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Tom Brady ruling could help the Steelers

By Tim Weaver

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A couple of days ago I started working on an article discussing whether the Pittsburgh Steelers or the New England Patriots were more shorthanded going into their Week 1 matchup. Now there’s no longer any question.

The Steelers will play without Le’Veon Bell and Martavis Bryant over drug-related suspensions and Maurkice Pouncey due to injury. The Patriots were expected to play without Tom Brady thanks to his four-game Deflate Gate punishment.

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    • This morning judge Richard Berman threw out the league’s suspension of Brady, and so we will get to see him start against Pittsburgh. It’s a major blow to Commissioner Roger Goodell, who bungled the controvery from start to finish. For just about everybody else it’s a big win.

    The NFL itself should expect record ratings for the season opener, the Patriots get closer to full strength to begin the year, and fans all over the world get to watch one of the best quarterbacks of our time take the field.

    You might be tempted to say that the Steelers are also one of the losers in this debacle, but you’d be wrong. Here’s why.

    Beating the Patriots with Brady would put the rest of the NFL on notice: even playing extremely short-handed the Steelers are a force to be reckoned with.

    Beyond the obvious ratings jump that Brady’s presence brings to the game, the Steelers will have a chance to prove to the NFL that they are serious contenders in 2015.

    With so many key players on offense missing, who in their right mind really expects Pittsburgh to upset New England on the road?

    Pittsburgh is also undergoing a dramatic change on the other side of the ball. Dick LeBeau, Troy Polamalu and Ike Taylor are all gone. Last week they got burned by a Buffalo Bills offense that will be lucky to average three points a game this season. How can they possibly stop the juggernaut that is Bill Belichick’s lying, cheating, scheming championship squad?

    Tom Brady is supposedly hopping mad over the NFL’s so-called injustice and he’s determined to have a career year.

    If Pittsburgh can find a way to get Brady on his back they will not only make legions of new fans who are desperate to see the Patriots taken down a peg, but they will prove that they belong among the real heavyweights of the AFC.

    Winning this game is about more than just getting the season started on the right foot. Beating the Patriots would put the rest of the NFL on notice: even playing extremely short-handed the Steelers are a force to be reckoned with. Is there any better motivation that you can think of?

    Mike Tomlin has a golden opportunity to shock the *tainted* world champions and take an early lead in the AFC race. At least for the next week, we are all Steelers fans.

    Next: Steelers vs. Panthers: Preseason TV Schedule

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