28-year old QB Ben Roethlisberger is a dingbat as he keeps getting himself into trouble off the field which until now had not hurt his NFL career.  But with a lot of the fans turning on him in Pittsburgh due to how he treats people he could be in for a rude awakening in 2010.  It will start with at least a four game suspension and even when he does return who knows if he’ll be the same player he was before.  You see what has happened to Tiger Woods since he has been a good boy……he has lost his edge.  Roethlisberger played in 15 games for the Steelers last season and he completed 337 of 506 passes (66.6%) for 4,328 yards with 26 TD passes and 12 INTs (100.5 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 40 times for 82 yards (2.1 ypc) with 2 TD runs last season.  In his career with the Steelers, Roethlisberger has played in 87 games in which he has completed 1,526 of 2,411 passes (63.3%) for 19,302 yards with 127 TD passes and 81 INTs (91.7 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 228 times for 698 yards (3.1 ypc) with 12 TD runs in his career.  The Steelers are 60-26 (69.8%) in games started by Roethlisberger as he is the best player on the team and they will be lucky to start the season with a .500 record until he returns……if he does.

The Steelers traded a 7th round pick to the Buccaneers for 30-year old Byron Leftwich shortly before the suspension came down.  Leftwich will likely be the starter in the Steelers first few games of 2010 as long as he stays healthy until September.  Leftwich played in 3 games for the Bucs last year and he completed 58 of 107 passes (54.2%) for 594 yards with 4 TD passes and 3 INTs (71.2 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 6 times for 6 yards (1.0 ypc) last year.  Leftwich has now played in 57 games in his NFL career in which he has completed 900 of 1,545 passes (58.3%) for 10,218 yards with 58 TD passes and 41 INTs (79.6 QB Rating).  Leftwich has also carried the ball 136 times for 384 yards (2.8 ypc) with 9 TD runs in his career.  Leftwich is nothing more than a stopgap until Roethlisberger is ready.  He has a 24-25 (49%) record as a starting QB in this NFL career.

25-year old Dennis Dixon got his first chance to really play in a game last season and he proved that he wasn’t quite ready for prime time which is the reason the Steelers went out and traded for Leftwich.  Dixon played in 1 game for the Steelers last season and he completed 12 of 26 passes (46.2%) for 148 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 INT (60.6 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 3 times for 27 yards (9.0 ypc) with 1 TD run last year.  He has now played in 2 games in his NFL career and he has completed 13 of 27 passes (48.1%) for 148 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 INT (62.0 QB Rating).  Dixon has also carried the ball 5 times for 24 yards (4.8 ypc) with 1 TD run in his career.  Dixon does have some talent, especially running the ball but he’s going to have to improve his passing to stay in the league for a while.  Dixon is 0-1 as a starting QB for the Steelers.

35-year old Charlie Batch is back for one more year.  He played in 1 game for the Steelers last season and he completed 1 of 2 passes (50%) for 17 yards.  Batch has now played in 72 games in his NFL career in which he has completed 819 of 1,461 passes (56.1%) for 10,050 yards with 57 TD passes and 44 INTs (77.9 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 162 times for 609 yards (3.8 ypc) with 6 TD runs in his career.  He is 22-28 (44%) as a starting QB in the NFL.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR  THE STEELERS QBs in 2010:  C+

The Steelers have picked DE/DT Doug Worthington with the 242nd overall pick (7th round) of the NFL Draft.  Worthington is a big guy at 6’5″, 292 pounds but he runs a 5.1 40.  Due to his lack of speed or pass rush ability the Steelers have to be thinking of using Worthington at DT.  He played in 13 games for the Buckeyes last season and he finished up with 45 tackles, 5 tackles for a loss, 2 sacks and 2 batted down passes.  Worthington played in 46 games in his four years at Ohio State and he finished up with 106 tackles, 12 tackles for a loss, 4.5 sacks, he batted down 3 passes, had 1 interception and he forced 1 fumble.  This was a reach for the Steelers as not many experts thought Worthington would get drafted.

The Steelers have picked WR Antonio Brown with the 195th overall pick of the NFL Draft (6th round).  Brown is 5’11″, 185 pounds but he’s fast running a 4.5 40.  Brown is good with the football in his hands where he is at his best.  But he doesn’t help out when he isn’t getting the ball as he is not very interested in blocking.  Brown played in 14 games (12 starts) at Central Michigan last season and he caught 110 passes for 1,198 yards (10.9 avg) with 9 TD grabs.  He played in 41 games (30 starts) in his three years with the Chippewas in which he caught 305 passes for 3,199 yards (10.5 avg) with 22 TD grabs.  Despite his great college numbers it very questionable as to how Brown will handle a big step up in competition.  Even if Brown doesn’t help the Steelers at WR he is a very capable punt and kickoff returner.

