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2007 Team Report: Pittsburgh Steelers

Quarterbacks

Starter: Ben Roethlisberger
Backup(s): Charlie Batch, Brian St. Pierre

Starting QB: Beginning with an offseason motorcycle accident, the 2006 season was tough on Roethlisberger. He didn't throw a TD until Week 6 and tossed far too many costly INTs. New head coach Mike Tomlin and new offensive coordinator Bruce Arians are looking to open up the playbook with more 4-WR sets. Roethlisberger should be very excited about the prospects for the new season. As long as he is 100 percent mentally, he has all the tools to succeed. Confidence is a big part of a quarterback's game and Ben looks to have his back in full force.

Backup QB: Charlie Batch has been a solid backup for the Steelers for the last three years. When thrust into the starting lineup, Batch managed the offense well, even leading the Steelers to some wins. One can't ask for much more from a backup. Brian St. Pierre was brought in to hold a clipboard, again.

Running Backs

Starter: Willie Parker
Backup(s): Najeh Davenport, Gary Russell [R]
Fullback(s): Dan Kreider

Starting RB: In 2005, when Willie Parker split time with Jerome Bettis, some said it was because he couldn't carry the full load. In 2006, Parker proved he could be a workhorse back and then some. He rushed for a team-record 13 rushing TDs in 2006 and added another three scores receiving (he was absolutely electric coming out of the backfield on screen passes). Parker even showed that he could punch in the short-yardage runs. Ten of his 13 rushing TDs were from the five-yard line or closer. Parker sat out two weeks of camp with swelling in his knee, but has looked fine since and should be considered ready to resume his run toward elite status.

Backup RBs: Najeh Davenport has always been a tweener. Even when he was at the University of Miami, he was constantly changing from FB to RB and back again. With the Steelers, Davenport fills in nicely as a change-of-pace back and can also be used on third-down screen passes where his size/speed ratio can be very dangerous for opposing defenses. Youngster Gary Russell surprised many by making the team over veterans Kevan Barlow and Verron Haynes.

Fullback: Dan Kreider is not a threat to amass many yards. However, he can lower his head and push defenders back with his great leg drive after initial contact. The new coaching staff is planning on using more multi-WR sets and putting Parker in single back formations; but Kreider is too valuable to leave on the bench in all downs and distances.

Wide Receivers

Starters: Hines Ward, Santonio Holmes
Backups: Cedric Wilson, Nate Washington, Willie Reid

Starting WRs: What more can be said about Hines Ward? He is a truly great professional athlete and can be counted on as one of the fiercest receivers in the league. Last season, Ward started off slowly with a nagging hamstring injury that he sustained during training camp. A knee injury also seemed to bother him towards the end of the season and he missed Week 14 because of it. Ward's style of play will never change. He's not going to take it easy just to avoid getting injured. Santonio Holmes really turned it on at the end of the season. He started slowly in training camp, sometimes listed as low as fourth or fifth on the depth chart. By season's end though, he was one of the best playmakers for the Steelers. Holmes has great acceleration and can get to full speed in a hurry. He is very elusive in the open field, which makes him great on returns as well.

Backup WRs: Cedrick Wilson is not the same speedster that he was when he came out of college, but he has matured as a receiver, blocker and route-runner. Wilson is learning to become a well-rounded receiver thanks to Hines Ward and the Pittsburgh staff. Nate Washington went from relative unknown to solid backup in 2006, and he still hasn't hit his ceiling for talent. He had the second-most TDs for Steelers receivers and his numbers were consistent all season long. With his size, he makes a great red-zone target and also has great leaping ability that allows him to go up and get the ball in traffic.

Tight Ends

Starters: Heath Miller
Backups: Jerame Tuman, Matt Spaeth [R]

Heath Miller is an excellent receiver and gives Roethlisberger the type of security blanket that every QB would like to have. His athletic ability means an automatic mismatch for whoever is covering him. He is too athletic for most LBs to cover and he's too big for a safety to guard. He can take it to the house from anywhere on the field as evidenced by his 87-yard TD catch in Week 1 against Miami. Jerame Tuman is a solid backup TE who will see some action when Pittsburgh uses a 2-TE set.

Place Kicker

Jeff Reed : Reed finished last year hitting only 20 of 27 (74.1%) field goals. The percentage was the second lowest of his career, and the 27 field goal attempts were the fewest of any full year that he played. Reed had always managed to kick fairly well at Heinz Field, a place that has probably cost some kickers their job. Last year however, all seven of his misses were at home. He has attempted at least 40 PATs each of the last three years, and been perfect on all of them. The Steelers dropped to 22nd in kicker scoring last year, after two consecutive years in the top ten. CAMP UPDATE: The Steelers had already been practicing extensively on special teams, but a missed extra point the other week against Green Bay led to even more work this last week. After a week of plenty of live kicking drills, things went smoothly in the game at Washington. Jeff Reed made field goals of 21 and 28 yards, while camp leg Connor Hughes made kicks of 19 and 22 yards. They did not have any PAT attempts in the game.

