Mark Madden: Forget late division games; biggest issue with Steelers' schedule is short rest

The Pittsburgh Steelers got screwed by the NFL’s scheduling. But not that bad.

Not playing a division foe till Week 11 isn’t a big deal. Does it really matter when you play which game?

If anything, that could help the Steelers. They’re breaking in a new quarterback, different offensive coordinator and two rookie starters on the offensive line. Maybe all that jells by Week 11. (Hopefully sooner.)

The Steelers play great quarterbacks at season’s end: In the last six weeks, they face Joe Burrow twice, Jalen Hurts, Lamar Jackson and Patrick Mahomes. (Deshaun Watson, too, but he’s no longer great.)

But, again, you’ve got to play those quarterbacks sometime. Maybe if the Steelers had a better quarterback …

The second half of the season is appreciably more difficult. The Steelers can neutralize that by going 7-2 in the easier first half. Start by winning Week 1 at Atlanta, where the Steelers are three-point underdogs. (How can a point spread be concocted for a game that’s over three months away?)

The legit problems are:

• Playing three games in 11 days at Philadelphia, at Baltimore and at home vs. Kansas City. That occurs in Weeks 15-17 and concludes against the Chiefs at Acrisure Stadium on Christmas, which falls on a Wednesday. Three elite foes in a too-short span.

• Playing on a Wednesday. I’m not concerned about religious implications. That’s somebody’s birthday but not mine. But you don’t play NFL games on Wednesday. The Steelers are going to play games on Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday. That’s nuts.

• Having three short weeks in the season’s second half.

The good part about what’s mentioned: It gives the citizens an excuse, and they won’t be afraid to use it. Heck, they already are.

The bad part is that it’s symptomatic of how little concern the NFL has for its players and the players have for themselves.

The NFL makes showbiz concessions, like giving players the option to wear Guardian caps, the helmet covers that provide extra protection. (None will because they look stupid.)

The NFL banned the hip-drop tackle. You might as well ban defense, and the NFL almost has.

But three games in 11 days is more damaging than hip-drop tackles. So are three short weeks in the season’s second half.

These circumstances aren’t just occurring with the Steelers. It’s all over the NFL.

There’s big-picture stuff, too, like adding more games to the regular season. It will ultimately be 20 games. It will jump to 18 within the next few years.

OTAs and minicamp are 100% unnecessary. If no team did them, no team would need them. But the NFL wants to be 24/7/365. Those events get the media jumping and fans talking. It also allows teams to keep tabs on their players.

Imagine if Tyreek Hill had more free time. He’d have 30 kids.

But you can’t feel sorry for the players. Everything they could complain about is approved by the NFL Players Association via the CBA.

Give the players their game checks, let them smoke weed and they’re going to agree to anything, including their own destruction. Greed and stupidity coalesce into a heady brew.

I had the Steelers finishing 10-7 or 9-8 before I saw the schedule’s difficulty. Now I feel like the schedule might cost the Steelers a win, though I’m not sure exactly how.

The Steelers must win Week 1 at Atlanta, and Week 3 in their home opener vs. the Los Angeles Chargers. Losing either of those games will constitute stumbling out of the gate, and the Steelers absolutely can’t afford that.

You think the Steelers are better than I do.

Russell Wilson is superior to Kenny Pickett but is the least of the quarterbacks in the AFC North.

The Steelers’ pass-catchers are the worst group in the NFL.

The defense has elite players but won’t play elite. Like usual.

The offensive line includes two rookies and a second-year player, all admittedly with pedigree.

The Steelers’ run-first style is outdated. They’re pounding the ball behind Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren, not Derrick Henry.

The Steelers won’t outscore good quarterbacks and won’t catch up if they trail by two scores.

Arthur Smith is an upgrade over Matt Canada at offensive coordinator, but he’s not Oppenheimer.

The Steelers have issues much more problematic than a quirky schedule.