Breaking Down: Pittsburgh Steelers

2007 Record: 10-6, 1st place in AFC North, Lost to Jaguars in Wild Card Round

Head Coach: Mike Tomlin, Career Record of 10-6, Tomlin did a good job of taking over for Cowher in Pittsburgh, although he certainly didn’t make anybody forget The Jaw. Reports out of Latrobe, where the Steelers hold camp, are that he is taking much more of an aggressive stance this year. That included benching veteran Defensive Tackle Casey Hampton for being overweight. It is hard to give him a realistic grade at this point, since he has done nothing to make this team his own yet. Maybe that’s a smart thing though.    Grade:C+

Special Teams: Allen Rossum was supposed to give a boost to the return game, which has been pedestrian for quite some time. Willie Reid was drafted for the same purpose and unless he blows coaches away this off-season he may have a hard time making the team. Things are desperate enough that Pittsburgh has added Jeremy Bloom, former olympic skier, to the roster. Journeyman punter Paul Ernster joins the team this year after Daniel Sepulveda went down to injury. Jeff Reed remains the kicker and he had a career year last year with 92% accuracy.     Grade: C-

Defensive Line: Aaron Smith and Brett Keisel remain on the ends of the 3-4 defense. Smith missed considerable time last year to injury, but Keisel was able to step up and had his best season. If both play to their standard it would be a big advantage for Pittsburgh. As said, Casey Hampton came into camp so overweight he was put on the PUP. This should not be seen as too big a deal as DT’s are often overweight. Presuming he’s healthy, Hampton is still a top notch run-stopper.     Grade: B

Linebackers: Larry Foote and LaMarr Woodley start on the outside. Foote is a consistent veteran who is often overshadowed by his counterparts. Woodley stepped in last year and fit perfectly into the system. Inside, James Farrior is the senior-statesman of the group. He is still a very good player. James Harrison had the best year of his career and was able to make Steelers fans miss Joey Porter even less.     Grade: A-

Secondary: This team struggled for takeaways last year, particularly interceptions. They finished 30th in that category. Their cornerbacks are decent but they are not nearly lockdowns. Ike Taylor and Deshea Townsend remain the starters this year. William Gay and Bryant McFadden will split the nickel position. Ryan Clark played only six games last year and will have to stay healthy and make more of an impact on this team. Troy Polamalu gets heavy praise from many in the media. Most of this is due, but they do seem too willing to overlook some of his mistakes. He is very often out of position in the passing game. This is a big reason the team gave up so many big plays last year.     Grade: C-

Offensive Line: For the first time in quite some time, this is an area of concern for the Steelers. The loss of Alan Faneca will be hard to overcome. Veteran Marvel Smith and young Willie Colon get the start at tackles. Colon has struggled thus far in his career. Kendall Simmons and Chris Kemoeatu start at Guard. The center position will be occupied by former center Justin Hartwig. They have seen offensive linemen leave three years in a row and it is the hardest group to replenish.    Grade: C+

Receivers: Well, Ben Roethlisberger doesn’t like them. That is an overstatement, but Big Ben did have some doubts about his weapons during the offseason. Hines Ward took some exception to the comments but will likely still be professional on the field. The leagues most overrated player had 700 yards and 7 touchdowns last year. He hasn’t hit 75 catches or 1,000 receiving yards in the past three years. He is clearly on the downside of his career. Santonio Holmes numbers improved dramatically from his rookie year to last and if the three year rule applies to him there is no reason to think he can’t be a draft steal this year. They drafted Limas Sweed this year, he’s a big receiver who figures to be a red-zone threat. Nate Washington will get plenty of looks this year and whoever makes the team between Willie Reid and Jeremy Bloom will get shots as well.     Grade: C+

Running Backs: Willie Parker had another fine year last year and has proven to be a very consistent performer for the Steelers. Of course, fantasy football players will note that he scored only two touchdowns last year. The Steelers added depth in the offseason. That starts with first round pick Rashard Mendenhall. Reports out of camp have not been kind to Mendenhall or the system. Although his role is clearly as a compliment to Parker, his actual spot on the team seems unclear. He has also not performed as well as hoped. Former Viking Mewelde Moore was brought in mostly for receiving purposes and may get a look at special teams.     Grade: B-

Quarterbacks: Ben Roethlisberger is not a guy who just manages a team anymore. He is a very smart quarterback with a very big arm. Last year he had 32 touchdowns to just 11 interceptions and a rating of over 104. In most years he would have had a real shot at League MVP. Veteran Charlie Batch remains the back-up. Dennis Dixon was drafted, but is likely to be used in some sort of slash role as opposed to passing. Save for emergency situations.     Grade: A-

2008 Forecast: At times the Steelers seemed to over-achieve at times last year and I’m not quite sure they were as good as it seemed. They have an extremely difficult schedule this year and more losses than gains in the off-season. You can’t count the Steelers out, but this could be a year where they struggle more than usual.

Predicted Record: 9-7