A Disappointing Season?

It's the morning after.  If you are a Steelers fan, you know what morning, and you know what it's after.  If not, it's the Sunday morning after the Steelers loss to the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Wildcard round.  A game they should have won.  A game that wasn't supposed to go this way.  A game with all the intangibles (save a large Le'veon Bell shaped one) seeming to point in the Steelers direction.

The mantra of this team has and continues to be "The Standard is the Standard". With the Steelers, winners of 6 Lombardi trophies, the Standard is nothing less than a Super Bowl Victory and another trophy to add to the case. Anything else false short.  Of course we all know that is an unrealistic view.  The Steelers can't win the Super Bowl every year.  Nor would it be a good thing if they did.  Regardless, I found myself wondering, was this a disappointing season? 

If my sole criteria for making that judgment is that the Steelers failed to win the Super Bowl, then I guess yeah, it's a disappointment.   But I don't really feel that way.  Don't get me wrong, I'm absolutely disappointed that we (and yes, I along with everyone else who lives in Steelers Nations feels WE lost, not just the team) lost, and with how the team played.  How could I not be?  But disappointed with the season?  I don’t' think I am.

First of all, let me say this bluntly, Steelers Nation is spoiled.  I know it, and so do the rest of you.  We expect what we expect.  To win.  And if we don't win, then at the very least we expect not to beat ourselves.  We expect our players to play within the scope and plan of the game plan.  We expect them to live up to standards that are unrealistic and unfair.  We don't care if our favorites get older, if they can't perform to the levels they once could.  We don't care if younger players don't have the experience or the knowledge to contribute right away.  Either play up to the standard or you’re a bust! 

If we can take a deep breath though, and take a few steps back, and try and view this, and frankly the last two seasons through a slightly more realistic lens, maybe we can see this as a very promising season.  One that while not giving us the overall desired outcome was certainly anything but disappointing. Let me break my argument down into a few categories - The Old Guys, The New Guys, The Coaches and Front office and let's see what the outcome of each is.

The Old Guys

Who are the old guys?  C'mon, we know who they are.  Troy, Ike, Da Beard, Debo.  Look, that's a hard group of guys to let you go of, no question about it, but let's face it.  It's going to happen at some point.  Really, we had to let go of James Harrison (Debo!) two years ago.  Yes, considering how the man has played this year, it's hard not to want him back again.  Saying goodbye to Brett Keisel will be as painful and upsetting to me as saying goodbye to Aaron Smith, or frankly Jack Lambert.  These guys just represent the very heart of the Steelers.  But it has to happen.  Ike.  Swaggin U had a fantastic run, and I am truly sorry you never got the credit you deserved.  Ike was and is a great guy, and I think he, and Keisel would make great additions to the coaching staff.  

Troy.

Ok, that one might be too hard for me.  Even with all this, Troy can leave when Troy wants to leave.  Until then I don't care if he can't cover a barn, he stays. 

My point here is that eventually the old guys do have to give way to the younger guys, and the truth is that it is always going to be a disappointment and sad.  No way to get around it. 

Outcome - Disappointing.  (Maybe devastating)

The New Guys

This one can swing either way depending on the how critical you are of draft picks and of free agent signings (or lack thereof).  Let's look at the last 3 drafts, and the last 3 seasons of free agents (In a limited way, because frankly I don't want to write a novel here).  What I'm going to do is give each draft a plus, minus or even grade.  I'll give a brief outline of my reasons, and I'll do the same for free agents.

Drafts

2012 Draft - Even.  Why?  David DeCastro, Sean Spence and Kelvin Beachum.  Mike Adams is a bust at this point in my book, even though he's been a good solid sub, but you want a second rounder to be a starter.  I go even because when you get a good starting tackle in the 7th round (and Beachum has become good, not just ok, but good) you can forgive Chris Rainey, Toney Clemons and Ta'amu Alameda.

