Ed Bouchette is a master of ticking me off. He is a master of tweeting out “click bait”: blurbs and nuggets designed to make you click on the link to an article he has written for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Of all the writers I follow, I think Ed is the best at drawing me in. However; unlike many people on Twitter, Facebook or wherever, I don’t tend to just read his tweets, and the headlines of his articles… and then respond based on that limited information.

Instead, I do something quite novel.

I read the articles; which is of course his intended purpose, and I am almost always happy to have done so.

My great wish is that more people would do the same thing – stop reacting to titles and tweets, and read the content. Often you’ll find that it’s not what you thought.

Case in point, this is one of the tweets by Ed, that I’m talking about:

As Steelers stand pat, Browns and Ravens beef up rosters https://t.co/FmyPD5eyky via @PittsburghPG

— Ed Bouchette (@EdBouchette) March 10, 2017

As is often the case with short statements, it’s hard to tell the intent:

• Was Ed calling the Steelers out for not being more aggressive?
• Was he merely stating the facts as he saw them?

I don’t know his intent: I’m not a mind reader. But my initial reaction was akin to “WTF?” It seemed to be meant as an insult, and frankly, I know he knows the team much better than that.

Chasing players in free agency is not what the Steelers do.

Mark Kaboly tweeted this yesterday, which just goes to prove my point:

In Kevin Colbert era, the Steelers have NEVER officially signed an unrestricted free agent from another team on the first day of free agency

— Mark Kaboly (@MarkKaboly) March 9, 2017

The Steelers have gotten to the point where they are not forced to restructure contracts every year just to get some minimal cap space. They have locked up Antonio Brown for the foreseeable future, and are working on keeping Alejandro Villanueva, Stephon Tuitt, Ryan Shazier and of course, Le’Veon Bell, in the fold.

Even with 20+ million in cap space, they can’t afford to go chasing, and overpaying, free agents. And they certainly can’t afford to do so at positions like cornerback, where the draft is so deep that you could drown in them.

Just look at the deal A.J. Boyee got from Jacksonville – 5 years $67.5 million dollars. $26 million dollars guaranteed. That’s $13.5 million a year, all for a guy who had one solid year.

Seriously – he was really good last year, but that’s it!

Hey, I am not trying to disparage A.J. He looks to be a talented young player who took some time to mature, and I wish him the best since he’s not playing in Baltimore.

Let’s take example two – Dre Kirkpatrick. Oh how the “Twitter-verse” was abuzz with “Steelers want Kirkpatrick” chatter. Again, Kirkpatrick is a really nice player, and I have no doubt the Steelers had interest in him. My guess would be somewhere between $5-7 million a year kind of interest.

Kirkpatrick ended up resigning with the Bengals for somewhere around $52.5 million over 5 years. Even Bengals sites are saying he was overpaid. (That’s what happens when you lose your top two starting O-line men, and need to do something to salvage the train wreck your offseason has become!)

The prices are too high, and for many teams, these moves reek of desperation. That’s why so many teams who overspend for free agents never win anything. Think of every team that has pieced together a “Dream Team” of free-agent signings (the Redskins come to mind immediately). They won nothing. It was a massive disaster.

Even the la-te-da Patriots aren’t immune. They signed Stephon Gilmore to a $65 million dollar deal with $40 million guaranteed. Gilmore has a “reputation” as being a lock-down guy – but he was exploited in coverage last year in Buffalo.

No thanks, not at that price.

Of course, Ed wasn’t really talking about any of those things. He specifically mentioned the Browns and the Ravens, so let’s look at them.

Let’s start with Cleveland. They made some nice moves, and you simply can’t deny it. The thing is, that after years and years and years of losing, they have the money to make those kind of moves.

Why?

Because the good players they draft leave, and the sad fact is, they haven’t done a very good job of drafting good players. The verdict is still out on last year’s group, but it’s fair to say that Cleveland has been where careers go to die over the last few seasons.

Maybe that is going to change.

They did some smart things, and some really smart things. The signed three offensive lineman (2 free agents, and one of their own). That’s smart. It solidifies their line.

Then they made the Osweiler trade. Everyone went nuts because nobody bothered to read the articles and details associated with the trade. They don’t want Osweiler – they never did. I don’t care what they say about him being allowed to come in and compete: they paid $16 million dollars for a second round pick next year. That gives them three in that round. It’s a smart move for them, because it gives them ammunition to move around, and to try and get a quarterback they actually do want (like maybe that guy in New England).

Of course, they also did something that I don’t find all that impressive:. $32.5 million for Kenny Brit?

Really? If you want to question a move Cleveland made, that’s the one.

Here is the thing about what Cleveland did – they did it because they haven’t won in so long, that even they can’t remember their last winning season (it was 2007, by the way). That’s nearly a decade worth of bad football. In that same period the Steelers have not had a single losing season.

Not. One.

So the Browns are in a position to make these kinds of moves. I’d rather have a decade of winning.

Then there are the Ravens.

The Ravens signed Tony Jefferson away from the Cardinals. It’s reported that Cleveland offered him more and he left that money on the table. (Can you blame him?)

I like the Jefferson signing, but I’m not wowed by it. Dude had three interceptions in four years, and none last year. His production dropped when he became a starter, so I’m not sure exactly why everyone is touting this is a huge signing for them. It may be an upgrade, but then again, it may not be.

They also signed Danny Woodhead, who is now in his ninth season. He’s older, and coming off of an injury. If the Ravens are looking for him to be the primary ball carrier, they are nuts. I would bet dollars to donuts that he doesn’t make it through the season.

The best thing the Ravens did was re-sign one of their own, Brandon Williams: who cost $54 million, with $27.5 million guaranteed. It’s more than I would have paid, but they need to keep their younger guys.

They also picked up Mike Wallace’s option ($8 million) and resigned Ryan Mallett (woot woot).

So honestly, I’m not overly impressed.

In contrast, the Steelers did what the Steelers do. They didn’t overpay for anyone. They re-signed Landry Jones to an extremely team-friendly deal, and re-signed David Johnson to a similar one. That means they have continuity to some degree. It means they still can pursue players that might be a fit for them. It means they can still try and resign the unrestricted free agents that they feel are critical to their future.

What they haven’t done is hurt their ability to re-sign their own guys to long term deals.

The truth is, after reading Ed’s article, I don’t think he was throwing shade at the Steelers. As I said, he knows the team better than that. It’s fair to say exactly what he said: that the Browns won the day yesterday… and that’s not the norm. What he doesn’t really address is why they were able to win the day, because the answer is “you have to lose a lot first”.

The Steelers would rather win on the field. As a result, they have their own way of dealing with free agency. It’s not flashy. They don’t make a “splash”. They simply operated the same way they have for the past decade – a decade where they haven’t had a single losing season.

Sometimes making a splash actually is the precursor to dragging you under. Sometimes sprinting out at the start simply allows others to outpace you as the race progresses.

Sometimes standing still is how you move forward: it’s how you win the race, not just the day.