U mad, bro?: Steelers fans shout pros, cons of free agent moves; Penguins fans just shout

Free agency praise and angst from Pittsburgh Steelers fans. Plenty of blame to go around from Penguins fans.

Barbs for Mike Tomlin. Shots at Tristan Jarry. And a call for a fresh pair of Depends.

All that and more in this week’s “U mad, bro?”

For the second week in row, Mark sends me an email about the Steelers inside linebacker position and my stance that the Steelers should’ve attacked that area of weakness earlier in free agency when guys such as Tremaine Edmunds, T.J. Edwards, David Long and Eric Kendricks were available.

“I think we proved there was no reason to (wet) your pants over their ILB position. ;)”

Just remember, Cole Holcomb and Elandon Roberts were available in free agency when the Seahawks and Raiders were hunting for off-ball linebackers. Seattle signed Devin Bush, and Las Vegas signed Robert Spillane instead. Spillane went to Vegas (March 14) before Holcomb signed in Pittsburgh (March 15). Via OverTheCap.com, Bush got $660,000 more in guaranteed money from Seattle than Roberts got from the Steelers.

Does that send up any red flags? It should.

You may actually want to see Holcomb and Roberts play in Steelers uniforms before declaring “proof,” Mark.

Also, don’t forget, the Steelers inquired about Leighton Vander Esch first before either guy, and they didn’t get him. Then they got these guys instead.

I’ll say it again, aside from Edmunds, most inside linebackers went at bargain rates this offseason. The Steelers knew they had a need and decided to shop in the bargain bin of the bargain store instead.

Maybe Roberts and Holcomb will work out well. I hope they do. Just remember there were other options available at reasonable prices.

Then we’ll see who is wetting their pants.

Chuck tweeted an opinion about the signing of guard Isaac Seumalo.

This guy has never been named all pro or to the pro bowl in his career. I get that it helps the o line but it's not the next Alan Fanaca here.

— chuck cox (@ccox78) March 20, 2023

Of course, he’s not the next Alan Faneca, Chuck. We already turned Nate Herbig into the next Alan Faneca when he signed in Pittsburgh a few days earlier.

We’re just going to turn Seumalo into the next Larry Allen instead.

Don’t you know how this stuff works by now?

Robert has some free agency thoughts too.

“When the media started talking about NFL free agency and the Steelers, the two things I wanted them to do was not sign Larry Ogunjobi again because he does not practice which is not conducive to team unity. The second (was) they must sign Robert Spillane for continuity sake. The first thing they did was lose Robert and sign Larry.

While I am at it looks like we are over-paying for lower quality ILBs. Might be a sign that a lot of players do not want to play for the Steelers. I think it is likely the Steelers will move into the basement of the AFC central this year and probably stay there for a while. The Steelers organization is a mess.”

Technically, Robert, the first thing they did was let Cameron Sutton go and sign Patrick Peterson to replace him. But who am I to quibble over details.

To your other points, I really don’t think Ogunjobi’s practice status impacts “team unity.” And if the inside linebacker position needs so much help, I don’t really think the “continuity” Spillane provided was all that important.

Regarding the price of the inside linebackers, they didn’t “overpay” for Roberts and Holcomb. I just think they could’ve comfortably paid a bit more for a potentially better return.

More sports

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• Ben Roethlisberger reveals talks with 49ers about NFL return, thoughts on Kenny Pickett
• Steelers 2023 free agency tracker: Signings, departures, who's left

David has some more Steelers free agency opinions.

“Once again I am flummoxed, nay bewildered. Once again, we are in free agency and I see Steeler after Steeler who played well leave, while the brain trust does nothing or signs players cheaper than the one before. Year after year this happens. Yet also year after year I read pundits, some in our own territory screeching. Mike Tomlin is the greatest coach ever, he never has had a losing season, he is a players coach, every player in the NFL applauds him and states how much they would love to play for him. Well my mind just can’t get around these differing facts. Is he a great coach? Shouldn’t that translate into a few playoff games and wins, maybe a Super Bowl or two? And if every player would love to play for him, why are the good ones leaving? It can’t be they leave just for money and players who never played for him are just saying that because there might come a time they may play for him after their skills decline and they want one or two more years making millions.”

Ummmmm, are you sure about that last thought, David? I mean, didn’t Roberts and Peterson kinda support that notion (without directly saying it the way you did) after they signed?

And as far as who the Steelers lost in free agency so far this year, aside from Sutton, I’m struggling to find the other guys you are referencing who played so well and then left. Largely, I felt like Bush was a bust. Malik Reed did very little after coming here from Denver. They flat out cut Myles Jack. And Spillane may have been an overachiever, but there is still room to upgrade at that spot.

So I don’t see a lot of room to fret in that regard.

Nay! I see no room to fret.

Here’s a tweet about Mike Sullivan from a guy called “Florida Penguin 87,” with a Steeler avatar, about the Penguins.

Just doesn’t have the consistent goaltending, physical defensemen, and a larger net front presence to compete with the top teams.

— FloridaPenguin87 (@FLPenguin87) March 20, 2023

Agreed. Aside from that, he’s in great shape.

Which is maybe part of the reason why he should stop deploying the players that he has in the same way he did in 2016 and 2017.

Eric fired off a message about Tristan Jarry.

“My only hope was getting Jarry back and him playing great … he looks awful.”

Eric, if that was your only hope, maybe hope was gone a while ago. Jarry is just too often injured and too inconsistent to be viewed as a rock that carries a team through the playoffs.

Or maybe even into them.

Although his last two games against the Ottawa Senators and Colorado Avalanche have been two of his better efforts since returning from injury.

Finally, here’s a tweet about the Penguins I missed from Uncle Mervis a few weeks ago. It still rings true today, unfortunately.

Team absolutely has no backbone whatsoever. No character whatsoever.

— Uncle Mervis (@matskomark) February 24, 2023

Character isn’t my biggest worry, Merv. That was a character win Wednesday in Denver.

I’m more concerned about their lack of talent. Especially in net and on the blue line after Kris Letang. In terms of their backbone, I think they have a backbone. It’s just old, creaking and brittle.

Like the team itself of late.