The 8th Annual Steelers March to the Super Bowl Thread

The Game Room
1

Football starts tonight, and I figured that I might as well start now since there are a few days until football really starts. I mean, who really cares about any other team but the Steelers anyway?

So let’s start off with the big issue of the year: Ben Roethlisberger’s 4-game suspension. We could go over it all again, but what’s the point? What’s done is done. With Leftwich out, it falls on Dennis Dixon to carry the team for the first quarter of the season. It could be worse. Look at their first 4 games: Atlanta, Tennessee, Tampa Bay, and the friggin’ Ratbirds. Pittsburgh wins 2, maybe 3, of those games. All Dixon has to do is make decent decisions and they’re set. Hell, if they win only one they’ll still be good for the playoffs, what with the impending TO/Ochocinco ego-driven blowup of the Bengals and the usual ineptitude of the Brownies.

I’m not worried, not even a little bit. Sure, they won’t go undefeated, but they’ll be just fine. It’s worth noting that the Steelers are pretty much the same team as last year less Santonio Holmes, with a notable upgrade at center with Pouncey, Flozell Adams at guard, Smith and Polamalu healthy on defense, and an emerging Ziggy Hood. The team lost 7 games last year by a grand total of 28 points. I’m thinking that all is good in Steeler Nation right now, that they’ll surely improve upon that.

The best part is this: the media thinks that they’re washed up, ranking them somewhere between 15 and 20 in the preseason power rankings. If that isn’t one hell of a sleeper ranking I don’t know what is. They have no faith and no respect for the Steelers but blow the Ravens up into the top 5. I think they’re in for a rude surprise. Go ahead, write the Steelers off, jump on that 'Girls/Ratbirds/'Aints/Quitters/Patsies/whatever flavor-of-the-month team bandwagon. You’ll find out by the end of the year what a miscalculation that was.

To sum up, the rest of your teams suck. The Steelers are going to weather the storm, make the playoffs, and win number 7 for the Rooneys, the city, and the fans, and put the screws to the rest of you. You know I’ll be here at the end of the year, don’t say I didn’t tell you it was coming. Enjoy watching your shady teams all year, I’ll be watching championship football. I can’t wait to see the Cowboys watching the Steelers win the Super Bowl on their home field. Jerry Jones will be positively apoplectic, and I’ll be grinning ear to ear and waving my Terrible Towel as it’s happening. Count on it.

2

We’re still on for the nice bottle of hard alcohol of your choice (within reason of course), on whether or not the Steelers make the playoffs, right?

3

I thought we might be spared this thread for once. Next year, Airman, please, give it a rest.

4

Ignore List. Use it.

5

I said “please”.

6

It’s about damned time. I’ve been waiting for this thread.

I think we’ll weather the storm as well. Dixon’s confident (maybe too confident) and I think the players like their chances well enough with him in there. Naturally the D has to play well but that’s the case with Ben in there as well. This year we have Aaron Smith back, Polamalu, and most importantly, vastly improved depth. No more Ty Carter if Troy goes down. Will Allen is an upgrade there. Gay is back where he belongs, backing up BMac and playing nickel. Even that might be short-lived. I think Crezdon Butler looks good enough to take over there. Three rookie linebackers are in there learning the system and trying to make names for themselves on special teams. I doubt if we’ll see them all in uniforms at the same time this year but they’ll get there chances.

Biggest area of concern for me is the line as usual. It’s almost a boon for them to have Ben out for a while. This is the biggest O-line the Steelers have ever had and they are built for road-grading not pass-blocking. It would be beautiful to have this line with Willie Colon in there at guard (where he should have been all along) but them’s the breaks. Maurkice Pouncey looks like the real deal. I’m looking forward to seeing what he can do.

7

Now now now…at least he’s right about the Browns.

8

I’ve been wondering when you would start this.

Go Steelers!

Having said that, I’m a little concerned, I think we may struggle a little the first few weeks. I guess we’ll see.

9

Why should Robot Arm ignore all your posts just because he doesn’t like this thread? You do post on other subjects than the Steelers, don’t you?

That said, this is the first and last time you’ll see me in a thread about the Steelers, and Robot Arm would not be amiss to adopt the same policy. Bye!

And Good Luck, I guess, if I have to.

