I'm not the kind of guy who ever feels
totally secure in the fortunes of the Steelers.
Of course, historically, they sort of
stagger their way through the regular season. Post Terry Bradshaw,
they made due with a parade of second-rate QBs – and even spent a
couple of seasons trying to turn wide receiver Kordell Stewart back
into a quarterback – with varying results. Do you remember Bubby
Brister? No? You're not alone.
Neil O'Donnell managed to get them to
Super Bowl XXX in 1995. He should have been sued for malpractice
after tossing a couple of interceptions to the Cowboys in that game.
As a Steelers fan, it was tragic.
In 2003, there was a rumor or two of
Dan Marino finishing up his last year in the NFL at Pittsburgh. Had
that happened, the Steelers would probably have another championship
and Marino a Super Bowl ring. It was essentially the same team that
Roethlisberger had a 15 and 1 season with in 2004 and took to the
Super Bowl in the 2005 season. The Steelers were a championship team
in search of a decent QB.
 |
| Does seeing this action shot of ol' Bubby Brister help ring any bells? Didn't think so. |
Since Big Ben has been at the helm,
they have not cast off their mantle as the “Cardiac Kids.” Even
in the two seasons resulting in Super Bowl wins, on regular-season
game day, you never knew if it was the champion-caliber Steelers or
the guys who tripped over their shoelaces getting off the team bus
that were going to show up that day.
Even when they went on to win Super
Bowl XL at the end of the 2005 season, it was as a Wild Card. They
won 11 and lost 5 that season – 3 of those loses came clumped
together in a mid-season slump. They were 7 and 2 up to that point.
They played with more authority in their most recent Super
Bowl-winning season in 2008, winning 12 regular-season games. At
least they went six for six within their division. By week 13 or 14,
we were pretty sure they were headed to the playoffs. With home-field
advantage, they beat the Chargers and the Ravens (for the third time
that season) to work their way to the championship game against the
Arizona Cardinals, which turned out to be a nail-biter against a team
that went 9 and 7 in the regular season.
I am escorting you – kicking and
screaming, no doubt – down memory lane as a prologue to admitting,
I have no clue how the Steelers will wind up this season. So far
their play has been mediocre at best until last week's brilliant
offensive effort against the Colts. The week before, they were being
slapped around by the Texans until a 3-minute spurt of brilliance
late in the second quarter saw them rack up 24 points. They only
scored another 6 off of field goals the rest of the game. And,
although the offense blew it out against the Colts, the defense gave
up 34 points. Steelers have only scored more than 34 points twice
this season, including against the Colts.
Early in the season I thought they were
bound for another 8 and 8 finish. At 5 and 3, it could still be the
case, but somehow, I don't think so. I think, barring any major
injuries, they have a fair chance of landing at least a Wild Card
spot in the playoffs. A lot will depend on how they perform in their
remaining three divisional match ups: Ravens tonight and Bengals in
weeks 13 and 17.
So, I will be crossing my fingers,
thinking happy thoughts – the glass is half full, the glass is half
full... – as I grit my teeth through tonight's game.
Go Steelers!
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