I am many things, but an expert on the Chicago Bears is not one of them.

Thankfully, our Bloguin brother Brett over at Midway Illustrated is a Bears genius. Seriously. He's got one of the best Chicago Bears blogs online and provides insight to the team and analysis that we only dream of.

If you are curious, Brett grilled me and my vast Steeler knowledge is posted over at Midway Illustrated.

Luckily for you, we returned the favor and asked him some of the questions that were burning on our minds as this weekends game approaches. And yes, we inquired about Jay Cutler.

Q and A time after the jump.

Not much going on this Wednesday, but SI has got former Steeler great Jerome Bettis "writing" a column for them and it's not pretty as far as Steeler related stuff goes.

Bettis provides an insider's prespective to the NFl through six points in his column this week.

Two of the six items are problems he has with the Steelers.

All in two swoops, he manages to rip the secondary, James Harrison (says he's not a playmaker), Willie Parker, Rashard Mendenhall, Frank Summers, Kevin Colbert, Mike Tomlin, etc.

Here's some quotes:

People will say, "Well, they still have James Harrison and Casey Hampton and so on..." Irrelevant. Troy's really the only guy on this defense that I see as a full playmaker. Sure, James Harrison gets after the QB. But Troy is all over the field. He can change the outcome of a game in one play. Without him, this becomes a good defense with a very ordinary secondary.

How did they rationalize not doing anything about it? Well, they won a Super Bowl. They won't be so lucky twice in a row. If Ben continues to get hit the way he did Thursday -- the same way he did last year, then this will come back to haunt the Steelers. Ben will get hurt. Ben will miss games. And they don't have a line to run behind without Ben. Pittsburgh can't repeat with the line playing like this.

I actually agree with some of his points, but I really don't think all of this is necessary. Bettis spent hours mentoring and helping Willie Parker, and now he's doing the same thing I do from my parent's basemen - make judgement calls. I doubt Parker is happy to see one of his greatest teammates calling him out in the media.

Look, Bettis can do pretty much anything and I'd still love the guy. But he really doesn't need to go out of his way to bash the Steelers. Let's not forget that they did win the game on Sunday against the team who had the best record in all of football  a season ago.

With all of the drivel going around, you'd think the Titans blew them out.

Again, lots of love to Bettis and it hurt to type this next paragraph but I got to say it here:

Maybe Bettis should spend his time writing about other teams and not devoting the majority of an entire column to nitpicking a Steelers victory and bashing the same guys that won him a Super Bowl while he watched on the sidelines.

What are your thoughts on Bettis' column and the media's reaction to the win over Tennessee?

We don't believe it, but lots of people do.

So why do people think that Ben Roethlisberger is an elite quarterback? There's one clear answer. Because he plays for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Plain and simple.

Never in my life have I heard the words "overrated" and "underrated" used so much to describe the same player.

Our question to anybody who thinks Roethlisberger sucks is what defines success in the NFL?

Is it putting up Drew Brees-like numbers?

Is it throwing TDs while playing for the worst team in the NFL?

Or is it winning the damn game and winning Super Bowls?

When people start talking about how Roethlisberger is overrated or "average," I always bring up Drew Brees.

I've got nothing against Brees, but he's the exact opposite QB from Big Ben. He gets to play over half of his games in a dome, gets to throw the ball 50+ times each week, and he's never won anything.

If the fate of the world rested on a football game, I'd pick Roethlisberger over Brees every single time.

Drew Brees, for as great a QB as he's been and as many good teams that he's been on, has a career playoff record of 1-2.

Ben Roethlisberger's records in playoff games is 8-2.

Another question:

Aside from Brady, what QB in the NFL would be able to succeed playing behind the Steelers porous offensive line in a huge game in the snow at Baltimore in December?

The answer is nobody. Peyton Manning and Brees benefit from playing over half of their games indoors and both have struggled outside in the elements. Both also get immaculate pass protection every season.

Call me crazy, but I'm not sure the Steelers make that playoff run last year with Manning or Brees has QB.

But Roethlisberger's style isn't "fantasy friendly." He doesn't throw up huge numbers so box score coaches don't think he's any good.

