Steelers vs.Dolphins Review

Hey, the Steelers won. They're 5-1 and they're one game ahead in their division. Let's stick with that. That's our story and we're sticking to it.

Let's not worry about the fact that they possibly lost Aaron Smith for the season -- which is one of the things that doomed them last year -- and that Flozell Adams could be done or that Woodley could miss a lot of time.

Let's get past the fact that they maybe should've not had the opportunity to kick that field goal. The Miami fans and papers should do that. The Dolphins had the ball deep in Steelers territory twice early in the game and got two field goals. They later got inside the ten and got a field goal as well. Miami has no one to blame but themselves. Blaming the officials for one play that was correctly called, then the ball got lost in the pile and couldn't be accurately reviewed, smacks of bitter Seahawks fans and no one wants that.

I'm happy that the passing game looked sharp. I'm not especially worried about the offensive line -- even Legursky, who had two holding penalties -- and not hugely worried about the running game. The Dolphins have a great run defense and the Steelers aren't a great running team. I'm happy that the team won. And I'm especially happy that the defense actually came up with a stop with under two minutes to play, even if the Dolphins aren't exactly the 2007 Patriots.

But, I have to say that I'm more than a little concerned that I was right about the early bye week and the fact that the team might not hold up throughout the course of the season. If Smith and Adams are lost for the year, they don't have the necessary depth to weather the storm. They might be able to get by for a few games, but with Nick Eason and Jonathan Scott in there, there's only so far they will be able to get in the playoffs (if they make it there).

The depth on this team is not great, which was one of the things that worried me heading into the season. They can withstand injuries at inside linebacker, cornerback, and possibly an injury to Ryan Clark, but that's about it. If Mendenhall goes down, a receiver gets hurt (especially Wallace), any more injuries strike the offensive or defensive line, or if Leftwich, Dixon, or Batch needs to play more than a half, this team is in deep, deep trouble.

They looked unstoppable through the first few games because injuries had not caught up with them. Well, injuries are starting to catch up because their old bodies are starting to break down. Let's just hope they don't break down any further.

They've got two tough road games coming up -- one against the defending champs of the league and one against the defending champs of the AFC North. I don't care that the Bengals are playing like the Bungles this year. They will still play the Steelers tough.

On top of that, there are three straight prime time games on the schedule -- Sunday night against the Saints, then Monday night against Cincy, then Sunday night against the Patriots. At least the game against New England is at home, where the Steelers tend to fare better.

If you had given me a choice of a Steelers loss, but they get to keep Adams and Smith healthy for the rest of the year or a Steelers win and they lose Adams and Smith, I would have taken a loss. But, the team got a win. They lost some players. There was a controversial call at the end of the game -- where they still would've had two timeouts, the best run defense in the league, and the two minute warning had Miami gotten the ball back, just saying -- but all that needs to be put behind us.

At this point, the Steelers and their fans need to play the hand they are dealt. I am therefore issuing a challenge to the Steelers much in the same way that I issued a challenge to the defense in 2008. If they win these next three games, they are a dominant team. If they go 2-1, they are a great team. If they go 1-2, they're a very good team. Even if they go 0-3, they're still a good team, but they will have a long road ahead of them.

Let's just hope it doesn't come to that.