Can The Steelers Save Their Season?

Is Ryan Clark serious? I hope so!

      It doesn't seem likely that the Pittsburgh Steelers will even have a mediocre record like their 8-8 season last year. They are 0-4 and could be 0-5 after they play the 3-2 New York Jets on Sunday. What can save them if they play them like they have their first 4 opponents? No team that has started a season 0-5 has made the playoffs since the postseason field was expanded in 1990. Well, it's hard to be optimistic, but at least one of the Steelers is.

      Steelers safety, Ryan Clark was asked if the Steelers would make the playoffs this year. "I just believe we can win. That's just the bottom line," Clark said on First Take. "I think we have the people in this room, the coaches (to win). Also, looking at our schedule, we're not playing world beaters, we're not playing gods. We're playing men." "We're playing football teams that have vulnerabilities and teams I think we can beat," Clark said. "That's five division opponents left, so it's in our own hands. I think we can win those games, and I think we will."

       To their credit, the Steelers haven't even given a rally much lip service except for Clark. At this moment, winning a single game is a big enough task. Not that the Steelers have any business thinking about the playoffs. They simply need a win to stop the hemorrhaging. Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisbeger admits they are in uncharted territory being 0-4 to start the season, while suggesting they are the worst team in the NFL. "I just have to hope and believe we can turn it around because we have to believe that we can still be a part of something special," he said. "And if you don't believe that, then you don't need to be on this team or be out here."

The Steelers Are Still In A Fog After Leaving London Losers

Ben Roethlisberger Loses The Ball Again

       With the Pittsburgh Steelers off to their worst start in 45 years, Ben Roethlisberger isn't mincing words about where the team stacks up against the rest of the NFL. "Right now, you could say we're the worst team in the league," after Pittsburgh fell 34-27 to the Minnesota Vikings at Wembley Stadium on Sunday. "That hurts." The Steelers' defense gave up nearly 400 yards and again failed to force a turnover. Pittsburgh is without a takeaway this season.

        Roethlisberger was sacked five times and harassed all game by Jared Allen and the Vikings, the Steelers dropped to 0-4, their worst start since 1968, when they lost their first six games en route to a 2-11-1 record. “We are in uncharted territory, and the water is dangerous right now. It stings. I have to hope and believe we can turn it around. That's the approach I'm going to take this week and next week. I'm going to do the best I can to lead these guys and let them see how I go about my job. ”

         Roethlisberger, who has won two Super Bowls with Pittsburgh, acknowledged that this is the lowest point of his career. Roethlisberger completed 36 of 51 passes for 383 yards and one touchdown but also had one interception and a fumble on Sunday. The fumble came in the final seconds after he led the Steelers from their 22 to a first-and-goal at Minnesota's 6. "I felt like we made good strides on offense," Roethlisberger said. "It's just hard to say that and to feel very good about yourself after a loss."

         With a bye week before facing the New York Jets on Oct. 13 and perhaps mainly pride left to play for, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin put players on notice that jobs could be at stake. "I have great patience," he said. "The team will work to get better. As long as I see belief and effort and we continue to improve, that's what's going to change the outcome of these games. If I don't, [they] ain't going to be a part of it, whoever it may be. It's that simple."The challenge resonated with Ben. "Yeah, I'd start with myself," he said. "We have to hold ourselves accountable." 

Is There Really Any Question Who America's NFL Team Is?

By

mad chad   Al Bello/Getty Images                                   

  The term America's Team is a nickname that refers to the  Dallas Cowboys of the  National Football League. The nickname originated with the team's 1978 highlight film, where the narrator opens with the following introduction: They appear on television so often that their faces are as familiar to the public as presidents and movie stars. They are the Dallas Cowboys, "America's Team." First off, I hate that nickname. Not because I'm a Steelers fan, and not because I hate the Cowboys. I hate it because I don't think it's true. The Cowboys are a very popular team and have been one of the most successful franchises in the NFL and all of pro sports.The Cowboys can have the name "America's team" but I don't think they truly are "America's team." The Pittsburgh Steelers' fan base is more loyal and travels way better than the Cowboys'.
While the nickname has stuck with the Cowboys, few know the real story behind the name. The Steelers were actually given the nickname before the Cowboys. However, Steelers owner  Art Rooney dismissed the suggestion that the Steelers were America's Team. "We didn't want that," Rooney said. "We're  Pittsburgh's team. We feel strongly about that."Mr. Rooney realized how much the team meant and still means to the city of Pittsburgh. No other NFL team embodies the city in which it plays, and the people it plays for, as well as the Steelers do. The Steelers and their fans have a connection that is unlike any other I've ever seen.