Kick and Punt Returners

Kick Returners: Allen Rossum; Willie Reid; Najeh Davenport; Santonio Holmes; Ricardo Colclough; Ike Taylor; Cedrick Wilson

RB Najeh Davenport (20 returns, 21.5 avg.) and WR Santonio Holmes (18 returns, 24.2 avg.) shared the primary kickoff return load last. They may do so again this year, although they could be joined or replaced by WR Willie Reid. A foot injury sidelined Reid for most of his rookie year in 2006 (1 return, 19 yards). CB Ricardo Colclough was a co-starter in 2005 (22 returns, 21.5 avg.), but had only one return (26 yards) last year. CB Ike Taylor was once again a backup KR last year (4 returns, 18.0 avg.). WR Cedrick Wilson was the leading KR for San Francisco in 2003, and serves as a backup for Pittsburgh (1 return, 11 yards last year). CAMP UPDATE: Potential return specialist Willie Reid handled most of the returns in the Washington game. He averaged 18.5 yards on two kickoff returns, and averaged 4.3 yards on three punt returns. Fan favorite CB Ricardo Colclough had a 16 yard kickoff return. The Steelers traded for Allen Rossum on September 1st.

Punt Returners: Allen Rossum; Willie Reid; Santonio Holmes; Ricardo Colclough; Ike Taylor; Cedrick Wilson

If his foot is healthy, WR Willie Reid will be given first shot at the punt return role. He returned punts (17.5 avg., 4th) for Florida State in 2005, including three that went for TDs. He's very fast. Ricardo Colclough started out last year as the punt returner (4 returns, 1.5 avg.), however it didn't last long after he kept putting the ball on the ground. Santonio Holmes took over the job and also had ball handling issues. The Steelers stuck with him however, and he turned things around (26 returns, 10.2 avg., 1 TD). If Reid doesn't work out, the Holmes will probably retain the job. The initial backup candidates have limited experience and are better suited to kickoff returns. Ike Taylor returned one punt each of the last two years. Cedrick Wilson returned a total of 13punts while with the 49ers for four years.

Offensive Line

Projected Starters: LT Marvel Smith, LG Alan Faneca, C Sean Mahan, RG Kendall Simmons, RT Willie Colon
Key Backups: Chris Kemoeatu, Max Starks

At left tackle, Marvel Smith remains a fixture. The Steelers lost center Jeff Hartings to retirement this season and Sean Mahan and Chukky Okobi waged a spirited camp battle to determine his replacement. Mahan won the battle and Okobi was released. Although Alan Faneca has been vocal about his displeasure with the terms of his current contract, to his credit he showed up to camp in great shape and appears ready for another productive season. Kendall Simmons reclaimed his right guard slot after some thought one of the younger players would push him. At right tackle, 2nd year Willie Colon displaced Max Starks.

Team Defense

Offense comes and goes but in Pittsburgh defense is forever. It's been the backbone of every successful Steelers team. Pittsburgh failed to make the playoffs last season but don't don't point fingers at the defense. It was not one of their top performances but the Steelers finished with very respectable numbers. Ninth in total defense, eleventh in scoring defense, with thirty nine sacks and twenty seven takeaways. The club returns 10 starters from last years squad. The lone departure being Joey Porter who exited to Miami. Porter was 30 years old and was quickly replaced with a newer, faster model. OLB Lawrence Timmons was the Steelers first round pick. He is basically a Porter clone and is expected to start right away. Steelers surprised everyone by going defense again in round two when the selected OLB Lamarr Woodley and then hit defense again in round four with DE Ryan McBean. The retirement of Bill Cowher will have little effect on the defense since the architect of the 3-4, Dick LeBeau, was retained. It will be business as usual in Pittsburgh.

Defensive Line

Starters: DE Aaron Smith, DE Brett Keisel, NT Casey Hampton
Backups: DE Travis Kirschke, NT Chris Hoke, DE Nick Eason

Starting DL: Nose tackle Casey Hampton capped another successful season with his third trip to the Pro Bowl. Hampton is the quintessential 3-4 nose tackle, a massively strong fireplug of a player with a very low center of gravity, whose responsibility is to tie up multiple offensive linemen and clog up the middle of the field. Given his responsibilities, Hampton's statlines do not reflect his actual contributions on the field. Eight year veteran Aaron Smith is the Steelers longest tenured lineman. Smith lines up at left defensive end and has been the most prominent and consistent statistical producer on the Steelers defensive line over the last six seasons. Smith was bothered by nagging injuries in '05 but rebounded last season to post his best statistical showing since '02. Five year veteran Brett Keisel replaced Von Oelhoffen at right defensive end last season and the club didn't miss a beat. Look for the backup defensive ends to get a lot of snaps as the Steelers employ a regular rotation to keep their DEs fresh.

