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The Good
1. We're going to the Pro Bowl.
2. Ben - Played well enough on the road to win this game. If Tom Brady retires before he's 50 and Ben ends up playing after Brady retires, he might have another SuperBowl in him. Seriously though, if Coates doesn't have the drop in the first series, Hamilton holds onto the ball in the end zone, we QB sneak from a foot out, we don't miss the extra point, and Brady's fumble is called a fumble, that's likely a 21 point swing and the Steelers win 35 - 33.
The Bad
1. We're going to the Pro Bowl
2. Rushing 3 and dropping 8 into zone most of the game. And with 8 in coverage, forgetting to cover guys on top of it. Gut reaction - we should have fired Keith Butler at half time because it was clear this game was going to get out of hand. This game plan was a guarantee we weren't going to position ourselves to win. I could live with getting beat by being overly aggressive. But this game plan was disgusting. By the second Patriot's series, I gave up on this game and this team. At that point, I looked up the most points ever scored in a playoff game and secretly hoped the Pats would put up 74 points on us to set an all time playoff record. And that's just because I think that's what it would take to open up the Steelers' eyes and get some heads to roll. But nothing will change. It will all be the same. We accepted this fate of mediocrity when we didn't go outside the organization to replace Lebeau. Keith Butler and Mike Tomlin will never be able to beat Brady. If he's going to play until he's 50, we might as well not bother trying to compete.
3. God. No matter how many times Antonio Brown called him, he didn't help us here. Maybe God is more interested in AB's FB Live posts from the Pro Bowl? Whatever it is, AB is clearly not a #1 WR for a big time playoff game. He was blanketed and ineffective. AB needs a true #1 playing opposite of him to make him more effective. If we had Bryant available and Green, the Pats wouldn't have been able to double AB and make him ineffective for most of the game. Whatever money the Steelers are thinking of paying AB, they should be spending it on a defender that can make a difference in the playoffs. Seriously, I'd rather let AB and Bell go if it would mean we could get the 2 best cover corners in the NFL. The path to a SuperBowl is Ben + Defense. At the end of the day, Ben's going to have a better chance with a better D. This offense can score 24.9 points per game with Bryant, Rogers, Ayers, DHB, Green, and Touissant at the skill positions. Would we really lose much production without Bell and Brown? I'm not sure it would make that much difference.
The Ugly
1. We're going to the Pro Bowl.
2. I'm starting to realize the Bad points are all ugly. I totally get why everyone lowers their expectations. The odds of the Steelers winning another SuperBowl before Ben retires are now probably lower than the odds of Donald Trump going down in history as being our greatest president of all time. Heck, at this point, the Pirates have a better shot of winning the World Series before the Steelers win another SuperBowl.
3. This team doesn't seem to care and it all starts with the owners. As long as we put butt in seats and sell merch and make money, everyone's happy. The Rooney's are happy with Tomlin. They lose money having to attend the SuperBowl. Where they lose out isn't getting home playoff games. Our goal as far as the Rooney's are concerned is get HFA throughout the playoffs. And lose the AFCC. Maximizes their revenue. As fans, we're suckers. We live for winning SuperBowls and get let down the majority of the time. And I can live with that. We always do. But at least tease me a little. Give me a little more hope. At this point all I know is I'm 100% certain we can't win another SuperBowl until Brady retires. And odds are, by then Landry Jones or someone like Bubby Brister will be our QB and we'll be right back in the 1980s and we'll accept that fate for another 10 years until we decide to make a switch at HC and try to get back to a SuperBowl. My best guess is we'll live with Tomlin and settle for mediocrity for another 15+ years. And we'll have some fun along the way. Maybe get our hopes up every now and then. Maybe even get to enjoy a fantastic player or two, a la Louis Lipps. But the toughest part to accept is that no one on this team cares about competing for SuperBowls. And there really isn't anything the players, fans, or coaches can do about it. Mediocrity is acceptable in Pittsburgh. Seriously, maybe we should give this team a participation parade. If I was a player, I'd either want to get traded or wouldn't give 100% and would just want to make as much as I can and avoid getting injured. There's no commitment to excellence or winning in Pittsburgh. It is what it is and we'll have to just enjoy it for what it is since we love the game.
4. Flippy has lost his mind.
At least until someone gives me something to believe in.
