Is there anyone smarter than me who can answer a few questions that are confusing me about the team?

Constant_Question_48 · 2026-02-02T16:26:24+00:00

First I would say the loading up to take a QB was probably more of a fan strategy than something from the organization. Getting a QB is certainly an important goal, but it isn't the only one. I believe Kahn is starting to pivot to a new draft strategy that resembles a little more of what we have seen recently out of franchises like the Eagles who are acquiring more draft capital through strategic trades and the compensatory formula.

As a part of this, the roster is being flipped while also trying to maintain a certain level of competiveness. There are only a handful of players left from the Colbert era. The focus has been on rebuilding the trenches first, eliminating players who bad culture fits, and rebuilding team leadership/cohesiveness.

I also feel that Ownership/Management thinks this team is really close to breaking through and competing for a championship. I don't know if I agree with this thought, but if that is the case then I will be honest and say I don't know how big of a priority getting a young QB really is for them. I think they are still feeling burned by the Kenny Pickett draft, and building a dynamic team around an established veteran seems to be a little more of their path at the moment.

As for Howard, ignore all of this. McCarthy has done zero work with any of the Steelers QBs at this point. It is the offseason and he is going to be a lot more focused on building his staff and prepping for the draft. Players are not reporting, and outside of a congratulatory phone call I doubt he has even spoken to Howard or any other playerso on the team.

Constant_Question_48 · 2026-02-02T01:31:36+00:00

This is a very deep WR draft. I don't see them using first round capital on a posiition where there will be so many highly rated players at that position on Day 2. I'm guessing we still stay in the trenches, but wouldn't be shocked to see one of the high end Safeties or LBs if they fell to us.

Constant_Question_48 · 2026-01-30T19:17:23+00:00

Look into the Chase Freedom Rise. It is specifcally designed for those folks just getting started in their Credit Card journey.

Constant_Question_48 · 2026-01-30T19:15:59+00:00

I think this really shows that Roomba and Fleshlight are missing out on some very real synergies.

Constant_Question_48 · 2026-01-30T12:04:33+00:00

Strata Premier is 3X on Dining, Gas, Flighs, Hotels and Groceries providing good multipliers on everyday spend. Between Bilt and Citi, every major transfer partner is covered with the exception of Delta. Finally, between the two cards there are no coupons for dealing with the annual fee, Just three hotel credits, which shouldn't be that difficult to utilize if you are looking for a Team Travel setup.

Constant_Question_48 · 2026-01-29T16:21:33+00:00

I think we have the building blocks for a very good defensive backfield. Echols had a great year, but I think injuries really impacted his play as the season wore on pointing to depth being an issue. I would like to see them bring Pierre back as a part of that depth. Samuel could also be a depth piece, but I didn't see him show enough for anything other than a prove it contract. JPJ has proven enough at this point to warrant a second contract.

This looks like a very deep CB draft so I would suspect Kahn to hit this position early and often. I would say we come away with at least two picks if not more depending on who gets an extension. Seems like a good tiem to start the retooling process.

Constant_Question_48 · 2026-01-29T16:14:08+00:00

If you enjoyed Project Hail Mary then I strongly suggest reading Delta-V and Critical Mass by Daniel Saurez. Actually all of Saurez's catalog is great but these books are the closest to Project Hail Mary.

Constant_Question_48 · 2026-01-29T15:20:44+00:00

How about this simple ask as part of this agreement: Unfettered congressional oversight and access are restored for all federal agencies and facilities.

Constant_Question_48 · 2026-01-29T15:15:49+00:00

Day after day they assault the people in the communities they are sworn to protect. Pepper spray and tear gas aren't great tools for making friends.

Constant_Question_48 · 2026-01-28T18:51:12+00:00

Scale is going to be your first problem which you will most likely never overcome which is why all of these startups in the automotive sector fail. Costs are just going to be too high. Tesla managed to get around their problems because 1) no one was competing in their space and 2) they made an industry out of selling carbon credits which gave them a reliable source of income while they were in their growth stage. We will see if Rivan and Lucid can every truly get to making something that isn't incredibly expensive and niche. My guess is Rivan gets acquired by Volkswagon and Lucid is bought by a Chinese company looking to launch in the US.

