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Quote:
...“We just didn’t play well, especially on the defensive side of the ball,” said defensive end Brett Keisel whose moist and reddened eyes were his most distinguishing feature after this game rather than his well-publicized beard...
LINK: http://www.timesonline.com/sports/sp...t-to-rest.html
Never "talked" about it in regards to this team anyway, personally.
I think the most likely overall path for this team is to be like the Spurs in basketball. We don't win back-to-back titles or dominate the whole league in any given season, but we're always dangerous and win about three or four championships in the course of a decade while somehow replenishing an aging roster just enough to be "experienced veterans" instead of "old and rebuilding."
Before the start of this season, I would've thought our title window was going to slam shut within the next year or two. But with our young guys (Hood, Wallace, Sanders) stepping up, some old guys (Hampton, Keisel) not acting as old as I thought, a bunch of promising rookies, and a newfound propensity to sign free agents as valuable role players (Adams, Foote, ARE), I think we're on a damn good path to keep it open for a few more years unless we draft terribly or make a huge mistake in FA. Basically, the title window will come down to how long Polamalu can perform at a high level. Not too bad of a situation if you ask me.
I really do like that comparison and I have no problem with the situation either!Originally Posted by steelreserve
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I think that is one of the best analogies. They are not spectacular and they don't really dominate but they just grind it out and win.
I think the "window" is closing for Hampton, Kiesel, A. Smith, Ward, and Farrior. I think with a nucleus of Ben, Troy, Timmons/Woodley, Ike, Heath paired with the young guns: Wallace, Brown/Sanders, Pouncey, Hood, Mendendhall, we'll be in the thick of the race for the next 5-6 years. I think we could probably get 1 or 2 more SB's in that period. I'd take that.
But that "D" word is something that belongs to the 70's Steeler and nobody will ever match that.
Yea. We did good. But like (I think it was Lombardi) said, "no one remembers 2nd place".
I definitely agree that the window is closing on Ward, A. Smith and Farrior. But the thing is, we did very well without huge contributions from two of them this year, and that surprised me. Hood really broke out this year and legitimately filled Smith's shoes. That's huge. I didn't think we'd find someone who could do that. Ward started diminishing into a role player, but Wallace exploded, and Sanders turned into a realistic #2-3 receiver. Farrior had a great year but is also getting old ... but Foote should be a good replacement eventually and I never thought we'd have him back. Hampton seems like he could play forever, and I'm torn on the NT position. On the one hand, Hampton is amazing and I think we need a guy like that. On the other, it seems like we win whether or not he's tearing it up.
What I really think we need to stay competitive in the next 3 years is 1) another good CB, 2) a replacement DE or NT, and 3) another RB.
Note that I didn't say OL -- remember that we have two of them coming back from injury next year, and while I don't think Starks and Colon are perfect, we should still improve. I wouldn't be opposed to adding another star player there, but I don't see it as such a dire need as some.
Also, I would never be surprised to see us add another LB, since that needs constant replenishment. RB I say only because the average shelf life at that position is five years, and Mendenhall is not going to last us solo until 2017. We'll get one the next time a good one becomes available for the right pick/price.
Anyway ... THAT'S our formula for staying competitive for the next several years. I sure hope we don't lose too many Super Bowls in the meantime though, because I can't take too much more of this shit.
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