Could 1982 have been One For The Thumb?

Setting aside the disappointing playoff losses of 1994, 1997, 2001, and 2004, was the 1982 team the one that had the best chance to win the 5th Lombardi before it finally happened in 2005? Often dismissed because it was a strike-shortened season, 1982 may have been the one that got away.

The Steelers had the explosive Chargers bottled up for 3.5 quarters with an 11-pt lead before Bradshaw threw an ill-timed INT that led to the Chargers' comeback.

If Terry throws the ball away and they punt, maybe they face the Killer Bees Dolphins, who were good, not great, and eventually the Riggins-led Redskins. Could the rolling Steelers with all of those SB vets have beaten those two teams?

We'll never know.

https://www.nytimes.com/1983/01/10/sports/late-charger-pass-tops-steelers-31-28.html

 

J. Gibbs might have been better than Noll, so no. Didn't Gibbs have the scrubs undefeated?

 

Of course theyd win the SB. The Steelers never lose any game they didn’t play.

 

8-1, and yes, he was a great coach. Won Super Bowls with multiple average QBs.

 

This one was just slightly before my time. I was 8. I never watched that playoff game, but after reading up on it I kind of want to. Sounds like a helluva game despite the outcome.

 

I was older, but it wasn't televised where I lived and have only seen the highlights. I rarely watch losses again, but you're right, it's probably worth it.

http://www.mcmillenandwife.com/steelers_1982_season.html

 

Gibbs and Noll are two vastly under rated coaches.

Gibbs won 3 Super Bowls with 3 different starting QB's

Thieseman, Doug Williams , and Mark Rypien

None of which are really fantastically great, maybe Theiseman, but I argue that he wasn't fanstastic

 

No

 

Without Franco and Rocky injured, the 1976 Steelers would have most likely won their 3rd SB and therefore one for the Thumb should have been in 1979.

The 1976 Steelers Defense gave up 28 points in the last 9 games of the season which included 5 shutouts during that span. Once Harris and Bleier became injured, the Defense was withered by the TOP and Oakland running the ball 51 times vs. the Steelers 21 attempts.

 

On a more general point, I often say that we tend to refer to the 80s almost always as the dark, barren days. And to an extent they were. But the Steelers were still competitive in those years. Some bad drafts, a bit of a slowness to keep up to speed with the developments of the game on Noll's part, but also some really good players and memorable efforts.

Maybe I just look back more fondly on the 80s because that's when I started watching the Steelers. But I think we were cursed by sharing a division with very good Browns and Oilers teams, and the Bengals also popping up for their two SB appearances.

For me, 1984 was the 5th ring that got away rather than '82 (I think @HeinzMustard has pointed out that the Redskins always win in shortened seasons).

 

The Steelers had several opportunities to compete for multiple Superbowls in every Steelers coaches eras.

Some fans continue to take the Tomlin era for granted. So what can you do???

 

1976, not 1982. As mentioned.

Riggins was a truck that couldn't be contained. I remember watching and was in amazement. A 166 yard pounding.

 

I know the Steelers were the only team to beat the '84 Niners, but I don't think we would have fared well in a rematch, which was never happening because Marino torched our secondary.

 

No because the shirt I wore for years said, "one for the thumb in 81". I had to keep crossing out the year until the shirt wore out. Really wished I would have saved it until 2006. That would have got a lot of laughs where I live.

 

Ir definitely would have been a different game, of course can only speculate about the outcome. Stabler and the Raiders O were 4th best in the league, of course our D was historic. With both Franco and Rocky healthy I do think we win, with one out (especially Franco) I think it goes either way. The Raider D that year was competent, not great...but with no running game to worry about it made their job on Swann and Stallworth that much easier.

 

It's fun to speculate about what-if..... but IMO, things turned out the way they were supposed to. The only incident I can think of that would have changed the Steelers fortunes after their first 4 SBs.... was the drafting of Dan Marino. Other than that, the 80's Steelers had their moments, but were obviously inferior to several teams in the AFC during that time. Drafting Marino would've added at least 2 more Lombardis to the trophy case.

 

Not necessarily. The Phins were in a similar Super Bowl drought with a legendary, HOF coach, and they won squat with Dan.

 

Dan with a running game with Steelers > Dan without a running game with Dolphins

Abercrombie, Pollard, Jackson, Hoge, Foster, Pegram, Morris, Bettis = at least 2 Lombardis

Not to mention having Dirt Dawson at Center.

 

The Dolphins always had a run game until they got Marino and started passing more. Who's to say the Steelers would not have done the same?

There's also the Butterfly Effect. If they won more games with Marino, their draft position would have dropped. No way they get Woodson, for example, with the 10th pick. Maybe they never trade for Bettis. Maybe they draft a bunch of WRs instead of RBs.

You can't just surgically extract the QB and insert Marino on those teams and recalculate win totals.

 

Dan didn't want a running Game. Ask a lot of people about that....including J. J.

 

That said, of course I wish we had drafted him. It's fun to speculate. What if the Steelers had drafted Shawn Andrews and not Ben. Are we still stuck on 4 Super Bowls? Do we draft Aaron Rodgers in 2005?

 

Neither did Elway until some dude named Terrell Davis was drafted by the Broncos.

 

In his first 10 seasons, Elway threw 500+ passes only 3 times. Two of those were barely over 500 at 504 and 502.

In his first 10 seasons, Marino threw 500+ passes 8 times.

 

I remember Elway throwing a lot of passes in the playoffs and Super Bowls in the mid to late 80's. All of the Broncos SBs were defeats during that time... 2 were blowouts.

 

Ben throws a lot of passes in playoff losses, too. All QBs generally do because they're trailing.