Some fans think the Steelers underachieved with Ben and Tomlin

Tell me what year should they have won the Super Bowl? I'm sure some will say 2017, but with that defense I don't think they would've beaten the Eagles if they made it to the SB.

 

The Year we lost Brown,Bell ,and DeAngelo, and got beaten by the SB winner Broncos. Easily should have won. I'm not putting blame on anything but injury that Year, but that was our Year.

 

All fans think the Steelers underachieved with Ben and Tomlin

 

Spygate

 

The tackle

 

The 2015 Season definitely sticks out to me as a possible Super Bowl run. I do believe that, in a world where Vontez Burfict does not exist, Pittsburgh does beat Denver. That said, after Denver comes New England and, for whatever reason, Rob Gronkowski had always had the Steelers number up to that point; a 28-21 victory in New England's favor the same. While I would entertain our defenses performance against the likes of Denver, New England is but another can of worms all together. Now, if the team were 100%?? I do like our chances there but those chances would still be slim.



Other than 2015 and, as you said, I honestly did not have much faith in our defense in a post Troy Polamalu world but believed we could outscore anyone given the gains our Offense had made during that time; Shazier or otherwise. As much as I knew Shazier was integral, he was not the missing piece. It would not be until Minkah Fitzpatrick that said missing piece would be acquired. However, until that day would come, I did not think so.


If anything, how Mike Tomlin managed that 2018 Season is truly something I will never know; the entire Antonio Brown saga doubly so and no less. The fact that the likes of neither Gruden nor Bill Belichick could handle Brown yet Tomlin could is quite the achievement in it of itself.



Overall though, what ended up screwing up the Steelers in the 2010s was the decline of a multi array of factors. They are as follows...


- Superstar players past their prime.

- Over reliance on a Defensive System that did not have the necessary players to fully utilize it.

- The tragic loss of an integral part of the Defense.

- Whiffs on the likes of Jarvis Jones and Artie Burns.

- The aforementioned Antonio Brown saga.

- The Le'Veon Bell saga.

- Todd Haley/Randy Fichtner's "Brilliant" play calling; doubly so on Randy's

- Injury woes...... constant injury woes.

- The Vontez Burfict crisis.

- Constant self inflicted wounds via the drama; major distractions as a whole.




Plenty more I could have listed but these ones stick out in a big way. While I did love our Offense, the Defense was always going to be a major point of focus when watching those playoff games during the 2010s. Now, Big Ben is literally on his final legs, this Offensive Line is young but inexperienced and Najee Harris is the catalyst. Compounding these potential flash points of doom is the lack of depth at the Secondary, Stephon Tuitt's absence and how quickly Devin Bush Jr can fully get back to 100%.

 

Can you make that with Tomlin, Ben, Bell and Brown?

Tomlin was smart this year signing a 3 year contract to not go down with Ben's Ship.

 

Count me as one.

 

What about the year Ben went all the way in Georgia?

 

Every year since 2008

 

Green Bay was the better team that year, the Steelers defense couldn't stop Aaron Rodgers.

 

That 2017 defense couldn't stop a basic offense like Jacksonville, but you think they could beat the Eagles that year, the great Belichick had no answer.

 

Bell only stayed healthy in 2017 I think.

 

Didn't make enough hay with the team he inherited. 09/10/11 were all years they could have won another. I don't blame 10 on either, Pouncey's injury and Mendy's fumble sealed the deal vs. GB.

It took 8 years to get the defense back to championship caliber after that, and it was only because they loaded it with so many former first round picks they couldn't help but succeed (except when their sh!tty DC puts them in obvious position to fail), but by that time Ben was broken down and past his prime.

 

Well if all those players were injured then I wouldn't say they underachieved that year, they were underdogs and not expected to win.

 

Those guys started to get old on defense in 2011.

 

They were still the #1 D in the league.

 

And therein lies the folly in placing all of your hope in one RB. If he gets hurt, you're scrambling.

Good thing Tomlin learned fr--

Oh, wait.

 

They had Conner too in 2017

 

Smoke and mirrors

 

2017 snaps/touches:

Bell: 943/406
Conner: 68/32

 

Losing too many games over the years to sub-par teams is what sinked the Steelers just about every year since XLV. Patriots were always able to secure the #1 seed/bye which was a huge advantage for them. I could make a list of all the games lost to crappy teams since 2014... but I'm too lazy.

 

Well, that went over your head

 

The years we had AB and Bell, it is crazy we really weren't much of a threat for a title.

I think the year Manning won in Denver we would have won that game against them if we were healthy, and probably could have won a SB.