My Hines Ward Blog

Last season was a dream one for Bill Cowher, the Pittsburgh Steelers and all the fans in the Steel City. Because in 2005, the Steelers finally did win one for the thumb.

Led by a second year quarterback, the Steelers became the first team to win three playoff games on the road and the first sixth-seeded, wild card team to capture a Super Bowl. It was the fifth Super Bowl championship in team history, placing Pittsburgh in a tie with Dallas and San Francisco.

But that's the recent past. Now a new season is dawning and the question on the minds of football fans everywhere is, can the Steelers repeat in 2006?

Offense: Of course the big concern is with Ben Roethlisberger and how he recovers from a June motorcycle accident that broke his jaw and caused numerous facial injuries.

He won't be available for training camp and he'll probably miss the beginning of the regular season. Will his timing, conditioning and strength be seriously lacking when he's finally ready to go? The answer to that question will determine how well Pittsburgh fares in 2006.

After taking the team to the championship game in 2005, Roethlisberger did one better last year, becoming only the second player in NFL history to win a Super Bowl in his second year (the other was Kurt Warner for the Rams in 1999). The key to his success is he plays within offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt's scheme and makes few mistakes. If he can't go to begin the season, veteran Charlie Batch will start.

The running game is solid but 'The Bus' will be missed. Jerome Bettis retired after 13 seasons and will take his 13,662 yards and 94 touchdowns into Canton very soon. His leadership and motivational skills were a big part of Pittsburgh's success. Undrafted free agent Willie Parker shocked everyone last season by winning the job in training camp and rushing for 1,202 yards and four scores. Duce Staley and Verron Haynes are capable backups. Dan Kreider is a blistering blocker at fullback.

Hines Ward (69-975-11) returns after another solid season but Antwaan Randle-El left via free agency and that created a big void for the Steelers to fill. Not only was he a solid number two receiver, but he was deadly on special teams as well. Cedrick Wilson (26-487), Quincy Morgan and top draft pick Santonio Holmes, (if he can stay out of trouble), will battle for the number two slot. No matter who wins the job, Ward better be ready for a lot of double teams this season.

Heath Miller had an excellent rookie year at tight end, grabbing 39 receptions for 459 yards and six touchdowns. He's a real weapon and will only get better with more experience. Jerame Tuman is a capable backup.

The starting line is one of the best in football and returns all five starters for 2006. Center Jeff Hartings and guard Alan Faneca, both All-Pro performers, anchor the offensive line. Guard Kendall Simmons and tackles Marvel Smith and Max Starks make up the rest of the starting unit. Barrett Brooks, Trai Essex and Chris Kemoeatu are solid reserves.

Defense: The real strength of the Pittsburgh Steelers is on the defensive side and that should be the case once again. Nine starters return from a unit that gave up only 16 points per game and finished fourth in the NFL in total defense.

Casey Hampton mans the nose and is a run stuffing disturbance at nose tackle. Aaron Smith is at one defensive end spot, while Travis Kirschke replaces departed Kimo Von Oelhoffen at the other end position. Rookie Orien Harris, Brett Keisel, Chris Hoke and Rodney Bailey will see time as well.

The Steelers have arguably the best linebackers in the NFL and they'll be counted on once again to lead the defense. All-Pro Joey Porter (57 tackles, 11 sacks) and Clark Haggans (61 tackles, nine sacks) are a force on the outside, while James Farrior (121 tackles) and Larry Foote (101 tackles) are just as disruptive on the inside. James Harrison, Clint Kriewaldt and Rian Wallace provide depth.

When you speak of the Pittsburgh secondary one name leaps out. That name is Troy Polamalu. The hard-hitting, long-haired bruiser is very quickly becoming the most dominant safety in the league. He's a Ronnie Lot type with a motor that never quits. Free agent Ryan Clark (57 tackles, three picks) moves into the free safety spot. Mike Logan, Tyrone Carter and rookie Anthony Smith will also see action.

Chris Hope took his 97 tackles and three interceptions to the Tennessee Titans, but the Steelers still have Ike Taylor (84 tackles), Deshea Townsend, Bryant McFadden and Ricardo Colclough at cornerback. Taylor and Townsend are the most likely starters.

Special Teams: The Steelers special teams took a blow with Randle-El leaving, but one area that's strong is the kicking game. Jeff Reed (117 points, 24-29 field goals and 37-37 extra points) and Chris Gardocki (41.8 average) both return. Morgan (25.3) and Colclough (21.5) are the kick returners and Taylor is the likely candidate to step in for Randle-El.

