I'm going to take some heat for this, but...

[suitanim]

I think our ride ends this year in the divisional playoff round. Now, don't get me wrong. I'm a loyal and faithful fan, and will tune in and cheer my guts out for the B&G, but my pragmatic side (the same side that knew we were going to lose to the Niners) is telling me we aren't in a good position to win in either Baltimore or NE, and here's why:

A) Road games: We will take care of Tebow and win ugly next week because he's garbage and has never seen anything like our defense. BUT, based on our last two road games, we aren't equipped to beat good teams on the road THE WAY WE'VE BEEN PLAYING.

B) Passing game: Ben is clearly not himself. He's still missing wide open receivers, is barely mobile, and his accuracy is way off. I don't see him improving much over the next two weeks. Not his fault, just an "It is what it is" kind of thing.

C) Running game: Haters hate, but Mendy is a pretty good RB and his cut-back ability, shiftiness and speed will be missed. Our ground game was already a little shaky, and it's ESSENTIAL to be able to run on the road. Redman losing a couple balls hurts, too...once a team sees that, it's monkey see, monkey do, and they'll be going after the ball. He'll need to work on that this week...He can probably carry the load, but there are some question marks.

D) Kicker: In close games, you HAVE to be able to routinely knock in 45 yard FG's. Anyone notice that we skipped a couple attempts yesterday and just went for it on 4th? There's a reason for that...

E) Defense: We are better against the pass this year, but we miss Woodley. I think we match up better against the Rats then NE, and it's hard to beat a team 3 times in one year, but that 92 yard drive (which literally PUTS us on the road and #5 instead of #2) was on our home field. The Rats seem to play their best ball against us, and NE is scoring points in huge bunches now. I'm not sure our hobbled, injured, out-of-synch offense is capable of outscoring the Cheats even though their defense sucks.

I've got us winning ugly next week, and losing on the road the following week. If we're healthy, keep most or all of our guys, and shore up the OL, I see a legit super bowl run next year...

[zulater]

Your concerns are all legit. Just a few thoughts to them.

I agree Mendenhall could be missed. But I'm pretty confident in Redman. If Ben and the passing game are more efficient then he'll be good enough.

As to Ben. I thought he played fairly well yesterday all things considered. The wind was pretty bad, so I think they were right to limit their downfield throws. I also thought he should have had two touchdown passes yesterday. Cotchery dropped one, and even though I wasn't able to confirm it, because the tv crew ignored it, and didn't ask for the replay, I thought Antonio could have caught one in the end zone too. Don't forget the Browns have a pretty good defense, and not many teams ran it up on them at home. If we can advance to New England I suspect our passing game will flourish.

My biggest concerns on defense are Woodley and Cortez Allen's health. To beat the Patriots or Ravens we'll need to see Woodley at or near his best. It's hard to imagine that being the case, since he's been a virtual zero since blowing up his hamstring. And Cortez allen was used quite a bit to control the Patriots tight end's the first time we played them. McFadden doesn't have his cover skills. I'm afraid he'll get exploited time and time again.

Anyway, let's take it a week at a time. First we need to beat the Broncos and then we can worry about the rest.

[86WARD]

Same concerns here suit...nice breakdown.

[polamalubeast]

My biggest concern is the turnovers battle(-13).

Roethlisberger needs to play much better than during his last two games.

[BlastFurnace]

It's one game at a time cliche time

I'd rather them play New England in the divisional round than Baltimore, that is for sure. I look at it this way, Indianapolis in 2005 was a much larger foe than either Baltimore or New England this year.

Problem is, the injuries and the Steelers offense is terrible. It's the best 60 yard offense in the game, but one of the worst in the Red Zone.

If they are going to beat anyone, the defense will need to hold the opponent to 14 points or lower because the offense can't score.

[GBMelBlount]

Playing Ben the entire game under the circumstances was a very bad decision imo.

If he has not significiantly improved our chances are not nearly as good.....

[polamalubeast]

The Steelers can beat all the teams, if they win the turnovers battle and they do a better job in the red zone.

