Well, there you go. I guess I was right to be scared. Then again, I was wrong to predict that we'd win by 17. So there's that.
I hate losing like this way more than I hate losing the way we did to the Patriots. The Jags completely owned us on the line of scrimmage, made Travis Kirschke and Brett Kiesel their bitches, and Fred Taylor was partying like it was 1999. Just terrible. The worst part is that we knew they were going to run and couldn't stop them. Reminds me of a team... real physical, ran the ball well against eight man fronts, great team in the snow... who was that team?
Seriously. Jacksonville is the new Steelers and the Steelers are the new... Colts? Maybe in two years? Then again, the Colts didn't let up 224 yards to the Jaguars in two games this season.
It could just be that the Jaguars were on and we were off. Could be that this was their Super Bowl and they came out more focused and angry than we did. Could also be that they're a better team and they actually have an identity.
We used to be a physical team. We used to be a boring team. This version of the Steelers is much more exciting, but they don't appear to be all that effective. In back-to-back weeks, they gave up nearly 400 yards in passing, then almost 225 yards rushing. Bad weather, good weather, who cares?
Great defenses find a way to take your biggest weapon, the thing that you do best, out of the game and force you to beat them with something that is not one of your strengths. We weren't a great defense yesterday. We weren't against the Patriots. We've been consistent all year, but I think I was a tad premature to crown the defense after we beat up on the Bungles.
Here's the thing... Tomlin has said all along that he wants a physical team. I believe that. But, he wants a Tomlin physical team and right now he has Cowher physical guys. He's not Cowher, though. Cowher could get his guys up for a game and make sure they didn't screw up certain things because the players didn't want him spitting on them. Tomlin's more laid back. The offensive guys like him, but I'm not convinced they're afraid of him. And you need a little of that.
This is not to say that I don't like Tomlin. I do. I think he was a great hire and he's going to be damn good.
But, this is one of the things I mentioned early on that is starting to come to fruition. Tomlin's now starting to try and build his team with his guys, coached the way he wants it to be coached. He can't do that with most of Cowher's roster still hanging around. Plus which, those guys are used to Cowher, since he drafted most of them and coached most of them since they were rookies. They're used to certain reactions, certain consequences, certain benefits, certain expectations.
I expected this to be a re-building year. A successful re-building year, but a re-building year nonetheless. This is, like any talented team in transition, a boom-or-bust group of guys. Some weeks, they'll slaughter anyone. Some weeks, they'll lose to the Jets or Broncos. And, once we give Tomlin a couple years to get his guys in place, some weeks we'll get pushed around on both sides of the ball and out-muscled like we did yesterday.
As for the rest of the season, we're in a very similar position to where we were in 2005. Five losses, need to win out to guarantee a playoff game, up-and-down season, lots of question marks.
But, finishing 11-5 and barely making the playoffs worked pretty well for us that year, now didn't it? I don't think we have the talent, consistency, mental or physical toughness to make it through the AFC bracket (because, really, I don't care if Dallas and Green Bay are good, whoever wins the AFC is winning the Super Bowl). That's not to say we won't. I didn't think we had what it took in 2005, but we won the Super Bowl anyway.
(I mentioned that, right? We won Super Bowl XL. We beat the Seahawks. We've got a fifth Lombardi Trophy in South Side and everything.)
At any rate, for a re-building year, 10-6 or 11-5 (I don't think we lose to the Rams, but the hated Ravens will be up for the last game of the season) ain't bad at all. And, once you get into the playoffs, anything can happen.
Plus which, this is something all of us have to admit: When Cowher retired, then Tomlin got hired, you didn't think we had a chance in hell of making it this far. Just sit back and enjoy it.
Sure, our pass protection blows, we only open up three decent holes a game when we actually run the ball, one of our best run defenders is on IR, Nate Washington's probably done for the season, and the Patriots and Jaguars showed everyone in the league, in successive weeks, how to attack our #1 ranked defense. But, really, we're still going to the playoffs.
We're beating the Rams on Thursday and the hated Ravens will have packed up and gone home for the offseason by the time December 30th rolls around. Like I said, sit back and enjoy it.
However, if we end up as the third seed and Cleveland gets the sixth seed, we had BETTER FUCKING WIN THAT GAME.
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