SuperBowl or Bust - Now or Never

[flippy]

IÂ’ve thought long and hard about a SBOB thread this season.

I still havenÂ’t had the same overwhelming feeling that it was our year since right before the SuperBowl XL season.

IÂ’ve been just as hopeful in many other seasons. But that gut feeling was really a once in a lifetime feeling. Of course we even went on to win Lombardi #6 and I didnÂ’t have the feeling of knowing before that season like I did back in 2005.

And boy oh boy, have I wanted that hunch to return. So much so that IÂ’ve forced it a couple times over the years even though I always knew it wasnÂ’t the same.

That was 15 years ago. Fast forward to today, I need to have that premonition again. There really is no other choice. IÂ’ve gone back and forth in my mind and I know the reality that itÂ’s now or never.

And when I acknowledge that itÂ’s now or never, I know the players and coaches have to have that same feeling too. And thatÂ’s what got me over the hump right now.

As weird as 2020 has been, every Steeler player, coach, and fan has to know this might be our last best chance. WeÂ’re loaded with weapons on both sides of the ball and this could be BenÂ’s final triumph. There might not be another chance unless we totally luck into another great QB. And thatÂ’s a long shot.

Everyone must know this is it. SuperBowl or Bust. WeÂ’ve all gotta be all in on this one and will it to be.

Belief almost always defies logic. And now is a time to start looking at this opportunity with our hearts instead of our minds.

This is going to happen for us at the close of the season. The good guys will be standing on the platform in Tampa at the end of this season, holding up #7.

ItÂ’s happening. It has to.

I believe. Do you?

The bandwagon has some vacancies. All aboard!!!!!

[Steel Maniac]

I think our bandwagon will fill up a little more after tonight's win over the Giants.

[steeler_fan_in_t.o.]

The bandwagon will fill up based on one factor. If Ben is back to form, and the reports out of camp indicated that he is, then it won't take long. He usually takes a few weeks to shake off rust from inactivity, but normally doesn't get that much work in the pre-season anyway. If his old body can stand up to 17 weeks of footbal and a playoff run, then this team is a contender. Dude has a lot he wants to prove after hearing reports that he was the locker room cancer, and the cause of the AB meltdown. He has had a year and a half to stew on that.

[Northern_Blitz]

I think this will end up being Ben's last very good chance to win.

I think our D will be about as good as last year (although I doubt we get as many turnovers / points scored by the D). But our O shouldn't be terrible even if we just get average Ben (or Ben playing as an average NFL QB).

It's hard to get excited about the NFL these days (or much of anything really).

But, I think the Steelers have a really good shot this year.

What should be a great D. And what I think will be a better O than Ben's first championship ring.

KC will be very good. And so will the Rats.

But I think the Steelers should be very competitive. No time like the present to get another ring.

Punch my ticket Flippy. I'm 100% on the band wagon this year. Bring home another "sticky Lombardi" for the trophy case!

Side note: based on how week 1 has gone in both of my fantasy leagues, my teams will probably not be very good. Historically, I either get good fantasy teams or a good Steelers teams. So things are lining up on that front too!

[Northern_Blitz]

I think our bandwagon will fill up a little more after tonight's win over the Giants.

I love it SM!

[hawaiiansteel]

i think our bandwagon will fill up a little more after tonight's win over the giants.

boom........

[flippy]

Watching yesterday's game, I couldn't help but think, this team is designed to win a SuperBowl.

We have the players to do this. All the pieces are here.

It's all going to come down to Ben and coaching.


Can Ben make smart decisions/plays? He's loaded with options on O, but man did he have some Big Ben moments yesterday. His game teeters on a fine line moreso than just about any other QB in the league. Especially when he has time/makes time. Some of his throws were great and some were atrocious. I really think the play calling needs to get him in a rhythm where he's making fast decisions and throws. He's less dangerous to his own team in those circumstances. I'd even go as far as to suggest they should let Big Ben call his own plays out of the shotgun and run an offense a la Jim Kelly and the Bills. Somehow we need to figure out how to minimize the mistakes still at this point in his career. As good as he is, a lot of times he's just off. Gotta get him into a comfortable groove.

Re: coaching, we have the players and just need to put them in position to succeed. We need to get guys focused and to eliminate the mental mistakes. Overall, we're kinda sloppy. But at the same time this is effectively preseason game 2. I think we have a couple months until we get our act together and just winning now, might pay off down the line.

This team sometimes reminds me of watching Starling Marte for any Pirates fans out there. All the talent in the world, but often wasted because of some reason whether it's a lack of focus, attention to detail, whatever. Or for Penguins fans, I feel like I'm watching Malkin out there. All the talent in the world, but something lacking preventing them from being the dominant team they should be on paper.

