The Third Annual Steelers March to the Super Bowl Thread

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

Tomorrow is the first preseason game that matters, so it’s time to start talking football. Specifically, let’s talk about the 2006 Super Bowl winning Steelers and their unworthy competition. Where do we begin? I guess we can start with the only teams that were able to beat the mighty Steelers last year and why they are but mere shadows of their former selves.

The Patsies, while still potent, cannot sustain losses like Tedy Bruschi and Ted Johnson combined with the losses of big name cornerbacks over the last few years and still compete. It’s been a good run, but it’s over. Pittsburgh is going to run wild all over them in Week 3.

The Ravens’ success or failure falls squarely on the uncertain shoulders of young Kyle Boller, who couldn’t get it done last year. He looked like the rookie compared to Roethlisberger last season, and I don’t see any reason why that should change this year. Whatever it takes to play QB in the NFL, he doesn’t seem to have it.

And that’s it. Short list. Damned short. It’ll be even shorter this year.

So, on to my beloved Steelers. The Steelers had a phenomenal season last year, coming up just short at the end. This year, my fine friends, they will make it over the hump. They finally got rid of their cancer, showing Plexiglass the door. Duce is a bit dinged, but he’ll be ready by Week 1, and we still have the Bus. The defense is still as solid as ever, and if Randle El steps up the Steelers will have a potent receiving corps, especially when Ward gets his money (which he should, although I hate holdouts). Roethlisberger proved he was the real deal last year, and now he’s a year older and a year wiser. I just don’t see how they can lose. They have everything in spades.

So, who’s the opposition in the Super Bowl going to be? The Eagles are imploding so they’re finished, Favre can’t make chicken shit into chicken salad, and Vick can’t do it all himself. So, who will it be? I don’t know either, but I don’t care. The Steelers will demolish whoever it is all the same. The Viqueeens? Without Moss they’re toast. The Colts? No defense. The Colts are the new Dolphins, all show no go.

So, onto the bottom line: the Steelers are going to win. All the rest of you guys can start thinking about next year, because the Vinny is going right back where it belongs, into the trophy case with the other four. Just as the Yankees had a long drought after years of utter domination and then broke back out, the Steelers will once again reassert their dominance. Take it to the bank.

2

WoooHooo! Go Steelers! Is Hines Ward still a hold-out?

I am a little worried. Rothlesburger did will last year, but I think it had more to do with the team around him. This year I’m hoping he’ll grow and really take it up a step.

Bettis is on the hotseat again. Staley is out with an injury. I fear he is too injury-prone for us to keep.

None-the-less, I am looking forward to the season! :slight_smile:

3

I am a Steeler fan, bleed black and gold, but if Ward does what is being said

Link
I fear for the team. But if the FO and Ward come to a mutually agreeable contract before the season opener, I will be confident once again. They cannot give him everything he wants, without gutting the rest of the team.

As for the rest of the AFC North, they are not worth worrying about with or without Ward. Steelers will make it to the playoffs regardless. I mean the Bungles may try something this year but will still be the laughingstock of the NFL, Ratbirds might of improved had they picked up a QB but depending on Boller is like when the Steelers depended on Kordell, and well the Clowns I see them in the basement this season.

4

I predict that no one goes to the Superbowl this year, as everyone is going to suck ass.

Of course, this isn’t actually possible, but the PrimaDonna-ism and TD count explosion of last year is going to reap a negative crop this year. Meaning? DEFENSE is going to win out this year, not airballing.

I could be totally wrong too, but I don’t want to go there just yet. Not in the PreSeason, anyways. I’ll be back here in this thread on about Week 5 or 6 and see if I’m eating crow or basking in glory.

5

Woohoo! The ASMttSBT is back!

I’m going to guess you’re just dabbling in a little hyperbole, otherwise you’re calling for a 16-0 season.

