Have Steelers surpassed your Expectations

[Haiku_Dirtt]

Originally Posted by Mosca

the story of Chuck Noll

What I didn't learn about Noll until much later is how little he said - or had to say - to motivate his teams before games.

[Atlanta Dan]

Apparently the one time Noll actually fired up the team was after Oakland beat Miami in the 1974 playoffs. After that game Larry Little of the Dolphins said "the two best teams in football played today," and Madden said "when the best play the best anything can happen."

Noll then told the team the week before the Oakland game that `Well, they're not the best. The best team is in this locker room. And neither one of them is going to be in the Super Bowl."

Joe Greene went nuts, the Steelers beat the Raiders the following Sunday in arguably the most significant win in Steelers history, and the dynasty was born.

Otherwise, this Noll quote Tony Dungy has passed along to Peyton pretty much sums up Noll's low key approach - "'Pressure is something you feel only when you don't know what you are doing."

[BurghZ0n3]

To tell the truth.....yes, I was not convinced until we're 3-0. Every team with a new HC would struggle at the beginning, then make ample adjustments accordingly. But,....what a HUGE surprise that was! The chemistry just clicked, although Tomlin was in a midwest team (used to live in Iowa myself)! I guess last season was a give away kinda thing....GO B&G

[TackleMeBen]

they are about where i thought they would be. 4-1 is good for our team. this way we dont have to hear about being 5-0 and blah blah.. this way we can be under the radar and let the media hype the colts and pats, and then we do what we do best. come in and kick butt and take names all the way to the superbowl championship!!

[GeneralRobinson]

They will have exceeded my expectations if they win the division.

[PalmerSteel]

SO FAR they have exceeded my expectations for sure. very impressed how great the d and ben have been playing. BUT, i need to see how they do against the bengals and ravens first though before i truly believe we have surpassed last year's team, which will be the next 2 games after the broncos this sunday. familiar division rival games is always the tell tale sign.

[bw87a]

i agree. ben has played so well. it's definitely a testament of how influential he is to the steelers. with last years team and his injuries...our record shone through. this year has been much better and i've enjoyed not watching him throw so many interceptions.

[ShutDown24]

No - They haven't.

[WWIIOwheelz]

I can't believe how well the cover 2 has worked when they've done it. It felt alien to watch, not seeing linebackers flying in on the QB, but it was incredibly effective.

I'm very impressed. The list of who I'm concerned about in the AFC has shortened considerably from last year. I'm almost looking forward to the Ravens game, and as badly as they beat us last year, that's really saying something.

The Pats game will be an absolute brawl. The Colts will have their hands full with this new blend of Tomlin and Labeau, I think.

Not worried about the West as much as the last 2 years. Denver is struggling badly and the Chargers aren't as deadly as the last couple of years, it seems, and we beat them then. Sophomore slump for Rivers, I think.

I'm between 11-5 and 12-4 for the team, and that's saying an awful lot about how great of a job Tomlin is doing already.

[bw87a]

i'm hoping we can make it to the pats with just our one loss. with the league analysis given in the post above, it's surely possible. it would be nice to see what we can do as two of the best teams in the nfl at that point. i'm biased, so i wouldn't say i think we're gonna win it.... ;-)