U mad, bro?: Plenty of Christmas jeer for George Pickens, Steelers coaches and yours truly

It’s always a sad feeling when Steelers-related depression grips Pittsburgh. It’s especially sad around the holidays.

This week’s “U mad, bro?” entries run a wide gamut. George Pickens gets a lump of coal. The coaching staff gets quite a few. And I’m placed on Santa’s naughty list a few times.

William Shakespeare even makes an appearance!

No, not the former Steelers draft pick. The actual old-timey playwright dude.

It’s quite a stuffed stocking of Steelers fan emotion, hung on our website with care.

Mike is feeling pretty down about the local sports scene.

Welcome to the dark ages of Pittsburgh sports! And…you have a front row seat!

— mike sansone (@brunsteelers) December 17, 2023

Yeah, Mike. It hasn’t been this bleak in Pittsburgh sports since the 1980s. It feels like that again right now.

Just with less hairspray and fewer heavy metal band buttons on our denim jackets.

Douglas wanted to mock my prediction that the Steelers would bounce back from their two-game losing streak and upset the Colts on Saturday.

As you may have heard, they did not.

“So you bet on the Steelers to beat the Colts. Don’t quit your day job.”

Ummmm … This is my day job, Doug. I’m not moonlighting at TribLive after working a shift at the mill or anything.

Now, they won’t fire me for getting that prediction wrong. However, they might fire me for saying the Steelers were going to go 10-7.

And if they did, eh, I don’t think I could blame ‘em.

Then again, many of my readers were telling me that prediction was too conservative after their 3-0 preseason. So maybe some of those folks are the ones who should follow Doug’s advice.

“Dritter1961” didn’t like Rashard Mendenhall’s suggestion of staging a racially divided Pro Bowl to prove that white people aren’t good at football.

As he is known in our house..."Drop The Ball" Mendenhall.

— My Info (@dritter1961) December 20, 2023

I’m sure it’s not just your house, sir.

I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s how he is referenced in his own home.

Tom thinks I’ve been too hard on the Steelers defense.

I mean, come on Tim. The offense is averaging 15.9 points per game, which would be the lowest since 1970!! What exactly do you expect from the defense when the offense is doing that? That side of the ball is the reason why they have 7 wins...

— Guava Farmer Mason (@TomlinGottaGo) December 17, 2023

I expect to hold Indy under 170 yards rushing with backup running backs.

I expect someone besides T.J. Watt to get a sack.

I expect New England’s historically bad offense to be held under 21 first-half points.

I expect that JuJu Smith-Schuster and James Conner won’t both turn back the clock to 2018.

I don’t expect 30 points from the Colts or a 123 passer rating from Gardner Minshew III.

That too much?

Joann is ready to wave the white flag on the Steelers’ season.

No passing game = no running game = losing season = no playoffs. Maybe a decent draft pick.

— @joann_14858jm (@14858jm) December 16, 2023

Joann, they have already won seven games. How good of a draft pick do you think they can get?

If you think they’ve been tanking, they obviously aren’t very good at that either.

It’s clear that after the Steelers lost to the Patriots two weeks ago, William is punting on the whole team and has started wondering about more important matters.

“If Frank Zappa’s granddaughter Zoey married Bailey Zappe, her name would be Zoey Zappa Zappe.”

And her initials would be “ZZZ,” like what you see when a cartoon character falls asleep in a comic strip.

Or what I end up doing every time the Steelers offense takes the field.

More sports

• First Call: Tyler Boyds knocks George Pickens; T.J. Watt puzzled why some Steelers don't respond to Mike Tomlin
• Mike Tomlin: WR George Pickens won't be benched for Steelers game against Bengals
• Kenny Pickett has ‘good day’ at Steelers practice, Mike Tomlin leaves open he’ll play vs. Bengals

Greg wasn’t happy with the effort of George Pickens after a fourth-quarter interception.

“Please watch Pickens right after the INT was thrown over his head.”

I have, Greg. Many times. It looked like he was running right by the play, off the field, out of the stadium and onto the highway heading back home.

Maybe he just wanted to show off what his run-after-catch skills would be like if he ever was schemed up to catch a ball in stride.

I made the comment recently that I felt like the Steelers’ “weapons” are overrated. These guys disagreed.

The players aren’t overrated…we have a great roster….its the coaching

— ECRJR (@BuckeyeChuck71) December 17, 2023

Why do they have a “great roster”? Just because we keep saying they do? As if we just say it enough we can speak it into existence? Nah. The players and coaches are both painfully average … on a good day.

To deny that there is talent in this roster is laughable

— rambler 412 (@412rambler) December 17, 2023

It’s the NFL. Everyone has talent. Clearly, the Steelers don’t have enough of it at enough of the right spots. Blaming just the coaches and alleviating the players of responsibility is just as stupid as blaming only the players/scouting and alleviating the coaches.

Finally, Bruce did not like the literary reference in my Steelers “Winter of Discontent” column I posted Wednesday. It’s clear he wants me to know he is, like, you know, well-read and stuff.

“Winter means it is ending or dying. Like the winter of your life. Look it up.

The phrase ‘winter of discontent’ comes from ‘Richard III’ by William Shakespeare. In the context of the play, it refers to Richard III explaining all of the reasons for his personal unhappiness, but suggesting that these unhappinesses may soon end when he usurps the throne.”

I get it. And I did read “Richard III.” It bored me to death. “Winter of Discontent” was also a novel by John Steinbeck.

Look it up.

I used the phrase as a play on words tied to the calendar following Tomlin’s frequent “September mistakes” and “December football” references during his last two press conferences. It wasn’t so much an attempt at mirrored meaning to the plot of the play itself.

But if you wanna be particular n’at, maybe Art Rooney II will fire or trade Tomlin in the offseason and the Steelers fans’ discontent will end as well.

That better?