Steelers showed Black and Gold heart and backbone to finish the season.

[Ernie]

here...let me put it to you this way...lol

I never blamed anything solely on Tomlin. I said coaching was a big reason why they got off to a slow start... and why they were in decline the last few years. Last time I checked, he wasn't the only coach on the staff.

[Ernie]

if you want to know the truth... I place most of the blame the FO for putting a ton of money into a few vets that are past their primes... thinking we still had a "Run" with those guys...
causing us to lose guys who could have been a big part of the next run we could have had before Ben retires.

[phillyesq]

I will say, today was a fun day of watching football. In a way, it summed up so much of the Steelers season - give you so hope, get close, but not quite enough. I'm thinking of a few failed comeback attempts.

Hopefully the Steelers can build on the momentum moving in to next season, but this team needs a lot of work. Sanders is all but gone, and they'll need another WR. The defense really needs a legit NT. It doesn't need to be Hampton, but it can't be McClendon and Al Woods. A ballhawk in the secondary would be great, too. Will be interesting to see how the transition from the great teams of 2004-2010 to the present day group.

[SteelBuckeye]

if you want to know the truth... I place most of the blame the FO for putting a ton of money into a few vets that are past their primes... thinking we still had a "Run" with those guys...
causing us to lose guys who could have been a big part of the next run we could have had before Ben retires.

Bingo .. I agree

[SanAntonioSteelerFan]

if you want to know the truth... I place most of the blame the FO for putting a ton of money into a few vets that are past their primes... thinking we still had a "Run" with those guys...
causing us to lose guys who could have been a big part of the next run we could have had before Ben retires.

Like SteelBuckeye sez ... Bingo, I agree.

But you know, I don't crucify the FO for the decision either. It could have panned out, and then we'd be sitting on a 7-pk of rings. They went for the big one ... didn't work out ... that's life.

[Slapstick]

I will say, today was a fun day of watching football. In a way, it summed up so much of the Steelers season - give you so hope, get close, but not quite enough. I'm thinking of a few failed comeback attempts.

Hopefully the Steelers can build on the momentum moving in to next season, but this team needs a lot of work. Sanders is all but gone, and they'll need another WR. The defense really needs a legit NT. It doesn't need to be Hampton, but it can't be McClendon and Al Woods. A ballhawk in the secondary would be great, too. Will be interesting to see how the transition from the great teams of 2004-2010 to the present day group.

I agree about today being fun...I haven't cared this much about other NFL games since 1989...

[Ghost]

and that is exactly the problem that a strong finish does for us... it creates a false since of security that we are going to be back on top next year....and it causes us to sort of forget that there are some very big problems that the steelers face... cap issues, an aging defense, free agency..
there's a very real possibility that we have 5-6 new starters on defense next year...and we are looking for a #2 and #3 receiver. We are sitting at home this year again for the playoffs, so I think criticisms directed at the coaching staff or players are far from "Asinine".

In my opinion, the ONLY good thing about the San Diego (ref-assisted) win (and please don't get me wrong - I would LOVE to be playing Cincy next week in the playoffs) is I believe it somewhat eliminates that false sense of security you mention (and I agree with you on that). Now everyone (owners, front office, coaches, players) has to deal with the fact of not being a playoff team 2 seasons in a row. It's a refocusing on the true fact that they were a mediocre team this season and have some real concerns to address.

While the 6-2 finish is great, hopefully they're also closely looking at why they started 0-4, with 2 of those losses against bad to terrible teams and all four very winnable.

[Sugar]

While the 6-2 finish is great, hopefully they're also closely looking at why they started 0-4, with 2 of those losses against bad to terrible teams and all four very winnable.

I'm curious. Do think that they haven't looked at why they started 0-4 already? It seems to me that particular issue has been analyzed quite a bit.

[Ghost]

Well, I guess I would say that it's now been two years of slow starting, 2-3 and then 0-4 with both years having losses to teams the Steelers were more talented than and should have beaten. Sure would be nice not to have them put themselves in a hole early on. While they certainly did something to turn it around down the stretch this year; you could say they missed the playoffs 2 years running because of poor starts. Even .500 this year to start off has them playing in the post season.

[papillon]

Bingo .. I agree

I'm assuming you are talking about Keenan Lewis. He was never staying in Pittsburgh, unless, the Steelers backed the Brinks truck up to his house (in New Orleans) and emptied it on his front lawn. He took less than Minnesota offered; he wanted to go home and he did. I can't blame him. Mike Wallace is probably another that "got away". Did we really miss him?

The problem was and still is the 2008 and 2009 drafts, only one player is still on the Steeler roster from those drafts. Those drafts set the Steelers (who build through the draft) back a couple years and probably caused them to spend money in places they didn't really want to, but had to, in an attempt to stay competitive.

It looks like the 2010, 2011 and 2012 drafts are going to bear fruit and hopefully, the 2013 draft will do the same. This should give the Steelers a chance to make another run while Ben is still in his prime.

Pappy