When it comes to the NFL, I think only the Steelers, Packers and Cowboys have a serious argument when it comes to having the best fan base in the NFL. Packers fans travel well and are extremely loyal. The Packers are one of the most successful franchises in all of sports, especially the NFL. Green Bay won six NFL championships from 1929 to 1944, where the league size was 12 teams (a 1-in-12 chance of winning). It was a much easier feat to win then. Green Bay won five titles in the 1960s, where the league size ranged from 22 to 25 teams. This is also the decade where the NFL and AFL were beginning interplay. So most of the Packers' success came before the AFL and NFL banned together and created the Super Bowl. Since the merger, the Packers have three Super Bowl titles and are making their fifth Super Bowl appearance.

All that is great, but the Packers fan base isn't as big as Steeler Nation. I can't go down Carson Street in Pittsburgh and go to a Packers bar. However, I can go to any state or almost any country and find many Steelers fans and Steelers bars.I bet I could even go downtown Dallas and find at least one Steelers bar. The Steelers were the team of the '70s. They won four Super Bowls and had arguably the most talented team in NFL history. Steeler Nation was in full force. Then the steel mills started to close down and a lot of people lost their jobs. Most Pittsburghers were forced to move out of the city or state and find work. This is obviously the main reason you see so many Steelers fans at opposing teams' stadiums when the Steelers come to town. Steeler fans are everywhere in this country. Not only do I think the Steelers have the best fan base, I think they're now the best, most successful franchise in the NFL.

After beating the New York Jets 24-19 on Sunday, the Steelers will be looking for a record seventh Super Bowl title against the Green Bay Packers on Feb. 6. The Steelers also tied the Cowboys for most postseason wins with 33, and set a new mark for most postseason home wins with 20. If they beat the Packers in the Super Bowl they'll have two more Super Bowl victories than the Cowboys in the same amount of appearances. The Steelers are successful and do so without buying many big free agents. They're a classy organization that believes in teamwork, handwork and building from within. If you still want to call the Cowboys America's Team, that's fine. But the Steelers truly have the best fans in the NFL. Steeler Nation is way stronger than the Cowboys fan base and it will show when half of the Cowboys' brand new stadium is filled with black and gold jerseys for Super Bowl XLV.

1 Half Is Better Than None!

I know we're in the Super Bowl. And as a Steelers fan I should be ecstatic. I know Ben Roethlisberger made a terrific play to pick up the 1st down that iced the game for the Steelers in the final 2 minutes. But, the Steelers only played one good half. The Pittsburgh Steelers played like Super Bowl champs in the 1st half to lead the New York Jets 24-3. But, as the 2nd quarter ended the defense allowed the Jets to march down the field with sloppy play, poor tackling and stupid penalties. Right then I felt that those 3 points shifted the momentum of the game. And just like Lee Corso on ESPN's College Gameday, I was saying "Not so fast my friends."

At half time people were calling my house and telling me what a total beat down the Steelers were going to put on the Jets. Even my wife whose watched every Steelers game with me this year and knows how the Steelers leave teams hanging around and make every game a heart attack, she was just beside herself with optimism. I had to put out the caution flag to preserve my own sanity. "Don't you remember the lousy 1st half we played against the Baltimore Ravens?", I asked. "And didn't we play an awesome 2nd half to beat them?" Could it happen to the Steelers?

Well no on expected the Jets to do the same thing to us, but maybe the Jets. The Steelers came out flat on defense in the 2nd half. It was like we knew we won and just wanted to let the time run out, not have any turnovers and move on to the Super Bowl. The only thing was, there was too much time left to waste! A lot can happen in a half with a team as desperate as you are to win a championship. If we could make adjustments to turn the game around against Baltimore, so could they. And they almost did!

In The NFC championship game we saw the Green Bay Packers only play half a game with the Chicago Bears and almost let a 3rd string quarterback beat them. Let's hope the Steelers have a better half than the Packers do in Super Bowl XLV. And why not play two good halves? That might give us our 7th Lombardi trophy. Go Steelers!

Steelers Fans Being Part Of The Game

PITTSBURGH — The singsong refrain rains down from the rafters of frigid Heinz Field: “Here we go, Steelers. Here we go!” Perhaps the black-and-gold faithful should add the word “again” to their familiar chant. The National Football League team with the most Lombardi Trophies on the planet is vying for yet another trip to the Super Bowl. Today’s showdown with the New York Jets marks the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 15th AFC Championship Game, the most for any team since the 1970 merger of the NFL and the American Football League.

