Incidentally...

[Slapstick]

I really, really hate watching players who play like HoFers against the Steelers make ludicrous mistakes against other teams...


Megatron dropped three catchable balls last night...any one of which probably would have been the difference in a Detroit win...

He didn't drop diddly against us...


Tom Brady peppered the Steelers defense on a record setting day...

Against the Dolphins? INT in the end zone to lose the game...


The Steelers receive an entirely different level of focus from their opponent than any other team...teams typically bring their A+ game vs. Pittsburgh, while lapsing against other teams...

It's maddening...

[hawaiiansteel]

on the flip side, some things we could have done to win games we lost:


For the Steelers, 'tis the season for regrets

December 16, 2013
By Ed Bouchette / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette



More than satisfying, the Steelers' 30-20 victory against AFC North Division-leading Cincinnati could have prompted some anger in the locker room in the wee hours Monday morning.

Their victory Sunday night came against a team on the brink of moving into the No. 2 playoff seed in the AFC, but meant little to the Steelers' playoff chances. It did, however, show how many previous opportunities they have thrown away.

Here are three quick ones from their two most recent losses:

* Had Shaun Suisham done in Baltimore what he did Sunday night when he was perfect on three field goals and not left too early and botched a field goal, the Steelers might have won that game.

* Had Emmanuel Sanders, whose second effort on third down Sunday to get the extra yards for a first down helped stem a Bengals comeback try, not dropped a 2-point conversion, they might have beaten the Ravens.

* Had Antonio Brown, who scored two touchdowns Sunday, not inexplicably stepped out of bounds against Miami, the Steelers would have won that game.

Unlike the 11 plays of more than 50 yards against them, the little things are what did in the Steelers' 2013 season. Small, unexplainable things, like the fumbled handoff near the goal line by Isaac Redman early in their opening loss against Tennessee. A dropped pass in Cincinnati by tight end David Paulson, who has since fallen to fourth string. And there's no sense going over how they lost against Oakland and Minnesota.

The Steelers beat some of their toughest and best opponents -- Detroit, the New York Jets and Cincinnati -- and lost to some of their worst, including by three points in Oakland. They squandered a season for the second year in a row.

"We have a good team, we have a good nucleus of guys in this locker room," Sanders said. "This season boils down to us not putting it together in all three phases."

Injuries hit them early and often again, especially on offense, but that does not explain how they managed to fumble away games both early and late.

"You think back to Tennessee and Oakland," defensive captain Ryan Clark said, "when things like this happened, just wishing you had an opportunity to execute against teams that physically you were better than, that you had better players than.

"Some of these games are a toss-up. You go in some of them and you think, 'If we play well, we can win; if we don't, we can lose.' But games you feel like on paper you're the better team, you need to execute and win those games. You get two of those games back, you're in the hunt and have an opportunity to make the playoffs."

They get two back, they would be 8-6 and in control to make the playoffs and perhaps challenge Cincinnati for the division title.

Guard Ramon Foster said everyone saw the real Steelers Sunday night.

"Absolutely. We can't go in the past, but that's what we're made of right there, we just needed more of it."

It's a what-if game that former coach Bill Cowher made famous for eschewing and that no coach wants to play. Nor do some veteran players.

"Nah, there are no woulda couldas in this ballgame," cornerback Ike Taylor said. "It's the humblest sport. You have your ups and downs. This year, for the most part, we've just been consistent in being inconsistent and, when you do that, you have a record like what we have, regardless of what we feel we have in the locker room. When you play in the NFL, you have to be consistent."

The reality is the Steelers have underachieved for two consecutive seasons and won't make the playoffs because of it.

"For us, you can't look back because you don't get the opportunity to play again," Clark said in the moments after their victory against the Bengals. "But I think it shows this team still has fight, that we still want to play, that we're still excited about football, still excited about being here. We'll just keep playing."

[URL]http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/2013/12/17/Tis-the-season-for-regrets/stories/201312170054#ixzz2nmRSAHDu[/URL]

[Ghost]

4 losses to teams they absolutely should never have lost to this season doomed the season, not guys having great games here and there against them. Vikings game (entire team looked disinterested), Tennessee (mediocre at best), Raiders (a bad team) and the inexcusable loss to Miami at home, with the season on the line, to a QB playing for the first time in snow. Miami was a disgusting loss.

2 seasons in a row of multiple games lost to clearly inferior teams that kept them out of the playoffs. I'd like to see that trend eliminated.

[Steeler Shades]

The Steelers receive an entirely different level of focus from their opponent than any other team...teams typically bring their A+ game vs. Pittsburgh, while lapsing against other teams...

I don't think it's a choice the Steeler's opponents consciously make. They are probably just more relaxed when playing a bad team like the Steelers that won't affect their playoff chances as much as teams that are more in playoff contention.

[BURGH86STEEL]

4 losses to teams they absolutely should never have lost to this season doomed the season, not guys having great games here and there against them. Vikings game (entire team looked disinterested), Tennessee (mediocre at best), Raiders (a bad team) and the inexcusable loss to Miami at home, with the season on the line, to a QB playing for the first time in snow. Miami was a disgusting loss.

2 seasons in a row of multiple games lost to clearly inferior teams that kept them out of the playoffs. I'd like to see that trend eliminated.

There is no such thing as, "4 teams they absolutely should never have lost to" at the professional level. There is no such thing as an inferior team at the professional level. There are teams with winning records, .500 records, or losing records. Records don't mean anything when teams line up to play. All the teams in the NFL have the talent to compete.

The turnover rate early in the season and giving up to many big plays were the key factors that are keeping this team out of the playoffs this season.

Take a look at why the team loss as opposed to believing they shouldn't had lost to what you believe was inferior opposition. Costly mistakes in execution were generally the theme in each loss (turnovers being number 1 and big plays number 2). They've shown the ability to play well. They should be in a better position to compete for the playoffs next season if they can clean up many of the mistakes they made this season This type of thinking gives hope for this team next season.

[Slapstick]

I don't think it's a choice the Steeler's opponents consciously make. They are probably just more relaxed when playing a bad team like the Steelers that won't affect their playoff chances as much as teams that are more in playoff contention.

Yeah, that's probably it...

[B&GinNC]

Bottom line is they showed up a day late and a dollar short. The effort against Cincy felt good for a night, but if your expectation is to compete for playoff spots and Lombardis, it was utterly inconsequential.

As to getting the opponent's "best shot", those in SEC country would argue that that is the prime reason they have so much post season success in the CFB landscape. The teams aren't necessarily that much better than others, but they're hardened by playing week in week out close games against opponents who expect to win and aren't easy outs. Outside of Kentucky, who in that league doesn't go into every game they play believing? No other league is like it... and this from a Florida State grad.

The Steelers do get everybody's best shot, because for a team with no real shot, beating us is the highlight of their season. If you can run that gauntlet, though, the mental toughness that you build serves you well in the postseason and means you have a leg up on going the distance. Besides the 6 Lombardis, we've got 8 AFC championships and what, 7 other AFCC appearances? Still a track record unparalleled in the SB era. Got to believe the two phenomena are related.