In yesterday’s post I wrote about the 2008 Steelers loss in Philly. As we all know, they went from strength to strength after that, eventually winning the Super Bowl. The questions mostly have to do with the comparison to this season. Bearing that in mind, here they are:
1. Be as honest as you can. It’s very easy to let subsequent events color your memory of a past event, but that said, how do you recall you felt after that game? Did you think the Steelers weren’t very good? Did it feel like the season was over? Or did you feel it was a blip on the radar?
2. The two teams the Steelers beat this season in Weeks 1 and 2 appear to be better than the 8-8 Houston Texans and 4-12 Cleveland Browns of 2008. Does this make you feel better or worse?
3. Next week’s opponent is, according to almost everyone, going to attack the Steelers in exactly the same fashion that Philly did so successfully last week. How do you rate the comparative coaching acumen of Andy Reid to that of Doug Pederson, the abilities of Alex Smith as a quarterback compared to Carson Wentz, and the fierceness of the Kansas City defense as compared to that of the Eagles?
4. The Steelers played the toughest schedule in the NFL in 2008 and earned a bye week. How does the difficulty of this season’s opponents appear to compare with the 2008 schedule? [In case you don’t happen to have the schedule at the forefront of your mind, the opponents are, in addition to the usual AFC North suspects, the 2-1 Chiefs, 1-2 Jets, 1-2 Dolphins, 3-0 Patriots, 2-1 Cowboys, 1-2 Colts, 2-1 Giants and 1-2 Bills.]
5. The Eagles “only” sacked Ben Roethlisberger four times in 61 offensive plays. (And boy, were some of them offensive…) In 2008 the Eagles sacked Roethlisberger eight times, and Byron Leftwich once, in 66 offensive plays. Does this mean Roethlisberger is better at getting the ball out of his hand, the offensive line is better now, or something else?
Bonus question: Did you make any mojo-related mistakes? I certainly did, eating tacos at Beba’s after six days (on Saturday) instead of on game day. My daughter-in-law, whom I love very dearly, did also move the Terrible Towel from its display position in the living room, although she immediately restored it after the gravity of this was explained to her. Is there anything you can blame yourself for, except perhaps for wasting four hours or so of your life watching Sunday’s debacle?
Sorry to make you think about this again. Hopefully next week we will have a less embarrassing game to discuss…