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polamalubeast
08-19-2013, 01:33 PM
As I pointed out in the Pittsburgh Steelers' Camp Confidential file, this franchise has a history of bouncing back. In fact, the past two times the Steelers failed to have a winning record, they won the division the following season.

That trend likely will end this season, according to ESPN's Jeffri Chadiha. He contends this Steelers team will be less competitive than the one that finished 8-8 a year ago.

The offense has quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and a ton of questions. The defense is old and missing key performers from a unit that led the league in total yards allowed in 2012. Head coach Mike Tomlin remains among the best in the business, but even he doesn't have the ability to create miracles.

In order for the Steelers to accomplish a turnaround, they have to keep quarterback Ben Roethlisberger healthy and force more turnovers on defense. The Steelers were 6-3 before Roethlisberger's rib injury last season, 2-5 after it. In analyzing the scoring, Pittsburgh averaged 23 points in the nine games before Roethlisberger was hurt and 18.4 points in the final seven games.

On defense, the Steelers have led the NFL in fewest yards allowed the past two seasons but they haven't made enough game-changing plays. When the Steelers last won the division in 2010, they ranked second in the AFC in takeaways with 35 (21 interceptions and 14 fumbles). Over the past two seasons, Pittsburgh has come up with 35 turnovers combined. The Steelers ranked last in the AFC in forced turnovers in 2011 with 15 and finished 11th in 2012 with 20.

But, in Chadiha's estimation, the safe bet right now is the Steelers will finish third in the AFC North.



http://espn.go.com/blog/afcnorth/post/_/id/73527/one-forecast-for-mediocre-steelers-season

stillers4me
08-19-2013, 01:34 PM
:poop:

NJarhead
08-19-2013, 01:34 PM
according to ESPN's Jeffri Chadiha

WHO???

fansince'76
08-19-2013, 01:46 PM
according to ESPN's Jeffri Chadiha

WHO???

Looks like Ravens Homer Extraordinaire Hensley found someone even less credible than himself to quote.

Dwinsgames
08-19-2013, 01:48 PM
WHO???

Warren Sapp feeding a youngster who can not come up with his own material ....

he is right about a few things but what he fails to take into account is the old guys leaving are being replaced by young guys and not factored into the equation .... he is also acting like Sanders hasn't a clue whats going on ( treating him like a rookie unknown ) when he knows the system and has chemistry with Ben already ....

these bozos look at who is gone and make claims without knowing what replaces them whereas people who closely follow the team have the answers for that by virtue of knowing the roster and its capabilities ...

I will go on record right now and proclaim we win no less than 10 games this season and would not be surprised ( provided we stay healthy ) to win 12 or more ... I concede the division to no one and with every question mark the Steelers have IMO the Ravens have two considering the roster turnover they had and the injuries they have sustained thus far .......

as for the Bengals , well they are still learning how to win and if history is any indication of future results ( that is what these guys are trying to claim ) then the Bengals could go 5-11 this year and trail the Browns in the standings ( I would not go that far but they could if they used some of the same logic they applied to the Steelers )

fansince'76
08-19-2013, 01:51 PM
I concede the division to no one and with every question mark the Steelers have IMO the Ravens have two considering the roster turnover they had and the injuries they have sustained thus far .......

Oh no - despite losing NINE starters from a Super Bowl-winning team, the Ravens are gonna walk away with the AFC North again. Just ask Ravenshomer Hensley. :coffee:

NJarhead
08-19-2013, 01:51 PM
Looks like Ravens Homer Extraordinaire Hensley found someone even less credible than himself to quote.

Well, in light of this, I may have to create a new sports resource where I can name my dog schwami and have him make predictions.

Me: "Well Fido, it's time for predictions. What do you think the Ravens will do this year?

Fido: "WOOF!"

Me: "That's right, 3rd place."

Mistah Q
08-19-2013, 01:58 PM
The Steelers weren't really that bad last season. There was only one game they got it handed to them... all other losses were within one possession, and we had some pretty dreadful luck too with injuries, bounces... a different toss of the die and our 8-8 team could have easily been 13-3.

