Season Profile: Pittsburgh Steelers

You may ask yourself, how did I get here?  Well that is a question we are asking of both the Pittsburgh Steelers and Green Bay Packers as both parties ascend to the ultimate stage in professional sports.  The story of an NFL season certainly breaks down into chapters, some tumultuous, some rewarding, some exhilarating, and some gut-wrenching.  Awaiting one of these teams is their dream captured, the other their dream shattered.  But before we attack the Mount Everest of game breakdowns, predictions, and analysis that is the Super Bowl, let's take a look at each team's path navigating through an NFL season.

Here is the Steelers' road to the Super Bowl.

The Steelers had a horrific offseason, one that seemed to set the stage for a down year.  Ben Roethlisberger got himself in yet another sticky situation, starting left tackle Willie Colon sustained a season ending injury in offseason workouts, and off the field troubles ran Santonio Holmes out of town, traded to the Jets for a fifth round pick.  With Roethlisberger's league-mandated 6-, later shortened to 4-game suspension, the Steelers began the year playing musical quarterbacks, trying Dennis Dixon, Charlie Batch, and even a spot of Byron Leftwich.  And despite the lack of stability or talent at quarterback, they got off to an impressive 3-1 start that made everyone think, "What are they going to do once they get their best player back?"  Well, what they did was finish 12-4 with just one road loss.

The Punisher: Troy Polamalu

Defense, as always for the Steelers, was the defining characteristic of this team.  Even without Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh's defense was so good that they carried the team to a Week 1 win over the eventual #1 seed in the NFC, the Atlanta Falcons.  Blitzburgh was back in a big way all year with a ferocious pass rush, the flying mass of hair that is Troy Polamalu, and a stifling run defense that allowed a paltry 60 rushing yards per game.

Examining the Pittsburgh defense, one must take into account its architect, Dick LeBeau.  LeBeau is as good a football mind as their is.  At 71 years of age, he has seen everything in his career yet still remains innovative on the cutting edge of  the game.  His scheme is designed solely to unsettle the quarterback.  But not only do the Steelers do an excellent job giving opposing passers different looks, they also stop the run better than any team in the league.  Throw in the versatile, experienced personnel of Polamalu, James Farrior, Lawrence Timmons, Lamar Woodley, James Harrison,and Casey Hampton, and you have a unit that single handedly dominates a game.

When the Steelers actually lost games this year, they looked ugly, but you always got the feeling that they had a playoff gear that they could switch to.  Since Week 11 the Steelers have lost just once, a Week 15 AFC Championship precursor to the Jets, a game they easily could have won.

Guiding Steelers ship through murky offseason

Along the way to the Super Bowl, even though the Steelers suffered more injuries to their offensive line (Flozell Adams and Maurkice Pouncey), secondary (Polamalu), and defensive line (Aaron Smith), consistency has been the name of the game.  Luckily for Pittsburgh, Mike Tomlin is a master at maintaining a consistent approach.  Exhibit A: No starting left tackle, no starting quarterback and they still start the year 3-1 ping ponging between Dixon, Leftwich, and Batch.  The Steelers also survived huge offseason controversy never losing focus on anything but winning football games.

12-4 is a record that indicates consistency.  You can't have any sustained losing or even flat play and finish the year with a 12-4 record.  This year they lost to the Saints, Patriots, Ravens, and Jets.  All elite teams, all playoff teams.  They didn't have any "bad losses."  In other words they never lost to a bad team or a team they clearly should have beaten.  To me that's coaching.  Sure they have some very good players, but so do the Jets, so do the Chargers, so do the Ravens, so do the Falcons, so do the Eagles, and yet here stand the Steelers.  Again.  This is Tomlin's second Super Bowl appearance in three years.  Tomlin's career record is 43-21; in the playoffs he's 5-1.  That's what this guy brings.

Tomlin is as organized and in tune with his team as any head coach in football.  He has the youth and energy to relate to his players and the old school, no-nonsense mentality to keep them focused on the task at hand.  He's a player's coach in the sense that he understands where his guys are coming from, but he's not the easy going Wade Phillips-type.  He's an excellent game manager and makes good adjustments–just witness the Steelers' comeback against the Ravens in the second half of that game.  Additionally, Tomlin has already won a Super Bowl before; he should be very comfortable with the preparation, the stage, and the spectacle that is the Super Bowl.

Making the plays to win

Also consistent throughout the year, at least after Week 4, was the winning combination of Tomlin and Roethlisberger.  Big Ben, as cliche as it sounds, simply knows how to win.  He could be playing the worst game of his career, but if you give him the ball late in the game and down 5 points, he is going to get a touchdown.  There is no quarterback I'd rather have in a late game, must score scenario.  Roethlisberger is the best in football at shaking tacklers, extending the play with his feet, and keeping his eyes downfield.

Another development was the breakout play of Mike Wallace, now the most dangerous deep threat in football.  He has averaged 40 yards per touchdown reception this year and may just be the fastest man in the league.  Rashard Mendenhall continued his rise to stardom with nearly 1,300 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns.  Hines Ward was ol' reliable as usual.

And yet, even though the Steelers have done nothing but persevere, win, and survive the tough AFC all year long, they are underdogs in a game they've been to before and know how to win.  Don't sleep on these Steelers.  Pittsburgh makes their third Super Bowl in six years in pretty much the same way they always have: Defense, Roethlisberger, and great coaching.  The added dimension of Wallace makes this team especially dangerous.  They have Super Bowl experience up and down the roster, and now face a Packer team with only two players that have reached this stage before.  Sure Green Bay is white-hot right now, but Pittsburgh will be the toughest team the Packers have played all year, and you can bet they're ready to take home their record seventh Super Bowl title.

--from Adam

(all images from zimbio.com)