Steelers Super Bowl Bound?

It’s that time of year when you ante up and place your bets around the Internet and with your favorite bookie. Who’s going to win the Super Bowl? Who will win their division? Can the Ravens beat the Steelers in the playoffs, or will it be Cinci and the Browns (ahhhhahahahaha) in the playoffs? The biggest question is the one I placed a bet on last year (shh, don’t tell anyone), and that is: “Will the Steelers be AFC Champs, and if so, will they win the Super Bowl?”

I placed two bets last year before the season started. I was getting 9 to 1 odds on my money that the Steelers wouldn’t win the AFC Championship game, so I took them to win. My second bet was that the Steelers would win the Super Bowl. The first bet I thought was the one that could obviously go either way, but the second? I thought for sure that if the Steelers did make it to the Super Bowl, they’d be taking home that trophy.

Well, I was wrong.

All that behind us, it’s time to take a look at the Steelers’ chances of winning the Super Bowl in 2012. Obviously, there isn’t much science to this. “I just feel like the Steelers are going to win” won’t cut it. I was right last year, and made good money because I was willing to put my money where my mouth was, but how did I know? Well, I must say I did have that “feeling” that the Steelers would get to the ‘Ship, but I didn’t really know why. Looking back, even with Big Ben’s suspension, I felt like the Steelers were a scary team. Ben was just coming off of a career year where he threw for over 4300 yards. Santonio and Hines were both over 1000, this kid Mike Wallace just led the league in yards per catch, and Mendy was over 1000. The problem in 2009 was the Defense.

In a weird turn of events, the defense became the unit on the team that had to be bailed out time and time again. But when 2010 was rolling around, I figured there was no way the Defense would let that happen again. They’re a prideful bunch, and with good reason. The addition of Mike Pouncey on the offensive side made visions of a consistently healthy QB dance in my head.

Fast forward to 2011. If I were a betting man, and sometimes I am, I would bet that the Steelers would go deep in the playoffs in 2011. I think this because:

1) Big Ben is healthy, clear-headed, and playing every game this season.

2) The Defense is old and young, but always nasty. Aaron Smith is back, Ziggy Hood is one year better. Harrison is ready to kill at all times, and Woodley has a new big contract to live up to. Troy Polamalu plays football for us.

3) The WR core is scary as hell

4) Run game looks solid

5) Schedule: The Steelers have one of the easiest schedules in the league according to how teams played last year. We all know that doesn’t mean a lot year to year, but it is something.

6) We are an organization that sneezes brilliance. When Tomlin takes a dump the Steelers win games. I mean seriously, it’s just something that happens in Pittsburgh.

So, forget about the so-called “Super Bowl Curse.” Remember 2005, when no one had ever gone 6th seed and won the big game? Yeah, we did that. We’re used to trailblazing. When Big Ben says he’s got reminders of last year’s Super Bowl loss all around his house, I take that as a sign that the Steelers will be knocking on the door once again in 2012. In fact, we may even see a Packers/Steelers Super Bowl once again. Who knows?

Needless to say, when you’re done throwing your money away on your one-too-many fantasy leagues, put your money where your mouth is and place a bet on the Steelers to go all the way. It’s a small risk verses a big gain, and you’re more likely to win than you are to make the playoffs in your Fantasy League. Especially if I’m in your league ;D