Mark Madden: Steelers lack an exploitable weak spot, which goes a long way

If you hear any noise, it’s just me and refreshing sports notes boppin’. Well deserved, Cobra.

• The Steelers’ biggest strength may be that nothing about them stinks too bad. The defensive line isn’t great, but it’s got Cameron Heyward. The offensive line is OK, not terrible. There’s isn’t a No. 2 wideout, but tight end Pat Freiermuth has stepped up and Russell Wilson spreads the ball around: eight players with receptions against Cleveland on Sunday, 10 at Cincinnati the week before. The NFL has parity at a nauseating level. In a league like that, not having an easily exploited weak spot can go a long way.

• Now it gets real big, real fast: Sunday sees the Steelers at Philadelphia and Buffalo at Detroit, both games kicking off at 4:25 p.m., the No. 2 seed in the AFC up for grabs. If you don’t have two TVs in close proximity, get to a sports bar. You want to watch both games.

• Am I crazy to think the Steelers might beat Philadelphia? The Eagles are 11-2 and have won nine in a row. Perhaps Philadelphia quarterback Jalen Hurts gets injured and Kenny Pickett has to deputize.

• Attention conspiracy theorists: Steelers wideout George Pickens was not quietly suspended under the guise of a hamstring injury Sunday. True, Pickens has behaved and talked like an idiot. But the Steelers tested Pickens’ fitness on the field before Sunday’s game before deciding to scratch him. That’s too much trouble to undertake for the sake of a ruse. Pickens was on the sideline with his hoodie pulled high and tight. It’s the latest in witness protection fashion.

• Wilson was far from great Sunday. But did enough to win. That’s what a professional quarterback does. The Steelers would be toast without Wilson.

• T.J. Watt vs. Myles Garrett was quiet: Garrett had a sack, tackle for loss, three QB hits and recovered a fumble. Watt had a tackle for loss and two QB hits. Heyward was mammoth with two sacks, two tackles for loss and two QB hits. Heyward is the Steelers’ MVP on defense. There were a few camera shots from behind Cleveland quarterback Jameis Winston. Heyward filled up the whole screen. Oh, no, there goes Tokyo …

• The Steelers secondary is an interesting study: The Steelers rank third in the NFL with 15 interceptions, including two on Sunday. The whole is greater than the sum of the parts. But its least impactful member, at least visibly, is safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, who has a cap hit of $21.3 million. I don’t buy that Fitzpatrick eschews big plays by way of playing deep to cover for everybody else and that the Steelers are OK with that. That’s not value for money. DeShon Elliott, the “other” safety, is far more involved.

• That win over Cleveland was certainly nondescript. “Hard Knocks” might find it tough to ennoble and spotlight Coach T’s undeniable genius.

• The Kansas City Chiefs have won their last 15 games that were decided by one score. When you get lucky all the time, it’s not luck. They’re 12-1, have won the last two Super Bowls and are hardly “vulnerable.”

• Penn State got the best spot in the College Football Playoff bracket. As the No. 6 seed, Penn State hosts SMU in the first round. If Penn State wins, it next plays Boise State. That’s an easier path to the semifinals than No. 1 seed Oregon, which gets a first-round bye but plays the winner of Ohio State and Tennessee in the quarterfinals. (The idea of the Mountain West Conference’s Boise State as the No. 3 seed is absurd.)

• Alabama got omitted. Hearing those entitled fans cry might be the best thing about the playoff.

• If I was projected to be picked in the first or second round of the upcoming NFL Draft and my school was in the College Football Playoff, I’d opt out if I didn’t think my team had a legit chance. It’s too many games, too much risk. I’d want a big chance of reward. Otherwise, take the NIL money and run. (Nobody with even a remote chance to be drafted should play in any postseason game besides the playoff.)

• Pat McAfee’s weekly hype speech on ESPN’s “College GameDay” concerning the day’s big game is electric and by far his best platform. When McAfee isn’t his own boss, he’s much more palatable.

• No WPIAL team won a PIAA football title. That’s the first time that’s happened since 1992. I’m not sure what that says about the state of WPIAL football. But it’s unusual.

• The inclusion of Dave Parker and Dick Allen in the Baseball Hall of Fame defines the phrase “Better late than never.” Both should have been honored years ago. Many lesser players got inducted in the interim. At least Pirates legend Parker lived to see it. Wampum native Allen passed in 2020. Parker should long since be in Cooperstown just for the two assists that got him MVP in the 1979 All-Star Game: One strike to third base, another to home plate. Those throws should hang in the Louvre.

• The usual suspects are braying that baseball is broken now that Juan Soto signed a 15-year, $765 million contract with the New York Mets. That’s far from the case. Baseball is exactly as the team owners want it to be, and that includes the Pirates’ Bob Nutting. The economic structure suits them just fine. Sports aren’t run for the fans’ liking. The marks are merely one source of revenue. Nothing more romantic than that.

• Even if Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes lives up to his talent, he won’t ever get a bigger contract than Soto. Nobody gives a pitcher 15 years. (Whatever huge deal Skenes gets, he obviously won’t get in Pittsburgh.)

• The Penguins winning five of six is nice in the moment. Sidney Crosby has stopped looking clinically depressed. But it’s likely just fool’s gold and less balls in the draft lottery. Disclaimer: Just about the entire Eastern Conference stinks. Even most of the good teams are bad.

• It’s interesting that the Penguins have won five of six with Crosby and Evgeni Malkin combining for one goal in that time. But the Penguins are playing smart in the neutral zone, both on and off the puck. Odd-man breaks against have been cut down. Even Malkin is being sensible between the blue lines. Saturday’s 5-2 home win vs. Toronto was the Penguins’ most fundamentally sound 60 minutes of the season.

• I saw a large group of Toronto fans after Saturday’s game. I told them, “You’ll never see the Maple Leafs win the Stanley Cup. You’ll all be dead before that happens. Safe travels.” I thought that last part was classy. Considering their team hasn’t won a Cup since 1967, Leafs fans are a bunch of arrogant schmucks.