To Those Who Believe A Loss Is Certain Against Miami, I Have Something To Share.

As much as I feel like the Steelers can win this there is no way in hell they cover a 10 point spread. Well at least imho

 

Seriously. When was the last time this team won by 10+ points? We have to go back to Thanksgiving against the Luckless Colts.

 

This Defense better play solid after that showing against the clowns. I believe they have enough fire power to win the game. Ajayi will get yards but he has a bum shoulder. I hope they just shell them so we can have a relaxing game without the defibrillator...

 

I agree... on paper this team should crush the Dolphins. Problem is... the offense has been very inconsistent this year either due to Roethlisberger having "off" games and/or the O-line getting manhandled by the opposing team's D-line. I will not be surprised if Miami wins. Dolphins will score early and often and the Steelers will do their usual attempt at comeback, but this time the offense will have too many 3 and outs to overcome the point deficit.

The offense was supposed to carry the team this year. It's amazing the Steelers ended up with 11 wins, IMHO.

 

The Dolphins pass defense looks shaky, Brady torched them last week. I think their two starting safeties are on IR, the Steelers need to jump on them early with the passing game. If the Steelers can get a early lead then Ajayi will be a nonfactor.

 

Maybe we will see it all click now ...I think that Ben has been banged up and maybe the week off was just what he needed ....Eli is healthy now so is Greene and DHB was flying on the field again...Plus Bell and Williams are ready not to mention a healthy OL ....If this O does what it is supposed to no Team in the NFL can stop it ...

 

I can. They will key on the run game and force Moore to beat them. And he won't.

 

I agree... but that's a big "IF"

Miami's defense has been good all year, except against the Patriots and Ravens.

 

If we can stop their running game we'll easily win. Just remember it will be the first good RB we've stopped all season. There's 2 ways to stop the run. Actually stop it. OR score early and often, dominate TOP. I have more faith in our offense then I do our front 7 stopping Ajayi.

I believe we are 10 point favorites. If we lose this game it will be one of the worst losses in Tomlin's career. I'd say #2. Losing to Tebow would be #1. We have no business losing this game. The big wins from Tomlin are so few and far between over the last 6 years I guess I've lost faith in him. Our run defense has been an issue for most of the season. Good running backs have tore us up. The last 2 games have shown we still have serious problems there.

My hope is the offense rides Bell and Ben doesn't turn the ball over. Put them into a position were running the ball is not an option. We do that and I think we can beat anyone. I've just come from the mind set that you play how you practice. You rarely see a team dramatically change for the better in the playoffs. Usually you see their weaknesses get exposed.

 

History would tell us not to underestimate Miami because we know the Steelers play down to their opponent. That being said, I am pretty confident that they should win this game easily. It's at home and Miami will be using Moore. Our D is better then when we last played them and that should help put pressure on Moore and also stop Ajayi. If the coaching staff can come up with a game plan on offense to expose the "wide 9" defense as someone here suggested earlier this week I don't see Miami winning at all.

The window for a Superbowl is shrinking and we finally have the 3 B's healthy in the playoffs. This is it. This is the time to make a run and it would be hugely disappointing if they don't make a deep push into the playoffs.

 

^^^ this x 100.

The Steelers have too many fundamental flaws, IMO, to make a deep playoff run or even be competitive with the Patriots and Chiefs. These flaws will be exposed... too many injuries to D-linemen, O-line inconsitency, weak secondary and pass rush. Whether or not the Steelers can execute enough to overcome their flaws remains to be seen. Can the Steelers overcome these flaws? Yes. Is it likely? No... in my humble opinion. It's gonna take draft picks and some good free agent pickups to fix the flaws.

 

Well heck, then the steelers shouldn't even bother showing up Sunday. Makes me wonder why some of you guys waste your time following the steelers because you seem to find no joy in it. Some people just aren't happy unless they are unhappy. Weird.

 

I agree with some of what you are saying. Not so much on the O-line. Besides the Browns and Eagles game I think our O-line has been consistently good for most of the season. They had a rough patch during that 4 game losing streak but that was a little bit of a surprise. I think our O-line is great at pass protection and solid at run blocking. I think our TE's are terrible at blocking which is why the FB seems to have helped.

