The Gipper Posted July 22, 2013 Report Share Posted July 22, 2013 I posted this elsewhere, but I thought perhaps it warranted its own thread: I can understand that Steeler fans would be optimistic. After all, they have had a quality run of success....and if and when that run is over it will take some serious time for their fans to accept and understand that fact. I recall that when I was younger, my first conscious recollection of football probably came in the 1963 football season. From that year, and for the next 10 years until at least 1972....my growing up period, the Browns played championship...or at least playoff caliber football that entire time. Winning in '64. Losing to the Packers in '65, playing in NFL title games in 1968 and 1969. Also playing in playoff games throughout the rest of the 1960s, and into 1970/1971/1972....when the gave the undefeated Dolphins their biggest test that entire year, I was always optimistic about the Browns title chances. But then came 1973...a bad year, which I thought would only last temporarily....but it didn't. The Browns were basically poor to mediocre the rest of that decade. And it took a few years to realize that they weren't going anywhere for a while. Optimism finally waned after 2-3 years of bad play. No. Steeler fans have a right to be optimistic.....but, that team may be entering its "mid-1970s" time when, despite that optimism, the team just isn't very good. So, it will take them a while for reality to set in, if it does. Just like it took me....and probably a number of you for the reality that your team was NOT always going to be a contender. (Hell, that process probably took a lot longer for fans older than I who were old enough to remember the 40s and 50s of Browns history when they were dominant....it will be harder for Steeler fans who were just coming of age in the 1970s and remember that teams dominance then). So, I see the possibility that 2013 will be the equivalent of 1973 for Steeler fans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cuwoohio Posted July 22, 2013 Report Share Posted July 22, 2013 1981 through 1991, they were a 500 team through the regular season, and had 2 or 3 yr slumps since. I can see them going into one of the 2 or 3 year slumps, but I wouldn't dare to predict a longer or worse one. Would I love it......yes, but I also would rather see the Browns get a winning streak going first . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stewy Posted July 22, 2013 Report Share Posted July 22, 2013 1981 through 1991, they were a 500 team through the regular season, and had 2 or 3 yr slumps since. I can see them going into one of the 2 or 3 year slumps, but I wouldn't dare to predict a longer or worse one. Would I love it......yes, but I also would rather see the Browns get a winning streak going first . You are one smart man. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stewy Posted July 23, 2013 Report Share Posted July 23, 2013 I posted this elsewhere, but I thought perhaps it warranted its own thread: I can understand that Steeler fans would be optimistic. After all, they have had a quality run of success....and if and when that run is over it will take some serious time for their fans to accept and understand that fact. I recall that when I was younger, my first conscious recollection of football probably came in the 1963 football season. From that year, and for the next 10 years until at least 1972....my growing up period, the Browns played championship...or at least playoff caliber football that entire time. Winning in '64. Losing to the Packers in '65, playing in NFL title games in 1968 and 1969. Also playing in playoff games throughout the rest of the 1960s, and into 1970/1971/1972....when the gave the undefeated Dolphins their biggest test that entire year, I was always optimistic about the Browns title chances. But then came 1973...a bad year, which I thought would only last temporarily....but it didn't. The Browns were basically poor to mediocre the rest of that decade. And it took a few years to realize that they weren't going anywhere for a while. Optimism finally waned after 2-3 years of bad play. No. Steeler fans have a right to be optimistic.....but, that team may be entering its "mid-1970s" time when, despite that optimism, the team just isn't very good. So, it will take them a while for reality to set in, if it does. Just like it took me....and probably a number of you for the reality that your team was NOT always going to be a contender. (Hell, that process probably took a lot longer for fans older than I who were old enough to remember the 40s and 50s of Browns history when they were dominant....it will be harder for Steeler fans who were just coming of age in the 1970s and remember that teams dominance then). So, I see the possibility that 2013 will be the equivalent of 1973 for Steeler fans. Yep, Steeler fans have every reason to be optimistic because this year the Steelers are due. Reason #1... Note the 2 on 1 off pattern here: 2012 8-8 Missed playoffs 2011 12-4 2010 12-4 2009 9-7 Missed playoffs 2008 12-4 2007 10-6 2006 8-8 Missed playoffs 2005 11-5 2004 15-1 2003 6-10 Missed playoffs 2002 10-5-1 2001 13-3 And all you heard throughout these years was about how the Steelers are old blah blah, they lost this player or that player blah blah.... Reason #2 to be optimistic. They are the best run organization in football. Reason #3 to be optimistic. The Steeler have not had more than 2 losing seasons in a row since 1969, are the winningest team in the NFL since the merger, and most impressive IMO...only 9 losing seasons since 1970. