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The Model Franchise: Why Pittsburgh Is Still The Standard.

Discussion in 'Steelers Talk' started by AskQuestionsLater, Oct 27, 2017.

  1. AskQuestionsLater

    AskQuestionsLater Writing Team

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    Given all the dicussion regarding the current power bid to claim the Number 1 seed in the AFC along with taking down New England to finally get past the hump, I, AskQuestionsLater, would like to remind some of the faithful of the "Black n' Gold" that, while the current times do seem to represent a new direction of which what constitues success, the original paradigm remains the same. Before I begin this piece with my own thoughts and feelings, as always, a disclaimer;


    These thoughts are shared only by AskQuestionsLater and do not reflect the opinions or thoughts of staff members of TheSteelersFans.


    Now, onto the piece!


    Within the last two and a half decades, we have witnessed what some throughout the board world of Professional Sports consider a "changing of the guard". For as long as the NFL-AFL Merger has been since 1970, Pittsburgh had long been considered the "Gold Standard" for which all NFL franchices should be measured. However, since the turn of the century, a new presumed challenger would take shape in the form of an adversary with the assistance of a coach who once roamed within the former "AFC Central".



    That is right, since 2000, the New England Patriots have been the NFL's most successful team; seven Super Bowl appearances and five of them being victories towards their favor in addition to the NFL's best winning percentage within that same span to boot. Such dominance over such a period of time is truly noteworthy and did raise the question by many shortly after their recent victory against Atlatna;



    Should New England be considered the "Gold Standard" and replace Pittsburgh as the current one?


    To ultimatley reach the conclusion of this answer, we will need to dissect a major point of dichotomy and emphasis between the two franchises.


    To recap, yes, since the turn of the century, no team in American Gridiron Football has had more victories than failures quite like New England. Add the fact that both Belichick and Brady appear to be handing around for a little while longer and it could be easily stated that more common perceptions may indeed be swayed.



    However, we need to understand something here. To quote former Dallas Cowboys Head Coach Jimmy Johnson;


    "The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little extra."



    While indeed what both Brady and Belichick are doing is quite incredible no doubt, we need to first breakdown the common tangibles within the comparisions themselves to comprehend and realize which team is still the "Gold Standard" of the league.



    To start out, let us begin with Bill Belichick himself and the NFL-AFL Merger. Before him, 10 other coaches have had their shot at commanding the fort within Foxborogh. Of those ten, only Bill Parcells had a degree of what constitues success. Accounting for "The Hood", this makes eleven total Head Coaching changes since the merger.


    To compare this to Pittsburgh, only three. You know them as follows;


    1.) Chuck Noll


    2.) Bill Cowher


    3.) Mike Tomlin



    Most detractors will often bring up the notion that the Rooney Family is notorious for keeping their coaches for long periods of time due to their supposed "foundness" or "inability to put their coaches on the hot seat because etc." While I cannot confirm this to be the case for the late Art Rooney, I can say that, for the late Dan Rooney, neither applied. For both Cowher and Tomlin, their tenures have nothing to do with Dan's "foundess" and massively more to do with their abilities as coaches overall.


    For New England, while Bill Belichick is still the guy, it took ten attempts beforehand, numerous ownership changes the same, to construct the current New England Patriots we see today. For Pittsburgh, from 1970 onward, three is all that was and is still needed. Again though, to New Englands credit, some of those coaches that pre date Belichick were not slouches.


    - Bill Parcells is in Canton.


    - Pete Carroll turned things around in Seattle (at least at the beginning of the decade anyway).


    - Together with Ray Perkins, Ron Erhardt brought forth an offensive system still being practiced to this day in the "Erhardt-Perkins" offense.



    While some of these coaches who came before Belchick no doubt have or had left their mark in American Gridiron Football history, such a systemic line of changes showcases quite the philosophical clases between two ideologies;



    Stability vs. Variability



    Even to today, while both Pittsburgh and New England have undergone multiple forms of successes and failures, how each has gotten to this point is more than likely an ideology each NFL owner has to answer;


    Do I continue to believe in those I have or should I try something new?



    From the coaches to the players, it is no surprise that New England and Pittsburgh, since 2000, has been more than just a mere form of tribal warfare in the entertainment package. Why we, as fans or as analysts, get so passionate over such a debate is due to the differences between the two franchises and more importantly their two current coaches.