10

Saw some reports that the coach won’t commit to starting Ben even after the suspension is up. Mr. Dixon, that sound at your door is opportunity knocking…
**

GEAUX SAINTS!**

11

That’s not going to happen. They are feeding off of each other and making each other better, and they are friends. Sure its a media circus and I hate it, but what can I do but root them on? I suppose blustering about them in such a way is better than expressing your deep-down fear of that offense. Its OK, if I were a Steelers fan, I’d be worried too!
:slight_smile:

No doubt.

12

I’m more worried about the rookie TE you guys drafted. Reggie Kelly was a great blocker but I don’t ever remember worrying about Carson having a good Tight End option to keep the safeties and LBs honest.

13

Ha. I know. I’ve been complaining about it…well, forever! We tried with Ben Utecht but he couldn’t stay healthy. We drafted Chase Coffman but he couldn’t block. Now we finally have a legit threat at that position, and he looks really good (in preseason anyway).

If the the four main receiving options(Chad, TO, Shipley, Gresham) all stay healthy and produce like they should, the Bengals offense will be completely transformed.

Speaking of receivers, what’s the Steelers situation like? I know they lost Holmes and still have Ward and Wallace…any new faces worth a damn? Am I forgetting someone important?

14

FoieGras - It’s not about TO and Ocho. They will be fine. The problem with your team is that Carson Palmer is a mediocre quarterback.

There, I said it.

15

Wasn’t there also a Hate the Steelers thread for several seasons? Did the OP of that one die or get banished to the Pit?

16

Eh, I don’t think he is. He’s numbers since 2006 suggest it, but its not all on him. We used to have a great offensive line anchored by Pro-Bowl tackles in Willie Anderson and Levi Jones. In 2007 we lost them, as well as our center Richie Braham, lost Eric Steinbach, etc. 2008 Palmer sat out most of the year with an injury.

He did a pretty good job in spite of a patchwork oline last season, engineering comeback wins in several games last season, most notably vis a vis this thread the game against Pittsburgh at Paul Brown Stadium last season. True, he looked like dogshit in the playoff game against the Jets, but the facts were that not only was the oline suspect in pass pro all season long, we had very limited receiving options last season. Henry got hurt and died, and with him went our speed/height combination. Both starting TE’s suffered season-ending injuries in 2009’s training camp, so we had a couple nobodies playing there. Laverneus Coles turned into a bust signing and could never get open.

We don’t have that problem anymore. Palmer is as good as he’s ever been, which is to say he hasn’t lost anything, but the team had to rebuild quite a bit dating back to the 2007 season. We’re there now. Watch and see.

17

Predication: Steelers will go 18-0 in the regular season. Yes they will win more games than are even scheduled using a time machine that Big Ben invents with all his free time.

GO STEELERS!!

18

There are two rookies, Sanders and Brown, who both look pretty good. I don’t know if either one will reach Holmes’ skill level but they have played well enough for the team to go with more receivers than they wanted to. I think they will be going with 6 D-linemen this year on game days. Brown has been returning punts as well. They look like solid 3rd, 4th guys at least. They also brought in Arnaz Battle but he’s more for depth and special teams.

19

Just a note on these two since I’m sure a lot of people haven’t been able to keep up on the off-season changes.

Flozell Adams is in at Right Tackle because Willie Colon is out for the season. The line will look like, Starks-Kemoeatu-Pouncey-Essex-Adams. Adams has looked OK run-blocking, very weak in pass protection. He’s lost a step and will need help against speed rushers. Unfortunately the guy beside him, Essex, is by far the weak link of the line. Adams is also playing on the right side for the first time in his career.

Pouncey is the second rookie lineman to start from day one for the Steelers in the last forty years. The other was marvel Smith. I’m trying not to get my hopes too high but I love this guy. He’s strong and quick. At 304 lbs he still looks lean. In the preseason he regularly chipped his guy out and then went after LBs and he did it against the others teams first units. No wonder they let Justin Hartwig go.

Our guards are going to struggle mightily in picking up blitzes and stunts so it’s crucial for Pouncey to be able to make good calls and be able to help those two guys out. So far he looks like he can do it. They say he knows the playbook as well as any of the linemen already. It’ll be interesting to see how he fares under live fire.

20

If we can start 2-2 until Ben gets back, it will be a great start. I have zero confidence in Dixon after the Baltimore game last year.