The Steelers linebackers are a big reason why they are 2-0 despite doing next to nothing on offense.  Outside linebackers James Harrison (20 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 3 sacks, 2 forced fumbles and 1 fumble recovery) and LaMarr Woodley (8 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 pass defensed, 1 interception and 1 forced fumble) are making high impact plays for the Steelers’ D so far this year.  Inside linebackers Lawrence Timmons (26 tackles, 4 tackles for a loss, 1 pass defensed and 1 forced fumble) and James Farrior (12 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss) are doing the dirty work inside.  Opposing teams have only rushed for 104 yards on 47 carries (2.2 ypc) so far this season against the Steelers.  The scary thing for opposing teams is that the linebackers on the Steelers are good enough to sustain this kind of play.

27-year old Ben Roethlisberger had his best season of his NFL career this year.  He played in 15 games for the Steelers this 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 this year.  Roethlisberger has now played in 87 games in his NFL career and 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.  Roethlisberger has always been a great leader but now he’s starting to sneak his way into the elite QBs because of the numbers he is starting to put up.

35-year old Charlie Batch only played in 1 game this year as he injured himself in that game.  He played in 1 game this season for the Steelers and he completed 1 of 2 passes (50%) for 17 yards with 0 TD passes and 0 INTs (79.2 QB Rating).  Batch has now played in 71 games in his NFL career and 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).  Batch has also carried the ball 162 times for 609 yards (3.8 ypc) with 6 TD runs in his career.  The Steelers would be smart to keep Batch around at least one more season.

24-year old Dennis Dixon is the #3 guy for the Steelers.  He played in 1 game this year for the Steelers and he completed 12 of 26 passes (46.2%) for 145 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 a TD run this year.  Dixon 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 to date.  Dixon looks like he has the tools to develop into a decent back-up QB for the Steelers but I still think that they should bring back Batch for 1 more year.

I personally think that Ben Roethlisberger is having the best season of his career in 2009.  He has played in 13 games for the Steelers this season and he has completed 302 of 446 passes (67.7%) for 3,849 yards with 22 TD passes and 11 INTs (100.6 QB Rating).  He has been sacked 43 times this season but a lot of that is just him holding the ball too long trying to make a play downfield so it’s hard to blame the O-Line for that.  He has also carried the ball 33 times for 68 yards (2.1 ypc) with 2 TD runs this year.  With Roethlisberger all things are possible so the Steelers are not out of the playoffs quite yet.

Punter Daniel Sepulveda missed all of last season due to injury but he’s back to being a dominant part of the special teams of the Steelers.  He has played in all 13 games for the Steelers this season and he has punted the ball 61 times for 2,666 yards (43.7 avg).  Sepulveda has only 3 touchbacks (4.9%) this season and he has pinned the opposing team inside the 20-yard line 25 times (41%) so far this season.  The Steelers need him to keep up the good work the rest of the year.

27-year old RB Mewelde Moore is stuck behind Rashard Mendenhall and Willie Parker on the depth chart.  With that in mind he has transformed into a jack of all trades.  He has played in all 11 games for the Steelers this season and he has carried the ball 33 times for 113 yards (3.4 ypc) and he has also caught 16 passes for 114 yards (7.1 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Moore has also returned 3 punts for 3 yards (1.0 avg) and 1 kickoff for 13 yards this year.  Moore even has thrown a pass that he completed for a 6-yard TD.  Moore will likely move up to #2 on the depth chart if he stays in Pittsburgh next season as Willie Parker is likely to walk as a free agent. 

The Steelers finally have decided to make 27-year old TE Heath Miller a big part of the offense.  With Miller going over the middle and making the tough catches it has freed up Hines Ward to run deeper routes making the offense more effective overall.  Miller has played in all 10 games for the Steelers this season and he has caught 54 passes (career high) for 492 yards (9.1 avg) with 5 TD grabs.  His yards per catch average is so low because he has been one of Ben Roethlisberger’s top targets in the red zone when the field gets shorter.  He has now played in 72 games in his five years with the Steelers and he has caught 222 passes for 2,424 yards (10.9 avg) with 26 TD grabs.  It’s about time that the Steelers started using Miller as a bigger part of the offense.

31-year old OLB James Harrison wants to win the Defensive Player of the Year Award again this season and he is showing it on the field.  Harrison has played in all 7 games for the Steelers this season and he has 41 tackles, 8 sacks, 3 tackles for a loss, 4 forced fumbles and he has defensed 2 passes.  Harrison is the straw that stirs the drink for the Steelers’ D as he lives in the opposing backfield.

Even with Rashard Mendenhall giving the Steelers a running game the last couple of weeks the Steelers have been winning or losing because of Roethlisberger’s right arm.  He has completed 127 of 172 passes (73.8%) for 1,470 yards with 8 TD passes and 5 INTs (102.6 QB Rating) this season.  The Steelers would like to have a more balanced offense but you also have to go with what is working so Big Ben needs to keep putting up big numbers the rest of the year.

2nd year RB Rashard Mendenhall had a breakout game against the Chargers last week as he rushed for 165 yards and he scored 2 TDs.  He started the game because Willie Parker has a bad case of turf toe.  If Mendenhall keeps playing like he is right now Willie Parker won’t get his starting gig back.  Parker’s contract runs out after this season and the Steelers will likely let him walk if Mendenhall stays healthy and keeps playing well.

The Steelers have not had a good kick or punt returner for a while but that might be about to change.  28-year old rookie Stefan Logan looks a tad electric despite being only 5’8″, 160 pounds.  He’s got the speed and moves to make big plays on special teams for the Steelers.  He returned 4 kickoffs for 116 yards (29.0 avg) against the Titans.  He also returned 1 punt for 11 yards in that game.  Teaming Logan’s return ability with the Steelers’ D could result in a lot of good field position for the offense.