No player on the Steelers has been more impressive than 23-year old WR Antonio Brown in the preseason.  In his first three games, Brown has caught 9 passes for 230 yards (25.6 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  He has also returned 4 kickoffs for 109 yards (27.3 avg) so far.  Brown made a lot of big catches in the playoffs for the Steelers last year and they have big plans for him.  He will likely be the #3 WR for the Steelers this year and he will likely eventually replace Hines Ward in the starting lineup in a couple of years.

The Pittsburgh Steelers have only had 3 head coaches in the last 41 years which is simply amazing to me!  This run started way back in 1969 when Chuck Noll took over as head coach.  He coached the Steelers until 1991.  Noll had a regular season record of 193-148-1 (56.6%) but he was 16-8 (66.7%) in the post season.  Noll led the Steelers to Super Bowl wins in 1974, 1975, 1978 and 1979 which got him elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993.  In 1992, the Steelers hired Bill Cowher to replace Chuck Noll.  Cowher was the head coach of the Steelers for 15 years (1992-2006).  He compiled a 149-90-1 (62.3%) record during the regular season and he was 12-9 (57.1%) during the post season.  He led the Steelers to a Super Bowl win over the Seahawks in 2005 but he also lost a Super Bowl to the Cowboys in 1995.  Mike Tomlin replaced Bill Cowher in 2007 and he’s off to a super fast start in his career.  The Steelers are 43-21 (67.2%) under Tomlin during the regular season and they are 5-1 (83.3%) during the post season.  The Steelers won the 2008 Super Bowl over the Arizona Cardinals and they will try to win another one under Tomlin this Sunday.  The Rooney’s are outstanding at picking head coaches and that can not be debated.

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.

32-year old outside linebacker James Harrison is going to be a HUGE key for the Steelers’ D this weekend in Dallas.  The Steelers can’t win this game unless they are getting good pressure on Aaron Rodgers and Harrison is the key to that.  He has 14 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 3 sacks and 1 pass defensed in his first two playoff games.  With the Packers likely to spread out with a lot of 4 WR sets, it’s imperative that the Steelers get to Rodgers fast because if he has time to throw the ball, he’s going to have success.  James Harrison finished third in the voting for the NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award behind Troy Polamalu and Clay Matthews.  Harrison played in 16 games for the Steelers during the regular season and he had 100 tackles, 5 tackles for a loss, 10.5 sacks, 5 passes defensed, 2 interceptions, 6 forced  fumbles and 1 fumble recovery.  If Harrison didn’t get fined so much I think he would have been the Defensive Player of the Year, in my opinion.

28-year old Ben Roethlisberger sat out the first four games of this year to a league suspension because he’s a bozo off the field.  When he returned it looked like he didn’t miss a beat.  Roethlisberger played in 12 games for the Steelers this season and he completed 240 of 389 passes (61.7%) for 3,200 yards with 17 TD passes and 5 INTs (97.0 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 33 times for 176 yards (5.3 ypc) with 2 TD runs this year.  Roethlisberger has now played in 99 games in his first seven years with the Steelers and he has completed 1,766 of 2,800 (63.1%) passes 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 runs in his NFL career.  Roethlisberger almost ruined his career in the off-season so he needs to behave off the field or his career could be cut short.

26-year old Dennis Dixon is a QB the Steelers want to develop into Roethlisberger’s long term backup.  Dixon played in 2 games for the Steelers this year and he completed 22 of 32 passes (68.8%) for 254 yards with 0 TD passes and 1 INT (79.4 QB Rating).  Dixon also carried the ball 5 times for 32 yards (6.4 ypc) this season.  His season ended early due to knee surgery but he should be ready for training camp (if there is one next year).  Dixon has now played in 4 games in his first 3 years with the Steelers and he has completed 35 of 59 passes (59.3%) for 402 yards passing with 1 TD pass and 2 INTs (71.4 QB Rating).  Dixon has also carried the ball 10 times for 56 yards (5.6 ypc) with 1 TD run in his NFL career.

36-year old Charlie Batch stepped up while Big Ben was out of action.  Batch played in 3 games for the Steelers this year and he completed 29 of 49 passes (59.2%) for 352 yards with 3 TD passes and 3  INTs (76.2 QB Rating).  Batch also carried the ball 7 times for 30 yards (4.3 ypc) this year.  Batch has now played in 75 games in his NFL career and he has completed 848 of 1,510 passes (56.2%) for 10,402 yards with 60 TD passes and 47 INTs (77.9  QB Rating).  Batch has also carried the ball 169 times for 639 yards (3.8 ypc) with 6 TD runs in his NFL career. 