[stillers4me]

I have concerns, as well. If we were healthier, we can beat anybody......in fact we'd be downright scary. And that's what really hurts.

[Crow-Magnon]

I was not able to watch any of the Steelers-Browns game yesterday. How is Ben's ankle? I'm no head coach, but I would have probably started Batch and let the chips fall where they may, knowing Pittsburgh was a WC team no matter what. But, as I said, I'm no HC. I guess Tomlin figured a Steelers win and a Ravens loss gave them a division championship (nice) and a first-round bye (nicer), so the risk vs reward was in his favor.

Losing Mendy is a blow. But being a pragmatic Ravens fan, I would never count the Steelers out of any post-season game, unless their charter got stuck in 22" of snow at the airport and they had to forfeit. There is a ton of playoff experience on the Steelers, and sometimes, that's all that matters.

[polamalubeast]

each team has weaknesses.

the two weaknesses of the steelers is the ratio of turnovers and red zone offense.

[Chidi29]

I'm still focused on Denver before anything else.

I don't trust the Broncos' offense but am going to be wide awake all week thinking about that pass rush. They change the field position battle, create turnovers, they'll have some components to overcome an anemic offense.

[stillers4me]

I have no problem with playing Ben the entire game. He was obviously rusty at the beginning...he always is after not playing. Better to shake it off against the Browns than in the playoffs. And there's just nothing anyone can do at this point about his ankle but suck it up.

[steelerdude15]

I'm not too worried about the Broncos (and I'm not overlooking them in anyway), but I will be worried after that game if we advance.

[Steeldude]

Playing Ben the entire game under the circumstances was a very bad decision imo.

If he has not significiantly improved our chances are not nearly as good.....

agreed.

[st33lersguy]

My concern is when was the last time the Steelers scored a single point on the road in the 4th quarter? I think it was against the Cardinals, game 7, during the Cardinals 6 game losing streak. Overall on the road, the Steelers have been terrible all year, 0-3 against teams with 10 wins plus being outscored 72-20. One victory by double digit points, (the aforementioned Cardinals game), and went toe to toe with the NFL's worst teams. When the Steelers won 3 road playoff games and the Super Bowl in '05 they were way better on the road than this team as evidenced by their impressive victory in Cincinnati in the regular season and 41-0 drubbing over a Browns team that was better than the one the Steelers beat by 4 points yesterday

[Hindes204]

The second we beat Denver Ill be worrying whats next. We are a banged up team, limping into the playoffs. Denver I think we can take, Tebow is awful, but if we do advance I agree that the next game will be a difficult one.

[polamalubeast]

one game at a time.

It is certain that the steelers have some problems lately, but I believe in the team until they are eliminated.

In 2005, I thought he would not win against the Colts after losing 26-7 in the regular season, but they did it.

Its will be very difficult, but you never know.If the Steelers win the turnovers battle, the Steelers have a good chance of winning.

[siss]

It ain't over till we say it over!

Ben is made of Steel and this is his favorite time of year. I have faith in my franchise pro bowl 102 million dollar QB.

I have faith in the defense.

I have faith in Mike Tomlin.

Everyone get out your lucky shirts and Tim Tebow Voodoo dolls...ITS PLAYOFF TIME!!!!!!!!!!

[tube517]

My concern is when was the last time the Steelers scored a single point on the road in the 4th quarter? I think it was against the Cardinals, game 7, during the Cardinals 6 game losing streak. Overall on the road, the Steelers have been terrible all year, 0-3 against teams with 10 wins plus being outscored 72-20. One victory by double digit points, (the aforementioned Cardinals game), and went toe to toe with the NFL's worst teams. When the Steelers won 3 road playoff games and the Super Bowl in '05 they were way better on the road than this team as evidenced by their impressive victory in Cincinnati in the regular season and 41-0 drubbing over a Browns team that was better than the one the Steelers beat by 4 points yesterday

Yes, 6-2 on the road that year. Losses to the Ratbirds in OT and the Colts. Also, they had a +7 TO differential.

