The Pittsburgh Steelers were founded in 1933 as members of the NFL (National Footbal League). They currently play in the American Football Conference's (AFC) North division, along with the Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, and Baltimore Ravens. Though the Steelers have been a near-perennial playoff contender for the past three decades, much of their success did not begin until that time, when Chuck Noll took over the reigns of head coach. In the 1970's, under coach Noll, the Steelers won four Super Bowl championships in six seasons. This accomplishment has not been duplicated. At the conclusion of the 2005 season, under head coach Bill Cowher, the Steelers won their fifth Super Bowl. The Steelers then went on to win a record-setting sixth Super Bowl in 2009. Head coach Mike Tomlin, at 36, became the youngest head coach to win a Super Bowl (besting John Gruden, who was 39 when his Tampa Bay Bucaneers won), and the second African-American head coach to win (Tony Dungy of the Indianapolis Colts was the first).
Though they've employed different offensive and defensive strategies over the years, the Steelers are best known for a consistent approach of running the ball on offense and employing a tough, hard-hitting "zone blitz" defense that uses three defensive linemen and four linebackers. By comparison, most NFL teams use four defensive linemen and three linebackers. This scheme creates more opportunities to move defensive players around the field in different ways, confusing the offense.
Troy Polamalu shares the cover of Madden NFL 10 with the Arizona Cardinals' Larry Fitzgerald, making him the first Pittsburgh Steeler to appeared on the cover of the franchise.
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