Steelers back? Not yet, but it's a start

By Dejan Kovacevic

The Steelers aren't back.

Yeah, I was there, too, when Shaun Suisham sliced the uprights in the last second to set down the hated Ravens, 19-16, and set off a celebration unlike any at Heinz Field in far too long.

It was, as Ryan Clark put it, “great for us and the city to get that feeling back.”

Sure was. A joy to absorb, really.

I can see the standings, too, which, thanks to the parity-driven NFL and the parody-driven AFC North, somehow have the 2-4 Steelers a single game back in the loss column for the wild card and right there with all their division mates save the 5-2 Bengals.

And I see the coming schedule, as well, listing the Raiders, Patriots*, Bills, Lions, Browns and these Ravens again followed by the Dolphins.

Anyone scary in there?

Not if you saw Tom Brady misfire on more than half his passes in the OT loss to the New York Jets on Sunday.

It's all there. I can see it, and I can tally up what surely will have than a few folks hopeful that the Steelers have made a hard pivot from 0-4 and London and Ben Roethlisberger's proclamation that “we're probably the worst team in the league” and shuffleboard-gate and all else that brought the franchise's 40-year rock bottom.

But the Steelers being back?

Hey, why take it from me?

Here's what that question collected on a tour of the winning locker room …

Roethlisberger: “We've still got a hole, and we're still trying to get out.”

Le'Veon Bell: “Not yet.”

Antonio Brown: “It's not time to feel good about ourselves.”

Ramon Foster: “Not yet.”

David DeCastro, at the next stall after overhearing me ask Foster: “No.”

The always colorful Clark: “Not yet. But we aren't dead yet, either.”

Exactly. And that's pretty much all, if anything, is there to savor.

Sure, it's a start.

Read more: http://triblive.com/sports/dejankovacevic/dejancolumns/4914560-74/steelers-bell-yet#ixzz2iK5RAYSm

The glass is half empty until we get back to even again...

Drizztbob wrote:

The glass is half empty until we get back to even again...

I disagree. I know I've mentioned this (Wally as well, but I don't want to speak for him) but I have said the Steelers were WAY better than their record. A few mishaps, an ever changing situation on the line, and aging defense all just needed to come together. We weren't creating turnovers, we weren't getting pressure on the opposing QB, we were dropping passes, and we had no answer at RB.... but we still were in every game that we played. We SHOULD have beat every team we played- but we didn't. That was where the majority of my frustration lied is that I saw the POTENTIAL, but not the EXECUTION. We're starting to execute now, and the offense seems to bring something new each week.

Yes, we're still in a hole... but we're amongst the other moles because no one is really taking over the league. We could be in a lot worse of a position, but this next stretch will be HUGE.

Whyant5 wrote:

 We could be in a lot worse of a position, but this next stretch will be HUGE.  

You said it right here...this next stretch. So until we get a couple of more wins under our belts, it doesn't matter what potential the team had or how close the games were early on, what matters is that little L or W in our column. And until we get a couple more of those W's, we are still not in a good spot and need to claw our way up this division.