Our O-line should be better than ever this year... if we have no bad luck with O-line injuries this should be the best O-line since Hartings and Faneca were teaming up -- or maybe even the best since Dirt Dawson was in town. This season is probably going to ride on D-line and Safeties. I'm not convinced we go to the playoffs but last year's team wasn't nearly as bad as people think, and our defensive pressure is going to be the thing to watch this season.

polamalubeast
08-19-2013, 02:03 PM
It is true that the Steelers have lost several close games, but they also won several close game also

The steelers must be healthy, they need to make more big play in offense and they need a better running game....I think it's possible, but it will be important to do

Mistah Q
08-19-2013, 02:11 PM
Their offense and run game will be better. No doubt about that barring a major rash of injuries. It's the defense that will make or break this season... and right now I'm feeling cautiously pessimistic.

steel striker
08-19-2013, 02:15 PM
It's amazing how Sapp & many others simply have dismissed the steelers for doing anything this season. When the are getting younger at most of the postion spots other than Troy, Kiesel, Clark and, Ike. If the running game can produce more than it has the last few years and, Ben can stay healthy they have a chance. With a healthy Ben I think the chances are good for a post season run. When Sapp is on the NFL network I simply change the channel beacuse, we all know what a hater of the steelers he is.

polamalubeast
08-19-2013, 02:15 PM
I'm not worried about the defense.....They are still one of the best defense in the NFL

HollywoodSteel
08-19-2013, 04:31 PM
I think I'm more worried than most of you about the loss of Starks and Harrison. I would love to see Adams be a great LT but I haven't seen it yet and I don't like the idea of Ben suffering through M.A.'s growing pains. I also have never seen much from Worilds and I think J.J. might need a year under his belt to get his technique up to the level of his motor. I know J.H. hasn't had the best luck with injuries the past couple of years but just look at the difference on our D last year with him and without him. He seems healthier now than he's been in years and I'm worried that we'll feel the loss. It's so frustrating too since if he had a time machine I'm sure James would go back and take the deal we offered. He is so much more valuable to us in our scheme than he ever will be for the Bengals.

I'm also pretty damn worried about our passing game until we get a healthy Heath back.

Oh well, here's hoping I'm wrong.

HollywoodSteel
08-19-2013, 04:58 PM
Although, I suppose I should feel better that Starks seems to be tanking for the Chargers. But it's always a weird thing with Max; when he self-motivates he's a pretty damn good LT, but when he's complacent he's less than average. We'll never know if he would have played differently this year if he were protecting Ben rather than Rivers.

Edman
08-19-2013, 06:50 PM
The 2012 team was just like 2009. A Competitive team that lost a lot of close games.

They beat the (Eventual) champion Ravens in Baltimore where they haven't lost in two years and was a punt return away from sweeping them entirely.

Shoes
08-19-2013, 06:58 PM
:poop:


Looks like Ravens Homer Extraordinaire Hensley found someone even less credible than himself to quote.

Like peanut butter and jelly...good old espn.

zulater
08-19-2013, 07:23 PM
Mediocre is being overly optimistic for this team judging from the early returns of preseason.:poop:

st33lersguy
08-19-2013, 07:48 PM
If the only thing this O-line plans to do this year is commit penalties, this team will miss the playoffs

Spike
08-20-2013, 04:32 AM
Mediocre is being overly optimistic for this team judging from the early returns of preseason.:poop:


nonsense....the cheerleaders will come running and hike up their skirts and set you straight


"Haley is fine"

"The offense is fine"

"The O-line is fine"


rah-rah-siss-boom-bah!

Mistah Q
08-20-2013, 04:41 AM
The O-line will be fine. Today was sloppy but if nobody gets injured the O-line's season is going to be just fine.

I'm not sure we have an appropriate RB to run behind the line though. We may end up seeing a lot more of Howling than we expected, and struggling because of poor RB personnel.

I'm still most worried about the defense. Not counting on our D being good enough to get us to the playoffs this year... but we should have some nice draft options in the spring.

Spike
08-21-2013, 09:44 AM
another heretic!

Jerome Bettis predicts Steeler finish 3rd in AFC North

Former Pittsburgh Steelers running back Jerome Bettis somewhat surprisingly has the Cincinnati Bengals as his selection to win the AFC North in 2013.

Bettis said Friday on the Dave Dameshek Football Program he thinks the Steelers are the least improved team in the division this year.

“When you look at this group of teams, I think the one team that improved the most was the Cincinnati Bengals,” said Bettis. “I think the one team that probably didn’t really improve was the Pittsburgh Steelers. When you look at it, I think Cleveland’s going to come on strong. I think Baltimore, they lost a little bit, but I also think they picked up a little bit, so I think they should be a good team. I think their defense is going to take a little drop, but their offense is going to take a step forward.”

Bettis went on to point out the questions he has concerning the Steelers this season and leading the way was his concern about the running game.

