First round draft pick is sadly gone, the only thing to look forward to in a tank is a house cleaning of the coaching staff that will most assuredly mismanage our new DB (maybe even the FO that made the misguided trade in the first place as well)
Steelers make the playoffs but early round exit resulting in a low round draft pick
8-8 season with midround draft pick/can't get the guy they want
We totally stink and get a high round draft pick and a stud QB
First round draft pick is sadly gone, the only thing to look forward to in a tank is a house cleaning of the coaching staff that will most assuredly mismanage our new DB (maybe even the FO that made the misguided trade in the first place as well)
Making the playoffs with a second year QB, a guy you valued enough to trade up to get, and who shows he can lead the offense to secure a playoff berth would be a good season IMO.
With a SB victory. That is a rather pessimistic poll.
Hater = Realist
I'm sure just about all of us would like to say Super Bowl and, this is going to the season Tomlin & the coaching staff have to have their best coaching ever. If not I would say 8-8 being a realist but, who knows maybe Mason plays great could be 10-6. The defense has to get better and, for the most part this is a young team that does have talent so it will be interesting to see what happens.
The poll, if I'm reading it correctly, is asking what we *wish* for, not reasonably expect. Lombardi #7 is a perfectly valid wish. Or rather would be if it were an option in the poll.Originally Posted by steel striker
"You've heard people brag about 'being in the zone'. They don't know what the Hell being in the zone is about. I played in the NFL for 15 years and I was only in the zone that one time." - "Mean" Joe Greene on the 1974 playoff victory over Oakland
“It is our job to keep this train rolling. If anything, from a competitive standpoint, it energizes me and us. We’re excited about balling up our fists and fighting and fighting together."
-Tomlin
Array title="AtlantaDan has a reputation beyond repute">
Bill Barnwell writes it does not look good but the other 0-2 teams are in even worse shape
FPI chance to make the playoffs: 7.1%
This has not been a fun week to be a Steelers fan, but I'm not trying to throw them a bone by putting them at the top of these rankings....
My hope is that the Steelers have surrounded Rudolph with enough talent on offense to get by, likely with a heavier dose of their running game....
I also simply find it tough to believe that a defense that ranked 13th in DVOA in 2018 and addressed its two biggest weaknesses (cornerback and inside linebacker) this offseason is going to be the league's fourth-worst defense by DVOA moving forward.
https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/...d-alive-barely
if we can win sunday (IF), the ravens will most likely lose to the Chiefs at arrowhead. If that plays out, we're only 1 game behind in the division.
I really don’t see the reason for pessimism. The QB and OL will drive this team. We know we have a good OL and Rudolph seems to have the smarts and talent to play well and adjust when needed (with a good game plan). As long as he doesn’t choke we’ll be fine....better than a lot of people are predicting. It’s easy to dismiss a young QB but I think those critics are ignoring a lot of details about this team, including a defense that should be poised to be much more stout as the season progresses. The schedule is not that tough either,
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Hhmm sounds familiar . . .
Ask me after the Cincinnati game on Monday night. 0-4 = you're finished. 1-3 = there is some hope.
10-6.
Assuming that the Steelers win the next two games AND that the Browns lose to the Niners:
The Steelers would be 2-3... and in sole possession of first place in the AFC North.
Additionally, there are a whopping three teams with winning records in the AFC. THREE!!! (Two of which are in the same division.)
SUMMATION:
Winning the AFC North is the floor. Getting the third seed is a realistic possibility. After that...
I love you to death but -- really? Are we watching the same team?
The 2019 Pittsburgh Steelers will be lucky to beat the Bengals tonight. And they have shown no ability to consistently stop the run or TEs - which are the Ravens entire offense. After that, they would have to actually slow down the good version of the Browns offense (the one with functional WRs, TEs, and RBs - unfortunately the Steelers only seem capable of stopping 2 out of 3 and you never know which 2!).
Also, I don't think the current offense can score on the Ravens or Browns. Certainly not at a rate to put enough pressure on their offenses to assist the Steelers own defense.