The winner goes to Super Bowl XLV, to be played Feb. 6 at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Tonight's game will be televised on Fox at 6:30 p.m. In Pittsburgh, the team’s quest is known as the “Stairway to Seven,” or “Knocking on Seven’s Door.” Customized song lyrics have been written and recorded to the melodies of Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven” and Bob Dylan’s “Knocking on Heaven’s Door.” These tunes, along with the latest updates of old-standards such as “The Steelers’ Polka” and the “Here We Go” song, are but a few of the signs of the black and gold buzz saw that’s revving up in this football frenzied city.

Yet, with the Steelers long ago having risen from lovable losers to NFL royalty, does Pittsburgh’s perennial playoff party ever get old? Might Pittsburgh’s football fanaticism have reached its limit? The Steelers faithful do not simply cheer on a football team. They see themselves and their city reflected in the team’s mixture of blue-collar work ethic, family ownership and tough-as-nails mentality. So when Steelers fans want to show their black-and-gold allegiance, they don’t just don jerseys and leave it at that. They make themselves part of the team, intertwining their own life experiences with those of the Steelers until the two are inseparable.



 
City buses don’t just flash with the route number; their electronic signs alternate with the words, “Go Steelers!” Similar messages blink on traffic alert signs hanging over I-376 heading into the city. Fridays before playoff games are black-and-gold dress-up days in offices, retails stores and virtually every school, public or private, in Western Pennsylvania. In fact, one woman was overheard confiding to a friend that if she didn’t buy her daughter a Steelers’ T-shirt ahead of the championship game, the girl risked being teased mercilessly. This mother promptly picked over tables of Steelers’ merchandise outside shop after shop in Pittsburgh’s Strip District, a street of riverside warehouses known for it deals and its diversity of team gear.

Steelers fans, it seems, just can’t stop themselves from buying. “You can never have enough black and gold,” insisted life-long fan Dawn Phillips of East Liberty, who was combing packed racks at the Yinzers store in the Strip District. “We don’t take anything for granted,” she added of all the Steelers’ successes. “We know we’re blessed, but we know we’re No. 1, too.” Caroline Pina and Dustin Perry blew in to blustery Pittsburgh from laid-back Los Angles, and made a beeline from the airport to the Strip District, which they called “Steelers’ Street.” 

 

Jenny Kane, The Patriot-News Caroline Pina and Dustin Perry of L.A., traveled directly from the airport to buy Steelers merchandise in the Strip District, which they called "Steelers Street." In town for a grandparent’s 80th birthday, the couple happened to score tickets to the championship game. Now, the pair with only loose ties to Pittsburgh were getting crash courses in Steelers culture. “You don’t see this in L.A.” marveled Perry of the legions of similarly dressed Steelers fans. “We don’t even have a team.” “There’s a lot more camaraderie,” added Pina, already wearing a Steelers cap. “You go up the street, and you can feel the amount of Steelers pride.” While some teams’ fans fly their colors on game days, Pittsburghers wear their loyalty on their sleeves year-round. “When you live in Pittsburgh, black and gold is part of your wardrobe all year long,” he said. “It’s the loyalty.

People are so proud.” Fans seem as connected to the team this year as ever. That’s why Cheryl Doerfler wears the same pair of Steelers socks for every game. She’s convinced her footwear — and even the seating arrangement at the Steelers parties she throws at her house — have something to do with the team’s success. So as her guests begin arriving for this evening’s Championship game, expect Doerfler to pull out the seating chart from last week’s playoff win over the Baltimore Ravens. Doerfler said she wants everything just do for another Steelers win. What’s more, none of her guests will give a second thought to such a request, as if her seating chart strategy were perfectly logical. “It’s hard to explain if you’re not from Pittsburgh,” Doerfler said.  By JOHN LUCIEW, The Patriot-News

Jets - Steelers Rematch Could Be Close Again

The Pittsburgh Steelers and the New York Jets will meet for the second time this season in the AFC championship game on Jan. 24th at 6:30 PM in Pittsburgh. Although the Steelers won the statistical battle in their 1st encounter, the Jets won on the scoreboard 22-17. Pittsburgh had many opportunities to win the game, even with 2 seconds left in the game and the ball on the Jets' 10 yard line, but they couldn't make the play.

