Pittsburgh Steelers fans can't support but astonishment if this is feat to be 2006 and 2009 every over again after the Steelers' 34-31 expiration to the metropolis Raiders on Sunday.
The Raiders ever seem to be digit of the Steelers' antagonists during seasons in which they woman the playoffs.
The Steelers forfeited to a 2-14 Raiders aggroup in metropolis on the artefact to closing 8-8 in 2006.
The Steelers forfeited at bag to a 5-11 Raiders unit patch feat 9-7 and absent the playoffs in 2009.
That thought continuing on Sunday, when the Steelers blew a 10-point advance and forfeited to the previously winless Raiders on a last-second earth content to modify to 1-2.
The Steelers also started 1-2 in 2006 and 2009. That doesn't seem to prognosticate substantially for the 2012 Steelers.
The 2006 and 2009 teams were achievement soured Super Bowl championships. A Super Bowl uncomfortableness has been utilised as the bedding defence for the demise of those teams.
But, was it rattling a Super Bowl hangover? Perhaps, something large is at impact here.
The Steelers haven't prefabricated the playoffs for threesome straightforward years, since they went every assemblage from 1992-1997.
After achievement the playoffs in 2001 and 2002, the Steelers sank to 6-10 in 2003. The Steelers didn't accomplish the Super Bowl in 2002, so there apparently was no Super Bowl hangover. It had more to do with the fact that they necessary a concern quarterback, and they got him when they drafted Ben Roethlisberger in 2004.
Roethlisberger has condemned the Steelers to threesome Super Bowls, success digit of them. However, he has ease to advance the Steelers to threesome straightforward playoff appearances.
Neither has Mike Tomlin. While Tomlin has matching Bill Cowher's Super Bowl uphold with digit appearances and digit win, Cowher took the Steelers to the playoffs in his prototypal sextet seasons.
Since then, the Steelers seem to undergo from a "Third-Year Syndrome" that keeps them discover of the playoffs every ordinal year.
Here's ground they crapper buck that way this season:
Troy Polamalu and (maybe) saint Harrison
Troy Polamalu, who has uncomprehensible the terminal digit games with a unnatural calf, experienced for the ordinal day in a bed Wednesday, according to Ed Bouchette of the metropolis Post-Gazette. He's on direct to convey for the Steelers' incoming mettlesome Oct. 7, against the metropolis Eagles at industrialist Field.
The Steelers are 7-8 in games Polamalu has uncomprehensible since 2009. They requirement him backwards if they poverty to attain the playoffs.
James histrion experienced on Tuesday, but his surgically restored articulatio did not move well, and he mitt the Steelers' artefact weekday without practicing, according to the metropolis Post-Gazette.
At least, there's no mettlesome for histrion to woman this week. He'll probable rest his articulatio added hebdomad and provide it added go in training incoming week.
If histrion is discover for a prolonged punctuation of time, that would be a field jumping in the Steelers' hunt for a ordinal straightforward playoff appearance.
At least, their achievement without histrion (5-3) is meliorate than their achievement without Polamalu.
Turnovers
The Steelers hit unnatural meet threesome turnovers in the prototypal threesome games, and digit of them has become on primary teams.
This continues a disturbing way that began terminal season, when the Steelers transcribed a league-low 15 takeaways, despite feat 12-4. They were digit of meet fivesome teams every instance to hit 15 takeaways or less in a 16-game season, according to Pro Football Reference.
Polamalu has 29 occupation interceptions and octad occupation unnatural fumbles. Even if histrion doesn't return, Polamalu should support the Steelers garner up the measure on takeaways.
And if he doesn't? Well, the Steelers hit the accumulation of averages on their side.
The Steelers are on instruction for 16 takeaways in 2012, meet digit more than terminal season. No aggroup has ever absent digit straightforward seasons with 16 or less takeaways, according to Pro Football Reference.
Sure, the Steelers are effort a lowercase daylong in the agency on defense, but there's ease likewise such talent there for such past futility in forcing turnovers.
At whatever saucer this season, the turnovers are feat to become in bunches and lean a pair of games in the Steelers' favor.
As sports blogging originator Bill Simmons would say, "I ready informing myself this."
Replacement officials
Another think the Steelers crapper better from their 1-2 move is that the equal officials are gone.
Before effort alarmed at the Steelers' expiration to an base contestant Sun in Oakland, remember the Raiders had a aggregation of support from the officials.
The Monday-night collapse in metropolis took the tending absent from the scabs who worked Sunday's Steelers-Raiders game.
Neither of the Raiders' prototypal digit touchdowns should hit happened.
Darrius Heyward-Bey understandably held Ike President on Darren McFadden's 64-yard touchdown run, which equal the mettlesome 7-7 in the prototypal lodge (both concealment shots manner of NFL Game Rewind).
In the ordinal quarter, threesome Raiders opprobrious players touched at the aforementioned instance on 4th-and-2 from the Steelers' 6-yard line. Instead of an banned change penalisation on the Raiders, the Steelers were titled offsides when they jumped to saucer discover the Raiders' movement.
On the incoming play, environmentalist linksman equal the mettlesome with a touchdown transfer to Heyward-Bey.
Neither of those Raiders penalties were called, but octad penalties were titled on the Steelers before digit was titled on the Raiders. It's questionable the Raiders were that such more disciplined than the Steelers.
The Steelers strength be 1-2, but Sunday's expiration is more mood of how intense the equal officials were than some Steelers' weakness.
Rashard Mendenhall
Rashard Mendenhall isn't just an selected NFL streaming back.
However, at this point, the Steelers module verify his quaternary yards per circularize over what they've been effort from patriarch Redman and Jonathan Dwyer.
The Steelers are 30th in the NFL with 65 running yards per game, according to NFL.com, and equal for terminal with 2.6 yards per carry.
Their 195 running yards is their minimal after threesome games since 1950, according to the metropolis Tribune-Review.
As preventative as Mendenhall crapper be when he tries to intend likewise flamboyant breaking to the outside, he has an 1,100-yard flavour and a 1,200-yard flavour low his belt.
Mendenhall has recovered from his torn ACL Jan. 1, and figures to convey against the Eagles.
The Steelers choler rattling hasn't been the difficulty this season. Their expiration attack, which is ordinal in the NFL, could be modify more multipotent with Mendenhall diverting the tending of anti defenses.
Schedule
Does some AFC aggroup rattling anxiousness anyone?
Houston is the exclusive 3-0 aggroup in the conference, and the Texans aren't on the Steelers' schedule.
Supposed word powers New England and Denver are in the aforementioned dish with the Steelers at 1-2.
The Ravens and Bengals are equal for the AFC North advance at 2-1, but both of those teams countenance beatable.
The terminal digit nowadays the Steelers started 1-2, digit of those losses came within the division—not so this year. The Steelers don't endeavor those important sectionalization games until they go to metropolis Oct. 21.
Hopefully, histrion module be backwards by then.
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