Expectations for next season

At least a winning season, but coming up short again.
Don't have a lot or much depth at all.

 

Honestly, I didn't get excited for last season and this upcoming season for several reasons and this started last year after the Steelers lost to the Patriots in the AFC Championship:

1. New England Patriots, Tom Brady and Bill Belichick... and the futility of the Steelers even competing with them.
2. Steelers coaching staff, not counting Mike Munchak and the Special Teams coach who do their jobs well
3. The me-first, team-second attitudes of players like Le'Veon Bell and Antonio Brown and their obsessions with social media.
4. Too many players with adequate talent who do not execute on the field.

Maybe one day I'll get excited again... but for now, you're right. I'm not excited about this upcoming season.

 

Tired of playing backup qb's and us padding stats only to see we suck come crunch time.

Happened in 16 and 17 shazier or no shazier.

Shaz did make us a decent defense, without him we are absolutely putrid.

I will say it again, Great defenses take over when they need to. Our defense just gets their poop shoved in, but looks stout vs non qb's like houstons backup lol.

1. stop the run
2. pressure the qb
3. adjust if it's not working

1. we couldn't stop the run.
2. our sacks were misleading. lots of pressure vs certain teams, disappeared vs others. We cant outphysical other teams and that is the problem.
3. we sit there expecting our players to execute if its not working.

 

Can't say I've ever heard the expression "poop shoved in" lol.

 

Never? Didn't we have two former 1st rd picks as back up QB's? Batch and Leftwhich and at the same time.

 

They're pretty much bandwagon fans.

 

As for my expectations. We really haven't lost anyone significant other than Shazier and we still won without him.
With a good Draft and a FA or two signing I see no reason why we can't win 11-13 games this season.

 

oh yeah most definitely but the train stops there haha

 

We beat teams with backup QBs. 2017 schedule ended up being weaker than it was originally... not having to play Packers with Rodgers, Texans with Watson and Colts with Luck. 13 wins was a mirage... a distortion. This team was no better than a 10 win team at best, IMO. 13 wins is a pipe dream for 2018. 11 would be an extreme over achievement.

 

I don't think being a fan since '79 and living through the mid to late 80's and late 90's down years is considered bandwagon. I've been through hell and back again with the Steelers. I'm still a fan... but a realistic fan.

 

Some people just have to criticize everything. It's the only way they can feel better about themselves.

The Steelers have won more Super Bowls than any other NFL team. If you can put them down, then, in your own mind, you are better than something worth a billion dollars and better than 31 other billion dollar organizations.

There must be some serious self esteem issues working underneath to drive all of that. Someone did not live up to daddies expectations and did not get the life they wanted and think they deserve.

 

Gotta love armchair psychologists.

 

Lol exactly. I guess browns fans should be saying we are going to the sb according to his logic..

 

Steelers are now pretty much in the predicament they were in '02. Good team, potential playoff caliber if 9-7 will get them there... but several missing pieces to prevent any kind of extended playoff run. It took 2 drafts... '03 (Polamalu) and '04 (Roethlisberger)... to put them over the top. Same situation here.

 

It's hard to disagree with you here.

 

I've already posted (several times) my reasons for a bleak outlook. They are justified. Everyone is free to wear rose-colored glasses. I choose not to.

I never said the Steelers were out of it. I think they are a 9-7 team... 10-6 at best. Whether that is good enough to make the playoffs will be determined.

 

I've mentioned it before, but I have a good friend that's a Steelers fan. He comes over for just about every Steelers game for the last 20 years.
I don't know what was going on in his life, but a couple two or three years ago he started acting real negative about the Steelers when you come over to watch the games. After a few weeks I had all I can take. I told him that I didn't want to listen to all that negativity while I'm trying to enjoy the game and if he couldn't knock it off don't come back.

What fun could possibly be to be a fan of a team if you feel they are always doomed?

 

That's a valid point of being a fan of a team but that depends on the individual. I maybe look at things from a different prospective. I love football so I watch all the teams and it's alot of non Steelers players I enjoy to watch so all my excitement from watching football doesn't come from just watching my team. I even saw people here saying they didn' watch the sb like what? Are you football fans or just fans of the team.

 

I didn't watch the Super Bowl because I'm sick of seeing the Patriots playing in it year after year. That sh!t gets old and tired. Actually the Eagles/Patriots Super Bowl is the first I've missed since the Chargers/49ers Super Bowl back in '95.

I'll gladly watch the Super Bowl next year as long as the Patriots are not in it.

 

I definitely watched the Super Bowl. I have the Sunday ticket and I watch a lot of other games also. There was even one joker who started a thread asking people to boycott the Super Bowl because the patriots win too much and the NFL is rigged. LOL

I get being critical of your favorite team ,believe it or not I I am sometimes too.
Some of these guys are just a way overboard. I mean I don't need a guy telling me 100 different reasons why the Steelers suck and they're not gonna go anywhere.
How about doing what you're supposed to do as a fan and support your team?

 

I can't imagine this team not winning the division. I don't see Cincy being any better. Or Balt either. The Browns might improve greatly and still be 6-10.

So they're a division champion, the rest becomes positioning. Who did you play? Who did you beat? Do you have critical H-to-H losses? Where do the tiebreakers break? I'll guess they're 10-6 at worst, 13-3 at best. #1 seed is possible, so is #4.

The D is gonna have to get better for this team to make SB run, that will have to mean improvement from Burns, Davis, Dupree. They,ll need competent performance from ILB.
But the Off will have to carry the D. If there are a rash of injuries on Off - losing Brown or Ben or half the OL for signifigant time - it could be a frustrating season.