Anyway, my views on them (please note through all of this that while they’re not my team, I still like the Steelers and will generally root for them) –

Welcome to the Big Time, Prince Roethlisberger. Now, for your wake-up call. Let’s take a look at a few of Big Ben’s 2004 regular season stats:
295 passes in 14 starts. Want to know how many players with that many starts threw fewer passes? That be…errrr…none. 21.1 pass attempts per game. Know who threw less? Jonathan Quinn, Luke McCown, Doug Flutie and David Garrard. Want them on your fantasy team?

Bottom line – Pittsburgh’s fans can crow all they want about Roethlisberger’s rookie achievements, but they simply don’t hold up to scrutiny. The Steelers had an amazing season last year, not Roethlisberger. The Steelers rushed 618 times last season! To put that into perspective, 2nd place Denver rushed 534 times. Pittsburgh threw the ball a league-low 358 times. All Roethlisberger had to do was hand the ball off, and bang! “Look at me! I saved the franchise! I’m the greatest rookie in history!”

So, Big Ben…unimpressive until he shows he can actually command a passing game. That leaves their real strength – the ground game. How much more of a pounding can Bettis take? This’ll be his 14th season, and the rust is going to be harder and harder to cover up. If he doesn’t get hurt, then by midseason he’s going to primarily be a decoy, drawing eight defenders into the box and then praying Roethlisberger pulls off a pass. Staley, I can’t trash. The guy is good. However, he’s not going to be good enough to carry the entire team, especially if Ward goes on an extended holdout.

They took hefty losses in free agency (including several pro-bowlers), and statistically have one of the toughest schedules. I suppose the bottom line is that they have talent, but very little of it is in its prime. Finishing Record: 8-8 (maybe 9-7).

Incidentally, was last year’s version of this thread started in MPSIMS or the Pit? I’m guessing it begins here, and then moves to the Pit after the first Ravens fan posts…just curious.
And lno? You owe me a peanut.

6

Well, I’m a diehard Ravens fans, so I guess we’re Pit-bound.

I do disagree vehemently with your assessments, Airman, but I’m not big into invective.

I do think that Boller will definitely finish the year with a better QB rating that Bennie Boy, now that he has multiple targets including Heap and Mason, plus Jamal and Taylor a credible one-two threat in the backfield.

Couple a three prong potential offensive threat with a defense still in the top 5 in the league (and maybe better, if Rolle is as capable as I think he is) and I think that we’ve got an even chance to take the AFC North.

Bettis? Just getting too damn old now.
Staley? More broken than the Bus.

Plexiglass might be gone, and that might be good for team morale, but that’s one less credible target - plus if Hines Ward holds out as long as they’re saying he might, that’s a wobbly start to a season in the toughtest conference in the league.
I might be wrong - lord knows the Ravens can break my heart time and again - but I wouldn’t be surprised to beat the Steelers twice this year.

7

Yes, this is the first one started in MPSIMS. I didn’t want it closed as a joke thread or a “light” thread or whatever else they want to call it, because that’s been the trend, even though there all of 25 threads on the front page right now. They can move it there if they like and then we can really cut loose, but this is going to have to be the softer, gentler version. Either that or we do without.

Anyway… 8-8? Are you nuts!!! I can’t think of a single person anywhere on earth that is calling it so low. I’ll go for 12-4, because that represents the compromise position between the two of us, but that’s as low as I’m willing to go. I mean, come on! It’s not like they’ll be challenged by anyone in the division. That’s 6 easy wins right there, and they’re halfway home on that 12.

8-8. You should be ashamed. Pessimist.

8

Jinxing the season again, eh?

I don’t think the Steelers can maintain the record of last year. The whole season depends on Roethlisberger avoiding the sophomore slump; defenses have had months to pick apart his performance in glorious color.

If the Ravens fans feel threatened enogh to take this thread to the Pit, I guess they can’t control their fear of the Black and Gold.

Don’t feel too bad, it’s natural.

:wink:

9

Airman Doors, you spelled Ravens wrong in your thread title.
It should be ‘R-A-V-E-N-S March to the Superbowl’.

