After yesterday's debacle at Heinz Field and other similar occurrences throughout NFL stadiums I am reminded of why I always say, "You never know what you have until Thanksgiving."
Really what I'm saying is that you don't have a clear picture of what kind of team you have until at least all the bye weeks are finished and every team has more than ten games under their belt. So let's not be so quick to evaluate.
What do we have in the Stillers? It's still not clear. Can we beat a quality opponent without Polamalu in the lineup? Can we cover a kickoff return... ever? Will we be able to win enough games to make the playoffs? Nobody knows for sure, not even Mike Tomlin.
In my mind I think I'll have a pretty good idea after we play the Ravens in Baltimore. By then too, we'll know if the Bengals will collapse against the rest of the league. But they sure didn't against last years AFC Championship Game finalists, going 4-0 against them. Will the Ravens make a run? Before we head into December we should know what to expect. But not before. It's all about managing expectations.
Around the league it's all the same. Look at the Giants. They did more in their bye week to contend for a division title than if they'd have played a game. At 5-4 they find themselves a game out of first place in the NFC East, one game back of Dallas who they play in 3 weeks and have already beaten in Dallas!
Three weeks ago the Broncos were riding high at 6-0 with a 3 game lead over the Chargers in the AFC West. Now they are reeling after losing 3 straight and find themselves tied with San Diego going into their showdown for the division lead this coming weekend. The Chargers, who I ridiculed after the first month of the season, now look like the team so many folks picked in the preseason to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl.
What it boils down to is that anybody sitting at 7-5 or better after 12 weeks has to be taken seriously as a title contender. I would venture to say that an 8-4 or 7-5 team at that point has a better shot at winning the Super Bowl than either the Saints or Colts who are cruising through the schedule at 9-0 right now.
So be patient. Stay the course with Mike Tomlin. We'll either step up or step off in the next couple weeks. There's plenty of work to do. You know it, I know it, and Tomlin knows it. But until Thanksgiving weekend is over let's not make too many preemptive judgements. After you've flushed the last of your digested holiday turkey into the nearest sewage system then, as Tomlin is prone to say, "We can evaluate the body of work to date."
2 comments:
It just sucks when the Bengals never seem to stumble. How great would it be to see them spit the bit in Oakland this week?
I am shocked at how pedestrian the Ravens look this year. Didn't see that coming.
Going to NYC this weekend. Know of any Steeler bars there?
I've been told your best bet is the Public House at 140 E 41st St New York, NY 10017.
It's an upscale restaurant & bar about a short block from the Chrysler building and about 3 blocks or so East of Bryant Park and the NY Public Library (you know, where the Ghostbusters made their name).
As for me, I'm traveling up into the Harrisburg, PA TV market to escape the incessant Shitbird crap that oozes out of my local TV.
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