The Steelers Are The NFL's Most Patient Franchise

At The Falcoholic, we are nice, caring people, so this is an easy prompt for us.

Here’s my #GMCPlaybook challenge for @SBNation: Give a warm compliment to this week’s opponent. ‘Tis the season! http://t.co/gAtZ1l1b73

— Marshall Faulk (@marshallfaulk) December 11, 2014

If I'm going to say something nice about the Steelers, it will be this: They are a model of consistency and patience in a league that has become increasingly hostile to both, and whether that has caused their incredible success over the last six decades or the success has given the license to be patient, it's something I'm definitely envious of.

I mentioned this the other day, but the Falcons have had the same number of coaches in the last decade that the Steelers have had since 1969, and in Falcons franchise history, they've had five times the number of coaches that Pittsburgh has had. Chuck Noll and Bill Cowher are Hall of Fame coaches in their own right, and while Mike Tomlin probably isn't on that level, he's one of the NFL's better ones today.

There's an urge to blow things up the instant things go wrong, one I'm genetically disinclined to like. That's why I was so dead set against the idea of the Falcons cleaning house after 2013, while a second straight struggling year has certainly made me more receptive to the idea. But the Steelers have had a remarkable run of success that might have never happened if they hadn't been so patient with Chuck Noll in the first place, given that he went just 12-30 in his first three seasons and didn't make any noise in the playoffs until his sixth season, when the Steelers won the Super Bowl.

So hey, Steelers, glad you're so consistent. I hope you're consistently terrible Sunday.

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