Grading the Pittsburgh Steelers through the first half of the 2015 season

The Pittsburgh Steelers have reached the midway point of the 2015 season, and are sitting on a 4-4 record heading into Week 9. Before the Steelers begin the 'back nine' of this campaign, it is time to grade the Steelers through the 'front nine' of this year.

There were some bright spots for the Steelers in their first 8 games. Late, and crazy, wins against the San Diego Chargers and Arizona Cardinals were highlights for a team struggling without their best offensive player in Ben Roethlisberger. However, as good as those wins were, there were equally frustrating losses to the Baltimore Ravens, Kansas City Chiefs and Cincinnati Bengals.

The first half of the season could be summarized as inconsistent and injury prone as the team was missing many key pieces of the overall puzzle needed to get the job done. Whether it was the suspensions of Le'Veon Bell and Martavis Bryant to start the season, the injuries to Maurkice Pouncey, Ben Roethlisberger, Kelvin Beachum, Ryan Shazier, Stephon Tuitt and now Le'Veon Bell, the team has had to rely on depth to get the job done.

As for coaching, there have been some big questions which haven't been answered in terms of personnel being deployed on a weekly basis, time management and overall capability of the entire coaching staff from top to bottom. Nonetheless, the Steelers have survived such a horrid start with a 4-4 record, and are just outside the playoff picture heading into Week 9.

If you ask me, a 4-4 record is a mediocre as it gets, even with the injuries, coaching blunders and suspensions. With that said, giving the grade for this half wasn't difficult. Before we get to that, what is your grade for the team? Please vote in the poll below and feel free to justify your grade in the comment section below.

BTSC Grade: C