Pittsburgh Steelers' reactions to Super Bowl LIII

[steelreserve]

All good points and laugh out loud funny to boot. I wonder why no one from that staff can transport the same principles with success elsewhere? Is Sauron just that much smarter than everyone else in all of football?

I think that Sauron knows exactly what is going to work in HIS system, and when someone else tries to take it and apply it to their own slightly different system it doesnt work as well, or if they try the same exact system they're not as good at identifying the right players. Kind of like how not many people could do a good job copying Chip Kelly's system exactly, only this one actually works.

I also imagine that a lot of information is stuff that he has in his head and doesn't share all of it with all his assistants. And also it works better because he enhances it with cheating.

I do have infinitely more respect, albeit grudgingly, for Belichick than I do for Brady, who if not for the biggest helping of right-place-right-time, crap-assed luck in the history of football, would probably just be some dickhead who backed up Matt Hasselbeck for a few seasons or something and then retired 10 years ago.

[Shoes]

Well, at least Edelman got Switzer all pumped up for next season.

https://twitter.com/Switz/status/1092226293511438336

[Mojouw]

I think that Sauron knows exactly what is going to work in HIS system, and when someone else tries to take it and apply it to their own slightly different system it doesnt work as well, or if they try the same exact system they're not as good at identifying the right players. Kind of like how not many people could do a good job copying Chip Kelly's system exactly, only this one actually works.

I also imagine that a lot of information is stuff that he has in his head and doesn't share all of it with all his assistants. And also it works better because he enhances it with cheating.

I do have infinitely more respect, albeit grudgingly, for Belichick than I do for Brady, who if not for the biggest helping of right-place-right-time, crap-assed luck in the history of football, would probably just be some dickhead who backed up Matt Hasselbeck for a few seasons or something and then retired 10 years ago.

What's interesting about that is that it means the results the Patriots are achieving are totally not replicable. Until another ludicrous football savant comes along. While I'm a big fan of the idea of singular geniuses in a give field, is that what we're looking at here?

It's edging into that territory based on how folks are talking about it.

[Shoes]

What's interesting about that is that it means the results the Patriots are achieving are totally not replicable. Until another ludicrous football savant comes along. While I'm a big fan of the idea of singular geniuses in a give field, is that what we're looking at here?

It's edging into that territory based on how folks are talking about it.

I think there are things you can replicate, other things you can't. It will be interesting to see how Belichick sons develop as coaches, the oldest seems to be following in his steps.

This article is over a year old

https://patriotswire.usatoday.com/20...r-aspirations/

[st33lersguy]

Well, at least Edelman got Switzer all pumped up for next season.

https://twitter.com/Switz/status/1092226293511438336

what as the slot receiver who can only thrive inan elite offensive system with an elite qb?

[steelreserve]

What's interesting about that is that it means the results the Patriots are achieving are totally not replicable. Until another ludicrous football savant comes along. While I'm a big fan of the idea of singular geniuses in a give field, is that what we're looking at here?

It's edging into that territory based on how folks are talking about it.

He is the first one to really figure out a style that works long-term under the current rules, that is to say the hard salary cap where there is an outside pressure that forces teams to engage in otherwise irrational behavior. I think most other coaches and GMs struggle with that, because the behavior that it rewards is pretty unnatural and not really intuitive if you are thinking about football only.

Having said that, while Belichick may have mastered the strategy for putting together the team that will give you the most spins of the wheel under the salary cap ... his best teams would get absolutely rolled by the all-time great teams, and most of them are also probably short of the best that other franchises have managed in the salary cap era. The difference is, they have a higher peak for a couple years thanks to fortunate timings and cheap contracts; then Mordor grinds on while they wear themselves out.

The helmet radio also helps A LOT ... I mean, every single playoff game going down to the wire, and it takes a lightning-strike unbelievable individual effort from their opponent at the end of the game to eliminate them ... every postseason game with guys suddenly wide open way down the field on the last couple of drives ... video game AI-style catch-up when it gets to two scores ... like one bad loss in 40 playoff games going back decades ... not just the Super Bowl but EVERY playoff game, and most important games in general ... doing EXACTLY what they need to get a bye week every season - I mean come on, last time playing on the first weekend of the playoffs in 2009 ... I don't buy it.

