Get #OldTakesExposed ready. Save this, because I know just how much you love when us media guys and gals are wrong about things.
Get it ready --- pounce if I'm incorrect. Have a field day with this hot take if it turns out wholly improper.
OK, here goes …
James Pierre is going to be really good for the Pittsburgh Steelers this season. He is going to play in that corner spot opposite Joe Haden, bump Cam Sutton inside and Pierre is going to make you forget about the often-overrated Steven Nelson.
You see, for about three weeks now there have been too many real, true football people from inside the Steelers telling me about the merits of Pierre.
People who I trust.
They rave about him.
Talent evaluators who know a whole hell of a lot more about the nuances of the game than some guy who gabs into a microphone early in the morning.
And every single one of them has sung the same, seemingly uniform and consistent melody: James Pierre has had a super camp, it was just a matter of learning the defense better because the athleticism was always there.
There is also something else with a guy like Pierre --- he is hungrier than most. This football thing kind of has to work out for him because, at this point, he doesn't have much to fall back on.
I find it wise to bet on those guys all the time.
This is a guy who was an undrafted free agent last season and actually hung around; he made it through the season with the Steelers. He did all of that through the COVID-ridden season as it was an exhausting hill to climb for a rookie with an abbreviated camp and just minimal in-person contact compared with what normally happens for the rookie.
In short, it would have been easier for the Steelers to bring in a seasoned NFL veteran who knew the nuances of the league but they didn't. They stuck with the kid.
And his story is a long and winding one as a young man from South Florida who was originally going to go to Miami, changed his commitment to North Carolina but then ran into academic problems and was going to go to Syracuse. That never materialized so he would up at Florida Atlantic where he declared for the NFL after his junior season because, simply, he needed to take the risk to get to the league and make some money.
Just yesterday after practice, Pierre opined about his work ethic that "each day, rent due." This guy gets it --- or at least the hard work part you need to put in. I'm thinking with some more time learning the intricacies of the defense his play will see a huge spike this season.
Actually, I'm counting on it.
