The following is from the sagacious steeler lifer, who mysteriously showed up one day on BTSC, and wow'ed us for the next 6 months or so with his extensive historical knowledge of the game, both in the United States, and in Canada. He also was one of the main centerpieces of BTSC's draft coverage last year. He vanished though for quite some time, so I was quite pleased to hear from him this evening via email. All seems well down in the Caribbean. Cheers to that and hopefully we'll see him around more this offseason. By the way, be sure to check the link contained within his post - they link to his views on Arians about this time last year. - Blitz-

It's Christmas Eve here in the Caribbean and I'd like to pass along holiday greetings to all of those on this site, especially the guys in the engine room such as Blitz and Maryrose and the regular contributors, old and new. It's still the best place to get rational, intelligent analysis of the Steelers.   Like most on this site, I've been hugely entertained by the 2008 season. I'm actually pretty confident of getting to the Super Bowl. Tomlin's effect on the secondary, the play of Woodley and Timmons and Troy's resurgence has turned this defense into one that can win a championship so long as the offense doesn't create a too big a negative point swing in points thrown away and points given to the opponent (such as in Tennessee).   This season has only added to the confidence I have in Tomlin. The team has improved since last season. There is more depth at all positions (except O-line). The players have met the challenge of an imposing schedule and clearly are motivated. This is a good team and will be better next year, too, when Mendenhall and Sweed start making a contribution and Timmons' playing time doubles. The offensive line will be upgraded in free agency and the draft.   Tomlin's major challenge is working with the guy just down the hall from his office, because the biggest obstacle to a championship run is the intransigence of OC Bruce Arians. As I noted a year ago in support of his firing, he simply will not adapt his X's and O's to the talent of the players that those X's and O's represent. We can talk about how poorly the offensive line performs, but there are ways to minimize those deficiencies, or adapt within games to what is and isn't working, and Arians can't do it.

We don't make Ben a moving target by plan with rollouts, naked bootlegs or moving pockets; we don't max protect at the right times; we don't no-huddle enough; we don't mix up snap counts; we don't use quick running plays; we don't have "money" plays that we can count on in crucial situations. The sure death knell of any potential scoring drive is when Ben calls a time out;  I have absolutely no confidence that the play we come out with after Ben huddles up with Arians will work. We basically do not have an offensive identity. This has been the case since Day 1 of Arians' tenure as OC.   It still amazes me that so many fans think we should run the ball more. This Steeler team cannot be a run dominant team. The o-line is mediocre (maybe even horrible) but it is clearly better at pass blocking than run blocking. Parker runs hard but he is a step slower than last year and doesn't break enough first tackles to be effective behind this group as a 20-plus carry runner. Moore should start games: He is a much better receiver than Parker, reads his blocks better and breaks more first tackle attempts. Parker would be more effective against tired defenses and still runs hard enough to carry the mail if the team is leading in the second half or if a defense is starting to break down.  

The bye will be a huge benefit. We're relatively healthy, we've been in tough games against good teams and won by a variety of means. We got a slap in the face from a good but not great Tennessee team that I don't think will make it to the AFC championship game. My own prediction is that a wild card team will end up playing in Pittsburgh for a trip to the Super Bowl, and that we crush that silly Cinderella  team for a rematch with the Giants.   The other possibility is that I'm smoking too much weed tonight. On that note, I'll close by wishing everyone a safe and joyous Christmas.   Cheers