When you say, "gee whiz, it's almost like they knew exactly what play the other team was running!" ... over ... and over ... and over ... and over ... well, chances are pretty good that they actually did. Especially when there is evidence of just that. Get into the playoffs every year, and you will be in a lot of championship games when you know what's coming.

Like you said, it's not replicable. It's ludicrous. Almost hard to believe. Well, you got that right.

[86WARD]

What's interesting about that is that it means the results the Patriots are achieving are totally not replicable. Until another ludicrous football savant comes along. While I'm a big fan of the idea of singular geniuses in a give field, is that what we're looking at here?

It's edging into that territory based on how folks are talking about it.

These players hit NE and they buy into the system, the coaches buy in to the system. It’s weird how these coaches leave to take head coaching jobs elsewhere and they fail miserably. You would think they would take routines, tips, tricks and other things they learned in NE and apply them where ever they were heading and maybe the personalities just aren’t Belichick and the players don’t buy in to it? Or maybe they try to add their own spin on it and that’s where it fails? I’m not sure what the correct answer is...

What we do know is that Belichick has a system and a culture in NE that players either buy in to or they walk. He doesn’t mess around with players that don’t get it like someone posted earlier...Bud Dupree, Artie Burns, Jarvis Jones...these guys wouldn’t last in NE if they weren’t getting it. Belichick isn’t afraid to cut ties (Randy Moss, Chandler Jones, Jamie Collins). He’s also not afraid to take a chance on a guy with a previous issues or distractions (Josh Gordon, Randy Moss, Corey Dillon). As long as those guys fit the system, he’s in. There’s no bullshit. He doesn’t care about measurable or any of that...he just knows...lol.

The Steelers on the other hand, milk some of these draft picks until they are bone dry. They pound them into the pavement until they are 100% positive the player doesn’t get it. Seems like they don’t recognize it as quickly sometimes and they waste valuable time for the next guy. Even the fans are in on that...how many times in the past few years have members here been fawning over the potential, the measurables, the upside of Cam Sutton? Hes garbage. He’s not a starting NFL CB...yet there’s still hope. Belichick doesn’t seem to waste time with “hope”. He gets the right player in the right position, regardless of draft status, regardless of pay, regardless of past accomplishments and gives them an opportunity to succeed and he does it better than anyone else.

[86WARD]

He is the first one to really figure out a style that works long-term under the current rules, that is to say the hard salary cap where there is an outside pressure that forces teams to engage in otherwise irrational behavior. I think most other coaches and GMs struggle with that, because the behavior that it rewards is pretty unnatural and not really intuitive if you are thinking about football only.

Having said that, while Belichick may have mastered the strategy for putting together the team that will give you the most spins of the wheel under the salary cap ... his best teams would get absolutely rolled by the all-time great teams, and most of them are also probably short of the best that other franchises have managed in the salary cap era. The difference is, they have a higher peak for a couple years thanks to fortunate timings and cheap contracts; then Mordor grinds on while they wear themselves out.

The helmet radio also helps A LOT ... I mean, every single playoff game going down to the wire, and it takes a lightning-strike unbelievable individual effort from their opponent at the end of the game to eliminate them ... every postseason game with guys suddenly wide open way down the field on the last couple of drives ... video game AI-style catch-up when it gets to two scores ... like one bad loss in 40 playoff games going back decades ... not just the Super Bowl but EVERY playoff game, and most important games in general ... doing EXACTLY what they need to get a bye week every season - I mean come on, last time playing on the first weekend of the playoffs in 2009 ... I don't buy it.

When you say, "gee whiz, it's almost like they knew exactly what play the other team was running!" ... over ... and over ... and over ... and over ... well, chances are pretty good that they actually did. Especially when there is evidence of just that. Get into the playoffs every year, and you will be in a lot of championship games when you know what's coming.

