Yahoo: Steelers on verge of another slide?

Michael Silver of Yahoo! Sports has picked up on the very topic we threw out to our readers on Monday – are the Steelers on the verge of another mid-season collapse? The injuries have killed them, and Sunday’s game against the Raiders is suddenly a must win. Here’s a part of Silver’s piece.

Last year, remember, the defending Super Bowl champion Steelers were 6-2 before a five-game losing streak doomed their postseason hopes and made head coach Mike Tomlin’s vow to “unleash hell” a hollow promise.

Given that the 2010 Steelers were 6-2 coming into Sunday night’s game, and in light of the degree to which they were dismantled by the Pats, fears that they’ll be experiencing an equally horrific encore are understandable. The fact that the Raiders – one of the teams which came to Pittsburgh and won during last year’s losing streak – return to Heinz on Sunday stokes the post-traumatic stress as well.

I suspect this year’s Steelers will avoid a collapse and grind their way back toward the top shelf they crave, partly because Polamalu, unlike at this time in ’09, is healthy enough to lead their defense. Yet I also believe him when he claims that the defeat to the Pats dampened the internal optimism developed during Pittsburgh’s impressive first half of the season.

Click HERE to read the rest of the article