Did we just witness the fall of the Evil Empire?

[Shake n Blake]

(01-16-2018, 10:28 PM)BengalYankee Wrote: Steeler's had 8, again 8 All pro's and only one of them was influenced by Cowher and that was Big Ben.

So, Tomlin had an influence of 8 All Pro's.  

Results speak volumes brother. Tomlin hasn't sniffed a SB since 2010. He's a mediocre coach who has underachieved with all that offensive talent, and the defense has become mediocre on his watch. 

Bell and Brown were good picks, but Ben is the straw that stirs that drink and he's also the only thing keeping the Steelers from being a 7-9 squad at best. 

[CornerBlitz]

I've heard this tune many times before and somehow, someway they figure out a way to keep producing. The Steelers are a class franchise, i know nobody wants to hear that but it's true. They are always competing for a Super Bowl, had some of the all time great head coaches, and continue to be an elite team year in year out.

[grampahol]

Ehrmmm.. They have a huge fan base that rakes in a trainload of cash for the league and any team they play against so the powers that be in the league ain't gonna sit idlely by and watch the slow rotting decline of the evil empire.. 
Like the Pats they're money in the bank every year. Hell, even the 49rs have their ups and downs, but you know that at the end of the day they too will be right back into contention and in the SB.. 
It's the ebb and flow of the money train shuffling from one big market team to the next and back.. We'll get the occasional small market team hit big,  but they don't sustain it over years. Follow the money every time..

[sandwedge]

(01-16-2018, 11:11 PM)McC Wrote: I prefer to never expect them to go anywhere and then I'm never disappointed.  And if the day ever comes that they do fall off, and I son't think they ever will, then it's a nice surprise.

The reason we lose to them is 90% mental anyway.  Where the Jags kept answering the call and stem the comeback, we don't.  We can get the lead but we can't hold onto the lead.

The only way to make them go away is to make them go away.

I had a response to a post earlier about the samething when someone asked how Jacksonville beat them twice this year in Pittsburgh. "They don't sit around all year worrying about how to beat Pittsburgh"... It totally is all mental

[*PhilHos*]

(01-17-2018, 04:58 AM)CornerBlitz Wrote: I've heard this tune many times before and somehow, someway they figure out a way to keep producing. The Steelers are a class franchise, i know nobody wants to hear that but it's true. They are always competing for a Super Bowl, had some of the all time great head coaches, and continue to be an elite team year in year out.

I'm with you on this, CB. As with all things coming out of Mike and Merv's mouths, when it comes to the Steelers "decline", I'll believe it when I see it.

[Shake n Blake]

(01-17-2018, 01:14 PM)PhilHos Wrote: I'm with you on this, CB. As with all things coming out of Mike and Merv's mouths, when it comes to the Steelers "decline", I'll believe it when I see it.

I know I've been saying that the Steelers will decline when Ben retires, but he's not retiring any time soon. Dude is Brett Favre 2.0 when it comes to retirement talk.

[*Nately120*]

(01-17-2018, 01:26 PM)Shake n Blake Wrote: I know I've been saying that the Steelers will decline when Ben retires, but he's not retiring any time soon. Dude is Brett Favre 2.0 when it comes to retirement talk.

Right o, but if the past is any indication, the Steelers' decline will still be better than our golden age.  Ouch.  

But that's fandom for ya.  How else can you explain a message board where we predict the downfall of the Steelers while we get pumped up about our own 32nd ranked offense.  Wacky.

[*Nate (formerly eliminate08)*]

They have to fall off eventually when the Pig retires. But he still had a great game against one of the best Defenses in the NFL
his last game and will be back next year. I think they have one more good year in them before they start to fall off and us having
Marv back sure makes it look like they win the Division again cause we have to sweep both the Ravens and the Browns cause we
will be swept by the Stoolers again.

My biggest problem with the Marv re-hire maybe. If we just beat these guys half the time i would feel better...

[*Nately120*]

(01-17-2018, 04:53 PM)Nate (formerly eliminate08) Wrote: They have to fall off eventually when the Pig retires.