Like you said, it's not replicable. It's ludicrous. Almost hard to believe. Well, you got that right.

Also helps that the Dolphins, Bills and Jets have agreed not to put up a fight whatsoever as long as the Patriots win the division and throw a victory their way on a rotating basis.

[teegre]

Also helps that the Dolphins, Bills and Jets have agreed not to put up a fight whatsoever as long as the Patriots win the division and throw a victory their way on a rotating basis.

Most victories since Brady entered the NFL:

1. Taperiots 255
2. Steelers 212
6. Ravens 191
...
19. Jets
20. Dolphins
27. Bills

(Note: Admittedly, the Bengals are in the lower half, as well. But, most of those losses were in the early 2000s. The Bengals made the playoffs “six out of seven seasons” from 2009-2015.)

[zulater]

Just going through the Patriots defensive stats for the SB and looking at their players, who they are, how they were acquired, it's amazing the overall lack of pedigree among them. Here's a team that drafts 28-32 every season, yet still manages to build a defensive backfield that is able to shut down the highest scoring team in the league when it matters most. Outside of UFA Stephon Gilmore they built a defense out of next to nothing! Obviously what it comes down to is having a good system, knowing how to find players that can learn and fit into that system, utilizing them correctly and game planning. Here's a team that struggles some early defensively (Lions game) but gets better as the season goes on.

Conversely in Pgh we have Mike Tomlin an alleged defensive coach, a defensive backs coach no less who can't identify a draft prospect to play in his secondary for over a decade now. His best db's all preceded him in Pgh (Troy and Ike). His best current DB came as a stroke of luck (Joe Haden) and signed with the Steelers to get back at his former team as much as anything. In other words as we all know Tomlin stinks as a defensive backs coach. He doesn't know what to look for and has a poor system that doesn't translate easy to the players he brings in.

You all like to blame Ben for most everything. Well I watched these playoffs and I didn't see any playoff qb's tossing a perfect game. Brady came through in the clutch no doubt. But he also had a defense that made stop after stop to preserve slim leads. How nice it must be to throw an interception on the opening drive and not have your defense see that as a reason to collapse and lay down for an opposing TD drive to put you in a position of playing from behind right off the bat. . How nice it must be to not score a single TD until the 4th quarter and manage to take a 10-3 lead. And better yet how great it must feel to have your defense take the field and force a turnover to preserve that lead as opposed to giving up the prerequisite matching TD the Steelers defense feels necessary to cede.

Anyway hopefully AJR was paying attention to these playoffs. Hopefully he saw that a defense can be built with Undrafted free agents, end of round home grown draft picks from various rounds, and a 'splash free agent" to top things off. There's no excuse for the schemeless mish mosh we continue to put out there that suffer mental breakdowns and physical lapses most every time the game is on the line!

[Born2Steel]

People need to take a breath. Maybe it was the SB, but it was ONE game. Very little made sense during this game. Why was Gurley out? Why did McVay give up on Anderson so early? Why was Cooks running out routes? What happened to both teams offensively??? Was it defensive genius or lack of offensive play making? I thought it was a boring game. Not a defensive clinic as seems most on here think. Neither team did anything to earn the win. It was like watching a tennis match between 2 players that suck at serving. Just 3hrs of soft volley. Insane to me how anyone can use this game as a way to point out deficiency in the Steelers. This was just a terrible game.

[zulater]

People need to take a breath. Maybe it was the SB, but it was ONE game. Very little made sense during this game. Why was Gurley out? Why did McVay give up on Anderson so early? Why was Cooks running out routes? What happened to both teams offensively??? Was it defensive genius or lack of offensive play making? I thought it was a boring game. Not a defensive clinic as seems most on here think. Neither team did anything to earn the win. It was like watching a tennis match between 2 players that suck at serving. Just 3hrs of soft volley. Insane to me how anyone can use this game as a way to point out deficiency in the Steelers. This was just a terrible game.

