Mark Madden: Kevin Dotson will be more than adequate on Steelers offensive line

You can’t attend the Pittsburgh Steelers’ home opener Sunday, but you can approximate the same boozy electricity by reading these ice-cold refreshing Steelers notes. The jig is up, the news is out…

• With David DeCastro and Stefen Wisniewski gimpy, rookie Kevin Dotson likely gets the start at right guard Sunday at Heinz Field vs. Denver. Despite no rookie camp, OTAs, minicamp or preseason games, that’s no cause for alarm. Dotson started four collegiate seasons at Louisiana. That’s a lot of snaps. He’s got a mean, dirty streak. He looked OK seeing limited action in Monday’s opener at the New York Giants. Dotson will be more than adequate.

• We keep hearing DeCastro will return to practice soon. That makes me wonder if DeCastro is ever going to return. He’s barely participated.

• By winning the job at right tackle, Zach Banner proves he’s not just a scrub who talks a lot. It was sad to see his season end Monday by a knee injury. But if the battle for that position as was close as we were told, Chuks Okorafor should be fine. But there were whispers that faith in Alejandro Villanueva is fading, and Okorafor was going to absorb some snaps at left tackle.

• The Steelers receiving depth was on display Monday and might be able to overcome lack of a No. 1 receiver given Ben Roethlisberger’s skill at involving all his weapons. Odd, however, to see new tight end Eric Ebron targeted just twice (for one catch). Rookie wideout Chase Claypool had two targets for two catches, and his 28-yard toe-tap reception at the sideline was magnificent, not least because Roethlisberger had trust enough to put it up and let Claypool go get it. It looks like the beginning of a beautiful partnership.

• Safety Terrell Edmunds led the Steelers in tackles against the Giants with nine. When he’s positioned close to the line, he plays well. He’s half-linebacker and tackles efficiently. But in coverage, Edmunds needs to quit settling for tackling the catch and make more breakups.

• If James Conner is close to 100%, he starts Sunday even though Benny Snell gained 113 yards Monday. That’s no meritocracy. Coach Mike Tomlin is playing favorites. Dating back through last season, Conner has one game over 55 yards. That’s in addition to being hurt all the time. Snell has games of 113, 98, 91, 75 and 63 over the same span. Snell should start. Snell is better.

• Roethlisberger said he “felt like I was in a train wreck” after Monday’s game, his first since Week 2 of last season. If that’s so, how did Giants running back Saquon Barkley feel after being tackled eight times for loss and three times for no gain? It was a thorough demolition. That Steelers defense is fast, precise and opportunistic, but don’t forget punishing.

• It was thought new quarterbacks coach Matt Canada would implement significant change to the offense. We didn’t see that Monday, maybe because Conner got hurt. But it looked like the same offense as last season. Canada won’t affect much if Roethlisberger doesn’t want.

• Ex-Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell went on injured reserve after hurting his hamstring in the New York Jets opener. Going on IR indicates Bell didn’t pull the chute, but that was my first thought. As two former Steelers told me, “He doesn’t love football. You can tell.”

• Talented malcontent safety Earl Thomas got cut by Baltimore. He didn’t get another job. Talented malcontent receiver Antonio Brown isn’t employed. Cleveland has played just two games, and you hear whispers about the Browns trading malcontent receiver Odell Beckham Jr. If that’s a trend, it’s a good one. Players like that make it harder to win, ruin the workplace and aggravate fans.

• Denver stinks. The Steelers must win. If they do, it’s easy to see them really starting to cook.

• The Steelers mangled the helmet-decal situation. The way to fix it would be to put the name of the late Bill Nunn Jr. on the back of all helmets. The iconic Steelers scout was a Black man who greatly helped the cause of Black men in pro football. Nunn joined the team’s staff in 1967 and was responsible for a flood of players joining the Steelers from traditionally Black colleges, including Mel Blount, L.C. Greenwood and John Stallworth. If the Steelers make another controversial choice or let each player decide individually, it’s the main story after every game. That’s not good.

• TV ratings for the NFL’s Thursday night opener last week were down 12.3% from last season’s first game. Ratings dropped by 16.1% for the Sunday night game. They plummeted 17.2% for “Monday Night Football” despite the involvement of a New York team and the Steelers, a very popular franchise nationally. Maybe those viewers have been absorbed digitally. Or maybe the mix of football and social justice is turning people away.