Stephen A Smith, on ESPN's First Take, always says he grew up a Steelers' fan. Not only that, but his entire career is to observe and comment on sports, including the NFL.

So knowing all this, on this morning's show, he says.....

"The Steeler defense is a bend but don't break defense. They give up yards but not much scoring..."

It's one thing to not be 100% accurate; it's quite another to state the 100% opposite of the truth, especially when you claim to be a lifelong fan AND be paid to make observations in your field.

What is wrong with that guy?

Pgh is EXACTLY NOT a bend but don't break defense. They were #1 (FIRST PLACE) in NOT giving up yards, but NOT #1 in giving up points (I think they were #6).

Stephen A, give up your Steeler fan card AND your professional sports analyst card.

Maybe he was trying to say they are a decent D but not a great D....but that's not what he said.

They were also going on and on about how the Pgh D doesn't intimidate anyone any more. And losing the only guy who can still do that (Harrison) would be a further blow towards that direction. They might be right about that. But that being said, I don't know if ANY D in the NFL these days intimidates anyone.

The way they are calling the penalties, the days of ANY D being intimidating may be over. What D is feared these days? I think SF and Seattle are the two Ds that are the closest to intimidating. But Pgh still had a very good D, they just don't make any splash plays, but they were still nothing to mock and I don't think teams playing against them thought their D was a laughing matter.

In 2013? Don't know. They could either drop several notches or be better. We just don't know yet. If Troy and Harrison come back healthy for the whole year, they could be much better than last year. Injuries will definitely be part of the full story.