Stairway to

[NorthCoast]

It's a tough balancing act trying to stay competitive while transitioning simultaneously.

I really think they were trying to replay the 70s where the D carried us to 2 SuperBowls, then the next 2 were the O's turn. But what really held us back was we had talent on O but couldn't produce enough points to carry the team. I think we pinned our hopes during the transition that Ben could carry us.

He didn't get there for whatever reason. The OLine, Tomlin, BA, Ben - likely a combination. But the cool thing is during the whole transition, Lebeau's been figuring out how to get something out of the defense. And somehow we're playing great D despite get little pressure or turnovers. And this D keeps making something out of nothing hoping the O will click with Ben and he can carry the load. But we keep waiting. This seemed like it could be the year with Haley to turn the corner.

Ben definitely got more efficient. Better all around. But we still can't score points for some darn reason.

One of the most telling stats of all; the defense is tied with SF for opponent fewest yds/play (4.5). I was somewhat discounting their total yards stats since the Steelers were killing opponents with TOP meaning the opponent had few plays and time against the defense. But the yds/play doesn't lie. The Steelers defense is THAT good! If they can manage to pick up a few more pieces in the next draft, they could become very formidable.