Outlook: It all depends on Ben Roethlisberger's health and recovery time. If he comes back at full strength without any ill effects, the Steelers have all the pieces in place for another Super Bowl run. A solid running game, a powerful offensive line and a great defense are the cornerstones of championship teams and Pittsburgh has all three of those facets in spades. This team is not as good as last years though. Bettis, Randle-El, Von Oelhoffen and Hope are big losses, but the Steelers have the experience, talent and coaching staff to overcome the losses.

Prediction: A healthy Roethlisberger means the Steelers will challenge for the AFC crown and the Super Bowl. Look for them to go deep in the playoffs. Pittsburgh will go 11-5 or 12-4, if and only if, Big Ben can bounce back to form.

Brian Carson is a writer and sports fanatic who, along with a select group of coaches has created the ultimate multimedia guide to coaching youth football at http://www.pigskinplaybooks.com To read more football articles go to http://carcorner.blogspot.com/

#18 - Trent Williams - Oklahoma

When people talk about the Steelers, they will talk about Ben Roethlisberger getting hit too much and the poor running attack. Expect the Steelers to take the best offensive lineman available with their 18th pick of the draft. Roethlisberger's off the field issues have been well documented, so I'll pass over those here.

The team needs to upgrade their o-line. The defense will be fine if Polamalu can come back healthy and play the entire season. The 2009 season showed how important he is to the defense/team. The team resigned Ryan Clark and brought back Antwaan Randle El, who never should have left. Larry Foote also came back and will provide great LB depth to the team. If William Gay resigns with the team, the defense will be set for 2010.

The offense playmakers are set with the WR group and Rashard Mendenhall at RB. A backup RB can easily be plugged in from either what the team already has or off the street. Santonio Holmes, Hines Ward, and Mike Wallace are a great WR trio. Ward should still have a year or two left as Wallace grows into the #2 receiver role. Heath Miller provides the big end zone threat, so they are set at all of the skill positions.

The only spot left is offensive line players so the team can get back to 'Steeler Football' of running all the time. They might have trouble going back to that running style because their WRs are so good. This team is better suited for a 50-50 running vs passing attack.

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The Pittsburg Steelers won their 6th Super Bowl title and 2nd in 4 years in 2008 by defeating the Arizona Cardinals 27-23 in a heartstopping classic. Ben Roethlisberger rebounded from his poor showing a couple years earlier against Seattle by completing 21-30 passes for 256 yards and the game winning TD to Santonio Holmes with just seconds left. Although the Steelers capped their impressive season by winning the Super Bowl they were an inconsistent bunch all year long in terms of fantasy performance. With pretty much the entire team returning this year will the Steelers offer fantasy owners more week to week options heading into 2009? I examine that now.

As good as the ultimate result was for Roethlisberger and the Steelers last year the QB proved to be a nightmare for owners last year with his inconsistent play. Roethlisberger finished2008 with 3314 passing yards along with 17 TD's and 15 Int's for a rating of 80.2. Not exactly the type of numbers you are looking for out of your number 1 QB. The bottom line is that Pittsburg is, was, and will always be a power running team and quite frankly when Ben is asked to throw a lot he usually gets himself into trouble. Ben is a very good QB just not a good fantasy QB. He possesses great leadership skills and has his statistical moments but do not trust him with your fantasy team because you will be greatly disappointed. Ben actually went in the 3rd round in my draft last summer and the owner who selected him won 2 games all year. Owners seem to be getting the point as Roethlisberger has been going around the 9th-10th rounds in the mock drafts I have been participating in. Treat him as a serviceable number 2 options heading into 2009 but nothing more than that. There are far better options.

When successful the meat and potatoes of the Steeler offense lies with the running game. Last year the team's backfield was hit with numerous injuries leaving Head Coach Mike Tomlin painfully thin at the position. Once again Willie Parker failed to make it through the entire season missing 5 games and finishing the season with 791 yards and 5 TD's. Parker has only played 16 games once in his career and he will turn 29 about halfway through the season. When healthy Parker is definitely a number 1 option at RB but when is he ever healthy? Furthermore, the Steelers will certainly be looking for 2nd year back Rashard Mendenhall to make much more of an impact in his sophomore season after playing in only 4 games as a rookie. The Steelers are extremely high on Mendenhall who is built more in the mode of what a typical Pittsburg back usually looks like. At 5-10 225 Mendenhall is a power runner who will inevitably steal short yardage and goal line carries from Parker who has never really been a TD machine to begin with. With both Parker and Mendenhall both out of commission the Steelers emergency plan actually stepped in and played fairly well. Mewelde Moore rushed for 589 yards and 5 TD's down the stretch run while also chipping in with 320 yards receiving and another score. The ex Minnesota Vikings castoff proved more than capable of holding the fort down while Parker was readying himself for the playoffs. In terms of fantasy potential I like Mendenhall the most out of all the Steelers RB's for the upcoming season. It will be a miracle if Parker stays healthy the entire year and even if he does Mendehall will be the goal line back at the very least. That being said treat Parker as a low end number 3 fantasy RB heading into the season. Mendenhall is far more interesting because if (when) Parker goes down he will have a real opportunity to become a stud due to his talents and the system he plays in. Mendenhall has been going between the 8th-10th rounds in the mock drafts I have been doing and spending a late round selection on him could prove to be a treasure for you as the season goes on. With Mendenhall back in the fold Moore's value goes down dramatically and he has typically not been drafted in these preliminary mock drafts.