Probably, but my NFC team is the Bears and I can't tell you how relieved I was when Favre left town and left a guy behind who went 6-10 in his first year as a starter.  The problem with Bengals fans waiting for the Steelers to get worse once Ben retires (and Steelers fans waiting for Brady to retire so they can have their shot) is that you can't depend on father time and this sense of fairness to save you from your own inability to win.  

Hell, look at us.  We were supposed to go 0-16 when Palmer left town, weren't we?  I know my pals who are Steelers fans expected us to become the Browns for a few seasons, after that.  Look at what the Steelers did between Bradshaw and Ben and tell me if you are really convinced we can top that if we don't make significant strides.

[*Nate (formerly eliminate08)*]

(01-17-2018, 05:56 PM)Nately120 Wrote: Probably, but my NFC team is the Bears and I can't tell you how relieved I was when Favre left town and left a guy behind who went 6-10 in his first year as a starter.  The problem with Bengals fans waiting for the Steelers to get worse once Ben retires (and Steelers fans waiting for Brady to retire so they can have their shot) is that you can't depend on father time and this sense of fairness to save you from your own inability to win.  

Hell, look at us.  We were supposed to go 0-16 when Palmer left town, weren't we?  I know my pals who are Steelers fans expected us to become the Browns for a few seasons, after that.  Look at what the Steelers did between Bradshaw and Ben and tell me if you are really convinced we can top that if we don't make significant strides.

Yeah, we need to take care of our own no question. Cannot rely on them falling off. Do they even have a QB in the wings though?

I don't think Landry Jones is their guy. Josh Allen just reminds me of the Pig with his size and arm strength, wouldn't be surprised
if they drafted him.

[sandwedge]

Well it looks like Haley is out, according to NFL.com.

[fredtoast]

(01-17-2018, 01:05 PM)grampahol Wrote:  
It's the ebb and flow of the money train shuffling from one big market team to the next and back.. We'll get the occasional small market team hit big,  but they don't sustain it over years. Follow the money every time..

Pittsburgh is one of the smallest markets in the NFL.  

If you actually if you look at market size in the NFL the teams from the biggest cities suck more consistently.  The top ten largest metropolitan areas in the NFL are the homes of the Bears, Jets, Giants, Chargers, Rams, Cowboys, Redskins, Eagles, Dolphins, and Falcons.  Meanwhile Seattles is 15th (in the nation, not the NFL), Denver is 19th, Baltimore is 21st, Pittsburgh is 26th, and Green Bay is not even in the top 100.

[fredtoast]

(01-17-2018, 01:14 PM)PhilHos Wrote: I'm with you on this, CB. As with all things coming out of Mike and Merv's mouths, when it comes to the Steelers "decline", I'll believe it when I see it.

Same.

[Tomkat]

(01-17-2018, 08:26 PM)fredtoast Wrote: Pittsburgh is one of the smallest markets in the NFL.  

OH COME ON, you're not REALLY that naive, are you?
Sure, if you look at Pittsburgh and it's surrounding area in terms of population and geography, it's pretty small.
However, if you add in the HORDES of "bandwagon" fans around the country - their "market" is HUGE!

[*Nately120*]

(01-18-2018, 04:27 PM)Tomkat Wrote: OH COME ON, you're not REALLY that naive, are you?
Sure, if you look at Pittsburgh and it's surrounding area in terms of population and geography, it's pretty small.
However, if you add in the HORDES of "bandwagon" fans around the country - their "market" is HUGE!

But then isn't it a chicken and egg argument?  The NFL has financial interest in the Steelers being good because the Steelers have lots of fans, but the Steelers have lots of fans because they're good.  So which came first?

The Rooneys just put a better product out there that attracts more consumers than Mike Brown does.  If it really is true that the NFL looks to prop up an support popular teams, then it just goes back to Mike Brown's fault for not doing what it takes to attract enough fans to become one of those golden teams that aren't allowed to fail.

Remember, the Patriots were a pretty sorry team for a while before they were purchased by a guy who actually gives a crap about winning.  They went from an unpopular crap team to being too popular to fail because of their own actions.  

The Bengals sort of remind me of that mom 'n' pop restaurant you feel inclined to support because you're sick of seeing the same old chains get all the money. You go in and the place sucks and the food is awful and you realize that it's a sad situation but the owner has to at least try a bit harder if people want to feel bad that he's being pushed into the shadows.