I saw a stat I never saw before on ESPN this morning. It said that the Rams receivers degree of separation in the SB was less than 2.5 yards which was the smallest it was all season for them. Now I'm not sure how they determine this? But the point the stat was making was their receivers weren't getting open! Which translates to me that the Patriots were in fact providing good coverage. So call it what you will. But to me this suggests maybe they know what the hell they're doing? Also the fact that they've gone to 3 straight SB's ( granted their defense sucked in last year's SB) tell's me this was not some sort of aberration. They don't deal in excuses. They deal in results. The fact is they have no secret pipeline for talent unavailable to the rest of the league. So someone must be doing something right.

Conversely the Steelers decade+ long drought of drafting or developing a single quality DB and the continued mental lapses and missed assignments shown in coverage can no longer be attributed to bad luck or drafting late. Not when you see teams like the Patriots and Seahawks successfully roll over a new secondary in the same time frame faced with similar or worse draft position.

[Born2Steel]

I saw a stat I never saw before on ESPN this morning. It said that the Rams receivers degree of separation in the SB was less than 2.5 yards which was the smallest it was all season for them. Now I'm not sure how they determine this? But the point the stat was making was their receivers weren't getting open! Which translates to me that the Patriots were in fact providing good coverage. So call it what you will. But to me this suggests maybe they know what the hell they're doing? Also the fact that they've gone to 3 straight SB's ( granted their defense sucked in last year's SB) tell's me this was not some sort of aberration. They don't deal in excuses. They deal in results. The fact is they have no secret pipeline for talent unavailable to the rest of the league. So someone must be doing something right.

Conversely the Steelers decade+ long drought of drafting or developing a single quality DB and the continued mental lapses and missed assignments shown in coverage can no longer be attributed to bad luck or drafting late. Not when you see teams like the Patriots and Seahawks successfully roll over a new secondary in the same time frame faced with similar or worse draft position.

I thought we were discussing the SB. The SB was a terrible game offensively, period. Both teams were terrible with the ball.

I still fail to see how anything another team has done or has failed to do is an indictment on the Steelers. The Patriots beat out 15 teams when the make it to the SB. Bill may be the BEST coach in football today. That doesn’t equal other coaches, including Tomlin and co, are trash as coaches. Not everything reflects directly back on us.

[zulater]

I thought we were discussing the SB. The SB was a terrible game offensively, period. Both teams were terrible with the ball.

I still fail to see how anything another team has done or has failed to do is an indictment on the Steelers. The Patriots beat out 15 teams when the make it to the SB. Bill may be the BEST coach in football today. That doesn’t equal other coaches, including Tomlin and co, are trash as coaches. Not everything reflects directly back on us.

There's already a thread in the NFL forum concerning the SB. I read the title of this thread to mean how the SB relates to the Steelers.

[Born2Steel]

There's already a thread in the NFL forum concerning the SB. I read the title of this thread to mean how the SB relates to the Steelers.

And you may be 100% correct. I may be wrong. Either way the SB does not “relate” to the Steelers. The Steelers didn’t play THAT game. The way those 2 offenses played the Steelers would have gotten number7 fairly easily, IMHO. My reaction to that game as a Steeler(fan), is it was a bad game. I think the defenses were made to look better than they actually are because of poor play by the offenses. I think the Steelers offense would have fared much better. With AB of course.

[steelreserve]

Most victories since Brady entered the NFL:

1. Taperiots 255
2. Steelers 212
6. Ravens 191
...
19. Jets
20. Dolphins
27. Bills

(Note: Admittedly, the Bengals are in the lower half, as well. But, most of those losses were in the early 2000s. The Bengals made the playoffs “six out of seven seasons” from 2009-2015.)

Hey, whaddya ya know, at least double or triple the gap between other once-in-a-generation teams and their closest competition.

http://mcubed.net/nfl/fw1970.shtml
http://mcubed.net/nfl/fw1980.shtml
http://mcubed.net/nfl/fw1990.shtml

Golly gee, another statistical outlier that's a full standard deviation or three outside the realm of probability. Just like the lack of fumbles before they got caught messing with the footballs. What another incredible co-inky-dink, surely the only explanation is just that they're SO GREAT.