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NFL_standings_since_AFL%E2%80%93NFL_merger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Couch Pulls Out Posted July 23, 2013 Report Share Posted July 23, 2013 You are one smart man. Because you agree with his opinion? When it comes to predicting future results of any team, nobody is smarter than anyone else. It's all a crapshoot. Some people just play it safe while others are outlandish and bold in their predictions. It's a "smart" bet to say the Steelers will be at least a .500 team for the foreseeable future because it's a safe bet. But what if someone says "the Steelers are going to suck ass for the next three years" because they knew BR was going to retire unexpectedly, or Tomlin was getting fired tomorrow, or the Rooney's were selling. Today that prediction would seem "stupid", but tomorrow we'd be calling him a genius. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Couch Pulls Out Posted July 23, 2013 Report Share Posted July 23, 2013 Yep, Steeler fans have every reason to be optimistic because this year the Steelers are due. Reason #1... Note the 2 on 1 off pattern here: 2012 8-8 Missed playoffs 2011 12-4 2010 12-4 2009 9-7 Missed playoffs 2008 12-4 2007 10-6 2006 8-8 Missed playoffs 2005 11-5 2004 15-1 2003 6-10 Missed playoffs 2002 10-5-1 2001 13-3 And all you heard throughout these years was about how the Steelers are old blah blah, they lost this player or that player blah blah.... Reason #2 to be optimistic. They are the best run organization in football. Reason #3 to be optimistic. The Steeler have not had more than 2 losing seasons in a row since 1969, are the winningest team in the NFL since the merger, and most impressive IMO...only 9 losing seasons since 1970. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NFL_standings_since_AFL%E2%80%93NFL_merger #1- Previous "patterns" or "trends" have absolutely nothing to do with future results. Absolutely nothing. Last season has nothing to do with this season. Two seasons ago had nothing to do with last season. It's a nifty pattern, I'll agree, but all it really shows, if anything, is that the Steelers dominate for a season, then regress/get complacent/take their foot off the gas the next season, then miss the playoffs and experience a wake up call. Nothing really to do with the degeneration of their core talent group. #2- completely your opinion and no statistical basis in fact. #3- See #1 Nobody is knocking their past achievements or saying that the Steelers haven't been an absolute terror on the field for the last thirty years. Well, some people might be...but I'm not. All I am saying is that, to me, BR is the heart and soul of the Steelers. Sure, there have been times when he's been out that they've played okay...but for the most part, Big Ben is the Steelers. He's closer to retiring than being a rookie, and only had a few of those scrambling unbelievable plays left in the tank. Then, what? Do you honestly feel like you have another feature player on offense? Part of the reason the Steelers have been so successful is they understand that it's easier to play to the strengths of what they have on the roster than it is to try and fit square pegs into round holes. Outside of Roethlisberger and the OL, there really isn't another marquee offensive player. It's all interchangeable talent. That's why I believe there's going to be a regression in production awfully soon. Unless Landry Jones or another rookie steps up and becomes an absolute All-Star, of course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Gipper Posted July 23, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 23, 2013 Yep, Steeler fans have every reason to be optimistic because this year the Steelers are due. Reason #1... Note the 2 on 1 off pattern here: 2012 8-8 Missed playoffs 2011 12-4 2010 12-4 2009 9-7 Missed playoffs 2008 12-4 2007 10-6 2006 8-8 Missed playoffs 2005 11-5 2004 15-1 2003 6-10 Missed playoffs 2002 10-5-1 2001 13-3 And all you heard throughout these years was about how the Steelers are old blah blah, they lost this player or that player blah blah.... Reason #2 to be optimistic. They are the best run organization in football. Reason #3 to be optimistic. The Steeler have not had more than 2 losing seasons in a row since 1969, are the winningest team in the NFL since the merger, and most impressive IMO...only 9 losing seasons since 1970. