The only thing that could stop Ben Roethlisberger from having another great season is his offensive line.  The Steelers chose not to do anything about the biggest weakness on the team which could lead to Roethlisberger taking a lot of hits this season.  But, Roethlisberger is a tough guy that can handle the beating.  He looks down the barrel of the gun and gets rid of the football.  He has a good arm and he can take off an run if need be.  Roethlisberger played in 15 games (all starts) for the Steelers last season and he completed 264 of 404 passes (65.3%) for 3,154 yards with 32 TD passes and only 11 interceptions (104.1 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 35 times for 204 yards (5.8 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  The Steelers did add a couple of weapons in the draft for Roethlisberger in RB Rashard Mendenhall and WR Limas Sweed.  Sweed will give the Steelers the big target that they have been missing since Plaxico Burress bolted town a couple of years ago.  Look for Roethlisberger to build on his impressive career numbers with another solid season in 2008.  He has now played in 56 games (55 starts) in his NFL career and he has completed 908 of 1,436 passes (63.2%) for 11,673 yards with 84 TD passes and 54 interceptions (92.5 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 154 times for 515 yards (3.3 ypc) with 8 TD runs.

Charlie Batch finally started to look his age last season.  But, that doesn’t mean he can’t handle the offense for a couple of games if Roethlisberger needs time off.   He played in 7 games (1 start) for the Steelers last season and he completed 17 of 36 passes (47.2%) for 232 yards with 2 TD passes and 3 interceptions (52.1 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 12 times for -7 yards (-0.6 ypc) as he got to kneel down quite a bit at the end of games.  Batch has just enough arm and mobility to still be effective running the Steelers’ offense.  He has now played in 70 games (50 starts) in his NFL career and he has completed 818 of 1,459 passes (56.1%) for 10,033 yards with 57 TD passes and 44 interceptions (77.9 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 162 times for 609 yards (3.8 ypc) with 6 TD runs.

A couple of youngsters will battle it out for the #3 job in Pittsburgh.  Rookie Dennis Dixon is coming off a severe knee injury but he’s a very talented guy.  His best asset is his play action which should fit well in the Steelers’ offense.  Jared Zabransky is the QB who will battle Dixon for the right to hold a clipboard.  He’s the QB that led Boise State to the huge upset in a Bowl Game over the Oklahoma Sooners a couple of years ago.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON:  A