All football teams make mistakes. The real question is what they do about those mistakes.
They can admit them and try to fix them, or they can double down, refusing to acknowledge the blunder and hoping that eventually the mistake will become something other than a mistake.
The Steelers sent a sixth-round pick to Jacksonville for kicker Josh Scobee, after kicker Garrett Hartley, the replacement for kicker Shaun Suisham and his torn ACL, suffered an injury. As noted by Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Scobee had a career success rate of 71.5 percent for kicks between 40 and 49 yards. With the Steelers, Scobee has made only three of seven from that distance.
They reportedly tried out kicker Kai Forbath on Friday, but apparently didn’t like what they saw enough to tell Scobee to scram. Or maybe they just aren’t ready to acknowledge that they wasted a sixth-round pick.
Regardless, Snoop Dogg thinks they should.
“Get the f–k outta here Josh Scobee,” Snoop Dogg said on Instagram. “We need to get rid of that motherf–ker. He’s sorry as f–k. He was sorry in Jacksonville, he’s sorry with us. Get his ass out of here. Bye bye bitch. Sorry motherf–ker you.”
As Bouchette also notes, the Steelers likewise have sent a fifth-round pick to Philly for cornerback Brandon Boykin, who has been buried on the depth chart.
Some will say, “So what? Who have the Steelers ever found in rounds five or six?” Glad you asked.
Players picked by the Steelers in rounds five or six over the years include receiver Antonio Brown (2010), cornerback William Gay (2007), linebacker Clark Haggans (2000), running back Chris Fuamatu-Ma’afala (1998), running back Barry Foster (1990), linebacker Hardy Nickerson (1987), linebacker Greg Lloyd (1987), guard Craig Wolfley (1980), tackle Tunch Ilkin (1980), defensive back Dwayne Woodruff (1979), quarterback Cliff Stoudt (1977), running back Jack Deloplaine (1976), center Mike Webster (1974), and defensive end Steve Furness (1972).
Of course, they don’t get lucky with a fifth- or sixth-round pick every year. They definitely won’t in 2016.
The only question moving forward is whether they will keep putting games at risk by sticking with a kicker who can’t make kicks when he needs to.
If Snoop Dogg has his way, they won’t.