# The (Lucky) 13th Annual Steelers March to the Super Bowl Thread **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [August 11, 2015, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lucky-13th-annual-steelers-march-to-the-super-bowl-thread/727515 "2015-08-11T01:27:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![Grsz11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Grsz11](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grsz11)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2015, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lucky-13th-annual-steelers-march-to-the-super-bowl-thread/727515/181 "2015-12-27T21:14:06Z")
Yep, is that it for the season? ---
**Author:** ![JSexton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@JSexton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JSexton)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2015, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lucky-13th-annual-steelers-march-to-the-super-bowl-thread/727515/182 "2015-12-27T22:07:57Z")
> [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](#): > > I just got tickets to go down to Ratbirdland this Sunday. I have no Earthly idea where to park or anything about getting to the game, though. How about light rail? How does that work to get to the stadium? What’s the timetable? How far out do I park to avoid the traffic snafu? So, uh, dare I ask? ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2015, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lucky-13th-annual-steelers-march-to-the-super-bowl-thread/727515/183 "2015-12-27T23:27:51Z")
> [@Grsz11](#): > > Yep, is that it for the season? No, but now they need to beat the Browns in the Factory of Sadness and hope the Bills beat the Jets in Buffalo. It could happen, the Bills beat them earlier this year. What a time to do whatever the hell that was today. The most prolific passing offense in the league and they threw 10 passes in the first half. Ben must have been confused by last week’s yellow pants because those picks were terrible. And the defense respected Ryan Mallett like he was an NFL legend, playing so far off the receivers the Rats could have completed 60 consecutive 5-yard passes with no resistance. Ryan Mallett. What a stupid way to go, if that’s what happens. And the Patriots herped and derped and let the Jets win. Thanks for the assist. ---
**Author:** ![Isosleepy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/isosleepy/32/479_2.png) [@Isosleepy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isosleepy)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2015, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lucky-13th-annual-steelers-march-to-the-super-bowl-thread/727515/184 "2015-12-28T04:12:46Z")
The Patriots owed us nothing. We should have beat this team and didn’t. There’s a shot at the Bills beating the Jets- call it 40% ? Less, likely. And a much smaller chance of the Bronco’s losing out. And this is ok. We didn’t take care of business when it was all in our own hands. While I hope for a small miracle next week, it’d be nothing but a huge gift. ---
**Author:** ![HongKongFooey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c4cdca/32.png) [@HongKongFooey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HongKongFooey)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2015, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lucky-13th-annual-steelers-march-to-the-super-bowl-thread/727515/185 "2015-12-28T19:31:59Z")
I’m starting to think Haley saw Ben in warm-ups and just casually scratched out most of the first half passing plays. I was actually enjoying those runs until I realized that’s all we could rely on. Well, that and Flacco-style downfield lob and prays hoping for PI calls. Some of the run plays had Heath Miller trapping inside; I thought that was a neat addition and I hope we see it again. Another thought I had throughout the game is that I don’t ever remember another lineman as active away for the line of scrimmage as Cam Heyward is. The big guy is hustling all the damn time! ---
**Author:** ![Grsz11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Grsz11](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grsz11)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2016, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lucky-13th-annual-steelers-march-to-the-super-bowl-thread/727515/186 "2016-01-03T21:04:05Z")
Playoff bound baby! ---
**Author:** ![Zyanthia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Zyanthia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyanthia)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2016, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lucky-13th-annual-steelers-march-to-the-super-bowl-thread/727515/187 "2016-01-03T21:05:34Z")
Just wanted to peek in and say Congratulations to all you Steelers fans! ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2016, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lucky-13th-annual-steelers-march-to-the-super-bowl-thread/727515/188 "2016-01-03T21:19:27Z")
Man, the Bills came up BIG! I could kiss the next Buffalo fan I meet. PLAYOFFS, BABY! Of course, let’s be pragmatic about this. DeAngelo Williams is hurt and might not play. which leaves the Steelers with an inexperienced back starting in the playoffs for the second year in a row. Ben hasn’t been sharp and the secondary still leaks like a sieve, but they both got it done when they had to. Hopefully that trends continues next week. It remains to be seen who they get, but it’s either the Bengals or the Broncos, both teams they have beaten this year. I’d prefer the Bengals, truthfully. The Broncos’ defense is really strong, even if they didn’t show it against Pittsburgh a few weeks ago. The Bengals still don’t have Dalton back, and if they get him back he’ll be rusty and with it being the playoffs you can expect a serious bedwetting. But none of that matters right now. What matters is PLAYOFFS! ---
