So pulling from another thread where a discussion started on whether there's reasons to stay positive, I thought it'd be good to start a new thread on the topic. It is definitely worth asking the question. Personally, my answer is yes, we have lots of reasons to be positive right now. Realize, as I say that, I'm not discounting the horrid performance either of this game, or of the first quarter of the season, but that also does not mean I can't see positive right now. So, in no particular order, here are my reasons for staying positive:
- We are 3-2 after five games and in sole possession of first place in the AFCN. Granted, we have a tied record with the Ravens, but we still are in first by virtue of the tie-breaker. That means we don't have our backs against a wall to figure out the problems immediately or our season tanks. (Yes, I want them figured out immediately, but with another game against the Ravens and two games against the Bengals still to play, we most likely will be in the drivers seat for the division for a while yet, which gives us time to figure things out.
- This is our first real loss. Yes, we're 3-2, I know that. However, this is the first game where the other team beat us as much as we beat ourselves. Now, why is that important, or a reason to be optimistic? See the next point.
- This team has yet to play a single quarter of football as a team. So far, we are getting several good individual performances and a few not so good performances. However, at no point has the whole been better than the sum of its parts, which is what happens when teams play as a team rather than as individuals. Okay, but why does that make me optimistic? Because we're 3-2 on individual effort alone. We are experiences the bottom-limit of what this team can accomplish. Think about that for a second. We are literally at the minimum of ability right now, and we're still in first place. That also means we have a ton of potential still to tap into for this season, and there's no reason to think we won't do it at some point.
- Bell. Yeah, I can't believe I'm saying this after what we saw this summer. But today, despite only having 47 yards on the ground, Bell had the speed, burst and vision that makes him so great (he had it last week as well). I expect a breakout performance by him within the next two weeks. And then, we're going to ride that train as far as it'll take us a la the days of the Bus.
- Defense. Coming into this weekend, this defense was in
- 1st place in the entire league in yards per play
- 1st place in yards allowed per attempted through the air
- 1st place in drives ending in scores with only 23 percent of drives ending in points
- 2nd place in total passing yards
- 2nd place in TDs allowed through the air
- 3rd place overall in total yards
- 4th place (tied) in takeaways
- 7th place (tied) in first downs allowed
- AB. Despite all we're seeing that is bad on offense, AB is still putting up silly numbers every week.
- The Steelers will be at worst, 3-3 in our first six games. Since 2002 (Fifteen years back), this team has only missed the playoffs twice after going 3-3 in the first six. One of those seasons was 2012 when our very old defense simply ran out of gas. There's no reason to expect a repeat of that situation this year. The other was in 2009, which is the season we lost Troy after the first game, and he was out most of the year. Before, that, we have to go all the way back to 2000. That year, the Steelers lost their first three games and also had a bye week after game 1 (and we were still one game away from the playoffs). There's no reason, historically, that 3-3 shouldn't have us competing for the playoffs in the last game. Moreover, historically, this team is a 3-3/4-2 team after six, with only a few seasons peaking at 5-1.
- So far, we only have one loss against an AFC opponent. That bodes very well for us in going forward as it puts us in a good place for tie-breakers.
- Ben. Yes, that's right. Ben. He still has the arm strength, so that's not the problem. And as long as the physical tools are still there, the potential is still there. And, despite what we've seen so far this year, I simply cannot see Ben going through the motions and then calling it quits. He's still way to competitive. Do I think his best days are behind him? Sure. I even started a thread about how the thought of sitting him crossed my mind. However, today aside, even a mediocre Ben is better than over half the QBs in the league. Today was a very bad day. But if we put that aside for a second, Ben has been mediocre this year, and he's still gotten done when he had to. I'll take that for now.
Thoughts?
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Originally Posted by teegre
), the defensive effort of this team has been tremendous.