It's just ridiculous to me that a QB who has won 2 Super Bowls and more games than any other QB in his first five seasons is as criticized as often as Roethlisberger. Even a lot of Steeler fans hate him.

If watching a QB throw 5 TDs and lose the game is more important to you than watching a guy win the game in the 4th quarter, then you should become a Saints fan.

It's just really sad that some people are missing out on a great football player because they think he is mediocre. I can't believe after all the things Roethlisberger has done that I'm still spending time defending him as an elite QB.

Tonight was (mostly) fun. It's what Norm and I expected at least.

Norm said the Titans would be held under 100 yards rushing. They had 83.

I said the Steelers would not run the ball at all and win be a FG. They did.

As great as it was to see the Steelers win in dramatic fashion, the night has to produce some worries for the Steelers staff.

Running the football well is something every good team needs to do. It's the foundation of the game. There will be many important 3rd and short situations this year and the Steelers have to get better. Plan and simple.

As great a QB as Ben Roethlisberger is, he can't do what he did tonight every week this season. He was the only source of offense for a unit that looked terrible most of the game.

The Steelers found enough magic to pull it out tonight and I'll be infinitely happier this weekend because of it. But with no running game, things could get ugly from here.

Now onto the grades...

We've waited all summer to make this post.

As excited as we are for this game, let's game one thing straight: this contest has nothing to do with what the Titans did to the Terrible Towel last season. The Steelers won the Super Bowl that year. The Titans did not. As far as we're concerned, issue is over.

LenDale White is still a jagoff though.

The biggest question mark heading into this game will probably be how Kerry Collins plays. We love Penn State and love Collins.

But he's hella old, let's face it. One of these years he just won't have it...sort of like what happened to Brett Favre three years ago.

Here's to hoping the Steelers D is the start of a bad season for Collins.

What they are saying...

BTSC:
Finally, what does Willie Parker have in store as he begins what appears to be his last season in Pittsburgh. FWP has always proved his doubters wrong and it appears that the organization no longer believes he fits in to their future plans. It's not clear just how healthy or dinged up he is, but if he does get 12-16 carries and is feeling well physically, I'd expect him to try to flash some of his old self and break off one of those patented 25+ yard runs to the outside when it looks as if there's nothing there at all. I'd also expect him to be more animated than usual if he is able to break off some nice runs. Regardless of what transpires, I'll be cheering for him bigtime.

Tenessean:
This is a rare moment in the NFL spotlight for the Titans. From a national perspective, this is a team from a comparatively small market that lacks star power. Accordingly, the Titans often take a backseat to the sport's more visible franchises — and that includes the Steelers.

Bill Simmons:
It's too bad we can't parlay things like "there's no way Kerry Collins is having that year again" with "there's no way Kurt Warner is having that year again."

Injuries

Steelers: Larry Timmons is out, but other than Dennis Dixon's dinged shoulder, the guys on the 52 man roster are healthy.

Titans: Former Steeler Nate Washington is questionable and it doesn't look like he'll go tonight.

Predictions

Bam: I think both teams are going to be a little worse during the regular season than they were last year. I have no faith in the Steelers ability to run the ball against Tennessee and that scares me. Roethlisberger will be thrown to the wolves right away this year. As tempted as I am to pick the Titans, I think the Steelers defense is just good enough to pull this one out with a late turnover. Steelers 16-13

Norm: It will be a low scoring game with both teams having great defenses. But Ben will pick them apart late in the game. The Titans strength is in the running game and the Steelers will shut them down. LenDale White and Chris Johnson will be held under 100 combined yards. Steelers 17-7

So here we are.

It doesn't seem long ago that James Harrison was intercepting Kurt Warner at the goal line or Santonio Holmes pulled of a miraculous catch in the corner of the endzone.

After the Super Bowl XLIII win and the Penguins subsequent run to Lord Stanley's Cup, all we did was make fun of people and celebrate all year long.

But guess what? Party's over.

It's back to work for the Steelers and here's 21 bold predictions for the upcoming season. Jump it!

Finally, the regular football season is days away. Unfortunately, there is one more preseason game in the way that is even more boring than the other ones. This is the final preseason game, so you rarely get to see any starters on the field, so it’s more like watching a JV game.

