26-year old QB Dennis Dixon requested a trade right as training camp was starting.  The Steelers now need him to shut his pie hole and do his job, which just became more important due to Byron Leftwich’s injury.  Dixon has played in all 3 preseason games for the Steelers so far and he has completed 10 of 24 passes (41.7%) for 132 yards with 0 TD passes and 0 INTs (59.7 QB Rating).  Dixon has also carried the ball 7 times for 25 yards (3.6 ypc) so far in the preseason.  Dixon has moved back up the depth chart a little bit as he will battle Charlie Batch for the #2 QB job in 2011.  With that in mind, he needs to step up and start acting his age again.

29-year old strong safety Troy Polamalu has been named the A.P. NFL Defensive Player of the Year.  He played in 14 games for the Steelers this year and he had 63 tackles, 5 tackles for a loss, 1 sack, 11 passes defensed, 7 interceptions (101 return yards, TD), 1 forced fumble and 1 fumble recovery.  The Steelers need him to step up in the Super Bowl though as he hasn’t done much in the playoffs so far as he has 7 tackles in 2 games.   Polamalu has now played in 107 games in his 8 years with the Steelers and he has 516 tackles, 81 passes defensed, 8 sacks, 8 forced fumbles and 27 interceptions (one returned for a TD).  Polamalu is likely on his way to the Pro Football Hall of Fame when he retires.

21-year old rookie center Maurkice Pouncey has a fracture in his ankle and he’s not likely to play in the Super Bowl.  This could really hurt the Steelers this weekend.  Pouncey made it to the Pro Bowl as a rookie as he started all 16 games for the Steelers and the first two playoff games.  Replacing Pouncey will be 24-year old Doug Legursky.  Legursky played in 16 games (4 starts) for the Steelers this year.  He has played in 24 games (4 starts) in his first two years in the NFL.  The Steelers need Legursky to step up because he’s going to be lined up against the mammoth 6’2″, 337 pound B.J. Raji who is one of the best NTs in the NFL.  If Raji is getting into the backfield a lot in this game, the Steelers are in deep trouble.  They need Legursky to step up this Sunday.

Terry Bradshaw was elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1989.  Football was a little different when Bradshaw was playing as most teams tried to run the ball and throw bombs.  He played in 168 games (158 starts) in his 14 years with the Steelers and he completed 2,025 of 3,901 passes (51.9%) for 27,989 yards with 212 TD passes and 210 INTs (70.9 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 444 times for 2,257 yards (5.1 ypc) with 32 TD runs for the Steelers.  Judging by today’s standards those are some piss poor numbers.  But, Bradshaw was a big game player as he led the Steelers to 4 Super Bowl Wins and they were 14-5 (73.7%) in post season games that he started.  In Bradshaw’s four Super Bowls, he completed 49 of 84 passes (58.3%) for 932 yards with 9 TD passes and 4 INTs.  He also carried the ball 14 times for 53 yards (3.8 ypc) in the Super Bowls.  Bradshaw was the MVP of both Super Bowl XIV and XIII. 

Ben Roethlisberger has played in 99 games (98 starts) in his first 7 years with the Steelers and he has completed 1,766 of 2,800 passes (63.1%) for 22,502 yards with 144 TD passes and 86 INTs (92.5 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 261 times for 874 yards (3.3 ypc) with 14 TD grabs in his career.  The Steelers are 10-2 (83.3%) in post season games started by Roethlisberger which is pretty darn impressive.  But, despite being 2-0 in the Super Bowl, he has not played a dominant game.  Roethlisberger has completed 30 of 51 passes (58.8%) for 379 yards with 1 TD pass and 3 INTs in the Super Bowl.  He has also carried the ball 11 times for 27 yards (2.5 ypc) with 1 TD run in the Super Bowl. 

VERDICT:  Despite the fact that Roethlisberger is often a bonehead off the field, I think he’s the better QB.  I am old enough to have seen them both play and I think Big Ben is just better.  He will need a good game this weekend though to really step out of the shadow of  Terry Bradshaw who is an icon in Pittsburgh.

