Worst Steeler team post-Noll, 1999 or 2003

[CSKreager]

In the three plus decades since Cowher and Tomlin have coached PIT, their have only been 2 Steeler teams to lose double digit games.

Both did it in opposite ways:

'99 came off the heels of THAT coin toss got off to a decent 5-3 start before cratering after an inexplicable Cleveland loss at home (while going 2-6 at Three Rivers!) as the loss of Carnell Lake was felt

2003 never could recapture the Maddox Magic of 02, failing to string together consecutive wins all year en route to a 3-7 start (though they finished decently with their last 3 losses by a combined 10 points).

Neither team had egregiously bad PD's (-3 in 1999, -27 in 2003)

Which would be considered the more aggravating Black and Gold Brigade?

[Brian wolf]

Yes, both teams had double digit losses but the 1998 team might have been worse because of team and fan expectations. After reaching the AFC Championship in 1997, the 1998 team got off to a 7-4 start before the wheels came off ... the team couldnt score points with the running game only producing 8 TDs the entire season. With rookie Hines Ward mostly on the bench, the receivers had a bad year which didnt help Cordell Stewart, who defenses were now prepared for. The team only scored 263 total points, though the defense was still tough. It was shocking since the team hadnt had a losing season since Noll's last in 1991 and then carried over into 1999, despite a better offense and a 5-3 start.

Its easy to say the 2003 team but after a surprising 2002 season, Maddox went back to being a pumpkin again and didnt have the running game to help him out like 2002. A silver lining though, where they were able to draft Big Ben.

In a way, you have to admire Cowher for sticking with Stewart, who did better in 2000 and 2001, after Ward and Burress became his prime targets. After the tough loss to the Patriots in the 2001 championship though, the fans knew the team had to get a top passing talent at QB.

[74_75_78_79_]

I'm going to go with 2003. A real promising opener over the Ravens, Maddox looking to pick up where he left off the year before. But that's as good as it got. But the defense wasn't bad, better than '99, and FWIW they ended 4-4 bringing the Ravens into OT at Baltimore whilst preventing Jamal Lewis from breaking Dickerson's record - a nice respectable twist to end the season. With Big Ben being drafted in the off-season, I remember feeling good going into '04.

They started out 5-3 in '99, but I remember not being too impressed after that win in San Fran against a, now, bad Young-less team. Each of those wins were against soft-competition. Barely beating a bad-again Falcons team at home on MNF the week before served as a harbinger. And the bad taste from that 0-5 collapse the year before was still in my mouth thus further not allowing that 5-3 start to fool me. Starting with that home-loss to Cleveland, they were probably the worst team in the league from that point on. They were playoff-caliber again in 2000, but the problem of course was that 0-3 start which, in the end, caused them to come up just short. Initially starting Graham at QB was definitely costly.