“The question mark in the division is the Steelers,” Bettis said. “How will they perform? Will they be able to run the football? Will the defense be able to stay intact? So, they’ve got some questions that need to be answered, so right now if I had to just step out of my body and give the prediction right now, I’d say the edge goes to Cincinnati, then Baltimore, then Pittsburgh, then Cleveland.”

Bettis has a fair assessment of the division as several think the Bengals have done enough during the offseason to win the division for the first time since 2009. While the Ravens defense certainly has undergone a lot of change during the offseason, the addition of Elvis Dumervil and Chris Canty could help stabilize things..

The biggest concern for the Steelers this year is probably the lack of overall depth as the team continues to try to get younger.

If the starters, especially on defense, remain healthy and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger can play all 16 games, there is no reason to think that the Steelers can’t compete for the AFC North crown.

http://www.steelersdepot.com/2013/07/jerome-bettis-afc-north-2013-prediction/#axzz2cc5l7oRF

----------------------

Ben has completed all 16 games once in his career - thanks for throwing us a bone there, Bussy

NJarhead
08-21-2013, 10:05 AM
Well, at least the Bleacher Report has us going 11-5:

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1742035-pittsburgh-steelers-2013-schedule-win-loss-predictions-for-every-game

...aaaaaand Mark Schlereth seems to like our chances too:

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

And since predictions are useless anyway, I'll go ahead and predict 11-5 also. If only Peter King would announce what is REALLY going to happen. *sigh*

Mistah Q
08-21-2013, 10:15 AM
I can see us finishing third in the division... but I would imagine the Ravens have better chances than the Bengals to win it.

Dwinsgames
08-21-2013, 12:21 PM
Well, at least the Bleacher Report has us going 11-5:

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1742035-pittsburgh-steelers-2013-schedule-win-loss-predictions-for-every-game



I have known Curt for a number of years ( circa 2000 ish ) he is a member here as well but only a few posts , he was one of us founders on my old board

SteelerFanInStl
08-21-2013, 03:58 PM
What would lead anyone to believe that the Ravens offense was "going to take a step forward"? The loss of Boldin? The loss of Pitta?

Count Steeler
08-21-2013, 04:39 PM
What would lead anyone to believe that the Ravens offense was "going to take a step forward"? The loss of Boldin? The loss of Pitta?

The Power of One......brow. The unibrow! Joe Flacco, the greatest QB in the league right now.

zulater
08-22-2013, 09:00 AM
another heretic!

Jerome Bettis predicts Steeler finish 3rd in AFC North

Former Pittsburgh Steelers running back Jerome Bettis somewhat surprisingly has the Cincinnati Bengals as his selection to win the AFC North in 2013.

Bettis said Friday on the Dave Dameshek Football Program he thinks the Steelers are the least improved team in the division this year.

“When you look at this group of teams, I think the one team that improved the most was the Cincinnati Bengals,” said Bettis. “I think the one team that probably didn’t really improve was the Pittsburgh Steelers. When you look at it, I think Cleveland’s going to come on strong. I think Baltimore, they lost a little bit, but I also think they picked up a little bit, so I think they should be a good team. I think their defense is going to take a little drop, but their offense is going to take a step forward.”

Bettis went on to point out the questions he has concerning the Steelers this season and leading the way was his concern about the running game.

“The question mark in the division is the Steelers,” Bettis said. “How will they perform? Will they be able to run the football? Will the defense be able to stay intact? So, they’ve got some questions that need to be answered, so right now if I had to just step out of my body and give the prediction right now, I’d say the edge goes to Cincinnati, then Baltimore, then Pittsburgh, then Cleveland.”

Bettis has a fair assessment of the division as several think the Bengals have done enough during the offseason to win the division for the first time since 2009. While the Ravens defense certainly has undergone a lot of change during the offseason, the addition of Elvis Dumervil and Chris Canty could help stabilize things..

The biggest concern for the Steelers this year is probably the lack of overall depth as the team continues to try to get younger.

If the starters, especially on defense, remain healthy and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger can play all 16 games, there is no reason to think that the Steelers can’t compete for the AFC North crown.

http://www.steelersdepot.com/2013/07/jerome-bettis-afc-north-2013-prediction/#axzz2cc5l7oRF

----------------------

Ben has completed all 16 games once in his career - thanks for throwing us a bone there, Bussy

Often quoted but very misleading. If you start with the 2006 opener which Ben missed due to an emergency apendectomy, and go to the end of the 2011 season, Ben missed a grand total of two starts due to injury. Going further, Ben answered the bell 95 out of 96 times he was asked or able to from the time of his apendectomy until he was sat out due to injury against the Rams in game 15 of the 2011 season.

