As the NFL Playoffs hit their stride, Steelers fans are once again sitting at home watching on their couches for the second straight January. After starting their season with a record of 0-4 and then 2-6, the 2013 Steelers finished strong. They won six of their final eight games to level out at 8-8, and were one missed Ryan Succop field goal away from grabbing the No. 8 seed in the AFC Playoffs, a spot that eventually went to the equally-mediocre San Diego Chargers. During their 6-2 second half, the highlight for the team was their Week 15 30-20 win over the AFC North Champion Cincinnati Bengals, the team they would have faced this past weekend had they squeezed into the postseason. It is just another case of what could’ve been for the 2013 Steelers in what may truly have been the final stand of the second-greatest team in franchise history.
This offseason will bring more changes to a roster that has almost completely flipped over since the Steelers defeated the Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl 43 to bring home the franchises sixth Lombardi Trophy. The nucleus of that roster achieved some amazing results during their prime years of 2004-2011, including four AFC North titles, three AFC Championships and two Super Bowl Championships. It was a roster that at one time included future Hall of Famers QB Ben Roethlisberger, WR Hines Ward, SS Troy Polamalu, OG Alan Faneca and RB Jerome Bettis. It also included many multiple-Pro Bowl and All-Pro players – DE Aaron Smith, NT Casey Hampton, DE Brett Keisel, ILB James Farrior, OLB Joey Porter, OLB James Harrison, OLB Lamarr Woodley, TE Heath Miller and RB Willie Parker — who all won some personal hardware during this amazing run. This is the team that will forever be remembered as the group who built Heinz Field into a terrordome for opposing teams. They played together as a team of brothers, a tight-knit group that wanted so badly to bring the Lombardi trophy back to the City of Champions and did just that – once under former head coach Bill Cowher and again under current head coach Mike Tomlin.
As this offseason progresses, we will get even closer to the end of the regime of this team. QB Ben Roethlisberger will be here in 2014, but for so many veterans 2013 may have been their final year in the black and gold. The Steelers are once again in dire salary cap hell, and they will need to cut some serious money off the books, whether it be by players restructuring their current deals or by simply cutting some of the high-priced veterans. OLB LaMarr Woodley would seem to be a prime candidate to be cut, while Polamalu and CB Ike Taylor may be asked to restructure. Keisel – a player who has stated his desire to finish his career in Pittsburgh – will have to be willing to take a well-below market level deal to have any chance of returning, and even then it is up to the Steelers if they even want him back. ILB Larry Foote, who missed almost all of 2013 with injury, is signed for $1.5 million for 2014. Do the Steelers bring Foote back on that deal? What about the popular FS Ryan Clark, who is another player possibly earmarked for release? Does Clark have any chance to stay in Pittsburgh? All of these questions will linger for the next month or so as the playoffs and Super Bowl commence.
For many Steelers fans, understanding the salary cap is secondary to simply loving their players. Watching some of these guys move on or be forced into retirement is hard for fans who have watched their careers blossom in the Steel City. This is a fan base that has seen Aaron Smith, Casey Hampton, James Farrior and Hines Ward all retire after meaning so much to this franchise. All but Smith felt that they could still play the game, but their loyalty to the franchise kept them from moving on to another team to finish out a final year or two. As uncommon as that is in today’s big-money professional sports business, it has become something of regularity for former Steelers to simply end their careers in the black and gold. Loyalty is almost as rare as selflessness in the NFL, and it shows a very divergent path for Steelers players than those who toil with other teams. Older fans will remember back to RB Franco Harris, who the Steelers felt was finished in 1983. Harris disagreed and signed a contract with the Seattle Seahawks, a decision he publicly admits was a mistake to this day. Harris played in just eight games for Seattle in 1984 and was a shell of his former self.
So as the final nails are being put into the coffin on the 2004-2011 Pittsburgh Steelers legacy, can we finally take a step back and truly name this Steelers team as one of the greatest teams in NFL history? They won two Super Bowls and played in a third, and will eventually have no less than five players inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame. Few teams in history can claim the level of all-around talent of this Steelers team AND also won multiple championships. Those teams are limited to the 1960’s Green Bay Packers, 1970’s Steelers and Cowboys, 1980’s San Francisco 49ers, the 1990’s Cowboys, and the 2000’s New England Patriots. All of those teams won multiple Super Bowls and have a legacy of Hall of Fame and Pro Bowl players from the same era. The late 90’s Denver Broncos won two Super Bowls behind QB John Elway, so they should also be included in this conversation. Where do the recent Pittsburgh Steelers fit into that group of all-time great teams?
Had the Steelers been able to defeat Green Bay in Super Bowl XLV, there would be no doubt that they should be listed as an all-time dynasty team. Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be and the Packers won the Lombardi. Since that time, the Steelers have made the playoffs once in 2011 and were set home during the Wild Card week when they lost to Denver. Many fans will say that Super Bowl XLV was the final run for this group in their prime condition, but that 2011 team did go 12-4. The Steelers regular season record from 2004-2011 was 89-39, which combined with their postseason accomplishments definitively grants them at least a designation as a great team. Whether they can be considered in the same conversation with some of those dynasty teams listed above is up to the fans who watched them play.
This team missed some opportunities to win more championships, notably in 2004 when they went 15-1 and were the top AFC seed in the playoffs, only to lose to New England in the AFC title game. In 2007, they went 10-6 in the regular season, then lost to Jacksonville at home in the Wild Card round. And of course, the 12-4 Steelers of 2011 lost a heartbreaking overtime game to the Broncos in the Wild Card round. Those were all tough losses to swallow for the Steelers, but how much do they affect the success the team experienced in 2005, 2008, and 2010? It is a debate that will go on for eternity, even as the final players from their run wind down their careers over the next few seasons.
The 2014 Steelers will look much different than the 2013 version. If players like Troy Polamalu, Ike Taylor, Ryan Clark, Brett Keisel, Larry Foote and Lamarr Woodley depart, that will leave only Ben Roethlisberger, Heath Miller and Lawrence Timmons to carry the torch to the new generation of players who began making their mark over the past two seasons. The team has some work to do to retain some of their future – OLB Jason Worilds needs re-signed, as does DE Ziggy Hood. They will also need to make the decisions that come with re-signing these unrestricted free agents, and that is where the veteran exodus comes into play. A lack of depth on the defense will cause GM Kevin Colbert and Mike Tomlin some sleepless nights as they attempt to craft the next generation of Steelers greats. Some building blocks are in place – RB Le’Veon Bell and OLB Jarvis Jones both played well down the stretch and look to be ready to move into elite status in 2014. Also, as long as the Steelers have a franchise QB in Roethlisberger, they should be able to remain competitive in the AFC North.
Yes, the glory days of the 2004-2011 Steelers are over. Moving forward is inevitable, and the franchise will do what needs to be done to ensure they remain amongst the NFL elite for years to come. If that includes the departure of some of the longtime fan-favorite veterans that we have all grown to love, it will just be another bitter pill to swallow for Steeler Nation. The sight of Troy Polamalu in the red, white and silver of the Patriots or the purple and black of the Ravens may be enough to make most Steelers fans lose their lunch, but the reality of the situation is that it could happen.
No matter the outcome, Steelers fans can always hang their hats on the 2004-2011 Steelers, one of the greatest teams in franchise history, and quite possibly, one of the best overall teams in NFL history.