Insane to me how anyone can use this game as a way to point out deficiency in the Steelers. This was just a terrible game.

The Steelers' deficiency was pointed out by them not being there, or in the playoffs at all for that matter. The pinnacle of competition was this clown show, the league in general is so weak that the Patriots basically sleepwalked into a championship ... I mean, we got beat out by THAT? Weren't even good enough to be in the discussion? Really emphasizes what a sorry showing it was by this team. But nope, keep piling up that pretty-good regular season winning percentage and drafting super-athletic linebackers and defensive backs who don't know shit.

[Steeler-in-west]

Well, you have to be better than average to make it ... But I thought that's what we were supposed to be.

Like, I realize 60% (actually 62.5%) is an overly simplified way of looking at it - but on the other hand, maybe not.

For all intents and purposes, you can throw out a bunch of teams like the Browns, Redskins, Lions, Raiders, Bucs, Bills, Jets, Dolphins ... they essentially wasted an entire decade and gave their chances to one of the other teams to be in it more than once. (The last three, in particular, went above and beyond to hand their chances directly to one particular team). What you have really got are about 20-24 teams competing for 20 spots ... those teams can also be more or less split into a top and a bottom tier - I mean, you're giving the benefit of the doubt to teams like the Bengals and the Texans, which is pretty questionable ... and other teams who made it once and sucked for 8 or 9 out of the 10 years (49ers, Cardinals) are on the list by default.

So are we supposed to be in the top tier or the bottom tier? Either way, it sucks. Top tier means we've wasted way more opportunities than we should. Bottom tier means - what the fuck have we been doing for a decade, if we're not more than marginal contenders, we need to change our approach.

Either one is a pretty poor outcome if the same people have been running the show for 10 years. You've been coaching the 49ers for a couple seasons, to a certain extent you can say "it was like that when I got here." A decade is long enough that there are no excuses. Things change enough for even the worst team in the league to be competing for championships if they make the right moves. In fact, the entire system is set up to enable that. What's our excuse?

Regarding the AFC east, should’ve kept Baltimore (Ravens) in the east. That probably cuts down on the Patsies success.

Regarding us. Given our talent, we definitely were considered top tier, so if there is a poster team in the NFL that has been underachieving- were it. We definitely had a couple SB appearances in us, at least, in these last 8-9 years with the killer B’s.

[Born2Steel]

Hey, whaddya ya know, at least double or triple the gap between other once-in-a-generation teams and their closest competition.

http://mcubed.net/nfl/fw1970.shtml
http://mcubed.net/nfl/fw1980.shtml
http://mcubed.net/nfl/fw1990.shtml

Golly gee, another statistical outlier that's a full standard deviation or three outside the realm of probability. Just like the lack of fumbles before they got caught messing with the footballs. What another incredible co-inky-dink, surely the only explanation is just that they're SO GREAT.



The Steelers' deficiency was pointed out by them not being there, or in the playoffs at all for that matter. The pinnacle of competition was this clown show, the league in general is so weak that the Patriots basically sleepwalked into a championship ... I mean, we got beat out by THAT? Weren't even good enough to be in the discussion? Really emphasizes what a sorry showing it was by this team. But nope, keep piling up that pretty-good regular season winning percentage and drafting super-athletic linebackers and defensive backs who don't know shit.

OK. What does that have to do with the SB game? It is one game and had nothing to do with the Steeler’s season. The Steelers beat the Patriots. That’s one of the 9 wins. Is it the fault of the Steelers that other teams were unable to beat the Pats in the playoffs? Did the Pats or Rams keep the Steelers from making the playoffs? Your points are all loser tears and looking for somebody to blame.

[steelreserve]

OK. What does that have to do with the SB game? It is one game and had nothing to do with the Steeler’s season. The Steelers beat the Patriots. That’s one of the 9 wins. Is it the fault of the Steelers that other teams were unable to beat the Pats in the playoffs? Did the Pats or Rams keep the Steelers from making the playoffs? Your points are all loser tears and looking for somebody to blame.

