Now, the Steelers have some reasons for concern, but it's not desperation time



… 23rd still helps 

The Steelers were simply woeful against the Ravens on Sunday, and they cannot use excuses for not playing better offense for three quarters.

That means that the two teams are now tied at 4-4 in the AFC Central halfway through the season. Not exactly the script for a Super Bowl run that they believed was possible at the start of the season.

However, the hopes for the season are not over despite having 7-1 Dallas coming to town next week. Remember that number 23, their strength of schedule, one of the weakest in the league.

Here is the positive: First, Two games against the Cleveland Browns, who are now 0-9 [though playing a winless team is not comforting].

Second, they play only two teams with winning records so far, Dallas and the Giants (5-3), and collectively their opponents are 26-30-1. That is positive.

Third, as a whole, the AFC stinks this year. The major exception is New England, which is 7-1 and playing great. The Broncos and Raiders are playing tonight, and both are playing pretty well. Derek Carr may be the real deal, but we will see tonight.

Fourth, since the AFC is really poor, the Steelers have a good shot at winning it despite my having serious reservations about beating the Bengals in Cincinnati.

So, overall, while this loss was pretty pathetic, the season is not devastated. They must, however, play much better down the stretch than they have the past three weeks.

Records

Cowboys 7-1

Browns 0-9

Colts 3-5

Bills 4-4

Bengals 3-4-1

Ravens 4-4

Giants 5-3

26-30-1

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dr. Chet Beres, M.D., the quarterback who gave of himself to so many people: Some Lilly Raiders who will not be with us on Saturday

Image
Chet Beres was a special human being … The 1968 championship QB is calling audibles from heaven On a few nights in late October 2010, I slept overnight at the Conemaugh Hospital palliative care unit. My brother, Father Jim, was clinging to life at the end of a long battle with cancer, and this unit was designed to make life easier for those in the final stages of disease — and for the families who wanted to spend their last days with their loved ones. It was at that time that while wandering through the hall, I noticed a plaque on the wall that warmed my heart, albeit in a sad way.  The palliative care unit was dedicated to Dr. Chet Beres, M.D., an advocate for those in hospice care. My mind flashed back to the Lilly Raider quarterback on the 1968 championship team, a young man who was bright, exuberant, and so popular with his teammates.  Chet went on to college at Pitt and to medical school after graduating from Penn Cambria. We knew that he was bright, but we also knew that he had c
Read more

Why did Tennessee-Chattanooga hire trainer Tim Bream despite his role in the alcohol-induced death of Tim Piazza at a Penn State frat?

Image
… was a live-in advisor at the fraternity On paper, Tim Bream has an impressive resume. Actually, very impressive — up to a point. That seems to be when Bream’s life appears to careen out of control. Bream, who resigned as Penn State trainer in Feb.,  was a graduate of Penn State with a bachelor’s degree in physical education, specializing in athletic training. He then attended West Virginia as a grad assistant trainer, where he received a master’s degree in Physical Education with an emphasis on Sports Science. All of this information is from his bio on the Penn State athletic site. He then worked his way up the ladder impressively, working at Syracuse, Vanderbilt, and finally at the University of Richmond, where he was the Director of Sports Medicine and Head Athletic Trainer. Then he received his big break, being name as Assistant Athletic Trainer for the Chicago Bears in 1993, and four years later, Head Athletic Trainer. He was with the Bears for 19 years when inexplicably, he
Read more

Remembering the toughest loss I ever experienced in approximately a quarter-century of coaching football. George Pasierb was a great coaching adversary.

Image
R.I.P. George Pasierb, 1946-2020 Shade-Central City High School football coach Photo: Tribune-Democrat No high school football fan could ask for anything better than this. On a beautiful sunny, warm afternoon on Saturday, October 30, 1982, in Nanty Glory, Pa., the battle featured a clash of two undefeated titans of the Appalachian Conference.  One was the preseason unanimous favorite to win the title, the other a veritable surprise that season, one that had built an 8-0 record entering that game.  This battle lived up to the pre-game hype, ending in a one-point decision that was not certain until the final play of the game.  I thought of this because the coach of the powerful Shade-Central City High School Panthers, George Pasierb, passed away earlier this week. He coached the Panthers for 20 years, but his best team was arguably that 1982 team that battled the Blacklick Valley Vikings on that Saturday afternoon before more than 3,000 ebullient fans.  And, the one-point loss was the to
Read more