An Uncertain Future

Rookie quarterbacks, high in protein for your growing linebackers!

So we're at 4-2 after this weekend. The shitty performance in those losses are all forgotten about, right? Max Starks returned and suddenly the line sucks a lot less, no surprise there. Not only does he shore up the left side and prevent Ben from getting strip-sacked fifteen times a game, he also allows other guys to go back to their natural positions and therefore play better as well. That of course is opening up more opportunities for the running game, and once again suddenly Mendenhall looks like the guy who got 1,300+ yards last season. Funny how that works when you have guys in front of you actually move defenders out of your way.

There's some dark clouds looming in the horizon, however, that may end up making or breaking the rest of the season. After the Cardinals this week, the Patriots and Ravens come to town. Yes, the team that beats your ass every year and the team who beat your ass to open this year are going to be paying a visit. Now the Ravens game should be much different this time around, as there's no way an embarrassment like week one will be allowed to happen at home. The Patriots game will not have such assurances. As much as it's as a sin to admit reality when you're a Steeler fan, the truth is that Tom Brady and his perfect hair more often than not make us his bitch.

BUT THAT'S IN THE FUTURE! For now we have the Cardinals, and for all the "teams who travel cross country are at a disadvantage" bullshit, the truth is they suck. The Kolb experiment seems to not be what you would consider a raging success, and as long as the Steelers can keep the running yards under 200 (not a given with this run defense) this should be a lock. Let's just hope we don't see a second half like last week where they try everything possible to choke the game away to a team who has no business winning anything.

The next three games are key. As long as 2 out of 3 are wins, things should be fine. The second half of the season has a distinct dropoff of quality it terms of opponent quality. Cleveland twice, Cincinnati twice (fuck their 4-2 record, they're still the Bengals), Kansas City, and St. Louis. Yeah, the 49ers are in there too and look to be the real deal, but the rest of this group are the ham n' eggers of the NFL. Let's not let any of these fuckers off the hook.