2013 - Plus.  Two Words.  Le'veon Bell.  Ok, more than two words.  We have Markus Wheaton, Jarvis Jones (stop hating, he was playing better til he got hurt), Shamarko Thomas and Vince Williams in this draft.  Look, Landry Jones was a wasted pick, granted, but they hit more than missed.

2014 - Plus.  Look, let's be honest, it's early to make this call, but from what we've seen so far, I call it a plus.  Martavis Bryant in the fourth round?   Stephon Tuitt in the second?  Shazier hasn't lived up to his billing, but I'll give him a pass with the injuries and still call it a good pick.  Dri Archer, well I don't think he's Chris Rainey, but next year will tell the story on Dri.  And Daniel McCullers was a steal in the 7th.  Yeah, they lost a couple guys, and there are guys who didn't work it, but I think this remains a solid draft. 

Free Agent Signings

2012 - Minus.  Sorry, but 2012 is more about who they didn't sign than anyone they did.  Losing Keenan Lewis was and remains a bitter pill for a team in need of secondary help.  But hey, we signed Leanord Pope! 

2013 - Plus.  Yeah, look, my gauge on free agency and the Steelers is set pretty low.  But we got a decent backup QB (Gradkowski) and brought Plaxico home for a year.  We lost Mike Wallace, but frankly I wasn't that upset, and Mendenhall is out of the league two years later.  Sometimes they get it right.

2014 - Even.  I'm only calling this one even because Mitchell is saying he played all year with a torn groin.  I hope its true (even though it sounds bad to say that) cause if not, then I'm re-grading.  I was psyched for the Mitchell signing but some really questionable penalties (which I am pretty sure cannot be  attributed to a groin injury...but maybe they can, I mean if my groin was hurt all year I might be cranky and make some bad choices to), and overall poor play really made me second guess the decision.  I'm holding out hope for a rebound next year.  (Yes, Cam Thomas should be gone, but Brice McCain and Arthur Moats offset that...and stop saying Blount!)

Ok, let's sum things up, and you get 2 Evens, 3 Pluses and 1 Minus.  I think being +2 is good enough to say that the new guys are promising, and not disappointing.

Outcome - Promising!

The Coaches and Front Office

Without question this is the most volatile area.  From my standpoint, I am so sick of the Tomlin/Haley/Colbert and LeBeau (shudder!  How can you hate Mr. Night Before Christmas!) haters.  For a minute, let's be real and understand how good we have it.  We have been REBUILDING for 3 years.  REBUILDING is hard folks!  It's hard because we were (and will be again) good!  We got low draft picks.  We don't go after high priced free agents.  What that means is we have to be AWESOME drafting, and even more AWESOME coaching.  Because you know what you normally get when your rebuilding?  LOSING SEASONS!

How many losing season has Tomlin had?  ZERO.  Yes, he has some really good players, but he also has lost some, and he has kept this franchise relevant, and fun to watch.  Look, I loved Bill Cowher as much as anyone.  The Chin was great.  And I think he was a great coach.  How many losing seasons did he give us?  Three.  How about Chuck Noll?  Arguable to me the greatest coach of all time, and certainly in Steelers history. How many? Eight! Look, here is the key to me anyway.  Noll, Cowher and Tomlin, no matter what their records all have one thing in common.  They never lose their teams.  And up to this point, Tomlin has never lost this team, and in fact, has done a great job of reacting to learning opportunities.  I loved Tomlin when they hired him and I love the guy now.  He ain't perfect, but I wouldn't trade him for anyone.  I mean it. 

I think it's enough to say that Haley has made us the number two offense in the league.  And look, let's give Dick LeBeau the benefit of the doubt.  He doesn't have the bullets in his gun that he used to, but they are reloading.  I expect the D to be much improved next year.  If we can keep Munchak, well in my mind this is the best coaching staff in the league. 

And as far as the front office goes, they make more right choices than wrong ones.  They have ever since Art let Dan take the reins. 

Outcome - PROMISING!

So with all that being said, I don't think this was a disappointing season.  It was a promising one.  It gave us glimpses of how good we could be, hope for the future, and continued excellence.

The Standard is the Standard!

GO STEELERS!