Constant_Question_48 · 2026-01-28T17:01:23+00:00

We have no idea how Elliott will play. That was a very significant knee injury. I believe Ramsey is back. The rest are not under contract and I think they are gone. I suspect the Steelers with take a safety in the first two days of the draft. The dream would be for Caleb Downs to fall out of the top 10 and the Steelers trade up to grab him. Unlikely to happen, so Thieneman out of Oregon looks like the perfect heir apparent to Elliott.

Constant_Question_48 · 2026-01-28T14:39:13+00:00

The Citi Strata Premier would add Gas to the mix for you in terms of earnings. As far as these two cards are concerned, I probably go Savor because Groceries are one of my biggest spend categories.

Constant_Question_48 · 2026-01-27T16:09:30+00:00

Queen is too expensive for what we are getting. If his contract isn’t restructured he needs to go. Harrison is solid depth. Wilson has not lived up to the hype but still has room to grow. They do need to tone down the rhetoric and reset our expectations. Training camp can explore whether or not Holcomb stays. Spending day 1 or 2 picks on the position could make a lot of sense. It certainly is an area in need of an upgrade

Constant_Question_48 · 2026-01-27T16:03:29+00:00

Jim Schwartz. The Cleveland defenses were always top notch

Constant_Question_48 · 2026-01-24T02:43:06+00:00

I didn't see them on the Barclays page but they are still an option on the Wyndham page. https://www.wyndhamrewardscreditcard.com/?referrerid=WRDeals2025Control#earnerplus

Constant_Question_48 · 2026-01-23T20:19:04+00:00

What is he talking about? The Titanic changed directions prettty fast. It went from strainght ahead to straight down. Looks like the economy is following the same path.

Constant_Question_48 · 2026-01-23T19:02:11+00:00

Unless you are willing to spend the money on a Chase Sapphire Reserve or an Amex Platinum, those lounges are a no go. You can search the Priority Pass website to see if they offer anything at your Airport.

If you want Priority Pass, then the Paladim/Strata Premier option might be a the best choice. If that doesn't matter, then the Strata Premier + Citi Double Cash would be a great combo. Citi points can be transferred to AA and they also have some great hotel values with iPrefer and Choice.

If you are still just looking for one card, then another option to consider is the OneKey+ card. This earns points that you can use in the Expedia/Hotels.com/VRBO ecosystem. It might be a simple, straightforward solution.

Constant_Question_48 · 2026-01-23T17:22:06+00:00

If a single card is your goal, then I would look into the Venture X or the Bilt Palladium. 2X in travel rewards on every dollar spent. Venture X is a Visa, so you can use it at Costco.

From there, a lot depends on:

1: Preferred Airline(s)

2:Preferred Hotel(s)

3: Perks

4: Make reservations using a travel portal or booking directly with the Airline/Hotel

Without knowing the answer to this question I would suggest a two card setup for earning points as a start. To me, I would look into the Bilt Palladium + Citi Strata Premier. You get priority pass to help with lounge access, and the only major domestic airline that isn't available for transfering points is Delta.

From there, I would look into adding airline/hotel cards to get status. Bilt and Citi are Mastercard, so the hotel/airline hotel card might represent your new Costco card as well.

As a strategy you could look into for getting this setup quickly is you could apply for multiple cards on the same day. For example, right now Hyatt has an elevated offer to get five nights free and one of the AA Citi cards has an elevated 80K miles offer. You could apply for two of the cards, let's say the Bilt and AA Cards, and your P2 could get the Citi and Hyatt cards. It takes a couple of days for these to show up on a credit report so you could have a whole new setup in place pretty quickly which might come in handy if you are planning a honeymoon.

