The 2013 season has been a roller coaster ride for the Pittsburgh Steelers, and there have been more valleys than peaks in it. With the team’s 34-28 loss to the Miami Dolphins effectively eliminating the team from any realistic shot at a playoff spot, it is time for the organization and fans alike to acknowledge the reality that this team has been doomed from the start. Injuries, age and a general lack of talent have all reared their ugly heads as the Steelers began the season by losing their first four games and now sit at 5-8 with the basement of the AFC North in much plainer view than the top of it.
The writing was on the wall all the way back in Week 1, when the team’s 10-game win streak in home openers was snapped when they lost to a bad Titans team and stars Maurkice Pouncey and Larry Foote were lost for the year. The next few weeks featured a defense that could let up a big play at any moment and an offense that played far too passively for entire halves at a time. The low point was losing to the Vikings in London to drop the team to 0-4, a game that had the Steelers driving to tie the game before Big Ben fumbled on the eight yard line to seal the loss.
After a hot streak that saw the team climb to 5-6 heading into a mammoth matchup with the Ravens on Thanksgiving, it looked as though the season could still be salvaged. However, bad luck and poor decision-making has been the story the last two weeks, and the sad part is that the Steelers would have been right back in the hunt if not for Antonio Brown’s left pinkie toe. Losing the way the team did Sunday was a blessing in disguise for fans that have been in denial recently. This simply has not been the Steelers’ year, and there is nothing wrong with that. It just means that they must now address their needs to get back on track.
Roethlisberger and Todd Haley have not seen eye-to-eye since Haley started here last season. Lamarr Woodley and Pouncey will be back healthy next season. Ryan Clark and Ike Taylor are getting older, and Foote is no spring chicken either. Once the offensive line is healthy and upgraded, we can see just how good Le’Veon Bell can be. Also, don’t forget that Heath Miller missed the team’s first quarter of the season, and that was a huge loss. The Steelers never seem to waver for very long, and I see no reason for this season to simply be a changing of the guard. If the organization doesn’t see that there will be no championship football with the current roster, however, they could be in for a tough road ahead.
