The Cover 4.com presents you with the The State Of the Steelers! Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter at @thecover4 or facebook at theCo VerFour

Are the Steelers in trouble?  Some might say they are.  There are a lot of positives going on with the Steelers that many may fail — or frankly just not wish — to see.  As of now, it is hard to look past the -9 turnover ratio.  The almost disgusting offensive line.  The countless sacks and hits Ben Roethlisberger has been taking.  The shear lack of a running game.  All are very big negative points that have been lingering around the league about the Steelers.  All of which are true.  However, is it possible that the Steelers can bounce back from an 0-3 start?  Absolutely!  History has proven that that the odds are slim and they very much are, but don’t count them out just yet.  The defense of the Pittsburgh Steelers is still there.  Turnovers will come.  It’s just a matter of being in the right place at the right time.

Veterans like Troy Polamalu, Ike Taylor and Brett Keisel will be able to guide the younger guys in the right direction.  The fans have been spoiled in previous years with the way this Dick Lebeau defense created takeaways and stopped every offense it faced.  They will continue to perform despite the lack of offensive success.

Offensively, everyone always dwells on the sack numbers on Big Ben Roethlisberger.  How many quarterbacks in the league will hold onto the ball for 4, 5, 6 seconds?  Not many.  He never gives up and many times just doesn’t know when to just throw the ball away.  Again, the fans were spoiled with the reciever help he had with Mike Wallace, Nate Washington and Plaxico Burress (in his prime).  All of whom are great backyard receivers.  Now Ben is throwing to a very talented, but young Antonio Brown, Jerricho Cotchery and Emmanuel Sanders.  All of them do not understand the concept of improvising their routes.  They will pick it up and help Ben out here in upcoming games.

The running game has nearly been a disaster since the retirement of Jerome Bettis.  Look to see Le’Veon Bell get a lot of carries, with Jonathan Dwyer, Felix Jones and Issac Redman supplementing Bell. The running game will bounce back given the patience of Todd Haley.  If Haley can’t stay patient, then you can kiss the season and his job goodbye.  Ben made a name for himself off of a running game opening up a play action.  Without the play action and a successful running game, you will see more multiple interception games by Roethlisberger.

Many big games are in the near future.  Pittsburgh has received a blessing in disguise with a week 5 bye.  The season is still wide open.  Only one team per conference has showed and proven that they are indeed a very sound football team.  Denver is going to be tough to the end as will Seattle.  The rest of the league is not even close to decided.  A couple other teams in each conference look tough and will be very possible contenders in the end.  Cincinnati looks like it is starting to prove people wrong.  Chicago, despite the firing of Lovie Smith, looks like it will be giving the NFC North a run for its money.  The 0-3 Steelers have now lost to two of the top six teams in the league according to ESPN’s week 4 power rankings.  Is there a chance of revival? Is there a chance to bring back the old smashmouth D?  Can the offense be as explosive as it’s been in the past?  Only the future weeks can answer these questions.  Don’t stop watching and you may be surprised come January.

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