Steelreign : For The Steelers, It Really Could Be Much Worse

We gotta fire Haley....Dick LeBeau has to go....Tomlin can't beat teams with losing records, gotta fire him too. These are all things that fans are saying that must happen for the Steelers to return to the playoffs. I've said some of these things in the emotional heat caused by watching this team deteriorate against the Buccaneers, Jets and Saints. In reality, what we are seeing now, is what happens when an aging team converges with a salary cap situation that forces the team to keep declining and aging vets over young talent, because of bad contracts given out to those veterans in the name of one more Super Bowl run. Steeler Nation is an extremely loyal but demanding bunch, we don't accept losing very well, but all things considered, things could've been a lot worse than the last two 8-8 seasons. The two things the Steelers have going for them are in fact, Ben Roethlisberger is the QB and that the coaches mentioned above are all still in place. All I need to put things in perspective, from a fans point of view, is to take a look at another tradition laden franchise, the Chicago Bears, who are a complete train wreck from top to bottom, with little hope for any type of success in the near future. The constant shuffling of the coaching staff along with bad financial decisions, Jay Cutler's recent contract, have all but demoralized their fanbase. The Steelers on the other hand are the epitome of stability, hiring only 3 head coaches in the last 43 years. It's that stability throughout the organization that ended 40 years of consistent losing and led to 6 Lombardi Trophy's.
As frustrating as it is to see the Steelers lay eggs against the sub-.500 teams on their schedule this year, along with Ike Taylor being back on the field, the Steelers aren't that far away from Super Bowl contention. On offense, Munchak has done a great job turning around the Offensive Line, allowing Ben to have perhaps the best season of his career. Martavis Bryant and Markus Wheaton look like they are going to join Antonio Brown to form an explosive threesome at Wide Receiver, while Le'Veon Bell has blossomed into the best overall Running Back in the NFL.
One has to wonder how far along the defense would have developed if Jarvis Jones and Ryan Shazier would have been healthy all season. The positive take out of the injuries on defense is the play of Sean Spence, essentially a rookie in his own right, and Stephon Tuitt in a limited role. If Tuitt can step in for Brett Keisel with a Spence-Like performance, I like what the future holds for the defense, provided the issues with the secondary are addressed in the offseason/next draft.
While it's easy to blame Tomlin, Haley and LeBeau for the inconsistencies, this team has been essentially rebuilt in the last three years, with the old core of stars being replaced by players like Bell, Bryant, Wheaton, Jones, Shazier, Tuitt and Thomas. If 8-8 is the farthest the Steelers fall, then that is pretty impressive when you consider what happened to the 49ers and Cowboys for three quarters of a decade when old age and salary cap hell hit them at the same time. The Steelers have bested them in that situation as well as in Lombardi's.