The point (if you had read any of what I said) is that the level of competition was terrible this year, and we couldn't even muster the bare minimum to make the playoffs in a shitty AFC field. It was a disappointing, underachieving season and the only way we could have ended up where we did was to have none of our shit together at all. Are you stupid, or did you just not read the post you were responding to?

Would've been great if someone else had managed to knock off the evil empire on their own, but that was so completely not the point of any of that.

[86WARD]

I’d be very curious to see the Steelers WRs separation stats. I feel like at times they were pretty horrible and at other times extremely good.

[steelreserve]

I’d be very curious to see the Steelers WRs separation stats. I feel like at times they were pretty horrible and at other times extremely good.

They were really good except when they weren't.

[Born2Steel]

The point (if you had read any of what I said) is that the level of competition was terrible this year, and we couldn't even muster the bare minimum to make the playoffs in a shitty AFC field. It was a disappointing, underachieving season and the only way we could have ended up where we did was to have none of our shit together at all. Are you stupid, or did you just not read the post you were responding to?

Would've been great if someone else had managed to knock off the evil empire on their own, but that was so completely not the point of any of that.

I may be stupid AND a poor reader. Doesn’t change the fact that the SB has nothing to do with the state of the Steelers. The state of the Steelers is why they weren’t there, but had no bearing on the game itself. None.

[steelreserve]

I may be stupid AND a poor reader. Doesn’t change the fact that the SB has nothing to do with the state of the Steelers. The state of the Steelers is why they weren’t there, but had no bearing on the game itself. None.

You're right, the Steelers had nothing to do with the game. The game was, however, a very timely reflection on the state of the Steelers.

"THIS is how low the bar was, and you couldn't even manage that. In fact, you couldn't even qualify for the competition to clear the bar. You must've really fucked up."

And THAT summarizes the 2018 Pittsburgh Steelers.

[NCSteeler]

Huh? I can see some of that. There are clearly teams whose goal for a given year is not winning a SB, but creating and following a path to improvement.

But then you have teams like the Saints, Packers, Cowboys, Chiefs, Steelers, Chargers, and list whoever else you want that haven't really been in a SB during your window either.

I just think that this board in particular wildly overestimates how easy it is to make a SB run. Literally everything has to go right for a team to pull it off. One way to look at it is that "Team X has totally failed to make and win a SB in 10 years so those in charge are incompetent morons." Another is, "Wow, most NFL teams run through boom and bust cycles with far more bust years. This team has been a consistent winner and in the conversation for possible SB teams almost every year for 2 decades now. That's pretty much unheard of."

Perspectives are individual and can readily and reasonably vary. I'm gonna stick with an optimistic one and enjoy the fact that the team I root for hasn't been consigned to wandering the NFL wilderness for some time now. No one else has to take the same viewpoint.

This team hasn't been a legit contender in some time now. It's pretty clear they seem to be right there but when it counts they don't get it done, mistake prone, sloppy football.



Sent from my moto x4 using Tapatalk

[NCSteeler]

I bet that is part of it - particularly because their roster is so many new parts each season and even between the end of the season and the beginning. The constant need to integrate new players and adjust roles likely drives a big need to consistently monitor fitness and conditioning.

Just to be a bit of a jerk -- lets not lose sight of the fact that the gritty, team first, Superbowl MVP was suspended for 4 games for violating the PED policy. I am growing really tired of the need to attribute the Patriots run of success to some mystical aura of leadership and grittiness. It is pretty darn simple. The have the best QB on the planet for the entire run. An offense catered to his strengths. And a coach who is able to devise and install a defensive system on an almost weekly basis.

