Steelers Historically Good

I knew this Steelers defense was good, but I wasn�t sure just HOW good until forum member Castinator made a post comparing the Steelers current point total to teams of the past that I realized just how good.

The Steelers have currently allowed just 98 points through 8 games. That�s an average of just 12.25 points per game. That, of course, leaves them on a pace of just 196 points per game. That would put the Steelers in very good company. Let�s take a list at the few other teams who allowed under 200, and the results of their season.

Those are some good results for these current Steelers. You see that 4 of 7 teams won the Super Bowl. Two others lost to teams who also allowed under 200 points. The 1986 Bears lost a playoff game to a Redskins team while playing their back-up QB.

Consider who the Steelers have left on their schedule. New York Jets, Miami, Cincinnati, New England, Jacksonville, St. Louis, and Baltimore are the teams remaining on the Steelers schedule. Outside of New England and, oddly enough, Cleveland, there aren�t too many intimidating offenses left to face. Arguably Cinci, though the last few meetings would suggest otherwise.

Of course, there�s no telling what will happen when this defense ends up matched up against New England, who stands to shatter just about every offensive record related to scoring and passing in the books.

You may be watching the best Steelers defense since 78 or 79. The Steelers are currently on pace for 50 sacks through 16 games. That would be good for the third highest total since 1992 when Bill Cowher was hired.

The Steelers are the only team in the league that has yet to allow a play over 40 yards, and they are allowing 32 yards less per game than the 2^nd ranked defense in the league (the Titans). Opposing QB�s have a rating of only 71.4, which is the fourth lowest rating in the league. The Steelers currently have the top ranked pass defense, and the 4^th ranked run defense.

This defense has allowed only 9 TD�s through 8 games.

Roethlisberger is currently on pace for 40 TD�s, 3484 yards, and only 12 INT�s. His efficiency stats are very high, as well. He�s completing 65.9% of his passes at 8.4 YPA. YPA, or yards per attempt, is the stat with the single highest correlation to winning. The QB with the higher YPA wins 80% of all games. Roethlisberger�s number would be the best in many seasons. It�s third this year, behind Tony Romo�s and Tom Brady�s.

His QB rating is currently 111.9, which is the second highest in the league. Again, he�s behind only Tom Brady. Assuming both keep their rating where they currently are, Roethlisberger would finish with the fifth highest single-season rating in NFL history.

This is the same guy many quipped would never have �gaudy� passing numbers. They were clearly wrong. #7 is proving a whole lot of people don�t have a clue.

It makes sense that the Steelers offense is currently very good given the QB play. Let�s take a look at just how good.

The Steelers are currently on pace for over 5,638 total yards of offense, and 442 points. They are 8^th in the league by yards, and 5^th by points. Considering that the 05 Bungals offense that scored only 421 points was considered high powered after the first few weeks, it�s amazing that the Steelers offense is still considered mediocre. But I suppose old reputations can be hard to shake.

Only two Steelers teams have scored over 400 points in a season since 1970. Those were the 1995 and 1979 Pittsburgh Steelers. Neither scored as many as what this team is currently on pace for. The �95 team put up 407 and the �79 team 416.

The Steelers may have the second most potent offense in the league right, and no one may even realize it. If the Steelers passed more (or ran up the score, if you will), there�s a very real chance that they would be scoring at a rate only behind that of New England.

The Steelers are currently first in the league in converting third downs (the Colts, Pats, and Cowboys are the next highst ranked teams).

Willie Parker is currently the second ranked rusher. The Steelers have the second best rushing offense in the league currently (150 yards per game, behind only Minnesota). They are currently on pace for 2408 yards on the ground. The Steelers have only had 3 teams with higher totals since �92 when Bill Cowher was hired. Those years were �97, �01, and �04. Two of those teams had totals in the 2400�s, and the �01 team surpassed 2700. Consider for a moment that the team had a running QB in two of those seasons, and that the 04 team had a rookie QB.

The 04 team ran the ball 618 times. The average was only 3.9 yards per carry. This team is averaging 4.4 YPC, and on pace for 546 carries.

I�m of the opinion that we are witnessing the greatest Steelers team since 1979, all things considered. No team has excelled on offense and defense like this one has through 8 games.

I�ve been saying for some time that this team would be good enough to win the Super Bowl in most seasons. I firmly believe that, and these stats all support my belief.

It says a lot about how good this current Pats team they would be huge underdogs in a playoff game, and that even I have to admit they�re a long shot. However, don�t let anyone kid you. This team is playing at a far higher level than most realize.