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AFC North Training Camp Preview: Pittsburgh Steelers
July 23, 2010 By Jeff Biasella
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Pittsburgh Steelers:
(Atlanta, @Tennessee, @Tampa Bay, Baltimore, BYE, Cleveland, @Miami, @New Orleans, @Cincinnati, New England, Oakland, @Baltimore, Cincinnati, NY Jets, Carolina, @Cleveland)
Let's start off by dissecting the man in the middle Troy Polamalu. Last year he managed to suffer knee injury #2 (PCL) and #3 (MCL). We know with quarterbacks, a severe knee injury like this has a two year recovery period in which the player isn't back to his old self until year two. But we haven't seen how this type of injury effects a safety in recovery year one.
To add another twist, we haven't seen how a crazy American-Samoan, who basically needed a trainer to sneak-up behind him with an ether rag to keep him out of games, reacts to this type of injury in year one. Can he still roam, disrupt passing routes and hit with relentless force? Or does this simple fact that he's there, calling out audibles and directing the defense, mean the Steel Curtain is drawn again? More importantly though, will it even matter?
Words can not describe how happy I am that Bathroom Ben is out for at least four games (no way he does the full 6). It feels like this guy was put on the planet to cause me sports hell. When I was at Bowling Green, we started the Mid-Major BCS buster. We had a legit Heisman candidate (Josh Harris), we were the first Mid-Major to host ESPN College Game Day (win over Northern Illinois), we were 7-1 (only loss to Ohio State 17-24), ranked #16 in the country, and were on the verge of making the BCS crap themselves. Enter Ben Roethlisberger and the trust-fund babies of Miami (OH). They beat us week 9 and for good measure again at the MAC Championship game. Up until now, the only thing that made me happy to hear Bathroom Ben's name or Miami (OH) was remembering how badly we would beat them every time in rugby and in more ways than were featured on the scoreboard.
I just can't see Dennis Dixon or the "how do we have contract" duo of Chaz Batch and Byron Leftwich taking more than one game while Bathroom Ben stands on the sidelines trying to piece together how he got away with what he did (Side Note: Lawrence Taylor is considering a comeback to the NFL so he can plead "I'll take what Ben got."). The Steelers did address some of the offensive line concerns by drafting center Maurkice Pouncey (Florida) and tackle Chris Scott (Tennessee). But when the rest of the line sucks, having a rookie center from a shotgun spread system isn't going to make any significant difference. And that's the best case scenario. Worst case scenario is botched snaps, missed assignments, and horrendous run blocking. This might workout long term when Bathroom Ben returns because the Steelers like going shotgun and running strictly to protect the pass. But short term, it's going to be a disaster. The Steelers are asking a rookie center from a college that rivals Florida State for recruiting the most players who scored less than a 13 on the ACT to learn how to operate with a QB under center and to learn two completely different offensive schemes for two completely different types of QB's. Needless to say, I'm excited to watch this unfold.
Realistically, I can't see the Steelers putting themselves in position to get back to the playoffs. They'd have to win 3 of their first 4, Troy Polamalu has to be at 100% then they have to hope Bathroom Ben has zero signs of rust and plays out of his mind. Maybe it's a sign of the apocalypse because between QB, WR, offensive line, RB, defensive secondary, and karma; the Steelers are entering training camp with more issues than the Browns.
