ESPN Analyst Mark Schlereth Has Steelers Back In The Playoffs In 2013

[stillers4me]

Just this past week, Pat Kirwan of CBS Sports surprisingly predicted that the Pittsburgh Steelers would face the Denver Broncos in the AFC Championship game in 2013. On Saturday, Mark Schlereth of ESPN was asked to predict the six teams in the AFC that he thinks will make the playoffs and his choices included a few surprises.

Of the six teams that made the playoffs in 2012, Schlereth has the Broncos, New England Patriots, Houston Texans and Cincinnati Bengals all making it again in 2013. Because of their losses via free agency on the defensive side of the ball, Schlereth thinks the Ravens will not return to the playoffs in 2013, as the target on them will be too tough to overcome. He also thinks the Indianapolis Colts overachieved last season and has them watching the postseason on television alongside the Ravens.

When asked which two teams that didn't make the playoffs last year, will this year, the former Broncos lineman chose the Steelers and the Miami Dolphins..........

read more @ http://www.steelersdepot.com/2013/06/espn-mark-schlereth-2013-afc-playoff-predictions/

[GBMelBlount]

A lot of question marks but if Ben is healthy and the O line hits it's stride there is no reason we cannot do some serious damage this year.

I am excited.

[stillers4me]

Broncos/Steelers AFCCG?

As long as it's in Pittsburgh..............with Ryan Clark on the field!

We win and everybody will say that Tebow is better than Manning..........well, maybe not. :chuckle:

[Texasteel]

The OTs should look better this year with Adams showing constant improvement last year, and if Gilbert can get back to the year he showed his first year. The OGs should show improvement simply by having better players at the position. If Bell can hit his stride, and push the other RBs to play better our running game should look much better. Ben will be Ben, he still has weapons even after loosing Mike, and if the other teams defense has to start thinking about a running game, Ben could have a very good year. If the defense plays as well as it is capable, particularly if the rookies look as good as we are hearing, they should be able to keep us in most games. There are a lot of should, and ifs here, but baring a rash of injuries this is going to be a very interesting year for us. I think we make the playoffs, and once in the playoffs anything can happen, particularly if the rookies can progress through the year.

[steelreserve]

I don't think a playoff run is out of the question. We lost a ton of guys in the offseason, but the guys we get back from injury should roughly make up for that. Really it all depends on whether Ben and Troy stay healthy and on their game, and everything else will maybe swing it a game or two in either direction.

[Chidi29]

Well thank God!

I was getting pretty worried about the season until Schlereth put my mind at ease. :chuckle:

[salamander]

Now we just need to avoid the injuries.

[GBMelBlount]

The OTs should look better this year with Adams showing constant improvement last year, and if Gilbert can get back to the year he showed his first year. The OGs should show improvement simply by having better players at the position. If Bell can hit his stride, and push the other RBs to play better our running game should look much better. Ben will be Ben, he still has weapons even after loosing Mike, and if the other teams defense has to start thinking about a running game, Ben could have a very good year. If the defense plays as well as it is capable, particularly if the rookies look as good as we are hearing, they should be able to keep us in most games. There are a lot of should, and ifs here, but baring a rash of injuries this is going to be a very interesting year for us. I think we make the playoffs, and once in the playoffs anything can happen, particularly if the rookies can progress through the year.

I agree Tex.

I realize we lost some guys on D but does anyone expect our defensive play to drop off much this year?

I don't.

On the flip side I do think we have the potential for the offense to really step up it's production.

The pieces are there.

[tube517]

I always thought Stink was a decent analyst. He does study the Steelers with more objectivity than other former players turned analysts (*cough*Sappfatass *cough*)

[blackngldblood]

For the first time in a very long time I am actually anticipating the pre-season this year! Not just because it signifies that football is right around the corner, but because I am truly excited about this batch of rookies we got in the draft. I wanna see what Landry Jones looks like in a game situation. Remembering this kid broke a ton of records at Oklahoma has me a bit hopeful for the future. I can't wait to see Wheaton and Bell on this offense. I can't wait to see Jarvis. I especially can't wait to see how Shamarko looks on the field. I feel like he could be that guy of our draft that really makes an impact. Maybe this is history repeating itself when Pittsburgh had the draft that produced four Hall of Famers in 1974. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

[Moose]

It's nice to finally hear someone talking up the Steeler's and playoffs, but sorry, I don't put any faith in the 'talking sport heads' when it comes to playoffs before the season even starts. Any one of us can do the same thing. It all comes down to that damn injury count and that's what seems to hurt us. Ben stays healthy is a big plus, Troy and Heath stay healthy and there's another big plus. Go Steeler's