With the new schedule coming out, here's an early look at what we've got coming our way. Along with a few of the storylines the media will play up, but won't really matter in the end.
Game 1: Sept 9 @ Cleveland (1pm)
So we almost lost to Cleveland on the road last year. And Willie Parker romped all over them in a -300 degrees game in Pittsburgh. No amount of alcohol could numb you from that type of cold, it was just freezing. So what's the verdict? Well...let's look and see how the Steelers have come out of the gate in previous seasons. In spite of losing all 4 preseason games in 2006, they came out with a solid thwomping of the Miami Dolphins. In 2005 they gave up a touchdown on the opening drive to Tennessee then scored 34 unanswered points. In 2004, in a game that was about the inverse temperature of the last home game against Cleveland, Tommy Maddox lead the Steelers to a 24-21 victory over Oakland in the last game he ever won as a Steelers starting QB. So what's to look forward to? Pittsburgh will lose the toss, Cleveland will get the ball first and score on the opening drive. Cleveland 7-0. Pittsburgh will fight back with some big catches by Heath Miller and Hines Ward, capping off a touchdown drive with a long pass to Santonio Holmes to pick up this season where he left off last season. 7-7. From there, Cleveland will run around like a bunch of dogs chasing their tails and Pittsburgh will be able to drive back down I-79 with pride. Steelers win. 1-0.
Game 2: Sept 16 vs. Buffalo (1pm)
Buffalo lost Nate Clements and London Fletcher-Baker and some running back who only played half the games but wanted to be paid like a pro-bowler. Where did he go to school? Oh yeah, "The U". Regardless, Pittsburgh wins this one easily, though the corners get a scare early in the game. I Like Ike Taylor makes a big interception to seal the game. Bryant McFadden also pulls one down. Steelers win. 2-0.
Game 3: Sept 23 vs. San Francisco (1pm)
This isn't the San Francisco team of the mid-80s. Or the San Francisco team of the mid-90s. The Steelers get to put off facing Nate Clements for a week, but that doesn't really matter. Willie Parker runs for over 150 yards and the Steelers show the finesse-oriented West-Coast offense what smash-mouth football is all about. Steelers win, 3-0. San Francisco proceeds to lose it's next two games trying to recover from the whalloping they took in Pittsburgh.
Game 4: Sept 30 @ Arizona (4:15pm)
Don't be fooled by the time into thinking this game is anything special. Remember, 4:15 in Pittsburgh is 1:15 in the West. So by 4:15 in the West, the Steelers will be 4-0 and Arizona will have another coaching vacancy. Unlike San Francisco, this is the same Arizona team that has always been bad. The Whiz starts 0-4 out here and calls for his head are made. Maybe he'll tell the fans and media that he knew who we were, Denny Green-style. No surprises in this game. Steelers come up with big sacks and big interceptions at key times. Anthony Smith runs one back for a touchdown as the Steelers move to 4-0, giving Matt Leinhart more losses this season than he had in his career at USC.
Game 5: Oct 7 vs Seattle (1pm)
This is not the same Seattle team that we beat in the Super Bowl. Losing some key offensive linemen has really hurt this team and made the NFC West an open field for everyone but Arizona this year. However, this Steelers team is still good enough to beat this Seattle team. There won't even need to be any questionable calls. Remember when Willie Parker turned the Seattle defense into a merry-go-round?
Notice Seattle's D standing around like the kids on the merry-go-round. This will happen again.
Steelers win, move to 5-0 going into the bye week.
Game 6: Oct 21 @ Denver (8:15pm)
The Steelers come out of the bye week with a little less momentum than they took into it. Denver is coming off their bye week after playing Jacksonville, Indy and San Diego. They'll probably have lost 2 of those games, so they'll be looking to a big game coming off their bye week. Conversely, we'll be flying a little too high and have an ego about as high as their stadium. As much as I hate to say this, Denver is probably going to win this game. Playing on the road in Prime Time against Mike Shanahan's team will be tough for anyone, but the new-look Steelers will probably falter here. Parker gets held under 100 yards for the first time in the season and the Steelers go down, moving to 5-1.
