The Top Seven Reasons The Steelers CAN Be A Superbowl Contender In 2013

It’s only June and already the supposed NFL pundits are writing off Pittsburgh, saying their time has passed them by, they are no longer a Super Bowl contender and may not even be a playoff team.  Only time will tell but I think it’s a bit too soon to write the black and gold off just yet. 

The Steelers are always on a quest to win the title and don’t take years off in that expectation. There is no reason why they can’t make a run at number seven this year and here are the top seven reasons why.

1)      The top reason why the Steelers will be in the hunt for title number seven is because of player #7.  Big Ben Roethlisberger.  When you have a franchise QB, you’re always in the hunt. Don’t listen to what the NFL TV list is telling you about Big Ben. They say he is the #61 player for 2013; laugh at that and know that means nothing. Big Ben is a top five QB and can change the flow of a game on his own.  He was having the best season of his career last year up until his injury and there is no reason to think he can’t do that again. He’s been working out all off season, earlier than normal and he has stated numerous times he wants to win more titles than any other QB in history. He has the drive, he has the skill and he has the ability. Franchise QB’s are far and few between and the Steelers have one. 

 

2)      The veterans are embarrassed about last year’s 8-8 finish.   They know they should have finished better than that and they also know they are running out of time to get back to the big game. Guys like Troy Polamalu, Ryan Clark, Brett Keisel and Ike Taylor could all be in their last year with the Steelers. They know what they have accomplished together in the past, how they fell short last year and how they want to work together to get back for what could be their last time. They’re motivated, they’ve been working hard in the off season and they don’t want to fall short two years in a row. Guys like Lamar Woodley are ashamed of their play in 2012 and are already in game shape. These guys are going to come out on a mission.

 

3)      There will be some rookies at some very key positions who will be pushing for playing time. By default they will drive the vets in front of them to work even harder to not lose their jobs. This domino effect could do wonders. Guys like first round pick Jarvis Jones, second round pick Leveon Bell and third round pick Markus Wheaton could all push to be starters immediately. This is a win win situation for the black and gold. They either have rookies starting from day one and gaining experience or they have talented rookies pushing guys like Jason Woirlds, Isaac Redman, Jonathan Dwyer and Emmanuel Sanders to work harder to keep their jobs. Ideally with the rookies working hard and the vets working hard in front of them, the team will see a domino effect with everyone trying to out do their teammates in a friendly competition. This will help the team gel and have that chemistry they seemed to miss in 2012.

 

4)      Mike Wallace is gone.  How can that help? Simply. He was a talent, no doubt but he was a locker room cancer in 2012.  He was far too concerned about his contract and how much money he was making that he forgot how to catch the ball. He was too outspoken and caused a divide in that locker room. The team appears to have learned from their locker room shortcomings in 2012 and is ready to put that behind them. They know that wasn’t the Steeler way and they do not want that to happen again.

 

5)      Todd Haley and Ben Roethlisberger have a full year together under their belt and are committed to working together to get better. While it’s not always easy to get excited about the ‘dink and dunk’, it was effective in keeping Big Ben upright and putting the ball in the hands of the Steelers speedy big play receivers. With another offseason to work on it and perfect it, the Steelers offense should be stronger and better than they were in 2012 and I would expect more consistent play out of that unit. They have the talent to play with anyone so they should never be discounted until proven otherwise.

 

6)      The Ravens aren’t as good as they were last year, the Bengals always find a way to fall short and the Browns are the Browns. This all means the Steelers should have a great shot at a division title, putting them in the playoffs. Anything can happen come playoff time, especially when you still have a veteran laced team who has won it before.

 

7)      We, the fans, won’t let them slack off. We always expect a lot out of our black and gold and we will push them and cheer them til the end. We’ll show up at all the home games of course but we’ll travel to the road games too. The Steel Nation is strong; we’re the best fans in the business and the players love playing for us. Believe me, they don’t want to let us down, they talk about how great we are on a weekly basis and we truly do push them to play their best week in and week out. Wave those towels Steel Nation!

 

Of course it’s only June and anything can happen but for all the fans, “experts”, players and haters who say the Steelers are too old, done, and not a factor; these seven reasons say otherwise, they say the team is still a factor, still a force and it doesn’t hurt to be an underdog. This team can make a run at that seventh ring; they have the young rookies to step in, the aging vets who want that one last shot and the franchise QB who’s done it before. Don’t ever count out the black and gold, they have far too much going for them.