Pittsburgh Steelers...How the mighty have fallen
If anyone would have ever said to me that the defending Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers would have started the season 6-2 then lose 5 straight with 2 of those losses coming at the hands of miserable teams like Oakland and the 1-11 Browns, I would have told them to lay off the pipe.
How is it possible?
I know that Troy Polamalu is a beast and was unable to go for most of the year but besides that, the Steelers have been reasonably healthy.
Statistically they are in the top 15 in every category on both sides of the ball with the defense being in the top 10 in almost every category. Though there special teams are abysmal.
The problem is success.
It takes a special team to work harder in the off-season after winning the championship than they did to get there.
Winners party and bask in the glory and adoration. They go on Jay Leno, go to the White House, have parades and party like its 1999.
The teams that came up just a little short have to live with being not quite good enough; therefore they work and study and work some more. They have nightmares about losing and everyone wants to ask them about what went wrong.
Defending champions have a target on their backs. Every team regardless of their play-off aspirations want to beat them. The Browns were 1-11 and had already been eliminated from the play-offs but they still stuck it to them.
Success can be a double-edged sword. If you're not very careful it will cut both ways.
follow me on www.twitter.com/drjcbenjamin
How is it possible?
I know that Troy Polamalu is a beast and was unable to go for most of the year but besides that, the Steelers have been reasonably healthy.
Statistically they are in the top 15 in every category on both sides of the ball with the defense being in the top 10 in almost every category. Though there special teams are abysmal.
The problem is success.
It takes a special team to work harder in the off-season after winning the championship than they did to get there.
Winners party and bask in the glory and adoration. They go on Jay Leno, go to the White House, have parades and party like its 1999.
The teams that came up just a little short have to live with being not quite good enough; therefore they work and study and work some more. They have nightmares about losing and everyone wants to ask them about what went wrong.
Defending champions have a target on their backs. Every team regardless of their play-off aspirations want to beat them. The Browns were 1-11 and had already been eliminated from the play-offs but they still stuck it to them.
Success can be a double-edged sword. If you're not very careful it will cut both ways.
follow me on www.twitter.com/drjcbenjamin
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