The Steelers have picked RB Jonathan Dwyer with the 188th overall pick (6th round) of the NFL Draft.  Dwyer is a tough inside runner at 5’11″, 245 pounds and he has deceptive speed running a 4.55 40.  Dwyer played in 14 games (all starts) at Georgia Tech last season and he carried the ball 235 times for 1,395 yards (5.9 ypc) with 14 TD runs.  He also caught 5 passes for 37 yards (7.4 avg) last year.  Dwyer played in 40 games (27 starts) in his three years at Georgia Tech in which he carried the ball 517 times for 3,226 yards (6.2 ypc) with 35 TD runs and he also caught 15 passes for 263 yards (17.5 avg) with 1 TD grab.  This was a outstanding pick for the Steelers as many “experts” had him getting selected in the 2nd or 3rd round of the draft.  Dwyer will challenge Mewelde Moore for the job as the #2 back on the Steelers for 2010.

The Steelers have picked OLB Sylvester Stevenson with the 166th overall pick (5th round) of the NFL Draft.  Stevenson is 6’2″, 231 pounds and he runs a 4.76 40.  Stevenson played in 13 games for Utah last season and he had 81 tackles, 5 tackles for a loss, 2 sacks, he broke up 2 passes and he had 1 interception (he returned it 27 yards for a TD).  Stevenson played in 49 games at Utah in which he had 263 tackles, 24.5 tackles for a loss, he had 9 sacks, broke up 12 passes, he forced 4 fumbles and he had 1 interception.  Despite being a playmaker in college I just don’t think he has the athletic ability to fit in with the Steelers’ type of D.  I think Stevenson was a huge reach for the Steelers as not many draft “experts’ thought he would get picked at all.

The Pittsburgh Steelers have picked CB Crezdon Butler with the 164th overall pick (5th round) of the NFL Draft.  Not many draft experts had Butler getting drafted but the Steelers picked him because they have a need at CB.  Butler is 5’11″, 196 pounds and he runs a 4.46 40.  Butler played in 13 games at Clemson last season and he had 36 tackles, broke up 10 passes, he had 1 interception, 1 tackle for a loss and he had 1 sack.  He played in 52 games in his four years in college and he had 183 tackles, broke up 21 passes, he had 11 interceptions, 5 tackles for a loss, he forced 2 fumbles and he had 1 sack.  He is not big on run support but he will likely have to earn his way on the team with special teams play.  He does have enough athletic ability for the Steelers to coach up however so he might be worth the reach the Steelers took with him.

The Steelers have picked G/T Chris Scott with the 151st overall pick (5th round) of the NFL Draft.  Scott is a giant at 6’4″, 328 pounds but he’s really slow (5.5 40).  Scott is versatile as he has started at every position on the O-Line in his time at Tennessee.  Scott played in 13 games (all starts) for the Volunteers last season and he played in 52 games (39 starts) in his four years with them.  The Steelers need help on the O-Line and Scott looks like a decent prospect so this was a good pick for them.

UPDATE:  (6/30/2010) – Chris Scott has underwent surgery to repair a fractured foot.  He will be out until at least October.  This is another blow to the O-Line of the Steelers who have already lost Willie Colon for the year.

The Steelers have picked OLB Thaddeus Gibson out of Ohio State with the 116th overall pick (4th round) of the NFL Draft.  Gibson is 6’2″, 245 pounds and he runs a 4.65 40 so he’s a outstanding athlete.  Gibson played in 13 games (all starts) for the Buckeyes last season in which he had 45 tackles, 13 tackles for a loss, he had 4 sacks, broke up 1 pass and he had 1 interception.  Gibson played in 35 games (23 starts) in his three years with the Buckeyes and he had 82 tackles, 25 tackles for a loss, 10 sacks, he broke up 4 passes and he had 1 interception.  Gibson will need coached up at OLB as he was a DE in college but the Steelers have had a lot of success in converting players like him.  Gibson has a solid upside as he was projected to be picked in the 2nd or 3rd round by most draft experts so the Steelers got nice value with this pick.

UPDATE:  (11/3/2010) – The Steelers have released Thaddeus Gibson.  He didn’t play any games for the Steelers but he was still claimed on waivers by the 49ers.

25-year old WR Limas Sweed had surgery today to repair his Achilles tendon while he tore in mini-camp last weekend.  Sweed played in 9 games last season and he caught 1 pass for 5 yards.  He has played in 20 games in his two years with the Steelers and he has caught 7 passes for 69 yards (9.9 avg).  Sweed has been a huge disappointment for the Steelers but he might have been lucky that he got hurt because he will at least get paid for 2010.  I was thinking that he was going to be cut for sure at some point in training camp.  The Steelers won’t miss Sweed at all as he looks like a bust.