Are the Steelers the best team in the NFL?

laurenskye · Post by **laurenskye** » Sun Nov 07, 2004 5:40 pm

Holy crap. After these last 2 weeks I think they have to be.

Programmed2Kill · Post by **Programmed2Kill** » Sun Nov 07, 2004 5:46 pm

It's still only the middle of the season. Both New England and Philly aren't going to play like that later on and in the playoffs. Steelers are pretty good though.

Leebo33 · Post by **Leebo33** » Sun Nov 07, 2004 5:47 pm

I'm biased because I am a lifelong Steelers fan, but they look pretty good right now. It's probably the best stretch I can remember since 1979.

They outrushed NE and Philly 473-28. Holy crap.

vader29 · Post by **vader29** » Sun Nov 07, 2004 5:51 pm

They are playing very well as a team with Big Ben showing the poise of a veteran quarterback instead of a rookie, the kid impresses me more and more every week. It's looking like it could be something very special with them this year and I'm enjoying every moment of it.

webdanzer · Post by **webdanzer** » Sun Nov 07, 2004 5:51 pm

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Sun Nov 07, 2004 5:57 pm

Didn't they have a crap line the past few years?

How did Maddox get beat up?

Yet the line is obviously producing in the running game.

And they're apparently covered up the problems in the secondary that they used to have.

But it is only the middle of the season.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Sun Nov 07, 2004 6:00 pm

They've sure been impressive. Ever since the first pass of Ben's career, the interception by Pat Surtain, he's been a stud. Gotta hand it to the Steelers front office. That's a hell of a draft pick. I can only hope the Dolphins can swing a pick like that with the first pick in next years draft.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Sun Nov 07, 2004 6:21 pm

The Steelers remind me of the 2001 Patriots. Unheralded rookie QB takes over early for an injured veteran QB and shows amazing poise. A defense without a ton of name stars gets the job done, big time.

Could the Steelers follow the same path to the championship as New England in 2001?

They sure look good now.

And break up the Bills! Two consecutive wins, baby!

Take care,
PK

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Sun Nov 07, 2004 6:38 pm

It would be hard for me to say anyone is better than them right now--first team to ever beat undefeated teams (at least 6-0) back-to-back. Yes, they were at home, but it isn't like they squeaked by.

Their defense gave up "Madden-style" rushing yards the last two weeks--26 yards total. And that's without big Casey Hampton clogging up the middle.

I know I don't want the In_ianapolis Colts playing there in the playoffs.

Not sure how genuine it is (and I'm not going to be cynical and call it anything but genuine), but it is fun to watch Roethlisberger go around thanking his offensive mates. They're a team having fun right now.

Leebo33 · Post by **Leebo33** » Sun Nov 07, 2004 6:52 pm

wco81 wrote:Didn't they have a crap line the past few years?

How did Maddox get beat up?

Yet the line is obviously producing in the running game.

The offensive line was in shambles last season. Marvel Smith played only about half the season due to a pinched nerve. Kendall Simmons was diagnosed with diabetes in training camp and never really recovered. Jeff Hartings played the entire season on two very painfully arthritic knees. Alan Faneca had to play out-of-position at LT due to Smith's injury.

This year the Steelers' line has been incredible. Smith and Hartings are healthy. Faneca has returned to his familiar LG slot and dominated. Vincent has stepped up for an injured Simmons at RG. Oliver Ross has solidified a RT position that has been a problem area over the past few seasons. Dan Krieder the FB is like another offensive lineman.

The Steelers have also made great strides in the secondary. They replaced DeWayne Washington with Deshea Townsend who is a bit faster and just makes more plays. Troy Polamalu still gets beat too often on play-action and pump fakes, but his speed and size give the Steelers incredible options. Chris Hope is quick and also a heavy hitter. That means teams have more trouble when they spread the Steelers out because the WR get pounded after a short catch, and Polamalu can cover a slot receiver where Brent Alexander couldn't. They also vastly improved the speed in the nickel and dime defenses by adding Ricardo Coclough and Ike Taylor. Willie Williams was a great offseason pickup because he knows the scheme and still has a little speed.