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NFL_standings_since_AFL%E2%80%93NFL_merger All of that applied to the Browns, pre-1973, thus my point. In fact, from 1946 to 1973 the Browns had one single losing season...total. At some point you pay the piper. That piper came for the Browns in 1973. I am not necessarily saying that this year will be the year that the Steelers go into a prolonged losing stint. I am simply offering a conjecture that when it happens, you Steeler fans will not be ready for it, no more than we were way back then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Gipper Posted July 23, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 23, 2013 #1- Previous "patterns" or "trends" have absolutely nothing to do with future results. Absolutely nothing. Last season has nothing to do with this season. Two seasons ago had nothing to do with last season. It's a nifty pattern, I'll agree, but all it really shows, if anything, is that the Steelers dominate for a season, then regress/get complacent/take their foot off the gas the next season, then miss the playoffs and experience a wake up call. Nothing really to do with the degeneration of their core talent group. #2- completely your opinion and no statistical basis in fact. #3- See #1 Nobody is knocking their past achievements or saying that the Steelers haven't been an absolute terror on the field for the last thirty years. Well, some people might be...but I'm not. All I am saying is that, to me, BR is the heart and soul of the Steelers. Sure, there have been times when he's been out that they've played okay...but for the most part, Big Ben is the Steelers. He's closer to retiring than being a rookie, and only had a few of those scrambling unbelievable plays left in the tank. Then, what? Do you honestly feel like you have another feature player on offense? Part of the reason the Steelers have been so successful is they understand that it's easier to play to the strengths of what they have on the roster than it is to try and fit square pegs into round holes. Outside of Roethlisberger and the OL, there really isn't another marquee offensive player. It's all interchangeable talent. That's why I believe there's going to be a regression in production awfully soon. Unless Landry Jones or another rookie steps up and becomes an absolute All-Star, of course. Well, the guy makes...or perhaps he misses the most important point: Coaching. The Steelers have had outstanding coaching for all this period...you know, kinda like having Paul Brown succeeded by Blanton Collier. And in the more recent era their key coach has been Dick LeBeau, who can make chicken salad out of chicken shit. But, when he goes, what? The Vag says they won't skip a beat...that they have this superstar DC candidate in the wings...like Steve Young replacing Joe Montana. I say, well, that is a rarity. How often does that happen. It may actually be more like Mark Malone replacing Terry Bradshaw...or Charlie Batch replacing BR. Unless you were looking for a Marlboro man lookalike it were'nt so great. OK, it did work out some with Cowher replacing Noll and Tomlin replacing Cowher. But, where is the true, current, quality on that team. LeBeau and BR. But LeBeau is like 76. Sure, he looks like he could go another 5 years. Maybe he will. Who knows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 23, 2013 Report Share Posted July 23, 2013 I think last year was their 1973 (when we went 7-5-2) ... this year is their 1974 (when we went 4-10). Zombo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ballpeen Posted July 23, 2013 Report Share Posted July 23, 2013 I don't really care about where the Steelers head. If it's 1973, maybe it is us about to start drafting players like the Steelers did back then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Gipper Posted July 23, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 23, 2013 I don't really care about where the Steelers head. If it's 1973, maybe it is us about to start drafting players like the Steelers did back then. Well, maybe with the drafting of TR/Gordon/Schwartz/Weeden/Hughes/Winn etc. from last year maybe the Browns will pull out a few Hall of Famers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Comeonman Posted July 23, 2013 Report Share Posted July 23, 2013 Well, maybe with the drafting of TR/Gordon/Schwartz/Weeden/Hughes/Winn etc. from last year maybe the Browns will pull out a few Hall of Famers? I could see it. This group may answer your question of who can make chicken salad out of chicken shit, no? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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