Steel City Jim

There comes a time in an NFL season when reality begins to dawn. Today was such a day. With the Steelers facing the "hapless" Chiefs, the game looked like money in the bank. Then, despite the Chiefs taking the opening kickoff to the house, the fourth time this season that such a nightmare has occurred, the Steelers seem to have turned it around. At halftime they had possessed the ball an overwhelming period of time and were clicking on all cylinders and led 17-7.

With the second-half kickoff coming to the Steelers, one had the feeling that they would march down the field and put the game out of reach. Well, this is the NFL, and things didn't turn out that way. The Chiefs discovered the blitz. Ben did evade the blitz on several occasions, but he couldn't avoid all of them. Then, there were errant throws and the run wasn't called for nearly enough. They allowed the Chiefs to tie the score at the end of the game, and even though they got the opening kickoff in overtime, they couldn't make a third-and-two. Instead of running straight ahead, they went outside with Melwelde Moore who lost three yards and put them out of field-goal range. The Chiefs took the punt and threw a pass that got them to the Steelers' 3-yard line from where they kicked a field goal. Game over.

You can look at this game and see the Steeler season as being finished or holding just a glimmer of hope. I see real problems. One is the Ravens next Sunday in Baltimore. At their worst, the Ravens give the Steelers hard time, particularly in Baltimore. Then, there's another game with Baltimore. It's not pretty. After defeating Denver in Denver on a Monday night two weeks ago, they have lost to Cincinnati and Kansas City. Things are going the wrong way.

So, it's time to say that 2009, post-Super Bowl championship, is going down as many seasons like this do, with disappointment. That's the downside. What's the upside? The 2010 draft. It's time to reload next April. If the season goes as it is presently going, the Steelers will not be drafting as late as they have in recent years. It could give them a chance to pick up some high quality players. Don't forget, they drafted Roethlisberger at 11th overall after a lackluster season. This draft pick set up some awfully good seasons. They also got Polamalu by trading up to 16th, and when healthy, he is a joy.

One last observation: There's a cliche around the NFL that there is a thin line between winning and losing. It might be trite, but there's a lot of truth to it. In today's game, a yard here or there, a successful kickoff defense, a defensive player holding on to an interception instead of dropping it ... and there could have been a different outcome. But it didn't happen that way and this season is sliding away.