BTW, Big Ben's first pass was actually an incompletion in week 2 at Baltimore. His second pass was intercepted. He has performed pretty well since then

XXXIV · Post by **XXXIV** » Sun Nov 07, 2004 6:57 pm

I would say the Steelers are the best.

The Pats look pathetic today...without the refs the c*** dont have s***.

bdoughty · Post by **bdoughty** » Sun Nov 07, 2004 9:10 pm

Leebo33 wrote:I'm biased because I am a lifelong Steelers fan, but they look pretty good right now. It's probably the best stretch I can remember since 1979.

They outrushed NE and Philly 473-28. Holy crap.

Make that two life long Steeler fans here. I was too young to fully appreciate the Steelers from the 70's so it is hard to compare.

I will take a play from the Patriots fans and remind the world of the IR list.

Insert an * on the rushing yards as they did that w/o Duce Staley today.

bkrich83 · Post by **bkrich83** » Sun Nov 07, 2004 10:08 pm

Still too early, and too much parity in the league to say the are the best team in the league. In todays NFL, I don't even know if such a thing exists.

However they are at this moment, by far playing the best football in the league. They are simply playing better than everyone else right now.

XXXIV · Post by **XXXIV** » Sun Nov 07, 2004 10:27 pm

Ofcourse its too early but as of today its clear who the best team is...Its the Steelers.

RallyMonkey · Post by **RallyMonkey** » Mon Nov 08, 2004 10:29 am

Um, XXXIV, pathetic? They just handed the Rams their worst home loss in 5 years. How exactly is that pathetic? Let's not jump off the Pats as a quality team based off one performance when they went to war IN Pittsburgh without a RB and without their top two cover corners. The "on-the-fly" coaching after Law went out and they went down 14-3 in a matter of 15 seconss, was piss poor last week but with a week to prepare there is no better team in the league than the Patriots. Surely no one can argue that. After all, they have won 22 of their last 23. That's not bad last i checked.

Having said all of this, Pittsburgh is flat out nasty right now and while i won't jump off the Pats being the best team, the Steelers are right up there with them.

Leebo33 · Post by **Leebo33** » Mon Nov 08, 2004 10:51 am

RallyMonkey wrote:Having said all of this, Pittsburgh is flat out nasty right now and while i won't jump off the Pats being the best team, the Steelers are right up there with them.

The Steelers have benefited from playing 5 games at home. I'd like to see them beat some teams on the road besides Miami and Dallas. They will have an opportunity to distance themselves in the division race with wins at CLE and CIN. The game at Cleveland will be real tough. The Steelers always seem to blow one against the Bengals each year, although they will probably have at least 20,000 Steelers fans in attendance.

In 2001 the Steelers got homefield, but never really played anyone great until New England came to town for the AFC Championship. They will be battle tested this year going into the playoffs with games against NE, Philly, at JAX, NYJ, at NYG, and two against Baltimore. Games at Cleveland and Buffalo are not gimmies either.

New England is still the team to beat and a playoff game there in January would be tough for any team to win.

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Mon Nov 08, 2004 11:02 am

What happened in the game against the Ravens?

Did they shut down the Steeler running game? Now they're saying the Steelers are the most physical team in the game. Last week they were saying the Chief's Oline was the most dominant in the game.

Yeah looks like Steelers should work on securing home field advantage. May take 15-1 because the Pats looked vulnerable this week but they find ways to get it done. You figure they're not going to always give away turnovers.

Philly, many suspected that the problems they had last year with the run defense wasn't really solved. Their defense has been helped by being able to play with a big lead most of the year. But they had questions with the linebacking and the CBs coming in.

Leebo33 · Post by **Leebo33** » Mon Nov 08, 2004 11:19 am

The Ravens surprisingly ran the ball right down the throat of the Steelers on the opening kickoff and in the first half in general. Another touchdown for the Ravens was setup by a sack of Maddox (the play on which he was injured) and a subsequent return to the Steelers' one yard line. The Steelers didn't run much on Baltimore (93 yards), but played from behind the whole game.

