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Originally Posted by stormdriver
This is the typical arrogant Pittsburgh homerism.
Firstly, Congrats on 2-0. Good start. The defense and Roethlisberger are both playing far better than I expected. Davenport seems like a very smart pickup (still not sure why we cut him), and Parker is back to form.
Now back to the point. You guys are homers. Wins are wins are wins, and you got the credit for them, but beating the Browns and Bills doesn't qualify you for the SB. Beat a respectable team, then start talking postseason.
-Ben for MVP? Never going to happen, and that's not because of these mysterious "haters", it's because he's not even the top QB in his own division.
-Best punter alive? He's good, but no one ever made the HOF based on two games. As you said, he's had 5 punts. You think that makes him the best??!
-Holmes is the real deal. I agree with your assessment there.
I really thought these absurd predictions would go away with Porter. You are off to a good start, but you are also a year removed from 6-10 and with a rookie coach to boot. Spend some time in reality, Steeler fans. It's not as bad here as you might think.
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I admit there appear to be several homeristic comments thrown out by PIT fans in this thread - some of them even inaccurate.
Let's start with the punter Sepulveda. Here's the statistics. I won't even try to interpret them. You folks can make up your own mind as to how successful he has been to this point.
He's had 7 punts thus far (6 vs. the Browns and 1 vs. the Bills)
1 - 45 yards to opponents 30 yard line - 0 yards return
2 - 42 yards to opponents 2 yard line - 0 yards return
3 - 41 yards to opponents 13 yard line - 0 yards return
4 - 29 yards to opponents 22 yard line - 0 yards return
5 - 31 yards to opponents 9 yard line - 0 yards return
6 - 35 yards to opponents 5 yard line - 0 yards return
7 - 41 yards to opponents 7 yard line - 0 yards return
Totals:
37.7 yards per punt.
0 yards return yardage
2/7 punts inside the 5
4/7 punts inside the 10
6/7 punts inside the 22
Opponents average starting position: 12.6 yard line
Touchbacks = 0
Thus far all he's been asked to do is pin his opponents deep in their own territory which he's done on nearly every occasion. Can't really ask any more out of the punter if you ask me.
I need to correct another fallacy. PIT wasn't 6-10 last year. They were 8-8 and, just like the Patriots following their initial Super Bowl win, missed the playoffs by a single game. Considering the issues Ben had with his health, the brutal early season schedule, and the number of self induced issues with ST play, not really a bad season at all, especailly when you consider they went 6-2 their last 8 games.
While I agree Ben will likely never win a regular season MVP award, he's certainly capable of leading his team to the postseason again where he's already amassed a 5-1 record and a ring and a LOMBARDI as a starting QB. Let's also keep in mind he's only 25 years old. Regular season MVP awards are meaningless. Give me a leader whose focus is on postseason success and I'll show you a sure fire future Hall of Famer. You can snuggle up to Palmer's nutsack as being the superior statistical QB if you want. I'll take a winner with superior immeasurable intangibles every day of the week. Carson can enjoy his trips to Hawaii for the Pro Bowl. Ben, I'm sure, would much rather play meaningful games in January and February. The only statistics that matter are postseason success and to this point in his career Palmer has ZERO.
Belittling the level of PITs opposition thus far may also be a bit premature. After last week many thought the Browns would be lucky to win even a single game this season, yet all they did was come out and hang 51 on a PO caliber team like the Bengals in squaring their record at 1-1. Buffalo also nearly beat a PO caliber team last week when the Broncos pulled a win out of their butt as the clock wound down. Perhaps these teams have looked bad against the Steelers because the Steelers were just that much better? It's possible isn't it??
PITs schedule gets considerably more difficult after their bye week. They've got home games against SF and SEA sandwiched around a road trip to ARZ the next three weeks. All games appear to be very winnable especially when you consider that Ben's record vs. the NFC is 12-1 since he's joined the league.
As far as the rest of the division is concerned, I think we are seeing the exact same things that have plagued the rest of the division the past several years:
Cincy has a big O but a suspect D yet again. If they can't generate turnovers, then they appear to be in serious trouble.
BAL has a stout D as always, but yet again, suffer from some serious offensive question marks.
CLE has the misfortune of being in a division with the likes of PIT, BAL and CIN and isn't going to make the postseason no matter what they do as they'll end up 1-5 or 2-4 against those three essentially sealing their fate.
PIT appears to have the most complete team. Whether you wish to admit it or not. They are very stout defensively having given up 10 points in two games. They have the inventor of the 3-4 as DC plus have added Tomlin's knowledge gleaned from years of tutelage under Tony Dungy and Monte Kiffin in Tampa Bay.
Offensively they have moved the ball with relative ease up and down the field the past two weeks. They have a solid running game with decent depth, a solid and deep receiving corps and their OL appears to be at least adequate and aimproving at this point. As always, injuries, or lack thereof, will have alot to say about whether they are serious contenders or not. So far so good in that category, however.
To suggest they aren't at least playoff caliber appears to be a bit shortsighted. Not considering the 8 game stretch at the beginning of last year when Ben was clearly not himself, PITs record since his arrival in the Burgh is a resounding and stellar 39-9 (81.25% winning percentage). Even counting that poor opening season stretch last year the team is still 41-15 (73.2%) the past 3+ seasons. Based on those numbers, it's likely PIT will finish at least 11-5 which should get them into the POs easily. The fact that this roster is now littered with World Champions would likely lead most fans to think they'd have a decent chance of postseason success should they make it to the dance. Writing the Steelers off as pretenders looks to be wishful thinking by a select few haters. Of course it's also possible that PIT finishes 2-14. What do I know?
Steelers say they are Super Bowl material
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