Similarly to Roethlisberger the Steelers receiving corps has it's moments but in my estimation provides fantasy owners with nothing more than stop gap/match-up options on a very limited basis. Although showing definite signs of slowing down Hines Ward continues to be the Steelers number 1 option through the air. Ward remains a cagey veteran who is almost as well known for his blocking skills as he is at catching the ball. Ward had a really nice '08 statistically accounting for 82 catches for 1047 yards and 7 TD's. The 1047 yards represents his best yardage total since he went for 1163 in 2003. Ward will continue to be the receiver that Roethlisberger will look for when he is in a pinch or when the Steelers need a clutch catch. After you grab your first 3 receivers Ward is a nice option for you to have on your bench who is worthy of playing time depending upon who Pittsburg is playing. Super Bowl hero Holmes will be the Steelers number 2 option come opening day. Holmes caught 55 balls for 821 yards and 5 TD's in 2008 and with Nate Washington leaving for Tennessee should see more balls thrown his way. Holmes has much more big play ability than Ward does at this stage of their careers and thus Holmes is more valuable in fantasy terms especially if your league awards bonuses for long TD's as mine does. Treat Holmes as a nice number 3 WR or Flex option come draft day this August. The only other Steeler receiver that is worth a look is 2nd year pro Limas Sweed. Sweed had a rather forgettable rookie campaign catching only 6 balls for 64 yards and failed to reach the end zone. Pittsburg has big plans for Sweed and he is the big target the team has been yearning for since the departure of Plaxico Burress. Sweed has some real sleeper potential heading into '09 and is worthy of a late round pick. If he happens to not get drafted in your league be sure to snag him off the waiver wire if you get a chance and let the chips fall where they may. Keep and eye on him. TE Heath Miller is really not a number 1 option and although at times Ben will look for him in the Red Zone he is not really utilized enough to be anything more than a backup used only in emergency purposes.

The Steelers DST is always a solid unit and if you play in a league like mine that rewards DST's with enormous point totals that can greatly assist your chances of winning a championship. I know full well what a good DST can do as I rode the Eagles DST to a title last year. With Troy Polamalu and James Harrison continuing to anchor down the defence treat the Steelers DST as an elite unit and one of the top 3 DST's on the board this summer. Well, that is it for the champs. Next up: The Cincinnati Bengals.

Chris Limburg is the fanatical purveyor of gothicfootball.com: A Oakland Raider and fantasy football blog that provides commentary on everything that is the NFL and fantasy football. Sign up for my free newsletter at: [http://www.gothicfootball.com]

The AFC is the elite conference in the NFL and this is going to be the game of the weekend. Even though this is not a matchup between the Colts and Patriots, this is a matchup of two fundamentally sound football teams and represents a football fan's delight.

Both teams are great rushing the football. The Broncos averaged 158.7 yards per game in the regular season and they feature two running backs. The Steelers also feature two running backs and themselves average 138.9 yards per game on the ground. When it comes to total number of rushes per game, these two teams rank #1 and #2 in the league.

Their strong rushing attacks are offset by each other's strong rushing defense. In the regular season, the Broncos allowed 85.2 yards per game on the ground while the Steelers only allowed 86.0 yards per game.

The difference in this game might just turn to their passing offenses. Although the passing statistics of the Denver Broncos are better, there is no doubt that the Steelers have the better offensive attack. With the maturity of Big Ben and the big game ability of Antwaan Randle-El and Hines Ward, the Steelers attack is the best.

As long as the Steelers play smart and do not turn the ball over, and keep Denver from having any big passing plays, they should dominate this game. The home field advantage will probably give the game to Denver in some way, whether its a fumble, an interception, a big passing play, or a big run, Denver squeaks out a win.

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