All that said, I like that we're getting younger players on the field now as the old guys tire out and think that's going to pay dividends down the stretch so come December and the playoffs, we're rotating in fresh players into the lineup vs going with the old Tomlin method of letting the starters stay on the field forever and take almost all the snaps. While Tomlin is good for slow starts, I like that he gets us rolling later in the season. But often lack of depth has hurt us. I'm excited to see if we might have a little more depth this season. And that could bode well for next year as well when the cap likely decimates this team.

[Eich]

I love the enthusiasm and optimism and this should be a very fun Steelers team to watch. But I've also watched several other games the past 2 weeks and I came away feeling that there are some pretty explosive offenses out there... KC, Rats, NO, Sea, DAL, even the Bungles and Stains have shown some flashes of offensive explosion.

This will be an interesting year for sure. I tend to agree about coaching. Fichtner needs to do something to get the best out of this group. There is talent on offense all over the place. But some of our plays look so awkward that it looks like he's forcing them to do things they're uncomfortable with.

[Captain Lemming]

IÂ’ve thought long and hard about a SBOB thread this season.

I still havenÂ’t had the same overwhelming feeling that it was our year since right before the SuperBowl XL season.

IÂ’ve been just as hopeful in many other seasons. But that gut feeling was really a once in a lifetime feeling. Of course we even went on to win Lombardi #6 and I didnÂ’t have the feeling of knowing before that season like I did back in 2005.

And boy oh boy, have I wanted that hunch to return. So much so that IÂ’ve forced it a couple times over the years even though I always knew it wasnÂ’t the same.

That was 15 years ago. Fast forward to today, I need to have that premonition again. There really is no other choice. IÂ’ve gone back and forth in my mind and I know the reality that itÂ’s now or never.

And when I acknowledge that itÂ’s now or never, I know the players and coaches have to have that same feeling too. And thatÂ’s what got me over the hump right now.

As weird as 2020 has been, every Steeler player, coach, and fan has to know this might be our last best chance. WeÂ’re loaded with weapons on both sides of the ball and this could be BenÂ’s final triumph. There might not be another chance unless we totally luck into another great QB. And thatÂ’s a long shot.

Everyone must know this is it. SuperBowl or Bust. WeÂ’ve all gotta be all in on this one and will it to be.

Belief almost always defies logic. And now is a time to start looking at this opportunity with our hearts instead of our minds.

This is going to happen for us at the close of the season. The good guys will be standing on the platform in Tampa at the end of this season, holding up #7.

ItÂ’s happening. It has to.

I believe. Do you?

The bandwagon has some vacancies. All aboard!!!!!

I feel like that until you post this thread every year. It is the kiss of death. I blame you personally for years of disappointment.

[Starlifter]

they should have forced the Steelers onto hard knocks when they had the chance.

I'm feeling playoffs for sure (especially with the additional wild card) and I like our chances for the whole shebang......

[flippy]

I feel like that until you post this thread every year. It is the kiss of death. I blame you personally for years of disappointment.

At least I was right 2x in 15 years. That's pretty good for most of us.

Maybe you thinking it was the kiss of death has been the real kiss of death all along. I did ask nicely for you to believe

The Steelers are like the movie Elf. Santa's sleigh doesn't fly without enough believers.

[Captain Lemming]

At least I was right 2x in 15 years. That's pretty good for most of us.

Maybe you thinking it was the kiss of death has been the real kiss of death all along. I did ask nicely for you to believe

The Steelers are like the movie Elf. Santa's sleigh doesn't fly without enough believers.

Nice comeback.
There is no Santa, you can blame me for that.

[steeler_fan_in_t.o.]

At least I was right 2x in 15 years. That's pretty good for most of us.

Maybe you thinking it was the kiss of death has been the real kiss of death all along. I did ask nicely for you to believe

The Steelers are like the movie Elf. Santa's sleigh doesn't fly without enough believers.

3 x in 16. Stay positive Flippy!

This thread is like a lottery ticket. Up until the draw it is still alive and you can spend that money in your mind a thousand times over. Let's get that prize!!

[flippy]

Looks like it's time to be prepared for some good, bad, and ugly to come. But at least we sit at 3-0.

My favorite on both sides of the ball is that we're loaded in the trenches. Our O and D Lines are playing great. Especially the OLine given no preseason, the new guys, and the time it takes cohesion to develop. I think the only weak link on the line is AV.