Game 7: Oct 28 @ Cincinnati (1pm)
The Steelers will have a late flight back from Denver then will have to turn around and head out to Cincinnati. The short turn-around will be bad for the Steelers as well as the fact that they'll be reeling from their first loss of the season. Cincy will have already lost to New England and will be on a 2-game winning streak coming into this game. The Steelers will have trouble gaining momentum from the start and probably end up in a shootout, which never ends up good for them. Steelers lose again, 5-2.
Game 8: Nov 5 vs. Baltimore (8:15pm)
The first Monday night game of the season provides the Steelers the opportunity to get back on the right track. And they do. Pittsbugh is crazy for Monday Night games and the Steelers show up big time. Baltimore won't know what hit them. With the loss of Thomas on defense, they won't be nearly as versatile and Najeh Davenport has a huge game picking up 2 touchdowns as the Steelers crank up the power running game. Steelers win a close one on a Jeff Reed field goal in the final minute, moving to 6-2.
Game 9: Nov 11 vs. Cleveland (1pm)
Good thing we have an easy game coming off that Monday night game. Parker, held down against Baltimore, bursts out huge in this game and runs all over the Cleveland defense. Steelers win, 7-2.
Game 10: Nov 18 @ NY Jets (1pm)
Can Chad Pennington make it a full season as the Jets starting QB? Can he survive against the Pittsburgh defense? Polamalu has a big game and Farrior comes up with a fumble recovery as the Steelers walk all over the Jets, moving them to 8-2.
Game 11: Nov 26 vs. Miami (8:30pm)
The Steelers second Monday Night game this month. This time, the "story" is Joey Porter returning to Pittsburgh. Guess what? Miami still doesn't have a Quarterback. Guess what else? One outside linebacker doesn't make a team. Big Ben and Hines hook up for 2 touchdowns on a snowy Monday Night. 9-2.
Game 12: Dec 2 vs Cincinnati (8:15pm)
Nothing like keeping the emotions high two weeks in a row. The year we went 15-1, everyone kept looking for that "let-down" game where the Steelers would lose because they were burnt out. It never came in the regular season. And as much as the Steelers tried to lose to the Jets, the Jets just wanted to lose more. This is not a let-down game. Parker has a huge game and I-Like-Ike Taylor has a big-time game shutting down Chad Johnson. McFadden proves his worth against TJ, and Chris Henry gets handcuffed by Anthony Smith. That should be nothing new for him. Carson Palmer decides that he doesn't like the way the sky in Pittsburgh looks this time of year, as he gets plenty of time to analyze it while laying on his back. Steelers win, 10-2.
Game 13: Dec 9 @ New England (1pm)
At New England, in December, coming off a huge win against Cincy. What does this spell? Letdown. Don't get me wrong, the Steelers will play tough in this one. In the end, Brady hooks up with Dante' Stallworth for a big completion to put the Pats in field goal range and secure the victory in the final minutes. Steelers lose, fall to 10-3.
Game 14: Dec 16 vs. Jacksonville (1pm)
Jacksonville could be said to be our spoiler over the past few seasons. Tommy Maddox blew one game and the entire Offense blew the other. However, both of those games were played early in the season, and one of them was in Jacksonville. Finally, we get to play them in Pittsburgh, in December. I love bringing warm-weather teams to town in the winter. Steelers win a big game, moving them to 11-3.
Game 15: Dec 20 @ St. Louis (8:15pm)
Thankfully we get an easy team in this short week. St. Louis is far removed from the "greatest show on turf" team they had that won the Super Bowl. Steven Jackson is a formidable threat out of the backfield, but the Steelers run defense may be the best in the league next year. They did not allow a 100-yard rushing game last season and getting rid of Porter will actually help their run defense. Anthony Smith makes another big interception late in the game, sealing the Steelers victory. 12-3.
Game 16: Dec 30 @ Baltimore (1pm)
Sadly, the Steelers will probably drop this game. We haven't won a game in Baltimore in a long time, and we probably won't win there again this year. We'll have enough wins to secure a playoff spot, but we might still be fighting for the division. This will be a tough game and I don't see us taking both games from Baltimore next season. In the end, we end up 12-4, which is a very solid season.
Well, there you have my predictions for next season. There's a lot of hype leading up to the draft that's coming up in a week and a half. However, I'm not going to get all obsessed about who's going to pick who. You know why? Because one trade could change everything. So it's not really worth trying to predict picks. But after the draft I'll probably do a little review of the players we've selected.
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