***Official 2007 Pittsburgh Steelers Thread***

[bones]

[censored] baseball.

[WhoIam]

I'm cautiously optimistic. I wouldn't be surprised if we go 6-10 but I also wouldn't be surprised if we make it to the conference championships. I'm excited about the D; we have a lot of talent there, we still have Lebeau, and Tomlin comes from a D background. Offense seems solid, but I said the same thing last year. Hopefully the o-line doesn't suck again. I didn't get to see any preseason games, but I heard special teams were a mixed bag. If we lose to the Browns in the opener, I'm pretty confident the whole season will suck. Go Stillers!

[bones]

My biggest concern, as it is every year, is the secondary. I really hope McFadden can emerge and Ike turns it around, but I'm not counting on it.

As for the line, I've heard good things about Simmons this year, but he's been pretty terrible over the past couple of years. Of course that didn't stop us from spite-signing him just to piss off Faneca.

[James282]

bones, nice opinions. WhoIam, no way the Steelers go 6-10. We ran so ridiculously unlucky last season when we were probably a 10-6 team that I think regression would make this team 8-8 again.

The secondary is a nightmare as usual, but I have my fingers crossed about McFadden as well. I'm looking forward to the emergence of Santonio Holmes under the new supposedly pass friendly offense, as I think the Steelers have really underutilized their receiving corps since I've followed them. The thing I'm most worried about is Tomlin, as new coaches are pretty much always a crap shoot.

James

[SL__72]

I'm pumped to see how they can do under Tomlin. I was soooooooooooo mad when they announced him as their new coach. I was hoping that the Vikings would fire Childress and promote him after this year [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

[WhoIam]

I like everything I've heard about about Tomlin in training camp. He seems like a real hardass which is exactly what this team needs after an embarrassing and unmotivated last season. This guy wants to win, he doesn't care about hurting anyone's feelings and he doesn't have favorites the way Cowher did. I'm curious to see his demeanor on the sidelines. He's seemed very reserved in interviews but hopefully he's more animated during the game.

I'm not predicting 6-10, I'm just saying I wouldn't be shocked if it happened. New head coach, a new O coordinator no one was really happy with, questions about the o-line and secondary. I also wouldn't be shocked if everything comes together and we pwn this year. This is also the year we get to find out if Ben is really the chosen one.

The Steeler Fury message boards are fantastic; most of these guys have forgotten more football knowledge than I'll ever know.

[SMIGLET]

Thats really all that needs to be said

[shane88888]

1. The Steeler Fury message boards are fantastic.

2. From what I read, Cowher always had a hand in the defense. It'll be interesting to see what Tomlin and Big Dick LeBeau come up with. There's no way Tomlin, who broke in as a d-backs coach, and LeBeau, one of the NFL's all-time leaders in interceptions, can't get our secondary to play their asses off. Tomlin's big strength is supposed to be his teaching. Plus, Troy's healthy.

3. Ben was [censored] up last year. That's all there was to it. I expect a huge year out of him, and a huge year out of Santonio.

4. The Steelers did have some bad luck last year. A couple of breaks, and they were a playoff team. Not a good one, but they could have made it. Baltimore won like five flukey games last year; McNair is a year older. The Bengals are awful. Plus, we get to play the third-place schedule.

5. Tomlin's the real deal. He's all business. There's no way they won't play hard for him. Plus, he's moving into a pretty sweet situation. Veteran team, established qb, a groomed holdover at OC (who I read is very tight with Ben), and a damn fine DC. All the team needed was some fresh blood at the top.

6. The only problem I see is the o-line. But this might not be a very big deal, since we may be seeing an entirely different offense this year. Plus, Ben looks in shape, and the guy is damn elusive and even harder to bring down. Plus, with Cowher gone, we might try running different running plays for Parker instead of THE SAME PLAYS WE RAN FOR JEROME BETTIS. That drove me crazy.

7. I forsee 12-4. 25-1 to win the Super Bowl. I have placed my wager.

[shane88888]

1 Sun, Sep 9 at Cleveland
2 Sun, Sep 16 Buffalo
3 Sun, Sep 23 San Francisco
4 Sun, Sep 30 at Arizona
5 Sun, Oct 7 Seattle
6 BYE

This doesn't hurt either. Two cream-puffs on the road and three mediocre teams at home. One couldn't come up with a better adjustment period for a new HC.

[professormike]

i think we have a good shot at the playoffs, but my only complaint is about steely mcbeam, does anybody actually like him?