For instance, the Patriots played a predominate amount of man coverage all 2018. Then last night they played almost all zone. And looked like the best zone cover team in football doing it. They did this to counter the core concepts of McVay's offense. In turn, McVay had nothing. I mean I guess that is a bit of leadership and experience, but it is mostly knowing that you better show up in the SB with new crap. The Pats brought new crap to the SB and the Rams trotted out the same old stuff the Pats had spent 2 weeks watching on film. Not mysticism. In contrast, last year the Eagles ran new stuff and lo and behold they beat the gritty leadership filled automatons of football.

I guess my point can be boiled down to this: The Patriots do not win because they have found some secret sauce to roster construction, team management, or physical fitness. They have realized that if you give anyone 2 weeks to plan, they can come up with something to beat what you already have on film. So show up with some unexpected shit combined with 2-3 things that you can do so damn well it doesn't matter what the other team does or knows. That is why the Pats never blow anyone out in a SB. They showed up last night with a zone scheme to make Goff have to anticipate - just like someone posted, Goff sucks at that. Then on offense they showed up with 3 plays. 2 power runs and that play they ran 3 straight times on the TD drive. The Rams failed to have ANY answers for that. Last year the Eagles did. Who knows what next year brings.

But in the meantime we will hear about culture and leadership. Why do we not hear about how the Patriots are just really really really good at football? Or maybe identifying and exposing the weak link in the Rams right guard over and over and over again is leadership, but I don't think that is what people are talking about...

So what does Tomlin bring to the table. He's got arguably no worse then the tenth best QB in the league, but zero plan to beat the other guy

Sent from my moto x4 using Tapatalk

[pczach]

Huh? I can see some of that. There are clearly teams whose goal for a given year is not winning a SB, but creating and following a path to improvement.

But then you have teams like the Saints, Packers, Cowboys, Chiefs, Steelers, Chargers, and list whoever else you want that haven't really been in a SB during your window either.

I just think that this board in particular wildly overestimates how easy it is to make a SB run. Literally everything has to go right for a team to pull it off. One way to look at it is that "Team X has totally failed to make and win a SB in 10 years so those in charge are incompetent morons." Another is, "Wow, most NFL teams run through boom and bust cycles with far more bust years. This team has been a consistent winner and in the conversation for possible SB teams almost every year for 2 decades now. That's pretty much unheard of."

Perspectives are individual and can readily and reasonably vary. I'm gonna stick with an optimistic one and enjoy the fact that the team I root for hasn't been consigned to wandering the NFL wilderness for some time now. No one else has to take the same viewpoint.

It's extremely easy to make it to the Super Bowl, particularly in the AFC. You only need to have Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, or Ben Roethlisberger.

Here are the quarterbacks in the AFC championship game since 2003:

2003-2004: Tom Brady vs Peyton Manning
2004-2005: Tom Brady vs Ben Roethlisberger
2005-2006: Ben Roethlisberger vs Jake Plummer
2006-2007: Peyton Manning vs Tom Brady
2007-2008: Tom Brady vs Philip Rivers
2008-2009: Ben Reothlisberger vs Joe Flacco
2009-2010: Peyton Manning vs Mark Sanchez
2010-2011: Ben Roethlisberger vs Mark Sanchez
2011-2012: Tom Brady vs Joe Flacco
2012-2013: Joe Flacco vs Tom Brady
2013-2014: Peyton Manning vs Tom Brady
2014-2015: Tom Brady vs Andrew Luck
2015-2016: Peyton Manning vs Tom Brady
2016-2017: Tom Brady vs Ben Roethlisberger
2017-2018: Tom Brady vs Blake Bortles
2018-2019: Tom Brady vs Patrick Mahomes

These are the AFC's Super Bowl quarterbacks in that time:


2003: Tom Brady, Patriots.
2004: Tom Brady, Patriots.
2005: Ben Roethlisberger, Steelers.
2006: Peyton Manning, Colts.
2007: Tom Brady, Patriots.
2008: Ben Roethlisberger, Steelers.
2009: Peyton Manning, Colts.
2010: Ben Roethlisberger, Steelers.
2011: Tom Brady, Patriots.
2012: Joe Flacco, Ravens.
2013: Peyton Manning, Broncos.
2014: Tom Brady, Patriots.
2015: Peyton Manning, Broncos.
2016: Tom Brady, Patriots.
2017: Tom Brady, Patriots.
2018: Tom Brady, Patriots.