30-year old Byron Leftwich will be Roethlisberger’s backup in the playoffs with Dixon & Batch both out due to injury.  Leftwich made his season debut two weeks ago against the Browns (the regular season finale) and he completed 5 of 7 passes (71.4%) for 42 yards with 0 TD passes and 0 INTs (86.6 QB Rating).  Leftwich has now played in 58 games in his NFL career and he has completed 905 of 1,552 passes (58.3%) for 10,260 yards with 58 TD passes and 41 INTs (79.7 QB Rating).  Leftwich has also carried the ball 136 times for 384 yards (2.8 ypc) with 9 TD runs in his NFL career.

VERDICT:  Roethlisberger & Dixon are both safe for next season.  I don’t see the Steelers carrying 4 QBs next season so Batch & Leftwich could be fighting for one roster spot with Batch holding a slight edge.

26-year old RB Isaac Redman has been solid whenever Rashard Mendenhall needed a break this year.  Redman has played in all 15 games for the Steelers so far this year and he has carried the ball 50 times for 235 yards (4.7 ypc).  Redman has also caught 8 passes for 65 yards (8.1 avg) with 2 TD grabs so far this year.  The Steelers need Redman to keep up the good work both tomorrow against the Browns and in the playoffs.

23-year old Emmanuel Sanders and 22-year old Antonio Brown have both made impacts for the Steelers so far this year.  Sanders has played in 10 games for the Steelers so far this year and he has caught 16 passes for 228 yards (14.3 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  He is a speed burner who has also been excellent on special teams this year.  He has returned 4 punts for 60 yards (15.0 avg) and 25 kickoffs for 628 yards (25.1 avg) so far this year and he also has 8 tackles and 2 forced fumbles.  He was a 3rd round pick (#82 overall) out of SMU.  Antonio Brown has played in 6 games for the Steelers so far this year and he has caught 8 passes for 80 yards (10.0 avg).  He has also returned 12 punts for 99 yards (8.3 avg) and 9 kickoffs for 259 yards (28.8 avg) with a TD return.  Brown was a 6th round pick out of Central Michigan (#195 overall) last April.  The Steelers like the upside that both of these guys have.

The rest of the world is rooting against 28-year old QB Ben Roethlisberger but in Pittsburgh he’s still loved.  He has led the Steelers to a 6-2 record in his starts (they were 3-1 without him) but lately he hasn’t played like his old self.  I think that the injuries along the O-Line are his biggest problem and I think it really showed last weekend against the Ravens when his nose was broken on his first pass attempt.  But he has shown a lot of toughness this year because he has been banged up most of the way.  Roethlisberger has played in 8 games for the Steelers so far this year and he has completed 159 of 258 passes (61.6%) for 2,078 yards with 13 TD passes and 5 INTs (95.7 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 18 times for 102 yards (5.7 ypc) with 1 TD run so far this year.  I know some people, even in Pittsburgh, who think that the Steelers should get rid of Roethlisberger and go with Charlie Batch.  Let me tell those people something…….the Steelers would likely be 6-6 or worse if Batch were starting the games since Roethlisberger has returned.

32-year old OLB James Harrison completely deserved the fine he received from the league ($75,000 bucks) for spearing Mohamed Massaquoi of the Browns.  So he needs to quit crying about it and try to learn how to tackle like you are taught from Pee Wee football all the way to the NFL.  Did Harrison really think the NFL was going to change the ruling about his fine because he threatened to retire?  I’m sure the NFL doesn’t care if Harrison is playing for the Steelers or sitting at home on his couch.  Harrison has played well for the Steelers so far this year as he has 40 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 5 sacks, 1 pass defensed, 4 forced fumbles and 1 fumble recovery in the first 5 games of the year.  Harrison has now played in 95 games in 7 years with the Steelers and he has 428 tackles, 15 passes defensed, 43.5 sacks, 23 forced fumbles and 3 interceptions.  Harrison will have a big target on his back now by running his mouth so he needs to start playing cleaner football.  You can’t lead with your head because you could paralyze someone or YOURSELF!

23-year old RB Rashard Mendenhall essentially pushed Willie Parker out the door last season.  He played in all 16 games for the Steelers last year and he carried the ball 242 times for 1,108 yards (4.6 ypc) with 7 TD runs.  Mendenhall also caught 25 passes for 261 yards (10.4 avg) with 1 TD grab last year.  Mendenhall has taken his game to a new, higher level so far this year.  He has carried the ball 64 times for 332 yards (5.2 ypc) with 2 TD runs so far this year and he has also caught 3 passes for 18 yards (6.0 avg).  The Steelers need Mendenhall to keep up the good work the rest of the year so that the Steelers can be a little more balanced offensively.