According to Sports Illustrated's Don Banks, the Steelers will go 8-8 this season and still manage to take second place in the AFC North, following behind a 9-7 Cleveland Browns team. Check out what he has to say about the entire league.
Now, I usually can get behind what Banks has to say, and I obviously agree with him about the offensive line issues, but this looks to me more like SI's typical lack of respect for the Steelers. Even when we were headed to Detroit, after coming into the playoffs that season as the #6 seed, the Steelers got less respect than teams like the Patriots and Colts. Banks isn't a hater, he's just a member of a group that has a culture which overlooks Pittsburgh unless we do something spectacular, and then is quick to move back to other favored teams.
On a side note, how ridiculous is it that, thanks to the League's schedule construction procedure, the team with the best record from last season (the Patriots) has the league's easiest schedule this season, while we have the most difficult? There's no conspiracy here. If you don't know how a team's schedule is constructed, you can read about it at Wikipedia. But the way it shakes out is one of the most ridiculous things I've heard in years.
Keywords: banks, don, illustrated, pittsburgh, schedule, sports, steelers
