Ed: Steelers ARE on a Roll; the Wrong Kind

Sunday, 09 December 2012 20:21

Written by Ed Bouchette

Good evening,
    Somehow the Steelers have now managed to lose to Oakland, Tennessee, Cleveland and San Diego. They have beaten the New York Giants, Baltimore and Cincinnati on the road and Washington at home.
    You see a pattern here? The Steelers prepare to play the good teams and look past the bad ones. What other explanation might there be? Even they say it, as you can see by what Brett Keisel, Ryan Clark and Larry Foote said in my story today.
    Remember that emotional win in Baltimore that culminated with Charlie Batch and Ben Roethlisberger hugging each other on the sideline? Did that happen just seven days earlier?
     Not only that, but the Steelers lost another player. It looks like Willie Colon may not make it back after reinjuring his knee. This is starting to look like the end of last season, when they ended up playing in Denver with half the team on the sideline by the end of that playoff game.
       Yes, they remain in the hunt at 7-6 but even the dysfunctional New York Jets are just a game behind them (although a tiebreaker would go to the Steelers there because of their victory against the Jets). But, please, let’s not waste much time today discussing playoff tiebreakers.
     The Steelers were hoping to get on a roll in December and they have been on one all along – they have now lost three of their past four and it could have been four of the past five were it not for that overtime victory at home against dreadful Kansas City.
    This team has shown it can lose to anyone, or beat anyone. Well, maybe not anyone because I don’t think there is any way they could win at Denver, at New England or at Houston, the big three of the AFC.
    The Ravens and Bengals keep doing their part. Had the Steelers just beaten Cleveland and San Diego – that really wasn’t too much to ask – they would be tied in first in the AFC North with  Baltimore.
    Maybe it was a week-old hangover after a close victory over its bitter rivalry in Baltimore that caused the Steelers not to be ready to play San Diego. If that’s true, that falls on the coaching staff. They are the ones who are supposed to make sure the players are ready to play.
       Nevertheless, it’s still all there in front of them. They have the edge for the sixth tiebreaker over Cincinnati and there’s no other real apparent threat for it. So it should come down to that Dec. 23 game in Heinz Field against the Bengals to decide the sixth and final seed in the AFC.
         The good news for the Steelers is, if they do get into the playoffs, they should be ready for each opponent because there are no bad teams in the playoffs, and those are the only ones they seem capable of losing to.
    I’ll have more in the morning.