I just read that the Steelers did indeed have Polamalu play man-to-man on Owens when he lined up in the slot. That's a luxury when your strong safety has the speed to guard one of the league's best receivers.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Mon Nov 08, 2004 11:34 am

On a side note, does ANYONE believe McNabb's claim that Owens was just trying to settle down McNabb when TO threw his rant on the sidelines in the first half?

I don't. That sure as hell looked like a "Get me the damn ball" whine to me.

Out,
PK

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Mon Nov 08, 2004 11:42 am

Given Owens' history, he was probably ranting.

But Owens still has a lot of fans among 49er players. He visited here during his bye week and a lot of his former teammates were excited to see him show up at the training facility. So if he was a divisive, unpleasant presence in the locker room last year, the guys seemed to have forgotten about it.

Kind of like how after Sprewell was traded, a lot of Warrior players would write his number down on their sneakers. Players seem to band together no matter what.

Brando70 · Post by **Brando70** » Mon Nov 08, 2004 12:02 pm

pk500 wrote:On a side note, does ANYONE believe McNabb's claim that Owens was just trying to settle down McNabb when TO threw his rant on the sidelines in the first half?

I don't. That sure as hell looked like a "Get me the damn ball" whine to me.

Out,
PK

True, but that kind of thing happens every week in the NFL. We just notice it more when TO does it. I'm sure McNabb is happy to have him on the team, they just had a long, frustrating afternoon.

BK's right, it's hard to proclaim dominance at mid-season these days, but the Steelers are certainly playing the best, most disciplined football. I would think after weathering the Pats and Eagles defenses, Big Ben will do pretty well the rest of the season. The running game is a huge help, too, the Duce is loose. All in all, they seem like the team with the fewest weaknesses.

PK can root for the Bills, but how about the Bears! Two in a row. Five forced turnovers and seven freaking sacks against the Giants. Craig "National Championship" Krenzel had an NCAA 2005-esque 8 for 21 passing day and we still won.

But the highlight of the day for me: The Dave Wannestadt "ah, jeez" face at the end of the Dolphins game.

Parker · Post by **Parker** » Mon Nov 08, 2004 12:03 pm

XXXIV wrote:I would say the Steelers are the best.

The Pats look pathetic today...without the refs the c***s dont have s***.

Ummmm ya. Give one example of a call that incorrectly went our way. The Rams were lucky to have 22 points. Your RB did not get the ball to the goalline despite what the refs decided on the challenge. What looked pathetic in that game was the Rams defense.

Any team that relies on their offense has no chance against Belichick. We definitely can score more points than last year. If we can avoid more injury problems in our defense, I'm confident we will win the superbowl again. Though Pittsburgh scares me more than Philly, I'm sure our coaches will have a better plan of attack if we face them again. Philly doesn't worry me at all, we have owned them the last few years.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Mon Nov 08, 2004 12:23 pm

Brando70 wrote:But the highlight of the day for me: The Dave Wannestadt "ah, jeez" face at the end of the Dolphins game.

I'm going to miss those faces when the dipsh*t gets canned either this week or at the end of the season. Please let the Dolphins lure Nick Saban out of the college ranks.

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Mon Nov 08, 2004 12:31 pm

Who was defending Fitzgerald on that play? Looks like they're letting big WRs just hold off CBs around the goal line.

If they keep letting them do that Mike Williams and Braylon Edwards are going to be even more in demand.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Mon Nov 08, 2004 12:38 pm

wco81 wrote:Who was defending Fitzgerald on that play? Looks like they're letting big WRs just hold off CBs around the goal line.

If they keep letting them do that Mike Williams and Braylon Edwards are going to be even more in demand.

Reggie Howard. First of all, Fitz has a few inches on the guy and second, he just stuck a hand on him as the ball went up and just knocked Howard backwards...he didn't even push him. He just impeded his progress to the ball.

I blame that play on the D Coordinator, Jim Bates. He double covered the receivers that Howard was covering and went single with Madison and Surtain. The one time the safety (Sammy Knight) blitzed, is the time they got burnt. Oh well...one step closer to the first pick in the draft.