The song “Distant Early Warning” by Rush—which contains the lyric in the title of this entry—is about the Distant Early Warning Line, an entity during the Cold War that used radar stations in the far reaches of the northern hemisphere to detect any Soviet bombers before they approached the States, allowing for the country to be fully prepared and to not panic. Not recognizing these bombers would have proven costly to the United States, as they would be able to enter the airspace undetected and drop explosives on unsuspecting American citizens. The DEW Line prevented this.
Much as the DEW Line allowed for the U.S. government to deal with threats in a manner that was not rushed or otherwise compromised, sports teams often emit warning signs, suggesting that they are dangerous to the confidence of their fans, hinting to us that there are reasons to be concerned about the immediate future of the season that should not be overlooked when anticipating the upcoming games. In the past week, it became very apparent for almost all the teams that I support that these warning signs were ignored—the DEW Line (sports edition) failed to adequately recognize the danger in which the teams lie.
Let us start with the Steelers. Matt Canada was fired after the 13-10 loss to the Browns. Immediately following that move—one upon which every Steelers fan in the country agreed—the black-and-gold put up over 400 yards on the Bengals to get their record to 7-4, firmly entrenched in the playoff race. Consecutive home games against the 2-10 Cardinals and 2-10 Patriots were all that stood between the Steelers and solidifying a winning record through merely 13 games. Naturally, the Steelers lost both of those games, also losing starting QB Kenny Pickett in the process, as he went down with a high-ankle sprain early in the second quarter of the Cardinals game. Mitch Trubisky replaced him, having a subpar conclusion to the that game before absolutely shitting the bed against the Patriots on Thursday night. Mitch easily could have had four passes intercepted in the first half, and the team was fortunate to only be down 11 at the break despite the defense conceding 21 points to a pathetic excuse for a Patriots’ offense. Amazingly, the Steelers were able to cut the deficit to 3 points in the fourth quarter, despite horrid play calling (clearly firing Matt Canada was not the only action that had to be taken) and Trubisky routinely missing open receivers. On a 3rd and 2 at midfield with 2:05 remaining in the game and the team down 3, Mitch missed a wide-open George Pickens. On the ensuing play—a MUST CONVERT 4th and 2—Trubisky decided to take a deep shot towards Diontae Johnson instead of hitting one of the two or three open pass catchers that were slightly beyond the line to gain. Now, I did have an issue with the series of play calls on those plays, as I felt that running the ball would have been a more likely tactic to gain the necessary yardage, but the fault does not fall on Mike Sullivan and Eddie Faulkner for Trubisky’s complete inability to see open receivers right in front of his face or his overall incompetence. As a result, the Steelers are 7-6, clinging to a wild card spot, with games left against fellow wild-card competitors Indianapolis and Cincinnati, followed by games at Seattle and Baltimore to finish the season.
The warning signs were there early and often throughout the season. No team should ever be 6-3 while being outgained in every game they played. It was not a sustainable endeavor. However, I chose to ignore it, placing most of the blame on Matt Canada and thinking that the measurably successful first game after his dismissal was more of a sign for the future than an anomaly. The coaching staff is still incapable of effectively managing the clock and the personnel, burning needless timeouts and committing unnecessary penalties that often prove to be costly down the stretch in games. Now, injuries are piling up, with star pass-rushing duo T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith both in the concussion protocol to accompany Pickett and a plethora of middle linebackers on the sidelines.
The Penguins have proven to be equally pathetic. An overtime loss to the Flyers on Monday was succeeded by regulation losses against the Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers, finding themselves 6 points back of the final playoff spot through 26 games. What is more concerning is the slump in which they reside, a power play drought that has gone 36 opportunities without conversion, a historically bad metric. The injuries are accumulating as well, with Bryan Rust, Noel Acciari, Matt Nieto, P.O. Joseph, and Chad Ruhwedel unable to take the ice. This has resulted in the Penguins essentially becoming a glorified AHL team, with Crosby and the stars surrounded by players that almost seem to be randomly generated, as if one is playing NHL24 career mode in the ECHL. They still have yet to show any capability of protecting leads, something that plagued them last season as well. They have allowed so many odd man rushes that only someone with an eidetic memory could recall all of them. To put it bluntly, the team sucks. Moments of brilliance from Sid and Geno are overshadowed by poor play from all 18 skaters.
We should have taken notice when the Penguins blew a multi-goal lead in the first game of the season against the Blackhawks. That was the first “red alert” that the same problems from last year would carry over into this season, but again, I chose to ignore it, chalking it up to early-season inconsistencies that would be remedied by the additions of Ryan Graves and Erik Karlsson on defense, as well as much needed forward depth. Needless to say, I was way off. If Dubas does not want to fire Mike Sullivan, he at least needs to can Todd Reirden for his incompetence in coaching the power play.
Those who do not care about soccer can scroll through this portion, but even reigning treble winners Manchester City are struggling quite a bit. Three straight Premier League draws against Chelsea, Liverpool, and Tottenham were followed by a 1-0 loss in Birmingham against high-flying Aston Villa in what was probably City’s worst performance under Pep Guardiola, mustering only two shot attempts, the last of which occurred in the 11th minute of the match. The 4-game streak of dropping points finally ended yesterday with a win against newly-promoted Luton Town, but required a second-half comeback to secure all three points. Similar to the Steelers and Penguins, the unavailability of key players has proven to be detrimental, with Rodri missing matches through suspension, while Haaland, Doku, Grealish, and Stones have all missed time with injury. Talisman and world-class playmaker Kevin de Bruyne has not played since the opening match of the season against Burnley during which his hamstring failed him, an absence that the club feels more with each passing week.
There was cause for concern regarding the Sky Blues quite early in the season, as they were (and still are) conceding many more goals than they have in previous seasons. Where was the DEW Line to tell me that this was not simply a result of a long lay-off in the summer, but a sign of things to come? Ederson has not kept a clean sheet in as long as I can remember. Similarly to the Penguins, they have shown an inability to protect leads (see the late equalizers scored by each of Chelsea, Liverpool, and Tottenham).
Of the three teams I have described, I fully expect City to rectify their problems more quickly and effectively than the Steelers or Penguins—they have more talent and ability, as well as better coaching, relative to the rest of the Premier League than the Pittsburgh sports teams do compared to their counterparts. Nevertheless, the sirens are constantly sounding over the poor performances of all three teams. I should have paid more attention to the warning signs earlier in the year, as my expectations would not be as high, thus leaving me with less disappointment.
Go listen to that Rush song I talked about in the introduction. Have a good week.