    Bill Belichick is abnormal within the forms of normality in the NFL sense. He adhears to the principles of American Gridiron Football itself without adhearing to its conventions.



    Mike Tomlin, on the other hand, is a coach who will use the best methods consistenly until something radical shakes the foundations of the game.



    Again, neither is considered a bad option. Within the same vein though, one option has to be considered better over the other, which leads me to my answer to the question that was posed at the beginning of this writing;



    Should New England be considered the "Gold Standard" and replace Pittsburgh as the current one?


    My answer? No.



    For any team to have success, one needs to have stability to ensure that sustained success can happen. To further drive this point home, Pittsburgh is still the "Lord of the Rings" with six in their possession; New England, Dallas and San Francisco behind them with five. Furthermore, should a victory be had on Sunday, Pittsburgh will reach yet another milestone within its history since the NFL-AFL. Should victory be achieved Sunday night, Pittsburgh will be the first team to cross 450 total regular season wins since 1970. Denver and Dallas being the next two at an even 429 collectively.



    This now leads me to my final set of statements regarding New England's form of a dynasty and Pittsburgh's form of a dynasty;



    New England's Dynasty is tied to one obtaining five. Pittsburgh's is tied to three obtaining six. As such and, for all we know, New England's dynasty seems temporary whereas Pittsburgh's is perpetual.




    *Whew.......



    Well fellow members, it truly has been quite some time since I had a write up like this one. I hoped you like reading this and hoped you enjoyed!! If you have any questions or comments, feel free to ask as feedback and critiques always help me out! Until next time fellow members, take care! :smiley1:
     
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  2. jeh1856

    jeh1856 Beer is good

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    Mostly, we have the best franchise in football because we have owners that don’t know what they are doing, a GM who doesn’t value DBs, a head coach and offensive coordinator who should be fired.
     
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  3. turtle

    turtle

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    good write up, I'm sure many people would have different definitions of being the "gold standard". But the one you chose, stability and success over time, would be major contributors.
     
  4. bigbenhotness

    bigbenhotness Well-Known Member

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    Always good stuff from AQL
     
  5. TheTerribleOwl

    TheTerribleOwl Well-Known Member

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    You forgot that the owners are cheap.
     
  6. Watt Wack

    Watt Wack Well-Known Member

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    I appreciate the detailed thoughts of AQL, per usual. But I think one of the determining factors is over how long a course of time comes into consideration. Fist of all, I personally only consider history that is "modern" football era, which I consider to be from the 70's on up. If people want to debate pro football that was prior to the Super Bowl era, then go at it and enjoy that, but to me, discussing pre-SB era is a waste of time. I just don't care about it. If it happened in my pre-lfe, or even pre-memory, I just don't care all that much.

    Now, if we are considering the entire SB era history, I feel the Steelers would be the gold standard over Pats, without question. However, if you want to judge it based on the most recent era, say 2000 on up, Pats win it. You just can't argue over EIGHT Super Bowl appearances and SIX SB wins in that span. We did very superb in that period as well, but not on the level of the Pats; it's not even a debate.
     
  7. turtle

    turtle

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    Pats have six???
     
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  8. jeh1856

    jeh1856 Beer is good

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    we lent them one so they could know what it’s like to be a Steeler
     
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  9. Steelers89

    Steelers89 Well-Known Member

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    Where was the sixth SB win?
     
  10. jeh1856

    jeh1856 Beer is good

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    Read above
     
  11. AskQuestionsLater

    AskQuestionsLater Writing Team

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    Well fellow members... Pittsburgh has done it.


    They are the first team to reach 450 wins. Since the merger, only Dallas and Denver are behind with 430 and 429 respectively.



    P.S.


    I have returned... and it is good to be back!!!
     
  12. troybellringer55

    troybellringer55 Well-Known Member

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    Steelers have been good at seeking out the best talent of the draft.

    This has really been the case since 1969 and since.

    Have they hit home runs all the time and made every right decision? Heavens no.

    But, they are usually more right than wrong.

    Look at all the hall of famers the Steelers have had. Look at how many more there will be, there is a solid 5 or 7 guys still to go in for the Steelers.

    Compare that to any other team you can't. The Steelers do it right.
     

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