fla. The main changes are early in his delivery and in his load, eliminating some unnecessary energy out of his hand. With some plyo and medicine ball work, it should help him move through his core better in his delivery. He could potentially be on the major-league radar in 2022, potentially getting him back on track after his career bump in the road. As one team source who has worked with him this year told me, “he’s a stud.” -- Alex Stumpf
• Talking with an industry source this week, they theorized that the longer the lockout goes and shorter the season potentially gets, the better chance there could be a spike Rule 5 picks this year because there would be less required time for them to shed that status and they could easily be transferred to 60-day injured lists. Something to keep in mind with the Pirates’ grouping of Rule 5 eligible players, like Bolton. -- Stumpf
• Spring training may be delayed unless the league and player’s association reach an agreement soon. Unless both sides want to risk another 2020-like injury spike, which was tied to the shortened spring training 2.0, that could mean the odds the season is pushed back or games are cancelled is increasing. -- Stumpf