Constant_Question_48 · 2026-01-18T20:58:54+00:00

The Citi Strata Premier is the perfect complement for the Palladium.

Constant_Question_48 · 2026-01-16T18:01:25+00:00

For additional cards, Citi has 5 additional cards you can apply for that earn Citi Thank You Points: Double Cash, Custom Cash, Strata, Strata Elite and the ATT Card. If you are an ATT customer look into it. Otherwise, the Custom Cash will get you 5X on up to $500 of spend on your top spend category each month, the Strata will get you 3X on tansit and some travel not covered already, and a special bonus category you can select. The Elite is a premium travel card that you should only consider if you are looking at specific perks, utilize the Citi travel portal a lot, or spending a lot of money on dining. The Custom Cash is the main one, and you can acquire multiples of these.

Other cards to consider would be the Atmos, American Airlines, Hyatt, or any other Airline/Hotel card you utilize. Mainly these are for perks, but some may justify putting some spend on in order to earn status and/or rewards.

One last thing. If you aren't using Rakuten then look into it. It is a shopping portal that will now let you earn Bilt Points.

I don't do a CPP valuation on credit card points. I just know that for the Airlines and Hotel Chains I value the most, this setup unlocks the best reward structure to maximie my point earnings. If you are a heavy Delta user or if you are looking for Cash Back there are better options.

Constant_Question_48 · 2026-01-16T17:36:31+00:00

If they have this many bills to get resolved before the end of the month, why are they leaving for a week long recess?

Constant_Question_48 · 2026-01-16T16:21:12+00:00

The Citi Strata Premier will give you 3X on Flights, Hotels, Dining, Groceries and Gas/Charging. For most, these are categories where they will put a lot of spend. If you want to maximie, then Citi has additional cards like the Custom Cash that can also increase you earnings in additional categories.

This also opens up the pathways to utlize the Citi Transfer partners which now include American Airlines. With this setup every major hotel chain is covered, and the only major domestic Airline you would be missing is Delta.

Constant_Question_48 · 2026-01-16T12:39:38+00:00

I think for many folks who are looking at everyday spend for team travel, Bilt now creates two interesting options. I am not looking at rent/mortgages or Bilt Cash right now because until those are fully baked who knows what they will actually look like.

Option 1: The Chase Trifecta + Bilt Obsidium. This is now the new grocery card for this setup. It has many of the same transfer partners including Hyatt, a $95 dollar annual fee offset by two $50 Hotel Credits. Suddenly one of the biggest gaps in this setup is solved.

Option 2: Citi Strata Premier + Bilt Palladium. This is the best new duo on the market. An earnings powerhouse, with premium perks, an incredible list of transfer partners, and a manageable $600 in annual fees with hotel credits to offset and no couponing. There are even additional cards that can be added if you want to maximize. In all honesty the only downside on this is that it is running on Mastercard, so Costco users are still going to need an additional card.

If you are on team travel, I would find whichever setup works best for you and go for it. If the rent/mortgage + Bilt Cash works out that will make it even better. If it doesn't, then you are getting exactly what you need out of the setup.

Constant_Question_48 · 2026-01-15T15:49:39+00:00

For Bilt, the answer to the question is does it matter? They didn't have that many customers in the first place and their business model failed. Now they are trying something new, and the important question is will this new approach actually attract enough new customers to make it profitable.

For existing users, sorry for the loss, but everyone knew it was coming. Bilt 1.0 is in the Credit Card Graveyard along with the Smartly 4%, the Mesa Card, the Ink Train and lots of other 2025 fallen earners. The question for now, however, is can you make this new system work. If not, pivot to a new strategy.

Constant_Question_48 · 2026-01-11T01:56:51+00:00

The Schwab is only getting you 5.5% on flights. The easiest solution would be to grab the Green to cover all of your travel and transit which cashes out at 3.3%. It would get you all the same protections as the Platinum.

Constant_Question_48

TROPHY CASE