If the Steelers are going to win the Super Bowl this weekend, they are going to need their starting WRs to step up.  Hines Ward (5 rec, 39 yards, TD) and Mike Wallace (4 rec, 26 yards) have been almost invisible in the Steelers’ first two playoffs games.  The Steelers need them to step up.  Lucky for the Steelers, rookies Antonio Brown and Emmanuel Sanders have stepped up.  Brown made the game sealing catches in both of the Steelers’ wins in the playoffs so far.  He has caught 4 passes for 89 yards (22.3 avg) so far this post season and he could be the secret weapon for the Steelers in this game.  Emmanuel Sanders has also played pretty well for the Steelers in the playoffs as he has caught 5 passes for 74 yards (14.8 avg).  The Packers have an outstanding set of CBs (Charles Woodson, Tramon Williams and Sam Shields) so Hines Ward and Mike Wallace could be in for another long day this Sunday in Dallas.

Rashard Mendenhall has had a rough go of it lately for the Pittsburgh Steelers.  He did rush for 2 TDs last week but he didn’t play well as he carried the ball 20 times for 46 yards (2.3 ypc).  He also caught 1 pass for 13 yards against the Ravens.  But, just five weeks ago, Mendenhall rushed for 99 yards on 17 carries (5.8 ypc) with a TD run against the Jets.  The Steelers are going to need another solid game out of Mendehall if they are going to get to the Super Bowl.  Another poor effort like he had last weekend will put too much pressure on Ben Roethlisberger’s right arm

34-year old WR Hines Ward is starting to really slow down for the Pittsburgh Steelers.  He has played in 14 games for the Steelers so far this year and he has caught 51 passes for 672 yards (13.2  avg) with 4 TD grabs.  The Steelers have really looked good when Ward does as they are 4-0 in the games in which he has 100+ yards receiving.  In those 4 games, Ward has caught 28 passes for 461 yards (16.5 avg) with 1 TD grab.  But, in his other 10 games this year, Ward has only caught 23 passes for 211 yards (9.2 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  The Steelers are 6-4 on the year when Ward gets under 100 yards receiving in a game.  They need him to step up.

The Steelers will be without 29-year old strong safety Troy Polamalu tomorrow due to a Achilles problem.  They are considering possibly shutting him down until the playoffs start in an effort to get him healthy.  Polamalu has played in 13 games for the Steelers so far this season and he has 62 tackles, 1 sack, 5 tackles for a loss, 10 passes defensed, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery and 6 interceptions (0ne of which he returned for a TD).  This is a huge blow to the Steelers’ D the rest of the regular season because Polamalu is a impact player every single week that he suits up.  Either 25-year old Ryan Mundy or 28-year old Will Allen will replace Polamalu and neither of them inspire much confidence.  Mundy has played in 13 games so far this year and he has 15 tackles an 1 pass defensed.  Allen has played in 11 games for the Steelers this year and he has 9 tackles.

The Steelers started last season 6-2 before losing 5 games in a row which really cost the Steelers.  This year they were also 6-2 before losing to the Patriots last weekend.  The Steelers also play four of the five teams that beat them last year in their losing streak so they better step up soon.  While the offensive line is depleted right now, excuses are for losers.  The Steelers are 37-20 (64.9%) under the 38-year old Mike Tomlin in his four years with the team during the regular season.

The Browns are giving up 223.2 passing yards per game so far this year and Ben Roethlisberger is back in action so maybe the Steelers will revive the passing game starting this weekend.  The Steelers are last in the NFL (#32) in passing yards per game as they are averaging 136.0 yards.  Hines Ward (12 rec, 165 yards, TD),  Heath Miller (10 rec, 100 yards) and Mike Wallace (9 rec, 211 yards, 2 TD grabs) are all much better than they have shown so far this year and I look for them to start showing it this Sunday.