The boss sent out an email in July asking for the staff's Steelers and NFL predictions. I'm not sure why he wanted mine because I'm almost always wrong, but I dutifully replied. I picked the Steelers to go 11-5, win the AFC North Division and make it to Super Bowl LI.
Sorry.
But I almost feel as if I should ask for a do-over.
The prediction was made before Le'Veon Bell was suspended, Ladarius Green came down with headaches, Senquez Golson and Bud Dupree were lost for at least half the season, Artie Burns couldn't get on the field and Cam Heyward, Marcus Gilbert and Javon Hargrave were injured to at least some degree.
But I'm stubborn.
A division title and another Super Bowl trip are my story and I'm sticking to it.
Call me crazy.
Of course, you also have to say Ben Roethlisberger is crazy.
"We're ready. We just want to get out there and play football. We're glad the season is finally here," Roethlisberger said.
"I really think if we can weather the storm of not having guys early ... We've got enough veteran guys. We're an old enough team now, especially on offense. With the guys we have upfront, if they keep playing good football, I think we can be as good as we want to be."
It's seems right that Roethlisberger mentioned his offensive line first. Not his amazing connection with Antonio Brown and their pursuit of the greatest pass-catch season in NFL history, not ageless DeAngelo Williams, not his young tight ends and not the team's suspect defense. The offensive line.
"The key to our success is the boys up front," Roethlisberger said.
The line has a chance to be the NFL's best, especially with healthy Maurkice Pouncey. That's assuming Gilbert's elbow injury doesn't turn out to be lingering.
"I was concerned until I talked to him," Roethlisberger said. "He thinks he'll be just fine. I'm not concerned as long as he's not. I think that he's had enough reps and enough success and enough knowledge of the game to understand how to play it above the shoulders just as much as physically below the shoulders. I think that will help a lot."
The line should be good enough to allow Williams to do his thing until Bell returns for the fourth game. It should give Roethlisberger time to find the incomparable Brown, his underrated secondary receivers and even his unproven tight ends who have combined for 30 catches in the NFL _ eight by starter Jesse James and 22 by backup David Johnson.
"Obviously, they're not Heath Miller. No one is Heath Miller," Roethlisberger said. "But I think our tight ends will be better than people expect. I've talked to them. This is not the preseason. It's time to go. You've got to believe in yourself. We all have that faith in belief in you. Now, you have to tap into that belief in yourself that you can be the best tight ends on the field.' "
There is no reason the Steelers can't meet their goal of 30 points per game, assuming that 7 and 84 stay healthy. I know what you're thinking: They had better score 30 a game because the defense is lacking. Management had so little confidence in its cornerbacks that it brought in Cleveland Browns reject Justin Gilbert, who came with enough garbage to fill a Waste Management truck.
Kevin Colbert and Mike Tomlin have egos, as all successful sports people do. They believe they can rehabilitate Gilbert and get him to be a professional, which he certainly wasn't in Cleveland. They believe their locker-room defensive leaders _ Heyward, William Gay, Lawrence Timmons, Mike Mitchell _ will make a better teammate of Gilbert.
It's a nice thought.
I'm big on team leaders.
But it doesn't always work.
Martavis Bryant, anyone?
Roethlisberger refuses to be deterred.
"I've seen our defense every day. They're young. They've got some veteran guys. They've got fresh guys upfront. The secondary is getting better every day. The leadership they have at linebacker ...
"I'm just really excited about them."
I know, it's the day before the opening game in Washington against the Redskins. Everyone thinks their team is going to win the Super Bowl before the season starts. The Pirates were convinced they were going to win the World Series at the end of March. Look at how that's probably going to turn out.
But I'm not turning back. I believe in Roethlisberger-to-Brown too much. It's too late, anyway. The prediction of 11-5, a division title and a Super Bowl trip stands.
I'm sure you're not too concerned that I picked the Arizona Cardinals and old pal Bruce Arians to beat the Steelers in Super Bowl LI.
You know my track record.