I’m sure a Mod would be more than happy to fix it for you.

:wink:

10

But why count the Pats out so quickly? Yes, they lost Johnson and Bruschi, but last year, they lost basically their entire secondary and still won the Super Bowl – beating the Steelers along the way, I’ll note.

Anyway, I don’t have much of an opinion on the Steelers. Just don’t be amazed if somehow the Pats pull it off again.

11

Let me apologize in advance for the heartbreak and humiliation you poor Steelers fans will suffer on December 18th. Maybe, if you’re lucky, you’ll get to repeat the heartbreak in Detroit in early 2006.

12

The peanut’s in the mail, Hal.

13

Hogeboom should do good this season.

14

I think Hal’s assessment of the Steelers is more accurate than Airman’s (although that could be due to my seeing the world through purple and black colored glasses). Roethlisberger lost his favorite receiver in Burress, and if Ward doesn’t come back soon, he’s going to be in a world of hurt. Without anyone to stretch the field, opponents can load for bear against the run and shut them down. Bettis has more miles on him than my truck does, and Staley’s a better receiver than runner. The defense lost Kendrell Bell in free agency and Joey Porter to the stupidest injury since Bill Gramatica (at least Gramatica was celebrating something that counted), and the secondary’s not too sharp. Ben’s going to have to do a hell of a lot more than he did last year to get anywhere close to the same result.

Hal made some good points about his rookie season - he was playing the Trent Dilfer role. Hand the ball off, don’t throw interceptions, let the defense and the running game win, and that weakness was exposed in the playoffs. I’ve seen Ben “Trent Dilfer” Roethlisberger, and I’ve seen Ben “Neil O’Donnell” Roethlisberger in the playoffs, but I’ve yet to see this “Big Ben” character people have been talking about. I don’t think the Steelers can come close to catching lightning in a jar again this year.

The Ravens, though… I’m looking forward to this year. There’s a lot riding on Boller’s shoulders, but not as much as some people make it out to be. He has a true #1 receiving threat for the first time in his career, which will help him as a QB, but it will also help the running game. With Mason, the return of Jamal Lewis and Todd Heap (both on the physically unable to perform list for the moment) and rookie Mark Clayton, he’ll have the weapons to run a top-flight offense. We’ll see if he can live up to the challenge.

The Ravens defense should return to the top of the league as well. The secondary of Ed Reed, Chris McAllister, Samari Rolle and Will Demps is the best in the NFL, especially when you add Deion Sanders and Dale Carter to the nickel and dime packages. The defensive line should be solid, and coordinator Rex Ryan will be implementing some of his dad’s feared “46 defense,” which was responsible for the second best team defense in history (we all remember the best ever). I foresee two victories over the 9-7 Steelers, and 9-10 more wins that put the Ravens solidly in command of the division.

15

Oh I get it, this is turning into a joke thread. :slight_smile:

16

Are there any fans of any other teams out there? It seems that Steeler threads always attract Ravens fans.

Frankly, the Ravens are my favorite team named after a poet’s opium-induced hallucinations.

I hope I’m wrong, but the Steelers are perfectly capable of beating themselves as well as any other team. If the run gets stuffed constantly, they will be forced to take chances; again, it’s pretty much up to Ben to be the hero.

A player to watch- #30, Chad Scott. You’ll see what I mean.

17

While the Steelers will fall to the Ravens at least once this year, I’m not convinced they’ll pull the season sweep. More likely will be a split between the two. Ravens are the more likely candidate to take the division, however.

Something I forgot to mention in my first post – a bit of Steelers Trivia: What have the Steelers not done for the past eight seasons; that they will do at least twice, and possibly three times, this season?

18

Oh, hell yeah. Big Blue, all the way!

I always look at this thread as the de facto football chatter thread.

19

Lose to Cincy? :dubious:

I give up.

20

Do not ever speak of this person again. That name is verboten. He does not compare to Ben, Ben lost his playoff game fair and square.