This meeting will be somewhat different in that Mark Sanchez is more experienced and has been making better decisions. Coming off an upset 28-21 win over the New England Patriots, the Jets have shown marked improvement since the 45-3 beat down they got from the Patriots in the regular season. Also missing for the Steelers in the 1st game was tight end Heath Miller and strong safety Troy Polamalu. Both are healthy and will play in the championship contest.

The big difference in the first time these to met was the opening kickoff was returned 97 yards for a Jets' touchdown. Special teams have been a problem for the Steelers all season. These two teams are very evenly matched on defense and both offenses have been shaky at times. Whoever comes up with the "Big Play" will most likely win this came. Special teams could also be a factor again.

Here's a video of the last time the Steelers played the Jets.

Bad Play Calls, Injured Defense, Lousy Special Teams and Blind Refs = Steelers Loss

           Another agonizing Pittsburgh Steelers game to watch. The Steelers managed to snatch defeat from victory in a 22-17 loss to the New York Jets. With an opportunity to put some distance between them and the Baltimore Ravens and a shot at home field for the NFL playoffs, the Steelers managed to come up short.

         The Jets were coming off a couple of losses where quarterback, Mark Sanchez had less than stellar performances. He was plagued by interceptions and the offense had trouble scoring points. The Steelers defense had been carrying the team waiting for the offense to get on track. So, what went wrong?

         Tragedy struck before the game when super safety, Troy Polamalu could not start because of an injury. Although the Jets had never won at Heinz Field, The Steelers record without Polamalu favored the New York team. If that wasn't bad enough, the Steelers go-to tight end, Heath Miller would have to sit out another week after suffering a concussion in the Ravens game.

         Then the game! Pittsburgh's special teams fell asleep during the opening kickoff and the Steelers started 7 points in the hole. As the game progressed, the referees became blind and decided not to flag some interference and holding calls on the Jets defense. On a crucial drive, that would have put the Steelers ahead, the refs missed a defensive holding call by the Jets against, Steelers wide receiver, Emmanual Sanders.

         The Pittsburgh offense put up good numbers and the score was tied three times then the Steelers had the lead 17-10 in the 3rd quarter. Rashard Mendenhall had 100 yards rushing and Ben Roethlisberger threw for 264. So, how did they lose? Well  the the Steelers defense had trouble getting off the field on 3rd down. An unnecessary roughness penalty by Ryan Clark which put the Jets on the Steelers 17. Now the Pittsburgh defense fell asleep and let Sanchez run a naked bootleg to the left and scored untouched. Game tied 17-17.

          The Jets started the 4th quarter running on the Steelers which produced  a field goal. With less than 3 minutes left, the Steelers needed 3 points to tie the game and send it into overtime. But they were pinned at their own 3 yard line after a punt destined for the end zone was batted back by the Jets. Now they would have a long way to go to keep their hopes alive.

          Here's where the brain-dead, bone-head bad play call came from the sidelines. Mewelde Moore took the hand off from Ben in the shotgun deep in the end zone and barley made it to the goal line. The result, a safety which gave the Jets 2 points, a 5 point lead and the ball back with 2:40 left on the clock. Now the Steelers would need a touchdown instead of a field goal. The Steelers defense held and gave the ball back to Ben with 2:08 left. I couldn't believe that they still had a chance to pull it out.

          Roethlisberger wa like a surgeon slicing the Jets defense with passes and running to keep the drive going. With 29 seconds left, he threw deep to Sanders and if the Jets defender wouldn't have grabbed his jersey, he would have scored the winning touchdown. But, the refs didn't throw the flag. On 3rd and ten, with 2 seconds to go, Ben threw an incomplete pass as time ran out.

          It was an exciting game to watch, but you felt empty and drained when it was over. I hope the Steelers have a better outcome when they play the Carolina Panthers on Thursday. It's not known whether Polamalu will play or not.

The Best Offense Is A Good Defense!

I know I'm late with this post, but anyone who saw the Pittsburgh Steelers offense Sunday would agree: The best offense was a Great defense. The Steelers beat the Cincinnati Bengals 23-7, but Ben Roethlisberger and company could only score 9 points on three field goals.

The Pittsburgh Steelers defense scored 14 points with two touchdowns. Troy Polamalu and Lamarr Woodley scored enough points to beat the Bengals without the offense. They both returned Carson Palmer interceptions for TDs leading the Steelers to a 10-3 record and a spot in the NFL playoffs.

Pittsburgh is atop the AFC North division with three game left on their schedule. They will try to beat the New York Jets this week, then the Carolina Panthers and division rival, Cleveland Browns.  Let's hope they can muster more offense than three field goals against the Jets. If not, I hope the defense can score some points.