The Steelers are back to work this week after having a bye in Week Five and their immediate goal is to beat the Jets so they can taste victory for the first time this season.
Safety Ryan Clark says that their larger goal remains the same. Clark stressed the importance of beating the Jets this Sunday because the team needs to win one game before they can start thinking about anything involving the playoffs, a goal that Clark says remains very much in place for the Steelers despite their dreadful start and the historical difficulty teams have had making the playoffs after losing their first four games.
“I just believe we can win. That’s just the bottom line,” Clark said, via Alan Robinson of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “I think we have the people in this room, the coaches. Also, looking at our schedule, we’re not playing world beaters, we’re not playing gods. We’re playing men.”
You wouldn’t expect Clark to say anything else, just as you wouldn’t have expected Giants safety Antrel Rolle to say something much different last week when he said the Giants would win the 12 games left on their schedule. But, as the Giants showed in Week Five against the Eagles, you don’t need to be playing world beaters to lose games when your team has glaring flaws.
The Steelers haven’t lost four games by accident. They are struggling on both sides of the ball and it’s hard to pinpoint quick fixes that are going to make things all better now that they’re back from their bye. Believing the team can win is great, but it isn’t nearly as important as actually doing it.