Cannon Firing Line
What Lies Ahead
By Ellis G. Cannon
PSR Publisher

Well, it has seemingly been forever, but we're ready for liftoff, Pittsburgh, and it couldn't come soon enough.

After months of parties, reflection and state visits, topped off by an endless preseason for a team not needing it, the regular season-and path back to what the Steelers hope leads to another Super Bowl win-begins this month.

We'll find out soon enough where the club's "mindset" is after a preseason slate that saw coaches watching only a handful of backup players in live action they actually cared about, and otherwise just hoping to get through the grind without suffering significant injuries.

That accomplished, the Steelers now turn to a September schedule that offers a pair of home games and a Monday trip against three legitimate playoff caliber teams.

As with seemingly every team in the NFL you can look at each opponent and either get scared to death or get ready for an undefeated bye week.

Keep in mind something Bill Cowher has preached for years: regardless of how the Steelers perform this month, what he considers the identity of the team takes much longer to identify. After hearing him again say it repeatedly last fall, then watching that identity come to the surface right about the time he needed it the most en route to Detroit, who's to argue with the man?

Still, the Dolphins are either the team that finished strong last season and finally have a replacement for Danny, along with a "Playmakers"-style head coach that would make ESPN Original Entertainment happy, or a bunch of fish about to become road kill on what promises to as electric a night as Pittsburgh sports has seen for some time.

Jacksonville beat the Steelers last year and now has them at home. Pittsburgh, though, loves the road, defeated the Jags on their last trip there and has basically a second bye week thrown in for good measure when you consider how much time off it will have from that opener to the Monday nighter. And don't forget the reassuring notion that Jax beat up its share of imposters last season.

Then there's Cincy, which won here last season, not to mention the division, although, let's face it, the Steelers won two of three, including when it mattered the most, and 90% of the people who consider themselves fans don't even know the Bengals finished on top. Everyone thinks Pittsburgh did.

So, as that professor said in law school, where you stand depends on where you sit. You can look at what is about to unfold as half full, or empty, depending on your point of view. Just recognize all of what you believe, or what you think you believe, can all change in a heartbeat. One injury, one bad matchup and this league is set up to take advantage of it. So looking too far ahead is probably just a waste of time.

All of this, of course, before you even consider the remaining three months of uncertainty, although, if there's a hidden secret there, it's in a favorable travel schedule that won't be the least bit taxing on the Steelers after Halloween.

We just know it feels good to have the other stuff in the rear view mirror and the real games about to be played.

It's time to find out what lies ahead.

Ellis Cannon's SportsLine Pittsburgh" airs weeknights, 6-8 p.m., on FM NewsTalk 104.7. Ellis is also a regular contributor on the "#1 Cochran Sports Showdown" aired Sundays at 11:35 on KDKA-TV.