Pittsburg, PA
PFF Denies Bias Against Steelers LB
PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Steelers fanbase and Pro Football Focus (PFF) are squarely in opposite camps. Most NFL fans are critical of PFF for their selective use of statistics and “advanced” measurements of players, but Steelers Nation has another bone to pick. Most Pittsburgh fans feel PFF is bias against the Steelers, especially when it comes to ranking the premier defensive players in the game.
Over the past few seasons, Steelers’ star linebacker T.J. Watt has consistently been ranked below Cleveland Browns edge rusher Myles Garrett. It’s one of the most exciting individual rivalries. Playing in the same division, Garrett and Watt have been the two of the most dominant defenders in the league since they both entered the NFL.
But according to PFF, Myles Garrett continues to be the better player. They released their rankings of the best players in the NFL entering the 2024 season and ranked Watt 14th compared to Garrett who was second. Watt also was below Dallas Cowboys star rusher Micah Parsons.
Unsurprisingly, the list received criticism, especially from Steelers’ fans. Writer Sam Monson, who authored the best players list, heard the backlash and recently defended his choices on PFF’s youtube channel.
“It’s going to be interesting when the NFL releases their top 100,” he said. “They tweeted out a bunch of ballots of players having voted. I didn’t see a single one that had T.J. Watt above Myles Garrett, and that’s one of the things about last season that Steelers fans that are upset that we have this vendetta against T.J. Watt have not found an answer to yet.”
The only problem is that Steelers fans do have answer: on the field performance. The only year Garrett has outpaced Watt in sacks was during 2022, when Watt was limited to just 10 games due to injury. Similarly, 2020 was the last time Garrett forced more fumbles than Watt. Watt has more passes deflected, interceptions, and quarterback pressures on a year-to-year comparison and overall than Garrett. Really, when you look at the two side by side on paper, T.J. Watt is the far better and more productive defender.
The two rushers are also tied in the hardware battle. Neither has secured a Super Bowl championship, but both have Defensive Player of the Year award under their belts. Garrett won his first this past season and Watt won his following a 22.5 sack season in 2021. Even Monson had to admit that Watt’s game is consistent and terrifying.
“There may not be a better playmaker on the defensive side of the ball,” he said.
Yet, PFF and much of the league continue to place Watt below Garrett and disrespect his game. Heading into 2024, they have him ranked as the fourth best defensive player in the NFL. Not that Watt needs the extra motivation, but PFF continues to give him and the Steelers reason to continue proving them and the rest of the league wrong.
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Overreactions to the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2026 NFL Draft Class: Will Howard’s future, Omar Khan without Mike Tomlin, and more
The Pittsburgh Steelers had a 2026 NFL Draft that was, well, perplexing to put it nicely. There are a lot of ways to skin a cat when it comes to the draft process, and in three to four years, there’s a chance we look back on the class and the prevailing notion was dead wrong.
So today, we are going to name the three biggest overreactions to what the Steelers just did over the course of the weekend. Let’s jump in.
Overreaction No. 1: Max Iheanachor is another Broderick Jones
Look, if we want to reprimand what happened in the first round and the phone-gate debacle, that’s fine. But as Omar Khan said after the draft, the Steelers stuck true to their board and went with their highest rated player once Makai Lemon was poached by the Eagles.
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And yes, Iheanachor is raw. Yes, he didn’t start playing football until very recently and was mostly a soccer player. But the truth is, there might not be a tackle with higher potential and a greater ceiling than Iheanachor.
The feet, the length, the traits, it’s all there. Sure, the Steelers will need to be patient, but this isn’t a player who is fundamentally flawed the way that Jones was. This is a player who you don’t have to fix; you have to build up. So it’s far too soon to write off Iheanachor.
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Overreaction No.2: Mike McCarthy doesn’t like Will Howard
When the rhetoric coming out of Pittsburgh is always about how much the Steelers love Will Howard, and on day two, with their third pick in the draft, the Steelers take another quarterback that many view as a reach, it’s easy to see why some may believe that McCarthy doesn’t like Howard.
The truth is, McCarthy doesn’t know what he likes. He needs to see both Allar and Howard competing in a live environment before making any rash decisions. And when you don’t have an obvious quarterback of the future, taking as many shots as possible makes a lot of sense.
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Overreaction No.3: Omar Khan was carried by Mike Tomlin
If you look at Omar Khan’s draft history since he took over for Kevin Colbert in 2023, you see draft classes littered with talent and starters. And honestly, just about every time it reached Sunday of draft weekend, the consensus view was that Khan and the Steelers nailed the draft.
Well, the only obvious difference in the decision-making process this year was no Mike Tomlin. And under Mike Tomlin, the Steelers were at every big-time Pro Day, the Senior Bowl, and well represented at the NFL Combine. A lot of that changed this year, but it doesn’t mean that Omar Khan wasn’t heavily involved, if not making picks, before.
We’ll see if the media and fans, or Khan and co., are right in 3-4 years.
A woman has died, and three others were injured following a shooting at a bar in Vandergrift, Armstrong County, according to Pennsylvania State Police.
Troopers said they were called shortly after 1:15 a.m. Sunday to Niki’s Quick Six on First Street in Vandergrift for reports of shots fired.
A local police officer who arrived first found one woman dead and multiple people suffering from gunshot wounds, according to a public information report provided by state police.
The woman who died was identified as Jessica Hilliard, 34, of Apollo. Hilliard was pronounced dead at the scene. Another victim, Rebecca Boston, 24, of McIntyre, was found at the scene and was last listed in critical condition.
Two other victims, Hector Saballos, 34, of Vandergrift, and Dominik Dellach, 25, of Vandergrift, left before troopers arrived. Police said both were later listed in stable condition.
The suspect has been identified as David Dunmire, 36, of Vandergrift. Police said he remained at the scene and was taken into custody without incident.
An investigation determined that a physical altercation broke out in the parking lot outside the bar before Dunmire allegedly pulled out a firearm and fired multiple rounds, striking several people.
State police said they consulted with Armstrong County District Attorney Katie Charlton, who approved a criminal homicide charge.
The investigation remains ongoing.
Pittsburg, PA
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