I think the O will continue to progress as Ben progresses and gets his timing down with WRs. I think we need to pass to set up the run right now and I think as the season progresses, the team will keep getting better at run blocking. Just so many parts to get on the same page.

Hopefully the play calling improves a little. Some times we're a little too cute and can't seem to make short yardage work. I do like that we're aggressive, but I'd like to see us become more well rounded and consistent.

On D, I'm not sure we're as good right now as we were last year. The big issue is our coverage. But on a positive, we can stop the run and our pressure with 4 looks impressive. Are Bush and Minkah regressing? Overall, it looks like Edmunds might be the only improved player in the backfield and is that because others aren't playing as well? I also think play calling might help as we look better playing man.

The final concern I have right now is our punting game. Is there a reason Tomlin teams can't seem to find a consistent punter I trust? Field position is so important and I'm just not feeling our punter. He's #22 out of 27 in terms of average right now.

All this said, our D is #5 in points and #2 in yardage while our O is #16 in points and #14 in yards. So statistically our D looks pretty good and our O is mediocre on paper. So in fairness, I think I expect more from our D given what we saw last year and I expect little from our O and am giving our QB some time to get better. That's probably a little warped thinking, but it's where I'm at.

Overall though, I like where we are given Tomlin traditional slow starts.

Bring on the Titans!!!!!!

[Oviedo]

Looks like it's time to be prepared for some good, bad, and ugly to come. But at least we sit at 3-0.

My favorite on both sides of the ball is that we're loaded in the trenches. Our O and D Lines are playing great. Especially the OLine given no preseason, the new guys, and the time it takes cohesion to develop. I think the only weak link on the line is AV.

I think the O will continue to progress as Ben progresses and gets his timing down with WRs. I think we need to pass to set up the run right now and I think as the season progresses, the team will keep getting better at run blocking. Just so many parts to get on the same page.

Hopefully the play calling improves a little. Some times we're a little too cute and can't seem to make short yardage work. I do like that we're aggressive, but I'd like to see us become more well rounded and consistent.

On D, I'm not sure we're as good right now as we were last year. The big issue is our coverage. But on a positive, we can stop the run and our pressure with 4 looks impressive. Are Bush and Minkah regressing? Overall, it looks like Edmunds might be the only improved player in the backfield and is that because others aren't playing as well? I also think play calling might help as we look better playing man.

The final concern I have right now is our punting game. Is there a reason Tomlin teams can't seem to find a consistent punter I trust? Field position is so important and I'm just not feeling our punter. He's #22 out of 27 in terms of average right now.

All this said, our D is #5 in points and #2 in yardage while our O is #16 in points and #14 in yards. So statistically our D looks pretty good and our O is mediocre on paper. So in fairness, I think I expect more from our D given what we saw last year and I expect little from our O and am giving our QB some time to get better. That's probably a little warped thinking, but it's where I'm at.

Overall though, I like where we are given Tomlin traditional slow starts.

Bring on the Titans!!!!!!

I won't get into the blame Tomlin for everything aspect of your post but will address a few other points

Punting--I can't fathom why we got Colquitt...he is terrible. Did we really need that much cap help and was it really worth his terrible punting. Berry was a favorite "whipping boy" by some but he wasn't that bad. Colquitt is going to cost us a game...mark it down now

I don't think Bush or Minkah are regressing. I think teams are scheming to stay away from them which is why we see Edmunds in more plays...and yes Edmunds is improving.

I think the Offense has the potential to be something special. Being 3-0 with Ben coming back from his injury is a positive sign. They do need to be better in short yardage which baffles me why they struggle. I like the O line and it seems like they have seemlessly integrated Hawkins back in quickly. Chuks has the potential of a solid starter for a decade.

The running backs are good. Each offers something different. I really liked the burst I saw out of McFarland (even though we only drafted him because he went to school with Tomlin's son...idiots). IMO he is the #3 now and Samuels is #4. Snell is running like he has something to prove and if Conners can stay healthy he could have his best season.

Our WRs are loaded with potential. JuJu is back to playing his best. Washington is a beast against a DB. Johnson is an explosive play just waiting to happen. Claypool is going to be a star. I think we see our TEs as game changers here forward. Ray Ray may be the unsung hero of the season so far. Everytime he touches the ball he does something positive...knock on wood.

The defense is going to just keep getting better. Tuitt and Heyward were relatively silent yesterday but both stepped up in crunch time. Never a VW fan but got to give him kudos. He has been solid thus far but still terrifies me when in coverage.

As far as DBs, as mentioned Edmunds has taken the next step. Nelson need to tighten it up as it seems he is getting targeted.