Not factored in by people that want to paint the portrait of Brittle Ben is that two of his missed games over his career came about due to the fact that the Steelers had already locked up their playoff seeding going into the season finale and the coaches decided to rest him going into the playoffs. (2004, 2007) Then of course there was the league suspension of 2010 that disqualified him from playing in 4 games.

The truth of the matter is that Ben has missed multiple starts due to injury in only two out of nine NFL seasons. Those being the 2005 season when he missed 4 starts due to a knee sprain, and of course last year (2012 when he missed 3 starts due to fractured ribs. So in conclusion his missing multiple starts in a season comes with a seven season seperation. Not exactly a trend by my way of thinking.

Spike
08-22-2013, 09:22 AM
I know one thing

Keep failing to block for Ben and The Bruce Gradkowski Era will be upon us before you know it.

NJarhead
08-22-2013, 09:35 AM
I know one thing

Keep failing to block for Ben and The Bruce Gradkowski Era will be upon us before you know it.

I don't get how you acknowledge our o-line problems, but want to dump Haley and the running game to go 5 wide.

Dwinsgames
08-22-2013, 10:01 AM
I don't get how you acknowledge our o-line problems, but want to dump Haley and the running game to go 5 wide.


this

Dwinsgames
08-23-2013, 12:08 AM
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1747037-full-stat-predictions-for-the-pittsburgh-steelers-regular-season

Spike
08-23-2013, 06:05 AM
I don't get how you acknowledge our o-line problems, but want to dump Haley and the running game to go 5 wide.

I just want to dump Haley, I trust Ben to figure out the rest

NJarhead
08-23-2013, 06:39 AM
I just want to dump Haley, I trust Ben to figure out the rest

I don't see how you can say that at this point. The first year is always going to be the toughest (unless the OC brings a QB with him, etc). Ben has stated that they're on the same page now and things flow a little easier. I think Haley deserves, at least, three years with some good weapons before he should be in the hot seat.

I think his offense is going to be fine. Our problem is the O-Line. You can have any OC on the side-line or up in the booth that you want, but we're only going to be as good as our o-line.

Spike
08-23-2013, 06:47 AM
I think Haley deserves, at least, three years with some good weapons before he should be in the hot seat.

I think his offense is going to be fine. Our problem is the O-Line. You can have any OC on the side-line or up in the booth that you want, but we're only going to be as good as our o-line.

You can't blame everything on the O-line either.

Ben hasn't had a good line for at least the last 5 years so we don't really know how good he can be running the spread. He has tailored his game to having a sucky line but now you want to pen him in and trust an outsider to "fix him". I just don't buy that.

We'll see how he does this year in running the offense he has more control over.

fansince'76
08-23-2013, 07:48 AM
Our problem is the O-Line. You can have any OC on the side-line or up in the booth that you want, but we're only going to be as good as our o-line.

Which has been the argument that most of us who were branded as "Arians lovers" have been making all along...

Spike
08-23-2013, 07:56 AM
When Haley gets us to the SB with a shitty line, then I'll believe you

TomlinSteelTribe
08-23-2013, 07:33 PM
I don't think BR7 reads the field well enough to regularly be a 5-WR spread type qb. He's never been that cerebral, albeit he's improved reading the field some since his rookie year. What kinda scares me about Ben, considering he's not a Peyton/Brady type and his strength is extending the play (ie breaking arm tackles, etc., and escaping), is that we've already seen the best he has to offer. As he gets older he won't be able to break tackles and escape as often (already seeing this). Don't get me wrong, I like BR7. The guy has two rings. Can't argue with that. But I seriously doubt he'll be anything close to an upper tier qb when he hits his mid-30s. He's more like Daunte Culpepper than Peyton Manning. Hope I'm wrong, assuming he retires in the Black n Gold.

I see a lot of Max Protect schemes on passing downs this year--doesn't exactly take a crystal ball. What's scary about that is I don't expect Antonio Brown to do much damage vs the top-half of the league's #1 CBs... I still have some hope the OL will gel by week 4 or so. But it's hard to put a time table on these kind of things.

steelerdiva
08-24-2013, 06:42 PM
The Power of One......brow. The unibrow! Joe Flacco, the greatest QB in the league right now.

Yeah...just ask him....:flap:

Moose
08-25-2013, 07:06 AM
Let's not forget the 'special team' and it's problems. Can't score a TD and then let a TD runback to happen. Special team just aggravates the hell out of me.