It's the time for the stars to get their rest and the backups to prove they deserve a spot on the roster. Some of the guys made it impossible for the coaches to let them go (Logan) and some did what they could, but it just wasn’t enough (Redman). The game really wasn’t anything great so it will be more of a wrap-up of the entire preseason rather than just the final game. We know the preseason doesn't mean that much, but it does let us see how our depth looks. Find out our end of the preseason grades after the jump.

Per PG:

Running backs Carey Davis and rookie Isaac Redman, linebacker Bruce Davis and veteran cornerback Anthony Madison were among the players cut today by Coach Mike Tomlin as the Steelers began reducing their roster to the 53-man limit.

There aren't any *real* surprises here. I'm sure some are surprised that Frank Summers made the team over Davis and I'd have liked to have seen Redman and Anthony Madison squeezed on the roster somewhere, but the Steelers are deep at a ton of positions and it's a tough roster to make.

We've (unfairly) been attacked and labeled as Isaac Redman haters because of a post I wrote a few weeks back where I said that I'd be surprised if he makes the team and even more surprised if he played a big role in the team's future, despite his preseason success.

I was definitely rooting for Redman to make the team and it sucks to see him be cut after a stellar preseason. But this is the NFL and tough choices like these are why the Steelers are good every year. Redman definitely deserves a shot some place, which might end up being elsewhere. NFL rosters are extremely tough to make and a lot of quality football players don't make it. That's just how it goes.

Kevin Colbert and Mike Tomlin both understand, though, that a few preseason games don't over weigh a known veteran like Mewelde Moore.

I wish Madison would have been kept around because he's a great special teams player, but hopefully some of the younger DBs can fill that gap.

One of the best parts about being a part of Bloguin is getting to work with other blogs in the network and our developers.

We're proud to announce just one of many cool features that you'll see on the site today...fantasy football.

Details are below, but here's how and why you'll want to join.

1. All you need is a Facebook account, which you probably already have. 
2. You can win free stuff! The winner of our Blitzburgh Blog league will win a $25 gift card to Team Fan Shop...so even if you are the only one who happens to play this season, it'd be worth keeping up. Other Bloguin sites are playing as well and the highest scoring team across the network wins $150 Amex gift card. So this is pretty much pro.
3. The league is auction style, which is the best way to tell who has their football knowledge in tip-top shape. It's also easy to do.

Anyway, we hope you join us this season and win some goodies! You've got nothing to lose and there is no catch. Good luck to everybody! Directions are below....

Watercooler Sports has setup a Facebook Salary Cap style fantasy league for readers of Blitzburgh Blog. If you are unfamiliar with salary cap style football, there is no draft and you can alternate players on your team through out the season. The winner of this free league will get a $25 gift certificate to Team Fan  Shop, and the player with the highest score across all Bloguin sites will get a $150 AMEX gift certificate. 

Below are instructions on how to join this free league.

Step 1: If you are a member of Facebook just click the link below to install the fantasy football application. If you are not, and would like to participate you'll have to create a Facebook account. 
http://apps.facebook.com/footballchallenge/salarycap/nfl/

Step 2: Since this is not a public league, the link to join is hidden therefore you must click the link below after you have installed the application.
http://apps.facebook.com/footballchallenge/salarycap/nfl/?page=createteam&leagueid=482

Click Join pool and then start building your team!

Numerous media outlets and blogs have been publishing their picks for the best of the AFC North so we figured we'd throw our list into the mix.

Here's a few things to keep in mind as you read over the list:

We went with a 3-4 defense since that's what the Steelers play.

We made our evaluations based more on what players have done than what we think they will do. Example: Santonio Holmes could have a better year than Hines Ward by a fair amount, but Hines is ahead of Holmes on our list because he's proven to be a great WR and hasn't dropped off much at all.

Honestly, picking some of the offensive lineman was like throwing darts onto a board of names. Email us if we messed up and left somebody good out.

Please now we're obviously Steeler fans and you are reading this on a Steeler blog so that may or may not influence our choices.

If you have beef with any of our picks, hit up the comments.

Onto the team...