A Closer Look At The Pittsburgh Steelers 2009 Schedule

Greetings friends. So, not all that scintillating a post idea to get back in to the swing of things after my little hiatus but I had started this awhile back and was needing to just get the wheels greased a bit before hopefully getting back to a very high paced as we approach the start of training camp in just about a month's time. Hope all have been well. - Blitz- (Michael B.)

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I wanted to take a closer look at the 2009 Steelers schedule on this Monday - but I hope to do more than just look at the names on the schedule and make any sort of black-or-white conclusion. Instead I'm going to be taking a look to see how the Steelers 2009 schedule is arranged sequentially and try to make a few observations about the schedule as a whole. Before I go any further, let's take a look at the slate of games once more.

Some thoughts.

1. The Steelers have won five straight on Opening Weekend. Their last loss was to the New England Patriots in 2003. It will be tough to extend that streak this year against the reigning AFC regular season champs from a year ago, the Tennessee Titans. Heinz Field will of course be rocking as rings are handed out to the champions wearing the black and gold. But Jeff Fisher isn't the ideal coach to square off against in Week 1. The Titans had a phenomenal game plan against the Steelers when the two teams met last year in Week 15.

2. I think that Pittsburgh will ultimately hit its stride in the second half of the season, but Week 2 won't be that much easier than Week 1 - if any at all. The Bears don't sport the same vaunted defense that they did earlier this decade, but the Steelers trip to Soldier Field will be their first game in a hostile environment since Week 15 against the Titans last year - unless you count the Super Bowl, which was heavily pro-Pittsburgh in terms of the crowd. How will the offensive line hold up that week? Can Big Ben protect the football and make smart decisions, particularly if there are windy conditions? 0-2 isn't the end of the world, nor is it necessarily a probable outcome to begin the 2009 season. But it's well within the realm of possibility. It could be fairly comical watching part of the fanbase hit the panic button if so.

3. Weeks 3 and 4 remain tough for Pittsburgh. Steelers fans - myself included - usually just pencil in a W when the word 'Cincinnati' appears on the schedule. But if the Bengals defense continues on its upward trajectory and Carson Palmer remains healthy while returning to form, the Bengals will again be a tougher out than they've been the past two years. Then there's the Chargers waiting in Week 4. San Diego and Pittsburgh will play at Heinz Field for the third time in as many meetings. The Steelers peaked and played perhaps their best game of the year on offense in the Divisional Round of last year's playoffs, but the Chargers were out of gas. San Diego remains an enigma in this league but I think it's fair to say that they still have the firepower on both sides of the ball to give any team fits. With Shawne Merriman returning, the Steelers offensive line might not have the same walk in the park that they did the last two meetings last season. From where I'm sitting, the first quarter of the Steelers 2009 season appears to be demanding. Pittsburgh may very well go 4-0 or 3-1, but the games will be physical and tightly contested. That might not be such a bad thing, however.

4. Things then open up nicely for the Steelers before their BYE Week in early Novemeber. Pittsburgh travels to Detroit to play a Lions team that definitely will be improved, but still nowhere near ready to play a defense as stout as Pittsburgh's. Then the Steelers return to Heinz Field to host the Browns and the Vikings. The Minnesota game should be entertaining, but the Vikings were a very ho-hum team on the road. They finsihed a respectable 4-4, but one of those Ws was against the hapless Lions and another came against the Cardinals in Week 15 when Arizona had packed it in and was in full-fledged free-fall mode. I really like the Steelers chances to win all three of these games and head to the BYE Week with some momentum and an opportunity to get some much needed rest.

5. In Mike Tomlin's first year in Pittsburgh in 2007, the Steelers failed to put away mediocre teams away from home. The New York Jets and the Arizona Cardinals come immediately to mind. In 2008, Pittsburgh took care of business against lesser opponents on the road (and at home too for that matter). This Broncos game coming out of the BYE is a game I'd categorize as a game that the Steelers should win if they play well. It's hard to win on the road in the NFL, no doubt. But Denver lacks the type of defense that can give Pittsburgh problems. And conversely, of course, Pittsburgh's defense should be well equipped to handle the Broncos supposedly explosive offense. I look at this game and I see it as one that could signal great things for this team, yet I also see it as one that could really expose some of the team's potential flaws. Those being - a potentially weaker secondary without Bryant McFadden; an offensive line that's still not consistent enough to exploit lesser defenses; and an inability to pick apart weak secondarys due to a dearth of legitimate pass-catching options past the top two guys on the depth chart. I look forward to this one quite a bit.

6. The Steelers would be well served winning Weeks 10 and 11 against the Bengals and at the Chiefs. That Chiefs game is another one of those potential trap games that absolutely should be wins but won't come free.

7. Here's where it gets tricky once more, in my opinion. The Steelers must wait until Week 13 to play the rival Ravens for the first time in 2009. The first of the two meetings will be played in Baltimore before Pittsburgh hosts the Ravens in Week 16. Last year, the two teams played more than ten weeks apart, and if you remember how the first of the two regular season meetings went down, we can all be thankful that the schedule lined up that way. Had the Steelers had to play Baltimore for the second time before everyone got healthy, who knows what would have happened either in that game or for the remainder of the season. Color me extremely concerned about potential injury problems heading in to the playoffs. Even if the Steelers are fortunate enough to survive those two contests without major injury problems to key players, the games will surely both be physically and mentally draining. We saw what happened to the Steelers after having to travel to Baltimore in Week 14 last year - they ran out of gas and were beaten up physically by the Titans the next week. 

8. The Steelers regular season concludes with a road trip to Miami to take on the Dolphins. I'll keep it brief and let me just say that I hope there's nothing at stake here. For starters - and it relates back to my last point about the Ravens - I don't like the thought of traveling to Miami after a potentially pivotal divisional game with the Ravens. Certainly not with a playoff berth on the line. Anyway, too many unexpected things can - and likely will - happen before Week 17 so there's no sense in speculating too much here but this Week 17 matchup with the Dolphins is one of the tougher games on the slate. It could be either a blessing or a curse that it happens to come in the season's final week, when playoff bound teams often are able to expend less than maximum energy and effort trying to win.