Midpoint

[Steelerette]

Last year at season's midpoint, we were 2-6.

It can be said that so far this season, there's one game we just didn't play with any heart, one game we should have won, and only one real spanking. Three losses, and a missed opportunity to go 6-2 or even 7-1. The frustration over the team being emotionally/disciplinarily prepared for the season is probably justified as well.

Nevertheless. 5-3 is worlds better than 2-6. Midseason last year is when we started our turnaround, ripping off a 6-2 run to wrap it up.

All signs are pointing toward a similar turnaround, but we have a tougher second half schedule than we did last year.

So how good is good enough? Go 4-4 and we're a "winning" football team again. Go 5-3 and, is that a wildcard berth I smell? If this team stays healthy and continues to coalesce, I wouldn't want to meet them in the playoffs.

Ravens - L
Jets - W
Titans - W
(bye)
Saints - W
Bengals - L
Falcons - W
Chiefs - L
Bengals - W

That would put us at 10-6 and probably be good for a wildcard berth. So the takeaway is... We need to win the games that we absolutely "should." We have to take at least one between Saints and Chiefs. And, if we really want to step up and grab the division, we have to win at least two of the three remaining divisional games. Probably necessarily one each from the Ravens and Bengals, and not simply two winds over Cincy. If we can't take even one remaining divisional game, we won't be in the playoffs and won't deserve to be either.

I'm loving that late bye too.

[Dwinsgames]

I wish I was confident enough to speculate but truthfully I just am not , not yet anyways ..

I feel a ton better today than I did just 2 short weeks ago but I am not yet convinced ...

Toss another well played game and win on this Sunday night and I will be convinced ..

until then I am going to remain cautiously optimistic and say some prayers along the way

we have reason for optimism no doubt but not that long ago it was all doom and gloom ( for good reason ) things can turn on a dime in this league if we have learned anything ...

/cheers to hoping we see no dimes


ps insomnia sucks

[venom]

With that Defense we have , we won't be going far

[ALLD]

Last night was a statement game on many levels by many players. Best offensive game I ever saw from the Steelers. We witnessed history. Real leadership by Ben, a rabbid pass rush, the desire to be great from AB and Bell. Also saw some over thinking by DHB, Blount and Ben's drop kick and naked bootleg. Those were mistakes and can be rectified with disciplined thinking and personal responsibility.

The team we saw last night against the Colts could not be beat by any other team in the NFL, fact. Manning and Brady would be running for their lives and we know how they react under pressure. The real challenge is if the Steelers can put up another sizzling performance by the offense and collapse the pocket around Moon Ball Joe. That will be confirmation the team is a contender and not a pretender.

[Dwinsgames]

With that Defense we have , we won't be going far

not sure ANY other QB in the league does half as well as Luck did , he stood his ground where others would be rattled , running for their lives and swarmed under ... yes he is still a youngster but a cool customer under pressure , most fold under same circumstances ....

half as many points by opposition means we win without all world numbers by Ben ...

question is can / will we bring it as intense moving forward

[Steeldude]

At the moment I will stick with .500. I need to see some consistency. Also, the defense needs to get stingier.

[GBMelBlount]

At the moment I will stick with .500. I need to see some consistency. Also, the defense needs to get stingier.

At this point our season rests on the shoulders of the defense imo.

Since our offense line seems to be clicking and we step up our game against better teams I will say 10-6.

[86WARD]

I can see them defeating the Ravens and then losing to the Jets, playing down to the Titans, losing to the Saints, losing to the Bengals and then winning the last 3.

[Craic]

At the moment I will stick with .500. I need to see some consistency. Also, the defense needs to get stingier.

Is that .500 overall, or .500 for the last half of the season? Or, in other words, do you only see us winning 3 games from this point on? Or, do you see us winning four and losing four? I think 5-3 for a 10-6 season is probably more like it.