**Author:** ![DKW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dkw/32/3118_2.png) [@DKW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DKW)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2016, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lucky-13th-annual-steelers-march-to-the-super-bowl-thread/727515/189 "2016-01-04T03:27:10Z")
Humble question: How big of a deal is simply making the playoffs in the NFL? For _college_ football, I can understand what an accomplishment simply making the postseason is. There are plenty of levels, some colleges are always going to be way more powerful than others, and there are way more things to shoot for than “national championship” and “Heisman”. Heck, Hawaii has been clobbered in every bowl game it’s ever been in, yet we always celebrate simply getting that far. On the professional level, however, I’d think that any enthusiasm about making the playoffs needs to be at least somewhat matched up with that particular team’s chances of winning the Super Bowl, or at least the conference championship. I’ve never understood why just “making the playoffs” is considered a giant milestone for coaches. 9-7 teams routinely qualify. The NBA and NHL have become such thin gruel that _any_ franchise that’s not an absolute doormat has made the postseason at least once in the past decade. And when you’re talking about the Steelers, this is an incredibly storied franchise which has has _enormous_ success. (I lost count of how many Super Bowls…five or six?) If they, predictably, get as far as the divisional playoff before bowing out, this would be like the Yankees bungling yet another ALCS; decent run, probably as best as they could’ve done that year, but nothing to celebrate. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2016, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lucky-13th-annual-steelers-march-to-the-super-bowl-thread/727515/190 "2016-01-04T04:15:57Z")
Well, it keeps the fans happy and presumably the owner/GM happy. It doesn’t always save a coach’s job and especially if they don’t win in the postseason (look at Marty Schottenheimer). And only 3/8 of the teams in each conference make it in in the NFL. It’s not the 30% of each league of MLB, but it’s not the massively overloaded postseason of the NHL or the NBA, where there’s practically no point in watching most of the regular season. I personally really try not to get too caught up in professional sports. I really hate the fans that go all first-person plural all the time when talking about a team. But I’ll admit, I was sitting there nervously watching the Broncos game rooting for a win and the number one seed. I understand why Airman is so happy (did your family watch any of the Dallas game, AD?) but I really try to detach myself. I guess it’s just human nature that it’s hard or impossible to do so completely. ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2016, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lucky-13th-annual-steelers-march-to-the-super-bowl-thread/727515/191 "2016-01-04T05:01:29Z")
> [@DKW](#): > > Humble question: How big of a deal is simply making the playoffs in the NFL? > > For _college_ football, I can understand what an accomplishment simply making the postseason is. There are plenty of levels, some colleges are always going to be way more powerful than others, and there are way more things to shoot for than “national championship” and “Heisman”. Heck, Hawaii has been clobbered in every bowl game it’s ever been in, yet we always celebrate simply getting that far. > > On the professional level, however, I’d think that any enthusiasm about making the playoffs needs to be at least somewhat matched up with that particular team’s chances of winning the Super Bowl, or at least the conference championship. I’ve never understood why just “making the playoffs” is considered a giant milestone for coaches. 9-7 teams routinely qualify. The NBA and NHL have become such thin gruel that _any_ franchise that’s not an absolute doormat has made the postseason at least once in the past decade. > > And when you’re talking about the Steelers, this is an incredibly storied franchise which has has _enormous_ success. (I lost count of how many Super Bowls…five or six?) If they, predictably, get as far as the divisional playoff before bowing out, this would be like the Yankees bungling yet another ALCS; decent run, probably as best as they could’ve done that year, but nothing to celebrate. You can’t win it if you don’t make it. Once you’re in anything can happen. Look at the Patriots. They were untouchable, now they’re going in after losing 4 of 6. Denver was almost out of the playoffs altogether, and now they’re the top seed. KC was moribund and then they won 10 in a row. Everything you think you knew about the regular season is now irrelevant, there are no real front-runners this year. Pittsburgh has as good a shot as any if they put up 30 a game like they are capable of. Besides, winning the Super Bowl is what it’s all about. Having a shot at that is still a pretty good indicator of success. There’s a reason Pittsburgh’s head coaches change once a generation while Cleveland’s are so numerous it’s hard to remember their names, or why Marvin Lewis has managed to remain the Bengals coach for so long when it was once a turnstile. ---
