TERRY
BRADSHAW

Season Summary: The record wasn't impressive, but 1971 was an important step in Chuck Noll's rebuild. Pittsburgh finished 6-8, and for stretches began to look like a team that might finally be headed somewhere.

Bradshaw was still very much a work in progress. In his second season, he started 13 games and threw 22 interceptions vs 13 TDs. But the improvement from his brutal rookie year was obvious. His completion percentage jumped from 38.1 to 54.4, he threw for 2,259 yards and he was dangerous with his legs, adding 247 yards and 5 rushing TDs.

There were flashes of what was coming. But inconsistency was everywhere. The Steelers followed promising wins with ugly losses and dropped 4 of their final 6.

The bigger story was the roster taking shape around Bradshaw. An amazing 1971 draft brought Jack Ham, Frank Lewis, Gerry Mullins, Dwight White, Larry Brown, Ernie Holmes and Mike Wagner... an extraordinary collection of players who would soon become part of the Steelers' championship core.

At 6-8, Pittsburgh still looked like the "same old Steelers" from the outside. But the pieces were falling into place, and a year later, everything would change.