Steelers blowing the whole thing up...

[iggyman555]

stoolers O:
qb - check
rb - check
wr - check
te - check
OL - sucks

Stoolers D:
#1

so if they can somehow fix the o line and push money to 2014/2015 they should be a playoff contender next year with healthy big ben...then they will be forced to BLOW it up after next year

[MarkS]

stoolers O:
qb - check

If healthy, yes

rb - check

If by "check" you mean completely mediocre, then yes. Mendenhall's a bust, Rainey is gone, Redman and Dwyer are pretty average.

wr - check

Who replaces Wallace? Will Brown or Saunders be as effective when they start to draw double-teams? Very unlikely their receiver productivity doesn't drop off once he leaves.

te - check
OL - sucks

Yes and yes

Stoolers D:
#1

#6 in points allowed. Also older than dirt at most positions, and almost certain to lose a couple key players as cap casualties.

so if they can somehow fix the o line and push money to 2014/2015 they should be a playoff contender next year with healthy big ben...then they will be forced to BLOW it up after next year

How much would it cost to upgrade their O-line, mortgage more of their future with several more restructures, then hope and pray everything else falls in place (BR and the D stay healthy, the WRs step up, Dwyer emerges, etc....) and all for what? A one-year reprieve, and then have to blow the whole damn thing up in 2014 anyway?
Their FO is smarter than that.

[alienrace]

I'm in the same boat. I never count out the Steelers. They'll find a way to contend again.

Well they've been for the last two years moving money back to only delay the inevitable, but it sounds like they are at the end of that road. Age has also caught up with them, as well as some poor drafts in recent years.

[The Excellector]

There are just some realities they are going to have to face. Given Ben's style of play and the reality that we all expected him to begin breaking down soon, why should they expect him to stay healthy? Why should they expect some of their veteran defenders to stay healthy?

They should have moved two years ago, but stubbornly tried to bring the same group back. Everyone else in the division went younger, except for them. The Ravens may have Ed Reed playing with one arm and may have had Ray Lewis miss a significant portion of the season, but they still won the division on ten games and are back in the AFC Championship Game (Although, that is partly due to Lewis).

The Ravens have an offensive line that stays relatively healthy. Pittsburgh's offensive line seems to stay hurt. The Ravens have a QB who has not missed a game. Pittsburgh has a QB who is now missing game annually. The Ravens have two quality RBs right now. Pittsburgh might have Dwyer, but their guys struggle to stay healthy and put the ball on the ground (Not that Rice didn't fumble twice in the Wildcard game).

They have a speed demon in Mike Wallace, but a guy who isn't always looking for contact, when it comes to blocking, going over the middle or making a play on the ball in tight coverage. The Ravens have an up and comer in Torrey Smith who handles all of those responsibilities a little better. So, while he may not be as fast as Wallace, His acceleration and intangibles still make him a comparable player, who is on the rise.

That's just the offensive side of the ball.

[JAB1985]

Pittsburgh has been through a very regular pattern this millennium, missing the playoffs every three years: 2000, 2003, 2006, 2009, 2012.

I saw this myself the other day when people were bitching about Harbaugh. Its really saying something when a perennial SB contender cannot even make the playoffs 3 years in a row and we have fans that complain about 5 years with at least one win not being good enough. The Steelers are looking at us now and saying they want to be as consistent as we are.

[wickedsolo]

The Steelers are going to have to do a cap purge...and that is going to mean cutting guys that they may not want to cut (Troy P...Ryan Clark...Ike Taylor...) and build through the draft. They're not going to have any money to work with in free agency.

[iggyman555]

If healthy, yes

If by "check" you mean completely mediocre, then yes. Mendenhall's a bust, Rainey is gone, Redman and Dwyer are pretty average.

Who replaces Wallace? Will Brown or Saunders be as effective when they start to draw double-teams? Very unlikely their receiver productivity doesn't drop off once he leaves.

Yes and yes


#6 in points allowed. Also older than dirt at most positions, and almost certain to lose a couple key players as cap casualties.



How much would it cost to upgrade their O-line, mortgage more of their future with several more restructures, then hope and pray everything else falls in place (BR and the D stay healthy, the WRs step up, Dwyer emerges, etc....) and all for what? A one-year reprieve, and then have to blow the whole damn thing up in 2014 anyway?
Their FO is smarter than that.

just an option if they wanted to go for it one more time...id draft a qb this year also if they are blowing it up

[srobert96]

The challenge that the Steelers have is with BR. His style of play is not conducive to a long career. He has always been reckless with his body and it looks like it is catching up to him. One of the things that made Ben special was how he could extend the plays and make something happen. He is not going to be able to do that anymore. Their oline is going to be weak at the tackle spots for the near future. Mike Adams is highly overrated. They are going to have to replace their two OLB on defense. That is not always the easiest thing to do in a 3-4. They have been missing on drafts and it is hurting their ability to replace their top guys.

[lovefootball]

I wonder how you go 8-8 and still have the no 1 defense. Low scoring games(who did they play?). Guess I'll have to check out who they played.

[s.r.genovese]

Agreed, but any team can have a bad season. They are like DiNiro in Cape Fear, they have to be killed off completely before I can say they won't be in the running for a while.

Fair but I think they've been on the downturn since the Tebow loss.

[srobert96]

I wonder how you go 8-8 and still have the no 1 defense. Low scoring games(who did they play?). Guess I'll have to check out who they played.

They were not very good in the turnover dept. basically 16 turnovers in 15 games. They got 5 in the Cleveland game.

[srobert96]

I wonder how you go 8-8 and still have the no 1 defense. Low scoring games(who did they play?). Guess I'll have to check out who they played.

They were not very good in the turnover dept. basically 16 turnovers in 15 games. They got 5 in the Cleveland game.