**Author:** ![\_len](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/_/c0e974/32.png) [@\_len](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/_len)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lucky-13th-annual-steelers-march-to-the-super-bowl-thread/727515/192 "2016-01-05T11:31:36Z")
> [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](#): > > … > There’s a reason Pittsburgh’s head coaches change once a generation while Cleveland’s are so numerous it’s hard to remember their names, or why Marvin Lewis has managed to remain the Bengals coach for so long when it was once a turnstile. Over the past 50 years, more men have served as Pope ([5](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_popes#3rd_millennium)) than Pittsburgh Steelers Head Coach ([4](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Pittsburgh_Steelers_head_coaches)). That said, I’d still ask Papa Franciscus for advice on how to defend against a [Four Verticals](http://www.cougcenter.com/2011/12/13/2633162/mike-leach-playbook-four-verticals-airraid) look. We don’t quite have the secondary to do that consistently. Very surprised we’re favored against Cincy on the road. ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lucky-13th-annual-steelers-march-to-the-super-bowl-thread/727515/193 "2016-01-05T14:33:07Z")
So the Steelers offense ends up #3 in yards and #4 in total points for the season. Too bad the Steeler fans wish to get rid of Todd Haley didn’t come true. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lucky-13th-annual-steelers-march-to-the-super-bowl-thread/727515/194 "2016-01-05T15:52:07Z")
Stat geeks can help me out here, has any other head coach been as successful as Tomlin at the beginning of their career? In his first nine years he’s had 6 playoff appearance, 2 SB appearances, 1 SB win, a 92-52 record, and no losing seasons. That’s just crazy to me. ---
**Author:** ![Grsz11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Grsz11](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grsz11)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lucky-13th-annual-steelers-march-to-the-super-bowl-thread/727515/195 "2016-01-05T16:14:08Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > Stat geeks can help me out here, has any other head coach been as successful as Tomlin at the beginning of their career? In his first nine years he’s had 6 playoff appearance, 2 SB appearances, 1 SB win, a 92-52 record, and no losing seasons. That’s just crazy to me. > **[List of NFL head coach wins leaders](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_National_Football_League_head_coaches_with_50_wins)** > > The following is a list of the National Football League (NFL) head coaches by wins. > Don Shula holds the current records for regular season wins at 328. Shula’s tenure included many 12 game seasons, thus his win total took longer to amass than that of currently active coaches. Bill Belichick holds the record for postseason wins at 31. > Among active head coaches, Andy Reid is the leader in regular season and postseason wins. Here’s a good list. Mike McCarthy has 104 wins in just one more season ---
**Author:** ![Grsz11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Grsz11](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grsz11)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2016, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lucky-13th-annual-steelers-march-to-the-super-bowl-thread/727515/196 "2016-01-05T16:21:59Z")
Tomlin in his first nine is comparable to Lombardi and Madden. ---
**Author:** ![\_len](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/_/c0e974/32.png) [@\_len](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/_len)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2016, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lucky-13th-annual-steelers-march-to-the-super-bowl-thread/727515/197 "2016-01-06T18:09:31Z")
> [@Grsz11](#): > > Tomlin in his first nine is comparable to Lombardi and Madden. I can’t get over Madden’s 7 ties in 142 games (about 1 in 20 games). For comparison, 26 other post-merger coaches on that list had 6 ties in 5,574 combined games (about 1 tie in 929 contests). ---
**Author:** ![Grsz11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Grsz11](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grsz11)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2016, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lucky-13th-annual-steelers-march-to-the-super-bowl-thread/727515/198 "2016-01-10T00:00:56Z")
[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/VGF0vNcuziE/maxresdefault.jpg ""Nothing Else Matters" - Pittsburgh Steelers Playoffs Hype Video 2016") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGF0vNcuziE) It’s gameday! ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2016, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lucky-13th-annual-steelers-march-to-the-super-bowl-thread/727515/199 "2016-01-10T00:34:34Z")
> [@\_len](#): > > I can’t get over Madden’s 7 ties in 142 games (about 1 in 20 games). For comparison, 26 other post-merger coaches on that list had 6 ties in 5,574 combined games (about 1 tie in 929 contests). You want to compare to when regular season overtime started (1974, exactly halfway through Madden’s career) rather than the merger (1970). ---
**Author:** ![Dajn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c2a13f/32.png) [@Dajn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dajn)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2016, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lucky-13th-annual-steelers-march-to-the-super-bowl-thread/727515/200 "2016-01-10T01:12:20Z")
The bungols are about to get beat almost as bad as the texans. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lucky-13th-annual-steelers-march-to-the-super-bowl-thread/727515.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lucky-13th-annual-steelers-march-to-the-super-bowl-thread/727515.md?page=11)