As hard as it is for the Steelers to find a victory, they are finding it harder to find a healthy body. The additions to the walking wounded on Saturday include Troy Edwards with a groin injury, Mark Bruener with a foot, Mitch Lyons with a dislocated knee, Chris Fuamatu-Ma'afala with a broken hand, and Joel Steed with a knee injury. That doesn't count Lee Flowers with a lacerated lip, and Orpheus Roye with an ankle injury. They both returned to play.
The Kansas City Chiefs had their way with the Steelers all day long. They dominated both sides of the line of scrimmage, and made the big plays when they needed them. The Pittsburgh mistakes continued to mount, as the Offense was penalized 6 times for false starts, the Defense continued to miss tackles, and Mike Tomczak threw 4 interceptions. If anything good can come out of the season in the final 2 games, I don't know what it is.
As much as I would like to think the talent level is in place, a 6 game losing streak points to the opposite. Sure, the injuries are playing a part in the declining level of play, but every team has injury problems. Our back up players have not responded when given the opportunity. That relates to a lack of depth in the player personnel. Hopefully that depth can be found in the return of Justin Strzelczyk, and Kris Farris. Our Offensive line has been in shambles all year, and these 2 players can bring hope of improvement.
All we can do is look forward to next year, because the final 2 games don't offer much in the way of a satisfactory finish. We can't even hope for a better draft pick, because the Steelers will trade the pick if they finish too low. Something about too much signing bonus money. Personally, I would like to see them win the last 2 games. Even though this team stinks, a victory always feels better than a loss. And the way things are going, we may not get a chance to feel good very often.
by SteelerGil (Dec. 19, 99)