CowherPower
01-04-2012, 11:17 AM
The first thing you want to look back too as a Steeler fan is probably the 2005 Super Bowl run when the Steelers were a wildcard like they are currently. Other than being a wildcard team, that's where the similarties stop.
Excerpt from an article on the Trib: (http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12004/1201115-66.stm#ixzz1iVEePm7r)
The rallying cry began last week and will thunder through this one as well: Remember 2005!
Now that the Steelers failed to overtake Baltimore for the AFC North title and the No. 2 seed and first-round playoff pass that went with it, they have and will recall that they successfully took this route before. In 2005, they became the first NFL team to win three playoff games on the road and then win the Super Bowl.
That path has become fashionable since; the Giants did it in '07, the Packers followed last season.
But these are not the same Steelers, and this is not '05. Far from it. That '05 Steelers team entered the playoffs on a roll, healthy and with an extra emotional mission to get Jerome Bettis to the Super Bowl in Detroit. They won their final four games to squeeze into the playoffs as the No. 6 and last seed.
The current version is staggering into the playoffs, winners of two in a row but highly unimpressive in three of their final four, including two close victories against 4-12 Cleveland and a 20-3 loss in San Francisco. In '05, they won their final four regular-season games by 105-33.
That team was on a roll, playing with purpose, and most of all was healthy. They were making big plays at key points in every game and not missing out on scoring opportunities. This years team is beat up, limping intot he playoffs with an offense and defense that hasn't played a full game together the entire year. That being said, anything is possible in the post season but if the Steelers are going to get to another championship game they are going to be doing it the extra hard way now.
Excerpt from an article on the Trib: (http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12004/1201115-66.stm#ixzz1iVEePm7r)
The rallying cry began last week and will thunder through this one as well: Remember 2005!
Now that the Steelers failed to overtake Baltimore for the AFC North title and the No. 2 seed and first-round playoff pass that went with it, they have and will recall that they successfully took this route before. In 2005, they became the first NFL team to win three playoff games on the road and then win the Super Bowl.
That path has become fashionable since; the Giants did it in '07, the Packers followed last season.
But these are not the same Steelers, and this is not '05. Far from it. That '05 Steelers team entered the playoffs on a roll, healthy and with an extra emotional mission to get Jerome Bettis to the Super Bowl in Detroit. They won their final four games to squeeze into the playoffs as the No. 6 and last seed.
The current version is staggering into the playoffs, winners of two in a row but highly unimpressive in three of their final four, including two close victories against 4-12 Cleveland and a 20-3 loss in San Francisco. In '05, they won their final four regular-season games by 105-33.
That team was on a roll, playing with purpose, and most of all was healthy. They were making big plays at key points in every game and not missing out on scoring opportunities. This years team is beat up, limping intot he playoffs with an offense and defense that hasn't played a full game together the entire year. That being said, anything is possible in the post season but if the Steelers are going to get to another championship game they are going to be doing it the extra hard way now.