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.

Reports surfaced late last week that Steelers WR Limas Sweed seriously injured his Achilles tendon and will possibly miss the entire 2010 season.

I've never been a huge Sweed fan --- and really, who has? --- but this is a tough blow to a kid that had apparently just gotten over some serious personal issues. The Steelers never released what it was that sent Sweed away from the team for a substantial amount of time, but it sounds like he went through some family issues or depression...something along those lines.

"There were just some personal things that I went through in my life, but my family and the Steelers helped me get through it," Sweed said Friday. "But I feel like a kid again. It's good to be back playing."

Sweed also changed his number from 14 to 80 to reflect the fresh start that he's been working on.

I know he's been a massive dissapointment and a frustrating player ever since he arrived in Pittsburgh, but at this point, I just feel really bad for him as a person. Maybe he's just not cut out to be an NFL receiver, and that is fine, but having to go through a season ending injury right after fixing some serious emotional problems isn't something I'd wish on anybody. Hopefully this isn't as serious as most seem to think.

This might sound silly, but Sweed has always done everything exceptionally well (route running, blocking, getting open) except catching the football. If he ever gets over whatever mental block he's had when it comes to pulling passes in, he could be a good addition to any offense. That said, if he is out for the season, it won't deal a major blow to the Steelers. They'll just lose the slim chance that Sweed breaks out in 2010 and this will probably mark the end of his career in Pittsburgh.

Get well Limas. I'm rooting for you.

Well, the 2010 NFL Draft is in the books. What have we learned? Tampa and Baltimore need MOAR DEFENSIVE TACKLES. MOAR MOAR MOAR. Pete Carroll sucks. Jacksonville doesn't even know what's going on anymore.

Overall, I think the Steelers had a successful draft. They addressed a few needs, added depth, and the team on paper leaves little to be desired right now. After the jump, we'll take a look at the draft by position, and what the Steelers are thinking with their moves.

Much has already been written about who the Steelers will target in the first round of tonight's draft. Most experts have zeroed in on Maurkice Pouncey, Kyle Wilson, and Mike Iupati as the three leading candidates. But what about the other six rounds? I'm admittedly no draft expert, but here are five guys who I'd like to see the Steelers call in the mid-to-late rounds of the 2010 draft.

...make it this one. While the entire world is falling all over themselves to drop Ben's being a douchey frat boy down to the same level with such evils as the holocaust, Stalin's mass genocide during the communist reign in Russia, or the New York Yankees, my father sends me this article putting Ben's six-game suspension in perspective. It also does a nice job of calling out the media for making this situation as bad as it is.

Oh yeah, Ben got suspended. If that's news to you, you aren't really much of a Steeler fan and you really don't need to be here. Instead of reporting what you already know, I'd like to make a projection for the Steelers' offense for the first six games without him. I started that, but I got to opening day against the Falcons and realized that I have no idea who plays defense for Atlanta (besides Chris Chelios?).

The draft is tomorrow night. We've got bigger fish to fry than the latest on what everyone already knows about Ben. If he's traded, we'll cover that. Since he won't be, expect draft coverage tomorrow.

Here We Go

First thing's first: KDKA broke the Steelers' 2010 schedule.

(I did have a nice table here all worked out, but Firefox shat itself and I lost it, so you can just go click the link. Now jump.)

Here's the first article from our new writer - Michael Troy. He's a long time Steeler fans and thinks the Steelers dealing Big Ben before, during or after this weekend's draft would be a big time mistake.  - Bam

I hope the rumors about the Steelers trading Ben Roethlisberger are false.  There is no way they could ever find anyone to give up what he is really worth.  Right before the 2009 draft the Denver Broncos traded Jay Cutler to the Bears for 2 1^st round picks and a 3^rd round pick.  He threw 26 interceptions last year.

Ben wins games and can make things happen with a poor offensive line.  He is a damn good player, but has questionable character.  Pittsburgh fans will forgive him after he throws his first touchdown and he deserves a chance to change his ways before he is cast off for some draft picks. Some rumors are floating that he will be traded to the Rams for the 1^st overall pick.

How does this help the Steelers?  They are now without a Super Bowl winning quarterback and have a college QB with recent shoulder surgery that they just gave $42 million in guaranteed money, who may never take a snap. Most of the team's current core could be old or retired by the team a newly drafted QB was capable of a deep playoff run.

Next year, if Ben keeps his nose clean, this situation will have blown over.  It will blow over even faster if he starts playing well and the Steelers get off to a fast start.  Ben Roethlisberger committed the crimes -- Big Ben, the football player did not -- and it’s not tough for fans to make the distinction.

Everyone and their dog has decided the Steelers need a cornerback in the first round. It's an understandable concern; a series of late game comebacks by Steelers' opponents exposed the Steelers' secondary and brought out the worst in our DBs. But taking a cornerback in the first round is basically a knee-jerk reaction to last season, and that isn't the position the Steelers need the most help with. After the jump, I'll tell you what they DO need.