As we all know, Big Ben could miss up to the first six games of the Steelers’ season for his recent troubles. This includes games against Atlanta, Tampa Bay, Tennessee, Baltimore, Cleveland, and Miami, with a bye thrown in at Week 5. I believe the Steelers will come out of this with no problems. Here are four reasons why:
1) The quarterback situation includes Dennis Dixon, who dazzled us fans last year in a 20-17 overtime loss to Baltimore, Charlie Batch, and Byron Leftwich. Batch and Leftwich have each displayed success at times during their careers. I have faith that one of the three can be successful enough for the Steelers to win. Getting any of these three 6 games worth of experience will only strengthen the team. Say Ben comes back and either struggles or gets injured the Steelers won’t have to toss in a cold QB.
2) I have seen some recent discussions that the Steelers are thinking about returning to their power run offense. Rashard Mendenhall established himself as a legitimate NFL running back with a 1,100 yard season last year. Throwing into the running equation Mewelde Moore, and Jonathan Dwyer, it could be a potent running attack, sparking memories of the Cowher Power Era. Becoming a legit running team again will take the pressure off of the QB tremendously. Remember back in ’05 when Ben would rack up 158.3 passer ratings?
3) The offensive line will need to improve to help the QB situation. Giving up 47 sacks last year is just way too many. Think about how many Ben got away from, that total could have easily been higher. I do have faith that the line will be better this year. The Steelers got a great asset in Maurkice Pouncey, who can play center or guard, in this year’s draft. Any line that can rack up 1,700 rushing yards at a 4.2 ypc clip is legit. I hope the coaches stress pass protection this offseason, because this unit could be dominate.
4) This is the main reason why I think the Steelers will be successful during Ben’s hiatus — a fully healthy Troy Polamalu and the defense will keep the team in games. In games that Troy played the Steelers were 4-1 last year, with the loss being in a weird 18-12 game versus Cincinnati. The D unit added plenty of pass rushers in the draft and I expect them to wreak havoc. The defense usually gives up a little less than 2 touchdowns a game on average.
Even though the first 6 games of the season include some tough games I don’t see the Steelers coming out of this with less than a 4-2 record. There is enough talent on the team to make up for the loss of one player. I do only expect Ben to only miss 4 games. When he does return I can only hope it is a smooth transition and he is on his game.
Photo by bethykae
How do you think Roethlisberger’s early season suspension will affect the 2010 season?