1. We're going to the Pro Bowl.
2. Ben - Played well enough on the road to win this game. If Tom Brady retires before he's 50 and Ben ends up playing after Brady retires, he might have another SuperBowl in him. Seriously though, if Coates doesn't have the drop in the first series, Hamilton holds onto the ball in the end zone, we QB sneak from a foot out, we don't miss the extra point, and Brady's fumble is called a fumble, that's likely a 21 point swing and the Steelers win 35 - 33.
The Bad
1. We're going to the Pro Bowl
2. Rushing 3 and dropping 8 into zone most of the game. And with 8 in coverage, forgetting to cover guys on top of it. Gut reaction - we should have fired Keith Butler at half time because it was clear this game was going to get out of hand. This game plan was a guarantee we weren't going to position ourselves to win. I could live with getting beat by being overly aggressive. But this game plan was disgusting. By the second Patriot's series, I gave up on this game and this team. At that point, I looked up the most points ever scored in a playoff game and secretly hoped the Pats would put up 74 points on us to set an all time playoff record. And that's just because I think that's what it would take to open up the Steelers' eyes and get some heads to roll. But nothing will change. It will all be the same. We accepted this fate of mediocrity when we didn't go outside the organization to replace Lebeau. Keith Butler and Mike Tomlin will never be able to beat Brady. If he's going to play until he's 50, we might as well not bother trying to compete.
3. God. No matter how many times Antonio Brown called him, he didn't help us here. Maybe God is more interested in AB's FB Live posts from the Pro Bowl? Whatever it is, AB is clearly not a #1 WR for a big time playoff game. He was blanketed and ineffective. AB needs a true #1 playing opposite of him to make him more effective. If we had Bryant available and Green, the Pats wouldn't have been able to double AB and make him ineffective for most of the game. Whatever money the Steelers are thinking of paying AB, they should be spending it on a defender that can make a difference in the playoffs. Seriously, I'd rather let AB and Bell go if it would mean we could get the 2 best cover corners in the NFL. The path to a SuperBowl is Ben + Defense. At the end of the day, Ben's going to have a better chance with a better D. This offense can score 24.9 points per game with Bryant, Rogers, Ayers, DHB, Green, and Touissant at the skill positions. Would we really lose much production without Bell and Brown? I'm not sure it would make that much difference.
The Ugly
1. We're going to the Pro Bowl.
2. I'm starting to realize the Bad points are all ugly. I totally get why everyone lowers their expectations. The odds of the Steelers winning another SuperBowl before Ben retires are now probably lower than the odds of Donald Trump going down in history as being our greatest president of all time. Heck, at this point, the Pirates have a better shot of winning the World Series before the Steelers win another SuperBowl.
3. This team doesn't seem to care and it all starts with the owners. As long as we put butt in seats and sell merch and make money, everyone's happy. The Rooney's are happy with Tomlin. They lose money having to attend the SuperBowl. Where they lose out isn't getting home playoff games. Our goal as far as the Rooney's are concerned is get HFA throughout the playoffs. And lose the AFCC. Maximizes their revenue. As fans, we're suckers. We live for winning SuperBowls and get let down the majority of the time. And I can live with that. We always do. But at least tease me a little. Give me a little more hope. At this point all I know is I'm 100% certain we can't win another SuperBowl until Brady retires. And odds are, by then Landry Jones or someone like Bubby Brister will be our QB and we'll be right back in the 1980s and we'll accept that fate for another 10 years until we decide to make a switch at HC and try to get back to a SuperBowl. My best guess is we'll live with Tomlin and settle for mediocrity for another 15+ years. And we'll have some fun along the way. Maybe get our hopes up every now and then. Maybe even get to enjoy a fantastic player or two, a la Louis Lipps. But the toughest part to accept is that no one on this team cares about competing for SuperBowls. And there really isn't anything the players, fans, or coaches can do about it. Mediocrity is acceptable in Pittsburgh. Seriously, maybe we should give this team a participation parade. If I was a player, I'd either want to get traded or wouldn't give 100% and would just want to make as much as I can and avoid getting injured. There's no commitment to excellence or winning in Pittsburgh. It is what it is and we'll have to just enjoy it for what it is since we love the game.
4. Flippy has lost his mind.
At least until someone gives me something to believe in.
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