Are we heading back here?

http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=Y_9sB92d ... _9sB92dJzM

Are we heading back to the 80s with this football team? If not for Big Ben, I'm not so sure we wouldn't be there already. There were a lot of great things about the 80s. Some great music like Duran Duran and great movies like Back to the Future and The Breakfast Club. But, unfortunately, the 80s Steelers will always leave a bad taste in my mouth. We had QBs like Malone, Woodley, Blackledge and Brister. Shoot, at one time we even thought Scott Campbell was going to be the savior of the team. Could we be heading back in that direction. Those teams followed the greatest dynasty in sports. This current team is following a decade where the Steelers have contended for the Super Bowl frequently and managed to win a couple. Our superstar defensive players are either gone or a shell of their former selves. Seriously, if we didn't have Ben, an elite QB, we'd look an awful lot like those 80s teams right now. I'm not sure we don't even with Ben. We are average and mediocre in most categories, a hallmark of the 80s teams. I just feel like we're in the Delorean and the flux capacitor has been fired up and we're on our way to the 80s.

Enjoy the music and the movies because you sure wont enjoy the football!

 

As bad as the 80s teams were, they still weren't THAT bad.

At least two dozen other franchises would have called what the Steelers did in the 1980s a success.

So if thats what they are going back to, consider yourself lucky to be a Steelers fan...

 

TE, that was kind of the point of my post. If we didn't have Ben, we may be comparable to some of those teams.

BB, did we grow up in the same 80s? We had some teams that were pretty bad back then. Of course we were better than a couple if dozen other franchises but we are not your average NFL franchise, we are...THE PITTSBURGH STEELERS!

 

on defense we are worst ,on offense a lot better , overall better

 

This is exactly right! The 80's always had good defenses, the offense wasn't good, we could run the ball but that was it. You could always tell a Steeler game by the score, very low and seldom breaking 20 points but this team is giving me fits as the offense is pretty good but I can't remeber a defense this bad. I don't remember ever seeing a half like the raider game were every possession resulted in a score, I never witnessed a Steeler defense this bad.

 

In the 1980s the Steelers had a winning record (77-69), won 2 division titles, finished 2nd 2 more times (40% of the time they were in the top 1/2 of the division), finished 3rd 4 times, and last only twice, made 4 playoff appearances, and went to 1 AFCC Game. Not great by Steelers standards, but not even close to terrible. Off of the top of my head, these franchises would consider that a successful decade:

Bengals
Jaguars
Texans
Browns
Lions
Cardinals
Seahawks
Jets
Bills
Titans
Chiefs
Chargers
St Louis
Bears
Vikings
Falcons
Panthers
Saints
Bucs

 

How many Super Bowls did the Steelers win in the 80s? How many Super Bowl appearances did the Steelers have in the 80s? I realize we are a little spoiled, but Steeler nation (ownership, front office, coaches, players and fans) doesn't consider barely keeping our heads above the .500 mark and contending for a divisional title every few years a success. A successful season us placing another Lombardi trophy next to the others. The 80s were in no way, shape or form a successful decade for the greatest sports franchise in history. We measure success not in how we stack up against mediocrity, but in whether or not we've achieved excellence. We did not achieve excellence in the 80s. Not even close.

 

That's EXACTLY what I was thinking. I was too young to be a Steelers fan in the 80s but as a REALLY young kid the team I remember seeing the most on tv was the 9ers and the Broncos. But in general the AFC sucked in the 80s and the 90s until the Broncos brought back the Lombardi.

 

Im going to say no as well had ben completed that last pass or suisham ate his bowl of wheaties before that kick we are 3-2 and all is good in steeler country

 

I think the point was more that we sucked by our standards. Not by the standards of, say, Tampa Bay. Remember also that Cleveland was a powerhouse for a couple of years and Cincinnati went to the superbowl twice. AFC Central was tough. I don't think we were seen as a soft touch by other teams, save for perhaps one or two seasons.

However, I agree that by the standards we have come to expect, you have to look back at the 80's with a shudder. And, as a certain someone has a habit of reminding us - the standard is the standard.

 

Exactly.

Im just trying to put things in perspective.

We are all very fortunate to be fans of a very successful team. Lets all realize that and count our blessings that we weren't born in Detroit, St Louis, etc... Even the Steelers worst years are far superior to many franchises. And even their worst decade in the past 40 years is far superior too.

Things could always be worse. Way worse.

 

The worst we were in the 80s was 5-11.....Think id take that this season.

 

it's an 8-8 / 9-7 season but if you want to draft higher .. we can take it

 

Gosh, I remember that season. With the two #1 picks after that season the Steelers managed to draft two busts, Tim Worley and Tom Rickets.

 

The way they are losing it's conceivable!

 

Nonsense.

This isn't a 5 -11 team.

Not even close.

 

Bill Parcells said there is no such thing as being "better than your record" and I agree. I don't care about POTENTIAL. You are what your record says you are and the fact is that we've beat 2 teams and we've lost to 3. We've not won a road game and we've played 3 of them. If that's the trend for the year it is absolutely conceivable to see us as 8-8. I'm still not sure that would have us drafting high because the AFC in general is seeming rather weak this year.

 

Of course I dont hope we finish 5-11. Was trying to make the point we look no better now than we did in the 80s.

I predicted a 12-4 season. (Maybe even 13-3 in some drunkin stupper) This team has a long row to hoe to make that come true.