Filed under: Steelers, AFC North
A year before this Saturday's showdown with the Baltimore Ravens, the Pittsburgh Steelers were sitting at home disgusted because they could not defend their title as NFL champions in the postseason. The Steelers started 2009 with a 6-2 record when injuries led to mistake after mistake, and their campaign ended in third place in the AFC North at 9-7."I remember everybody talking about how disappointed they were watching everybody else play and not being a participant in the postseason. It was a little embarrassing," Steelers receiver Hines Ward said. "It humbled a lot of guys, hungered a lot of guys when they came back."
The four-game suspension of quarterback Ben Roethlisberger for violating the league's personal conduct policy severely damaged their Super Bowl hopes in the eyes of prognosticators. The release of playmaking wide receiver Santonio Holmes and the health of some key players, mainly from the offensive line, also hurt their profile.
Since the heart of a champion can't be measured, the Steelers (12-4) flexed their muscles, came out swinging and laid out some devastating blows as they took the league and their divisional opponents by storm to earn the No. 2 seed in the AFC.
Now, Pittsburgh has no doubt that they can pick up the pieces and finish off what they started last season.
"We are a better team," said linebacker James Farrior, according to Steelers.com. "We execute better, we don't beat ourselves and we keep the games close when you are at the end. We didn't finish the games off last year like we were supposed to and lost a lot of leads at the end of the games. We haven't been doing that this year."
This weekend, the Steelers watched the opening round of the playoffs in a different way -- to see who has to deal with them next week as they attempt to return to the Super Bowl.
"You love going to the playoffs," said nose tackle Chris Hoke. "You want the chance to go back to the Super Bowl. We know what it takes to be there and we have a drive to get back there. Last year when we didn't make the playoffs it was tough to watch them and this year it's nice to be in it."
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Source: http://nfl.fanhouse.com/2011/01/09/steelers-enter-postseason-ravens-matchup-even-hungrier-after-20/
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