Have the Steelers been Underachieving?

• Swamp Fox

  This franchise has created their own monster and now they are the target of threads such as this one. 6 Super Bowl Championships, several other appearances in the Big Game, numerous Division Titles, an absolutely incredible list of individual awards for the continual parade of All-League Players that have come through that amazing franchise, and now we are all trying to explain why the Steelers aren't doing what they normally do. Perhaps what's true about the Browns is also true, albeit to a much lesser degree, about the Steelers. Specifically, that no team can win them all. Every so often, a team will have a bad year. Evidently, this is the year for the Steelers to fall below expectations. How many of you can remember when the Browns were good every year and the Steelers couldn't win to save their lives? What goes around comes around. It's the Steeler's turn now. It always seems to be the Brown's turn.
• Footwedge

  Yup...the Stealers blow this year. After today, they could be 3 games behind the Bengals. I will be rooting long and hard for my Brownies to lose today.
  
  Anthing to hurt the Stelers is a winning proposition.
• killer_ewok

  

  Footwedge wrote: Yup...the Stealers blow this year. After today, they could be 3 games behind the Bengals. I will be rooting long and hard for my Brownies to lose today.
  
  Anthing to hurt the Stelers is a winning proposition.

  I don't think you need to root very hard for a Browns loss. That's what they do. They're good at it. Sit back and relax knowing that they'll take care of it.
• killer_ewok

  

  Swamp Fox wrote: This franchise has created their own monster and now they are the target of threads such as this one. 6 Super Bowl Championships, several other appearances in the Big Game, numerous Division Titles, an absolutely incredible list of individual awards for the continual parade of All-League Players that have come through that amazing franchise, and now we are all trying to explain why the Steelers aren't doing what they normally do. Perhaps what's true about the Browns is also true, albeit to a much lesser degree, about the Steelers. Specifically, that no team can win them all. Every so often, a team will have a bad year. Evidently, this is the year for the Steelers to fall below expectations. How many of you can remember when the Browns were good every year and the Steelers couldn't win to save their lives? What goes around comes around. It's the Steeler's turn now. It always seems to be the Brown's turn.

  My goodness. The Steelers appear to be in the Wild Card hunt moreso than the division hunt and some are talking as if the Steelers are a winless team. The season isn't over by a longshot. Pittsburgh is very much in the thick of things at this point.
  
  Sure, I remember when the Browns were good and when they actually beat the Steelers. I also remember when Notre Dame last won a national title too though.
  
  What goes around comes around? The Browns are awful and have been for years. The Steelers are still a Wild Card contender at worst this season. I don't think whatever it is has "come around" yet.
• mtrulz

  So many WHINERS here.
• Swamp Fox

  killer_ewok wrote:

  Swamp Fox wrote: This franchise has created their own monster and now they are the target of threads such as this one. 6 Super Bowl Championships, several other appearances in the Big Game, numerous Division Titles, an absolutely incredible list of individual awards for the continual parade of All-League Players that have come through that amazing franchise, and now we are all trying to explain why the Steelers aren't doing what they normally do. Perhaps what's true about the Browns is also true, albeit to a much lesser degree, about the Steelers. Specifically, that no team can win them all. Every so often, a team will have a bad year. Evidently, this is the year for the Steelers to fall below expectations. How many of you can remember when the Browns were good every year and the Steelers couldn't win to save their lives? What goes around comes around. It's the Steeler's turn now. It always seems to be the Brown's turn.

  My goodness. The Steelers appear to be in the Wild Card hunt moreso than the division hunt and some are talking as if the Steelers are a winless team. The season isn't over by a longshot. Pittsburgh is very much in the thick of things at this point.
  
  Sure, I remember when the Browns were good and when they actually beat the Steelers. I also remember when Notre Dame last won a national title too though.
  
  What goes around comes around? The Browns are awful and have been for years. The Steelers are still a Wild Card contender at worst this season. I don't think whatever it is has "come around" yet.

  killer, I essentially am in agreement with you, however I think that a "bad season" is a relative proposition. Yes, the Steelers are still in the Wild Card hunt which certainly doesn't translate to a bad season for most teams, but the Steelers are a very proud and highly successful franchise that goes way beyond the "Wild Card class". In this case, my reference to "what goes around comes around" simply alludes to the fact that the Steelers aren't the successful Super Bowl favorite this season and will have to bust their collective butts just to get into the dance. No, now that you mention it, it doesn't seem like much of a down year. The Browns have been getting the short end of this saying for decades.
• killer_ewok

  

  Swamp Fox-Understood. That makes more sense. Thanks for clarifying.
• Heretic

  

  Footwedge wrote: Yup...the Stealers blow this year. After today, they could be 3 games behind the Bengals. I will be rooting long and hard for my Brownies to lose today.
  
  Anthing to hurt the Stelers is a winning proposition.

  Odds are you'll get your wish this week. And possibly every week for the rest of the season, regardless of whether you're still wishing for them to lose.
• Non

  

  They need to get healthy and have that meeting where everyone gets serious and on the same page. It definitely won't be this week with Polamalu and Roethlisberger out. I think it will happen after this game. They have Oakland and Cleveland. Good chance for two wins and then they'll go into the last three against Green Bay, Baltimore and Miami with the right sense of urgency. Whether they can win all three of those remains to be seen but it's not a bad thing because it will force them into a playoff situation so if they do get in, they'll have to be playing well.