I would really like your version to be true, but I just can't see it based on the recent on-field product. In fact, I'm kinda behind a developmental 6-10 season as long as it guarantees Butler gets the boot. I still think Mike Tomlin surrounded by average or better coordinators is a SB winning staff.
So go through a "mini-Process" and get everything set for 2020-2021.
Array title="AtlantaDan has a reputation beyond repute">
Props for your optimism but if the Steelers do not win the next 3 games the season is over at the bye week
Steelers should (no way I say will) beat the Bengals tonight but Vegas thinks the Steelers clearly are inferior to the Ravens (who open as 3&1/2 - 4 point favorites next week) and likely will be at least a 6 point underdog for their next doomed trip to the Pacific time zone
http://www.vegasinsider.com/nfl/odds...te/10-06-19#BT
Would be interested on where anyone sees 8 games in which the Steelers will be favored on this schedule (my best case scenario comes up with 6)
Bengals
Ravens
@Chargers
Dolphins
Colts
Rams
@Browns
@ Bengals
Browns
@ Cardinals
Bills
@Jets
@Ravens
Butler sucks. Period. Full stop. Everyone agrees.
That said, Fitzpatrick has paid dividends as a coach on the field. Really. Since he has started at FS, Edmunds has not been out of position. There have been almost no deep completions. The defense as a whole has looked better. And, it’s only going to improve as Fitzpatrick gets more “comfortable”.
Fichtner had to actually coach last night, and he came through. As long as he doesn’t get lulled into running a few successful plays into the ground, we should be good. I can almost feel teams crowding the box to stop the dump-off passes to the RBs, leaving JuJu open for a deep TD pass. And, once that occurs, once Rudolph shows that he can indeed go deep (and simultaneously be insanely accurate on close targets) this offense will be “good enough” to keep pace* with just about any team.
*Because, our defense will be able to force a few 3-&-outs and/or create 2+ turnovers per game.
The only team that “scares” me on that list is the Rams... and they just gave up 55 to Winston.
SUMMATION:
This is one long preseason, just to get to the “real” games (against actually “good” teams):
-playoff game against the Taperiots
-AFCCG against the Chiefs
-Super Bowl
You and the team are starting to convince me. Amazing how immediately after MFF comes in at FS the defense looks better organized? Maybe having one of the smartest players Saban ever coached makes a difference?
Honestly, the defense looks like a case of know your assignment, do your job, and don't worry about what anyone else is doing. All 11 are trusting what they see and trusting everyone else is going to do what they are supposed to do. Hilton and Sutton are absolutely flying around the field in sub-packages!
Problem will be...since that game plan worked, Fichtner will go with it this week and I suspect the team puts up less than 17 points...it’s not going to work every week and it’s not going to work against good teams. I suspect the Ravens will be prepared for it...
Ryan Clark was amazing for many reasons... one of which was getting everyone in the right position. We haven’t had a FS like that since he retired.
Bingo!!! Just like preseason: don’t overthink; just play your role.
Indeed... as I have stated in numerous threads: Fichtner s biggest downfall is finding a few plays that work and then running them into the ground.
My hope is that Fichtner gameplans differently for each opponent, specifically targeting each opponent’s weaknesses.
I'm sticking with 10-6...lol!!!!
Positive vibes from the pessimist!
It goes without saying, these next 2 weeks will be telling. 10-6 will be possible if they can get to 3-3 before the bye. If we can win against the Ravens and SD on the west coast I'll be a believer.
Ugh...when you put it that way, seems like insurmountable odds...
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Historically, the Steelers at 3-3 or better seem to be playoff bound teams. At least that's my recollection. This team has very seldom started off fast. In fact, under Cowher, my hope was always a 3-3 start. They just seemed to gel as it turned colder.
To stay reasonably realistic:
with the division title and a playoff birth
a new young dominant defense and a very capable qb in Rudolph to take over when Ben steps aside.
SD?
im always gonna call em SD, they probably have more fans in san diego than LASD?
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