Optimism Down the Stretch

Optimism Down the Stretch.........By Feel the Steel
        
    After Monday nights merciless thumping at the hands of the Indianapolis Colts, its easy for us in Camp Stiller to lose hope on the season that is 2005.  After all, our golden boy quarterback looked just a little gilded at times, the �hard-nosed� defense that the Stillers are so well known for was outsmarted, and the cornerstone of our offense, the running game, was stopped dead in its tracks.  Yes, I could easily understand how a Stiller fan might throw up his hands and say, �Wait �til next year�, but alas, take heart Stiller faithful, we have reason to believe there are brighter days ahead�.

In no particular order, 6 reasons to be optimistic about the rest of the season�

#1- Ben Roethlisberger.  Come on now.  Did you really expect Ben to come out on Monday night and play like he hadn�t been out for a month?  He performed about as well as I expected him to, which is to say, not great, but not bad, all things considered.  Let�s not forget that despite those 2 INTs, he was running as though the offensive line was unaware that he was coming back from injury.  We at least learned that he is able to take a shot and get back up.  Regardless, that TD pass to Hines was just about perfect.  Ben will be as good as the Stillers need him to be down the stretch.

#2- The schedule.  Lets face it folks, the Stillers should have been 8-2 heading into Monday�s game.  A four game run that includes Baltimore, Green Bay, Cleveland, and Baltimore again was a gift from the schedule makers that no one could have anticipated.  The loss to the Ratbirds was bigger than most people realize, but what�s done is done.  What matters is that the Stillers next five games are totally winnable.

-Cincinnati- I could be wrong on this, but I�m still not on the Bungals bandwagon.  If the Stillers can�t come out fired up for this one, then they don�t deserve to be in the playoffs in the first place.  Should be tougher than last time, but I think the Stillers should come away with a win.

-Chicago- Great defense, no offense.  Sounds familiar.  Throw in a shaky-at-times, rookie quarterback playing on the road?  Should be another win. 

-@ Minnesota- The Vikes have seemingly found new life with Bad Johnson at QB.  But wait, scratch the surface a little bit and you�ll see that that four-game winning streak they�re riding was built on wins over the amazingly bad Lions, the blatantly overrated Giants, the awful Packers, and the even worse Browns.  Mind you, they�ll probably beat the Lions this weekend to make it five in a row, but I�m still not impressed.  Bad Johnson is not a good quarterback, and the Vikings are not a good football team.  Chalk one up for the Stillers.

-@ Cleveland- If all things go as planned (which, admittedly, is a pretty big �if�), the Stillers should be rolling in to Cleveland with a 10-3 record.  Now if there is a �trap� game left on the schedule, I think this would be it.  The Browns may not be very good, but the Stillers have no trouble playing down to their competition, and although the playoffs will be but a faint dream in the hearts of Brownie fans, a win over the hated Stillers always puts a smile on their faces.  Should the Stillers win? Absolutely.  Will they? We�ll see�

-Detroit- Joey Harrington? Jeff Garcia? Big Bird? Does it matter? Firing your coach midseason is basically season-suicide, but in the case of the Lions, it was probably just speeding up an inevitable process.  Stillers close out the year with a win. 

Now at that rate, the Stillers could very well be 12-4 heading into the postseason. There is of course the possibility of dropping a game, with Cincy or Cleveland being the most likely.  Still, with three NFC teams not named Seattle, Carolina, or Dallas left on the schedule, you�ve got to like the Stillers chances in these next five games. 

#3- Duce Staley.  For the life of me, I can�t figure out why this guy isn�t the #1 HB on this team.  Not quite as powerful as Bettis, not quite as fast as Willie, but in my opinion, the best overall back of the three.  Staley has the power to run through the line and enough speed to make a move or two once he breaks into the secondary.  I would expect to see more of #22 in the weeks ahead. 

#4- Team chemistry.  We can all agree that last year�s team peaked way too soon.  Once that peak is passed, it�s gone forever (Make sure to remember this principle come playoff time in Indianapolis).  This year�s Stiller team has come no where near hitting it�s stride so far.  The fact that a team can play as sloppy this one and still come out with 7-4 is the sign of a pretty good team.  With key players slowly (and finally) coming back from injuries, now is the perfect time for the Stiller machine to kick it in to high gear come playoff time. 

#5- Adversity.  The Stillers have had almost zero adversity since the 2003 season.  Outside of the near fiasco against the Jets in the Divisional round of last year�s playoffs, the 2004 Stillers more or less cruised through the season.  And then they got run over by a red, white and blue Mack truck called the Patriots.  A better coached Mack truck for that matter, but that�s another story.  The point is, the 2004 Stillers had wins, but they had no character.  This year�s team has the chance to build some major character over the next couple of weeks.  It�s been a while since the Stillers have been on the business end of a whipping like they received Monday night.  How they respond to this ass kicking is crucial to rest of the season.  If the team gets together and rises up to the challenges that they have received this season, then maybe, just maybe, they could turn it in to something special.

#6- Playoff position.  In all likelihood, the Stillers will be playing most of, if not all of, their playoff games on the road.  Thank God.  It�s become obvious over that years that if the Stillers are on the road to the Super Bowl, that road will not be going through Heinz Field.  They can play in Thailand for all I care, so long as they win�

Obviously, most of this list is speculation, and I�ve been watching the Pittsburgh Stillers far too long to honestly believe that everything will go exactly the way it should.  Unfortunately, I�m not that naive anymore.   However, there are still a few cards in the deck that help the chances of things finally going the way of the black and gold, and for that, the Stiller nation should not give up hope just yet.