Steel Balls

And so ends another season in less than perfect fashion. The glass is not half full, but it’s a long way from empty, and closer to half full than the last two years combined.

Let us be grateful for the many positives of the 2014 edition of the Steelers. Here are some of them off the top of my head.

• The Steelers reclaimed the division crown.
• Despite the above, the Steelers will have better draft positioning than the Ravens and possibly the Bengals.
• The offense has grown to the brink of greatness and has not yet peaked.
• Elements of the defense solidified although much work remains to be done.
• One Hairball is gone from the league.
• Although they won, the Ravens continue to suck. Suggs is still butt ugly and stupid as dirt.
• Andy Dalton… enough said.
• The Factory of Sadness remains the destination where high draft picks go to die, and Comedy Central of the NFL.
• We are one year closer to the end of Tom Brady’s career. Please, god, let it happen soon.

Please add your positives. There will be plenty of time for whining and hand-wringing later.

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Hey, we’ve been asking that question all year, as it seems the Steelers can shine one week and stink the next.  But perhaps it’s time to give credit where it’s due. Through 15 games, the Steelers have never had a losing streak longer than one game. Meanwhile they’ve had two 3-game winning streaks and with a final victory over Cincinnati they could push the current streak to 4 games. They are 7-2 in their last 9 games and have had only one truly putrid performance in that span, versus the Jets.

Although this more stable and positive period has more or less coincided with the resurrection of James Harrison, perhaps greater credit goes to the solidification of the offense and stabilization of what had been a horrid defense (and now is approaching sort of average). The biggest variable during this period has been the play of Ben Roethlisberger.. In their current configuration, the fate of this team is tightly tied to Ben’s performance. If he is hot in the playoffs, they can have a good run.

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Glad to have you back, Beard. The universe would implode if you retired with another team.

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Here is a video clip of Mongo McCullers taking on an offensive line.

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The smallest, fastest player in the 2014 NFL draft, Dri Archer, goes up against
the biggest and strongest, Daniel McCullers.   (h/t to Earl)

The unstoppable force runs into the immovable object. (Alternate caption: Shooting Star Swallowed by Black Hole)

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(Click for animation):

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