I think the defense has issues because they are young...and I think we are 1 or 2 players away from being a very good defense. I think the draft and maturity can address this. If we can land a good NT in FA - then great. use the draft to replace Jarvis Jones and Mitchell. The inconsistency is a theme for the entire team...that comes from coaching and youth. Talent wise I think we are there with the exception of LB and NT. We desperately need another play maker on defense.

A great offense can hide many of these issues. We thought we'd have a great offense because of Ben and the WR's. Turns out our offense could be great because of our ability to run the ball. It's the inability to stop the run and inconsistency all over that IMO will keep us from winning it all. There's a chance we can come together as a team and play our best ball now. But like you said that's asking a lot. If they could manage to do it, I think this team has a 3-4 year run left in it were they could compete for a title but they better hurry up...time is not on our side with Ben's age.

I really do hope I'm eating crow about this team. I'm a realist and the evidence is there. Teams like ours don't win SB's too often. The Giants a while back come to mind. They had similar issues but became hyperfocused in the playoffs. I think their coaching staff had an ability to get the team focused on big games. I have not seen that from Tomlin's teams.

 

Another thing about our O-line. We've given up 21 sacks this season. Their worst games as a unit was by far the Browns and Eagles games. 4 sacks in both. 18 sacks in 14 games. That's pretty damn good. I'm wondering how many of those sacks weren't even the O-lines fault? I cannot recall a better pass blocking unit for the steelers. If we could add a TE that was good at blocking Maybe teach our WR's to do a better job run blocking. We'd have the best offensive front the steelers maybe have ever seen. Munchak deserves a lot of credit.

 

That guy's nothing but a windbag. Guess he figures if makes enough predictions that sooner or later he'll get one right.

 

Who is unhappy? Why is being realistic about a team's situation make realists like me miserable? I'm a die-hard fan of the Steelers and have been for 36 years, and I enjoy every season even if it's a 6-10 season... and we've had a couple of those in recent history. I have a negative opinion about the Steelers playoff chances this year, based on what I've seen unfold this season. Even if by some miracle, the Steelers make it to the Super Bowl... they better hope it's against either the Cowboys or Giants. Because they DO NOT match up well against the Packers, Falcons and Seahawks. Those offenses will destroy our young, inexperienced defense.

I think a NFC team will win LI this year.

 

OK I was late ha!

 

Agree with some of what you are saying, but the pre-snap penalties on O-lineman have killed many promising drives this season. It doesn't matter how good the O-line is run blocking and pass protecting when they are putting the offense in 3rd and longs, due to false start penalties.

 

You seem very negative for a happy person, but to each his own I guess.

I believe this team has the talent and ability to win out and bring home #7. To do it, they obviously need to play to their potential and coaching staff needs to adjust during games. We have arguably the best QB under pressure, #1 RB, #1 WR in the NFL, top 5 OL, strong LBers against run with good pass rush, young but promising secondary, DL is beat up but will come to play. Boz has made clutch kicks to win games. Man, we are in great shape. The coaches and players know what they need to improve and I'm quite sure they are working to address gaps. This team has just won 7 in a row to win the division and is the hottest team in the league that nobody wants to face.

So be the Debbie Downer if you must, or as you call it, a realist.... Whatever. Have faith man, steelers are going to bring home#7.

And BTW, the last time they went 6-10 was 2003 - 14 years ago which is not what most would refer to as recent history. The 6-10 that year allowed us to pick big Ben at #11 overall which leads us to where we are today. Well poised to win a 7th Lombardi. Cheer up.

 

OK, fine then. The Dolphins D sucks... but they did a damn good job against the Steelers earlier this year. Steelers O couldn't get anything going and Ben, Bell and Brown were all starting.

 

"Miami"s defense has been good all year"
Miami's defense has been absolutely terrible all year, they rank 29th in nfl. Maybe do some actual fact checking before throwing crap against the wall.

 

Well... that terrible Dolphins defense did a great job against the Steelers. Final score says it all- Steelers 15, Dolphins 30. 7 of those Steelers points came in garbage time with 1:02 left in the 4th quarter. Fact. Check.

 

Because history tends to repeat itself with Tomlin's team. If the Dolphins D is so terrible, then how did they win 10 games? Tannehill is not that great... sorry. Ajayi is their best player, but he's not the sole reason they are 10-6.