Playoff Expectations and Hopes

The bottom line is that we have a LEGITIMATE chance to reach the Super Bowl.
We have a team that when hitting on all cylinders, is capable of beating anyone in the AFC.
Conversely, we have a team that on its worst day is capable of losing to anyone in the AFC.

What must happen: OL has to continue to play at its present level; keep Ben clean and let Leveon do his thing    
                          Ben has to spread the ball around; Rogers is stepping up at the right time and Sammie has to up his game, JJ has been reliable lately and if Green comes back....better yet, AB.....no comment needed
                         
                          Much better tackling; getting gashed up the middle has to stop; instead of wrapping up the upper body, try wrapping up the legs instead of the shoulders....then the tackler can't be taken for a ride
                         
                          Special Teams has to play well.....a hit or miss exercise with Danny Smith

What can't happen: Ben being in a coma for three quarters and trying to snap out of it in the fourth
                          I still cringe when I watch his picks against the Ravens...what was he seeing?
                         
                          Defense playing like a sieve against the run vulnerable to cutbacks for big gains
                         
                          Allowing big plays on special teams

                          Coaching brain farts....2 pt. conversions to be overly aggressive and gadget plays that are
                          rarely successful

I see us beating Miami.  They beat us but we're a very different team now.
Kansas City I see as a toss-up.  Playing a tough team (they're a very different team now too) in a very tough environment.
If we beat the Chiefs we could give the Pats* a tough time....with Ben, Leveon, and AB all healthy.....as tough an offense that they could face in the championship game.

However, I believe Tommy Boy would pick apart our secondary to win the game.  Our defense would lose the game.   I'd love to eat crow on this one.

However, going forward, the next 2-3 seasons look very bright.  We've infused some good young talent on both sides of the ball.

Going to need Bud and Harrison to play Von Miller like to beat Tom Brady if they make it to the AFC title game. Bud is legit. I wish he had been healthy all year, he may have won the Steelers one more game with his pressure.

In an AFC with no excellent teams other than the Pats** IMO this season will be regarded as underachieving with anything less than reaching the AFC championship game.

Steelers should beat Miami comfortably.  Chiefs in Arrowhead will be tough but since I thought the weekend before Christmas the Steelers second playoff weekend matchup would be against the Raiders with Derek Carr the KC matchup could have been worse.  And the Steelers abused the Chiefs in week 4.

Of course the big hole in the post-2000 Steelers resume is beating Brady in the playoffs or in Foxboro - that is unlikely this year but peak Ben, Brown and Bell could win a shootout against a Pats** defense which I think can be taken.  

If (a very big if) the Steelers get to the Super Bowl they will win it

One game at a time. Just focus on beating Miami first.

My expectations?

To quote the great philosopher Fire Arians ...

"Super Bowl"

kan_t wrote:

One game at a time. Just focus on beating Miami first.

This!!!

There is no "given" or "should win" in the NFL playoffs. The Steelers have a better offense and QB than the Dolphins, but the injuries on the D line, WR corps and the poor tacking of the Steelers recently mean the Dolphins could score easier than thought.

IMO, I like the Steelers to win at home. Then its going to be really tough on the road vs KC and a precision passer like Smith. I'm hoping the Steelers rise to the challenge each week and go all the way, but honestly the likelihood of going to the SB with Cobi Hamilton as your #2 WR and 3 rookies starting on defense isn't that strong.

El-Gonzo Jackson wrote:

kan_t wrote:

One game at a time. Just focus on beating Miami first.

This!!!

There is no "given" or "should win" in the NFL playoffs.  The Steelers have a better offense and QB than the Dolphins, but the injuries on the D line, WR corps and the poor tacking of the Steelers recently mean the Dolphins could score easier than thought.

IMO, I like the Steelers to win at home.  Then its going to be really tough on the road vs KC and a precision passer like Smith.  I'm hoping the Steelers rise to the challenge each week and go all the way, but honestly the likelihood of going to the SB with Cobi Hamilton as your #2 WR and 3 rookies starting on defense isn't that strong.

This is probably the right way to approach things. We likely are a little short this year and the last couple playoff appearances are stepping stones like the 01, 02, 04, seasons before winning it all in 05 and 08. At the same time, with a 2005-like playoff run from Ben and a couple monster games from Bell, I like to think we could do it. KC obviously would be a much bigger test than Oakland. But if they get past them and make it to an AFC CG in NE it would mean they had won 9 in a row and have been doing something right.

i'll be happy with a win against the Dolphins.

We just need to play good disciplined football. No boneheaded turnovers from Ben, good balanced offensive attack, and the defense needs to maintain gap discipline and shut down the Dolphins' run game.

One game at a time, definitely. That has to be the mentality. Don't get caught looking ahead.

Just beat the Dolphins.

Must wine, can no lose!

One game at a time. At least make it past the 1st round

Atlanta Dan wrote:

In an AFC with no excellent teams other than the Pats*** IMO this season will be regarded as underachieving with anything less than reaching the AFC championship game.

Steelers should beat Miami comfortably.  Chiefs in Arrowhead will be tough but since I thought the weekend before Christmas the Steelers second playoff weekend matchup would be against the Raiders with Derek Carr the KC matchup could have been worse.  And the Steelers abused the Chiefs in week 4.

Of course the big hole in the post-2000 Steelers resume is beating Brady in the playoffs or in Foxboro - that is unlikely this year but peak Ben, Brown and Bell could win a shootout against a Pats*** defense which I think can be taken.  

If (a very big if) the Steelers get to the Super Bowl they will win it

Despite their impressive record and still being a very good team, this year's edition of the Pats*** is a team that can be beat if we play our best in all three phases of the game.