[polamalubeast]

Yes, 7-1 on the road that year. Only loss was in OT to the Ratbirds. Also, they had a +7 TO differential.

6-2....and loss 26-7 vs colts too

[tube517]

6-2....and loss 26-7 vs colts too

Yes, I corrected that.

[Edman]

The Steelers have been miserable on the road even with Woodley, Allen, and Lewis on Defense. With all three hobbled/out, it's going to be even more difficult. The Broncos are built to take advantage of bad offense, keeping the game close so Tebow can save the day in the 4th quarter. Our Offense with it's crap scoring ability plays right into their hands.

The best thing we can hope for this playoffs is Ben plays above and beyond.

[fansince'76]

I have to agree. I don't think we get past the divisional round this year either. We go as far as Ben takes us and his ankle is still obviously all screwed up. I'll be more than happy to eat crow for this, though.

[7willBheaven]

D) Kicker: In close games, you HAVE to be able to routinely knock in 45 yard FG's. Anyone notice that we skipped a couple attempts yesterday and just went for it on 4th? There's a reason for that...

Yeah the reason was the wind!

[Count Steeler]

As Ben goes, so goes the Steelers now that we are in the playoffs. He has to step up and play somewhat better than he has played in big games this year. Denver is not a real "test", the game after will be the tell.

[fansince'76]

My concern is when was the last time the Steelers scored a single point on the road in the 4th quarter? I think it was against the Cardinals, game 7, during the Cardinals 6 game losing streak. Overall on the road, the Steelers have been terrible all year, 0-3 against teams with 10 wins plus being outscored 72-20. One victory by double digit points, (the aforementioned Cardinals game), and went toe to toe with the NFL's worst teams. When the Steelers won 3 road playoff games and the Super Bowl in '05 they were way better on the road than this team as evidenced by their impressive victory in Cincinnati in the regular season and 41-0 drubbing over a Browns team that was better than the one the Steelers beat by 4 points yesterday

Comparing different teams from different years is kind of irrelevant, IMO. That being said, I don't see the 2011 Steelers going past the divisional round due to injury. The Steelers teams that went to the SB in '08 and last year were healthy. This one isn't.

[XxKnightxX]

Weve got a ROUGH road ahead. Im seeing us Beating Denver, but that TO prone offense on the road can change the game. Divisional round were gonna play NE or Ravens. All sides point to us playing the Ravens. The Media darlings would get a Boner from that. If we make it Past that, were most likely gonna be at NE or well miraculously be hosting a game at Heinz field. Even if we do make it to the Super Bowl. IF we face the Saints or Packers, were still underdogs. Like I said, tough road ahead. I Believe every second. And if we pull of a SB win this postseason. It will be the BEST Steelers Postseason Ive ever been a part of.

[steelpride12]

First I don't think the Denver game will be a cake walk. Yes Tebow blows and will be no match for our defense, but he wants to prove to the world how good he can be and wouldn't beating the Steelers in the playoffs be a huge step, yes and I know he will bring his best.

Second the biggest thing that hurts us is Bens injury. We could be down 20 men and if we had a healthy 100% Ben I wouldn't be concerned one bit, but he is not 100% and his performance is lacking because of that ankle. He will need to play like super man to get us past the divisional round.

[suitanim]

Yeah the reason was the wind!

Dawson looked pretty okay to me in that same wind...Suisham just sucks in general. WAY too inconsistent. What a shame it would be if we beat the Tebow's, then lost on a last second missed chip shot FG to the Rat's....

[steel striker]

I think like most we will beat Denver but, it is going to take a complete team game to win the next game. The rats are a different team at home but, they like every team has flaws. Ben will have to play perfect on a 60-70% ankle and, without Mendy it is going to be tough. Who knows if Woodley is going to be playing or effective but, I would like to be wrong about Lamar. We all know it the defense must contain Rice and, if they can force a couple TO's we have a chance. Not going to be easy but, atleast we still have a chance.