Best Case/Worst Case Scenario

Pittsburgh Steelers 2008

The Steelers open their 2008 regular season on Sunday at 1pm against the Houston Texans at Heinz Field. In case anyone cares, I will be unable to watch the game since I have to work. It sucks. But anyway the Steelers could struggle this season. Alot of people think they could do better than last year, and that could be. But they could also do worse. So many unknowns about their offensive line with the loss of Alan Faneca and of course certain people who write for the Post-Gazette whom we will not name, feel the Steelers defense is "over-the-hill" with so many older players. Whatever. I'm here to tell you what to expect from the Steelers in 2008. Here it goes...

Best Case Scenario

So what if the Steelers play to their full potential? This is how I think it would play out. The Steelers would open the season with four straight wins over the Texans, Browns, Eagles and Ravens. I honestly think that the Steelers could beat the Jaguars, but they can't win every game and if they are going to lose, it will probably be to Jacksonville. Going into the bye week the Steelrs would be 4-1. Coming out of the bye, they play the Bengals and win but lose to the defending world champion Giants to fall to 5-2. After the loss to the Giants the Steelers beat the Redskins to reach a record of 6-2. The Steelers lose to the Colts and then beat the Chargers and Bengals to end their three game homestand with a record of 8-3. Pittsburgh then heads to New England where they lose to the Patriots, slipping to 8-4. They win out the regular season with wins over the Cowboys, Ravens, Titans and Browns to finish the season at 12-4.

Worse Case Scenario

Suppose the Steelers regress in 2008. Whatever the case they aren't as good as last year. They lose to the Texans and Browns to start off 0-2. Wins over the Eagles and Ravens get the Steelers back to .500 with a 2-2 record, but they lose to Jacksonville, falling to 2-3. They beat the Bengals and then lose to the Giants, leaving them with a 3-4 going into the game with the Redskins. They beat Washington and improve to 4-4, but then lose two straight to the Colts and Chargers to open the three game homestand, giving them a 4-6 record. They rebound with a win over the Bengals and then lose to the Patriots and Cowboys. With a record of 5-8, the Steelers then post wins over the Ravens and Titans but fall in the final game of the season to finish at 7-9.

My Prediction

The Steelers might not win 12 games this year, but I think they are at least a team that can win 10 games. They should be able to sweep the Ravens and beat the Redskins and Titans. I think it will be tough for San Diego(November 16)and Dallas(December 7) to come into Pittsburgh and win so late in the season. The Steelers have key games against New England and Indianapolis which could decide playoff spots and Cleveland and Jacksonville are also going to be tough opponents. The Giants game shouldn't be overlooked either. The Steelers should finish with a 10-6 or 11-5 record.