This a good read from a guy that gets it. Enjoy.

http://www.behindthesteelcurtain.com/20 ... #storyjump

Did he really use Jeff Hartings in the same sentence as Darnell Stapleton, Ramon Foster and Trai Essex??
He lost me right there.

He did

If you agree with his opinions...You will love it.

I don't agree with some of it...So I don't like it

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Now that I can get behind!

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That's not a knoife...THIS is a knoife!

Articles like this are great because they talk about things that are only noticed in football when there is an absence of them. Having guys on a team that lead, push, inspire make it difficult to quantify or point to unless your team is on the outside of the playoffs looking in and your captain is sitting on the bench or a guy from your SB past is calling your current team out . I know a lot has been said about leadership and how we lost a lot of them on both sides of the ball this off season, but in that Denver game we had a leadership problem because our leading tackler, a defensive captain, and the epicenter of the defense were out and it showed- horribly.

We are great fans but we can't see the subtle things that makes a team go. Leaders, pushers, established talent, meshing personalities all have to be managed, forged, and molded to achieve the common goal. Something that cannot be achieved when some have a mercenary mindset and others are trying to bring glory to the organization- locker room has to be unified in terms of a common goal.

Ever wonder why a team of superstars usually doesn't win the SB or any other championship? Or how a group of misfits can win it from the 6th slot by mowing over the competition? Accountability. Because a coach can not manage the things that don't show up on the stats sheet. The leaders and other players make the marginal players accountable and the accountable marginal players in turn push the leaders and talented guys in a vicious cycle that most Steeler fans enjoy year after year.

In that story, the team kept everyone accountable not the coaches. And while we want to say that "they are professionals and they should do so and so"- but without leaders AND a guy pushing you, you do what most humans do- relax, take it easy, grow fat and lazy- all the stuff you do when there are no threats to your power.

"Something" is building in the Burgh, but I just hope it gets built quick enough so that we can still get good years out of guys like Troy, Silverback, Keisel, Ike, Big Snack, Clark, etc. The offense is loaded with young talent, but will it come of age quick enough to benefit the Defense, and Big Ben (who I believe is now 30).

This is a great point.

"relax, take it easy, grow fat and lazy" has been THE major concern regarding the Ben - BA relationship
Now, Coach Haley is here to change all that IMHO and will be the "guy pushing [Ben]"

The author of the article called it a juggernaut, and I really hope Ben has an idea of what lies beneath the helm he is being handed.

I know there are threads and discussions ad-nauseum about whether or not Ben is on board, but I sincerely believe that whether this team succeeds or fails rests almost ENTIRELY on his shoulders...

However, if he pushes back (is he doing so now? The Media would have us think so...), he will be solely responsible for keeping the juggernaut at anchor.

The sooner he buys in and takes the wheel, the more damage this juggernaut is going to do...

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That's not a knoife...THIS is a knoife!

I couldn't agree more. All players have to buy in- especially Ben

I got bored part of the way through the article and skimmed the rest.

I don't think anything that is going on now is different than it has been for a number of years. I don't think you had to have successfully coached a girls basketball team to understand what is going on. Maybe this guy is just now realizing it, the way he's just now able to bring himself to go beyond hinting at what Tomlin is about or having clarity of what the Steeler way is about.

We were in the Super Bowl in 2005, 2008 and 2010...how can what is going on now be akin to the early 70's when we were finally starting to put a team together that could win big for the first time? If he's just now getting clued in, he's late to the party.

What's really going on is that it looks like we might have reloaded on the fly at key positions to keep this thing rolling without the inevitable crash and burn period that accompanies so many teams in sports.

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The only things that matter to me are: Wins, Losses, Rings - FC

Since the start of the 2008 season, the Steelers percentage of designed rush plays has declined from a high of 46.4 percent of their plays in 2010 to 39.6 last season. - Chris Mortensen

Then you've completely missed the inference that the major obstacle keeping this team and Big Ben from becoming legendary over the past "number of years" has finally been removed.

Now, if only Ben can see beyond where that obstacle had been...

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That's not a knoife...THIS is a knoife!