New Years Resolutions

2012 was a year of ups and downs for Pittsburgh, but things always seemed to end on a down.  Here's what the Pens, Bucs, and Steelers should have as their new years resolutions.

Penguins
The Pens' defense was embarrassed by Philadelphia, getting ousted in the first round of the playoffs.  The Penguins have plenty of goal scoring talent, we know that.  But where did all the grit and toughness go?  Players like Max Talbot, Mike Rupp, Eric Godard, Mark Eaton, Hal Gill, Rob Scuderi, the list goes on and on.  They are all tough gritty players that were on the Penguins' '09 Stanley Cup roster, and have been traded or lost to free agency.  No coincidence that The Pens' defense had a meltdown in the playoffs.  Resolution: Get the grit back.

Pirates
The Pirates had an excellent first half, as one of the best teams in baseball.  The second half was a different story.  You could look at it a number of ways, but it comes down to a single trend:  When the starting pitching and bullpen was good, the team was good.  You may say it was the offense powered the team, but look at the first 2 months of the season.  The Bucs had a historically bad offense, yet they still came out of there with a winning record.  In the second half, The starting pitching had a meltdown, much like the Penguins' defense.  James McDonald had the most striking fall, eventually getting pulled from the starting rotation.  Eric Bedard was eventually cut from the team.  Ace AJ Burnett even had his stumbles.  The team went on to finish below .500 for the 20th consecutive year.  Now that reliable Jeff Karstens has left the team, things look even worse for the rotation.  Resolution:  Upgrade and solidify the starting rotation.

Steelers
The Steelers failures were strange.  They had no shortage of talent in any department.  They had a top 5 Quarterback, a top 10 Wide Receiver, another top 20 receiver, 3 decent runningbacks, a top 3 tight end, and the number one ranked defense in the league.  Why did they finish 8-8?  Failure to perform under pressure.  The Steelers constantly made mistakes when it mattered most.  Fumbled punt returns, Pick six's untimely 3-and-out's, you name it.  The Steelers may be the biggest disappointment in Pittsburgh this year.  Resolution:  Improve the intangibles,  the ability to perform under pressure.