U mad, bro?: Steelers fans already getting snippy about Kenny Pickett; Pirates fans already fretting about Oneil Cruz

In this week’s “U mad, bro?” Pittsburgh Steelers fans are already ginning up angst over Kenny Pickett. Pirates fans are already over Oneil Cruz. And Penguins fans are done with Brian Dumoulin.

Then there’s one guy who thinks I’m the angriest one of the bunch.

Based on some of those responses I got via Twitter and email this week, it may be the wrong time to advance that opinion.

We’ll open with @DannyR415. Mark Madden and I had a discussion about Oneil Cruz and if Pirate fans were being too quick to anoint him as the Rookie of the Year when he is struggling to hit .200 so far.

Not Danny. He’s already simply concerning himself with Cruz’s trade value.

Doesn't really matter. He will be traded for prospects.

— Dan415 (@DannyR415) July 5, 2022

Yes. He will. But I’m assuming that’ll happen four or five years from now.

In the meantime, not even I can be that defeatist about Cruz. And I can be defeatist about anything relating to the Pirates.

But immediately fast-forwarding to the day Cruz is traded is even too dark for my view. I can at least try to squint and see how good he might be. Eventually. Perhaps.

When that happens, we’ll start giving too much hype, too soon, to all the prospects the Pirates get for him in 2027. And the cycle will continue.

But, c’mon, Danny. Let him get good before we go there just yet.

David chimes in on the Steelers quarterback situation.

“To me the problem was taking a Round 2 QB in Round 1. And even taking him in Round 2 strikes me as a move to try and somehow placate the Pitt fans after the Steelers passed on Marino. And I do not see Pickett being a QB1 in Pittsburgh. Maybe he proves me wrong. Right now I’m thinking it may well have been a wasted pick.”

David, I don’t think it’s ever a wasted pick if you get your quarterback of the future. Even if the future doesn’t come until the second season.

I am a bit concerned, though, that the Steelers seem to have a much higher grade on this quarterback class than everyone else appeared to have.

It makes me wonder if they were so keyed up to get a quarterback, that they talked themselves into all the positives of this draft group and wouldn’t allow themselves to worry about the negatives.

Whether that’s Pickett’s hand size, Malik Willis’ lack of polish or Matt Corral’s build and style of play.

As far as “placating” the Pitt fan base? I don’t think it was that, so much as it was perhaps being concerned about repeating history from 1983.

That’s regardless of where the quarterback in question happened to attend school. Because I still think they may have taken Willis if Pickett was gone.

Speaking of that topic, Frank has an answer to the question Kordell Stewart advanced this week about who is the “third-best” Steelers quarterback ever.

It’s obviously Kenny Pickett…at least that’s what the Pittsters will tell you.

— Frank Domenic (@TMTC_Crash) July 6, 2022

To be fair, Frank, Pickett has never thrown an interception as a Steeler. That goes a long way in Pittsburgh when it comes to popularity.

Have you ever heard anyone say a bad thing about the sainted Brian St. Pierre? I think not! The man never threw an interception as a Steeler.

I’m surprised he doesn’t have a street named after him near Heinz Field by now.

Someday. I can feel the momentum building. Someday.

I want to build a house on the intersection of St. Pierre Way and Immortality Drive on the North Side.

“Walter Wonky” on Twitter is not fond of the idea that we discussed a few weeks ago of trading John Marino.

Can Marino improve? Yes. Will he? Who knows.

Dumoulin is done for anything beyond 3rd pair minutes. He should be the target.

— Walter (@walterwonky) June 10, 2022

You may not be wrong, Walter. But Dumoulin is five years older than Marino, with a modified no-trade clause. He only makes $300,000 less and has just one year left on his deal. Plus, if the Penguins think he’s on the decline, I imagine most other teams will have the same opinion.

If Ron Hextall trades Dumoulin, he better have a left-handed replacement for him lined up to play with Kris Letang for all those minutes — if Letang is retained for another three to five years.

Is Mike Matheson the answer? That seems like an awful lot of offensive thinking and risk taking for one defensive pair. Marcus Pettersson doesn’t seem worthy of that kind of promotion either. And they don’t seem to think Pierre-Olivier Joseph is even ready for bottom pair minutes yet.

I wouldn’t rail against the decision to keep Marino over Dumoulin either. But if Dumoulin goes, Hextall better have a target via trade or in free agency on deck to fill his role and eat his minutes.

Finally, this is an email from (I’m pretty sure) a different Walter. Perhaps one that’s not as “wonky.”

Let’s end “U mad, bro?” this week with my own anger problem. At least the one this Walter thinks I have.

“To help with your anger problem, I suggest you look inward. I did. It helps.”

Thanks, Walter. I’ll use that Jedi advice.

(In best Yoda voice)

“Turn off my Twitter mentions, I will! Hit the mute button, I can!”

More 'U mad, bro?' columns:

• U mad, bro?: Steelers fans react to Mike Tomlin's Super Bowl XLV comments; Penguins fans refocus on offseason
• U mad, bro?: Chase Claypool's bravado, Rashard Mendenhall's excuses have Steelers fans grumbling
• U mad, bro?: Steelers fans in QB mode already; Penguins fans antsy about offseason moves; Pirates fans despondent