So yeah.....getting to the Super Bowl is real easy.

[pepsyman1]

It's extremely easy to make it to the Super Bowl, particularly in the AFC. You only need to have Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, or Ben Roethlisberger.

Here are the quarterbacks in the AFC championship game since 2003:

2003-2004: Tom Brady vs Peyton Manning
2004-2005: Tom Brady vs Ben Roethlisberger
2005-2006: Ben Roethlisberger vs Jake Plummer
2006-2007: Peyton Manning vs Tom Brady
2007-2008: Tom Brady vs Philip Rivers
2008-2009: Ben Reothlisberger vs Joe Flacco
2009-2010: Peyton Manning vs Mark Sanchez
2010-2011: Ben Roethlisberger vs Mark Sanchez
2011-2012: Tom Brady vs Joe Flacco
2012-2013: Joe Flacco vs Tom Brady
2013-2014: Peyton Manning vs Tom Brady
2014-2015: Tom Brady vs Andrew Luck
2015-2016: Peyton Manning vs Tom Brady
2016-2017: Tom Brady vs Ben Roethlisberger
2017-2018: Tom Brady vs Blake Bortles
2018-2019: Tom Brady vs Patrick Mahomes

These are the AFC's Super Bowl quarterbacks in that time:


2003: Tom Brady, Patriots.
2004: Tom Brady, Patriots.
2005: Ben Roethlisberger, Steelers.
2006: Peyton Manning, Colts.
2007: Tom Brady, Patriots.
2008: Ben Roethlisberger, Steelers.
2009: Peyton Manning, Colts.
2010: Ben Roethlisberger, Steelers.
2011: Tom Brady, Patriots.
2012: Joe Flacco, Ravens.
2013: Peyton Manning, Broncos.
2014: Tom Brady, Patriots.
2015: Peyton Manning, Broncos.
2016: Tom Brady, Patriots.
2017: Tom Brady, Patriots.
2018: Tom Brady, Patriots.

So yeah.....getting to the Super Bowl is real easy.

I think this list is exactly why so many Steelers fans (and obviously people on this board) get so frustrated. We've GOT one of the guys that can get us to the Superbowl...there aren't many and it feels like most of the last decade is just wasted opportunity. When you look at the teams that have been to the Superbowl over the last decade, how many teams can you remember that have had more talent then the Steelers have had? We've been inadequate in the secondary. Where else? We've had great players all over this team and it feels like the results don't match up with the talent we see taking the field. On that level, I think Tomlin is a disappointment. It just feels like we've missed a window that a stronger coach could have really exploited.

[teegre]

So what does Tomlin bring to the table. He's got arguably no worse then the tenth best QB in the league, but zero plan to beat the other guy

Sent from my moto x4 using Tapatalk

Tomlin has beaten them the past two times he’s played them...

#Jessecaughtit

[steelerdude15]

I think this list is exactly why so many Steelers fans (and obviously people on this board) get so frustrated. We've GOT one of the guys that can get us to the Superbowl...there aren't many and it feels like most of the last decade is just wasted opportunity. When you look at the teams that have been to the Superbowl over the last decade, how many teams can you remember that have had more talent then the Steelers have had? We've been inadequate in the secondary. Where else? We've had great players all over this team and it feels like the results don't match up with the talent we see taking the field. On that level, I think Tomlin is a disappointment. It just feels like we've missed a window that a stronger coach could have really exploited.

Don't forget about the God awful offensive line we had before they started investing high picks into it.

[steelreserve]

Don't forget about the God awful offensive line we had before they started investing high picks into it.

And after they started investing high picks into it. It was all first- and second-round picks and still sucked until Munchak came in and got their act together. Same guys.

Hey, that's exactly the same problem we have with the secondary! It's almost like there's a coaching problem or something.

But no, that could never be it.