Not Our Year?!?

Hey, I am NOT going to write off this season and I am going to cheer my guts out on Sunday. No doubt, we should win, even with the recent events transpiring against us. This is not a post to bad-mouth the Steelers. It has been a good year overall at 12- 4. However, as I look back, there are some things that just seem to be pointing to it not being our year...

Just when we start to get healthy and Ben is playing some of his best football of his career (in my opinion), he severely sprains his ankle and may playing at best 60% now and throughout the playoffs. DBs start going down left and right, and we are left with McFadden playing significant minutes. Our coverage teams this year have been some of the best I remember us having. Then, two of our special team aces are suddenly gone for the year. And, can we stop the run anymore? (Just between us "Denver likes to run.")

With all of that, I think about our players who are playing, but playing hurt. (Woodley is playing this week, but will he be playing at elite level? Before he got hurt I thought he was a serious candidate for Defensive Player of the Year.)

Polomalu was just amazing last week and a difference maker. However, with our secondary so decimated lately and having to make up for McFadden's shortcomings (Why is he always 25+ yards off his receiver and can C. Lake make more wine out of water in just a week?), is he going to have to drop back more into coverage. This will hurt him brutalizing TeDuh and his run-first theology. If our DBs were all healthy, I could see Troy jumping the snap count and completely single-handedly stopping the running game.

Then, (not to dweel in the past) last Sunday when everything seems to ending happily ever after for us, everything changes almost instantaneously and rolls the Patsies and Raisins way.... The Patriots were trailing 21- 0 (with home field at stake) come back to crush the Bills and our hopes for the #1 seed. The Bungles are ready to take the lead over the Raisins mid to late in the fourth quarter only to have a terrible fumble. That victory as we are all aware of, would have given us at least a week to rest our healthy players. We would not have to go to Denver where (Clark will not be permitted to play). Ryan Clark has been our tackle-leader this year and has been really playing some of his best football lately. Although it is too late now, I like our chances much more in the bye-week scenario, even though once again, I expect a win this week. Even with a win, we are going to be beaten up more. Overall, we are an "older" team and I see us break down more often. (Too many ham strings and other injuries.)

It just seems like every time we turn the corner, we get turned back in some way. I am not complaining because I love Tomlin's "no excuses/ next man up" style. Plus, as I have read here on other posts, "There are 20 other NFL team who wish they could be in our position right now." As I have posted living in the Baltimore area, J. Hairball is a whiner. He never takes credit when his team is beat. It is always the "referees" or even worse is his "Today, the best team did not win!" attitude. (I have heard that a lot.) That is all for another day and another topic...

I do not want to see Ray "The Butcher of Baltimore" ever win another Super Bowl. (Also, I despise watching him hooting and hollering around on all of the NFL pregame shows.) I look at it like this though. There are TWO tough AFC teams left in the playoffs. (for us to play.) Baltimore and NE. I expect us to win this week and then most likely we will be going to Baltimore. (This scenario gives NE an advantage of only having to beat Baltimore at home, although I do not see that happening.) If we win and the Bungles lose, we go to NE. This scenario gives Baltimore an advantage as they would only have to go to NE and win, which they have done before in the playoffs.

In our last three Super Bowl years, things have always gone our way up until the the Super Bowl last year. (For example, Ben's tackle on at Indy, Baltimore knocking off the Patsies, plus us always owning Baltimore throughout those years and in the playoffs.) I just look at this season and think that it has been a good year, but we may just not have enough this year. Hopefully, I am wrong and we use these "obstacles" as motivation and get #7. What are your thoughts?

 

I totally agree.Anything can happen?I really feel the same way you do mstng1863 !! Well said.

 

Thanks, I was hoping not to get ripped or sound like I was downplaying our year. I just would like to see our best play everyone else' best. I know that is not the way it works in the NFL, but it should!

 

Man that was a long post

 

Yeah, sorry if I ranted...

 

it wasn't too long of a post.according to your avatar you still haven't made it too far down the road in your jeep :-D

 

I agree with what you are saying, there are a lot of things that are not going our way, but we thrive on that. I think we have a pretty good shot. We should beat Denver, even without Ryan Clark playing. Then I really think we are headed for Baltimore (Cincy has a good chance of beating Houston.) We won't lose 3 times in a row to the Ratbirds in the same year - it just can't happen. Then we would be headed for NE - which are beatable - their defense is not good. That is my totally unbiased, purely objective opinion.

 

agree already finish at 12 _4 without win the division is not promising , then we usually skip brady and the travel in baltimore,this time is different,
about the secondary : allen will be back ,.the only db out is curtis brown and madison has some playoff experience

 

Well said! I feel almost the same way you do that it just doesnt seem like its our year. However, our boys seem to pull together in times of trials, so I just have to believe as I do every year that we are gonna win it all!!!

 

I would have rather taken the long way through the playoffs with a healthy Ben. I think Ben should NOT have played against Cleveland in wk. 17. I just feel like we have done alot to hurt our own self. Ben would have had a bye by just not playing in week 17. So yes I agree that it just doesn't seem to be our year. I don't think mendy getting hurt will have that much of an effect because BA wouldn't be using him anyway. I honestly think the x-factor is gonna be Isaac Redman. I would LOVE to see him carry us. No matter what I am rooting for us til the bitter end!

 

I'm a little bummed about all the injuries also. But this franchise over the years has proven they can overcome adversity and rise above when many have doubted. Playoff football is what we do!!!...i'm psyched, can't wait til Sunday.

 

I agreed with you on gameday that Ben shouldn't have been playing, but did his playing aggrivate his injury? I'm not sure that it did. Thus, his playing may have kept him sharp for the playoffs. Because of the other games, we weren't getting a bye anyway, so in the end, wasn't it better to have given Ben the chance to play - and feel what it would be like playing on that ankle - allowing him to make adjustments this week - than to have him sit and have his first try at this be after 3 weeks off?

 

I agree with you and just posted this in another thread:

Despite the winning record it just seemed like all year long it's been 2 steps foward and 3 back for this team primarily due to injuries at too many positions all year long. When called upon the back-ups have done an admirable job but it's still not the same as having your starters playing together on a regular basis. Without that you lose continuity which creates communication problems on the field which then leads to more errors, physically and mentally. I still think we have a legit shot but if we get knocked out I won't be surprised at all. For example if we end up heading up to New England I don't see that game being anywhere close to the game we beat them earlier this year. In the 1st game Ben wasn't limping around and the Pats were still trying to find their stride offensively. I think the Pats are now better on offense and Billicheat will have his D better prepared to defend the pass to our TE and the short passing game in general. Add all that to the Pats having home field and us trying to beat them twice in the same year and that's a helluva mountain to climb. Just saying.

 

Don't Quit
Author Unknown

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill
When the funds are low, and the debts are high
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh
When care is pressing you down a bit
Rest, if you must, but still don't quit

Life is queer, with its twists and turns
As every one of us sometimes learns
And many a failure turned about
When he might have one had he stuck it out
Don't give up though the pace seems slow
You might succeed with another blow

Often the goal is nearer than
It seems to a faint, and faltering man
Often the struggler has given up
When he might have captured the victor's cup
And he learned too late, when the night came down
How close he was to the golden crown

Success is failure turned inside out
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt
And you never can tell how close you are
It may be near when it seems so far
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit
It's when things seem worst that you must not quit
-------

This is kind of fight that's coming out of Pittsburgh in the wild card. This is why you can NEVER count the Steelers out. They live this. Live it with them.
HERE WE GO STEELERS!! HERE WE GO!!!!