1 point win, Vajayjay will likely have a good day.

OX1947 wrote:

Going to need Bud and Harrison to play Von Miller like to beat Tom Brady if they make it to the AFC title game. Bud is legit. I wish he had been healthy all year, he may have won the Steelers one more game with his pressure.

Couldn't agree with you more.  
He's been more and more noticeable each game since he's been back.
You can't help but think of the "what if" he was healthy all season.
Hopefully, he plays a full season next year.
A consistent pass rusher from the OLB spot....

Everybody was so distracted with how the Dolphins ran it down our throat last time....many didn't pay as much attention to the dominant performance, Landry laid on our secondary. gay in particular got undressed in that game.

their wrs are about as dangerous as they come....got to have a pass rush to limit their damage.

The Sporting News NFL Playoff predictions Vinnie Iyer wrote this. I hope he's right:

Quote :

IYER: The Steelers. My answers to questions 1, 2 and 3 add up to this. The Steelers were our pick to win Super Bowl LI before the season, and their status as a strong No. 3 seed gives little reason to go away from them in the AFC. Nobody has a combination like Le'Veon Bell and Antonio Brown to present the same kind of pick your poison, especially for the Patriots*. Ben Roethlisberger and Mike Tomlin are overdue for this kind of run. Time to cash in on the strength of a great rushing attack and underrated D.

http://www.sportingnews.com/nfl/list/nfl-playoffs-predictions-2017-picks-odds-vegas-wild-card-super-bowl/1b73pio7q9ne91rnzzqgpdgsk2

Expect this team to reach the afc championship game. Hoping they win it all of course. Our D should be able to keep Miami and KC from keeping up with our offense. The Patriots** offense is explosive like ours. The D is going to have to have their best game of the season against the Pats** to give us a chance to win that game.

All that being said, I hope this team is focused on Miami and not looking ahead. I've read a couple sites where writers are predicting a Miami upset over us.

Le'veon Bell has a chance to Terrell Davis the Steelers to a title. If he happens to do that and goes on to win Super Bowl MVP, he would be staring at a potential Hall of Fame path. With another title, Big Ben gets in on the first ballet. With Antonio Brown, it ends the "No diva receiver wins Super Bowls" myth. And Mike Tomlin would probably end all his detractors for good.

If we don't beat the Dolphins I for one will look at this as a playing down game. Even with our injuries we are the better team and we are at home.

If we beat the Dolphins I think winning in KC could be as hard as winning in Foxborough because of the noise in their stadium. If we get to KC I look for Ben to run a lot of no huddle to keep the stadium quiet.

If we get by them I expect Bell ( this means the O-line must continue playing like they have)to play a major roll in keeping Brady off of the field but in order for any of this to happen we will need QB pressure and sure tackling. Smith is similar to Brady in the way he throws the short pass. If we disrupt their rhythm or better yet do not let them get into a rhythm they can be beat.

If we play our best games going forward we can beat anyone. The pressure is on this team to perform,adjust,rinse and repeat.

Considering at 4-5 I wasn't too confident of reaching the play offs, I really don't know. Our offense seems to just about pull it out without dominating the way it should (given the weapons we have), while the defence often steps up more so than many thought it was capable.

Worried about Ben and his recent habit of being picked off on seemingly bad decisions that even a brit who wasn't brought up on the game can see as soon as the ball leaves his hand.

At the start of this season I was thinking play offs as a build for next season so anything beyond Sunday is a bonus ,,,,,,,,,,,,,having said that I'd find it hard to take if like last season we done the hard bit then balls'd it up (the Denver game).

Right now I just want the first win this weekend but I can't help thinking ahead how this could be the ultimate revenge tour. They beat the rats to end the losing streak and win the division, beat the cheats to get into the SB, beat the Cowboys or Packers to avenge past SB losses.

We definitely have a tough path to the Super Bowl but I think we can get it done. We're streaking, we're healthy at the right time, and things just seem to be going our way. Sometimes that's just what you need going into the playoffs is a full head of steam. We've got the benefit of veterans and coaches on this team that know what it takes to win playoff games, and to win the Super Bowl. Experience is priceless.

If we make it past Miami, and Kansas City, the toughest test will definitely be New England but I think we can beat them. The biggest factor in them beating us last time was Gronkowski, he's obviously out for the season, so I think they're beatable. You just can't make mistakes against the Patriots*, we'd have to play mistake free football, especially in Foxborough.

IowaSteeler927 wrote:

We definitely have a tough path to the Super Bowl but I think we can get it done. We're streaking, we're healthy at the right time, and things just seem to be going our way. Sometimes that's just what you need going into the playoffs is a full head of steam. We've got the benefit of veterans and coaches on this team that know what it takes to win playoff games, and to win the Super Bowl. Experience is priceless.

If we make it past Miami, and Kansas City, the toughest test will definitely be New England but I think we can beat them. The biggest factor in them beating us last time was Gronkowski, he's obviously out for the season, so I think they're beatable. You just can't make mistakes against the Patriots**, we'd have to play mistake free football, especially in Foxborough.

Agreed. The Steelers are unusually healthy at a time other teams are not. I think a run on the SB is all about Ben. He's looked fairly sloppy this year after starting hot. If he gets his mojo back, they can beat anyone.

They should roll Miami and, no, they won't be looking past them. Not after getting embarrassed by them earlier and considering it's the playoffs. KC is a good team, but not unbeatable and their last two losses came at home.  Sooner or later they will beat the Pats* and get that monkey off their backs. Why not this year?

Pittsburgh is healthy, now lets see if they get hot.