Backup DL: Chris Hoke is an excellent backup for NT Casey Hampton. In 2004, Hoke started the final ten games of the regular season after Hampton went on injured reserve with a knee injury and it was business as usual. Travis Kirschke is the steady veteran of the DE group but he will have to contend with fourth round pick Ryan McBean to determine the pecking order in the rotation at end. Third year DE Shaun Nua could be battling for the final roster spot with veteran Nick Eason. Eason has been a backup in the Browns 3-4 for the past two seasons. The Steelers rarely spend early picks on the DL but they do a great job of getting their kind of guys in the late rounds and then developing them. In fact, Casey Hampton is the only first day pick the team has on the DL.

Linebackers

Starters: ILB James Farrior, ILB Larry Foote, OLB Clark Haggans, OLB James Harrison
Backups: OLB Lamarr Woodley, OLB Lawrence Timmons

Starting LBs: The Steelers' linebacker corps is traditionally a strength of the team. In '06 that unit slipped a little. In '05 OLB Joey Porter led all NFL linebackers with a career-high ten and a half sacks while fellow OLB Clark Haggans' nine sacks placed him third on that list. In '06 those two combined for only thirteen. James Farrior and Larry Foote picked up a little of the slack, each posting four sacks, but the team total still slumped from 47 in '05 to 39. Maybe there was more to the Joey Porter departure than just money? Haggans may have been given a wakeup call as well. Teams just don't use second round picks on guys they expect to be backups. Haggans has not played a full slate of games since '01 season and has struggled with groin injuries in recent years. James Harrison may have officially entered camp as the starter opposite Haggans but rookie Lamarr Woodley is pushing both for playing time. Inside linebackers James Farrior and Larry Foote were one and two respectively in the tackle columns for the Steelers in '06 but unlike '05 when the two tied for the team lead, Farrior's 85-43 was heads above Foote at 62-29. Farrior is a versatile playmaker but was limited by a knee injury for much of the 2005 season, missing two games and playing with pain in others. While not as athletic as Farrior, Foote has become a very solid and heady compliment over his three seasons as a starter.

Backup LBs: When Joey Porter signed in Miami, James Harrison though he was going to finally get his shot. By the end of the draft he may have been as far down the list as #4. Harrison was the team's top key reserve at OLB last season but failed to take advantage of what limited playing time he did get. He just signed a four year deal last off-season but will have to fend off second round pick Lamarr Woodley to remain at #3 in the pecking order. Harrison is a key special teamer who posted three sacks, an interception, and 25 tackles in limited duty in '05 but made virtually no impact at all last season. Woodley was a very interesting selection for the Steelers. Most of his scouting reports would suggest that at 270 pounds, he may be better suited to play end in the 3-4. Apparently the Steelers see differently and have called him a linebacker from day one. It will be interesting to watch his progress. Lawrence Timmons hasn't had a similar impact after struggling through OTAs and camp with a groin injury. He's got a long way to go to get on the field.

Defensive Backs

Starters: SS Troy Polamalu, FS Anthony Smith, CB Deshea Townsend, CB Ike Taylor
Backups: FS Ryan Clark, FS/CB Tyrone Carter, CB Ricardo Colclough, CB Bryant McFadden

Starting DBs: Pass defense was the Achilles of the '06 Steelers defense as they finished 20th in passing yards allowed. The blame for this shouldn't be shouldered solely by a secondary that came together in '05 and actually played pretty well in '06. The success of any 3-4 scheme is dependent on pressuring the QB. The Steelers 39 sacks were respectable but not acceptable to the style of game they play. Zone blitz corners spend a lot of time in single coverage and its simply impossible to cover good receivers indefinitely. An improved pass rush will go a long way. All-Pro strong Safety Troy Polamalu is the Steelers catalyst on defense, making plays all over the field. He frequently plays up toward the line of scrimmage and is just as likely to blitz as he is to drop into coverage. Polamalu tackles like a linebacker but also provides tight coverage and a lot of the team's big play production. Ryan Clark started most of last season at FS but could receive a strong challenge from last years third round pick Anthony Smith. The hard-hitting Clark played in 13 games last season with an interception and three fumble recoveries. The coaching staff wants more big plays from the position. Cornerback Ike Taylor struggled at times during his second year as a starter and was even benched at one point for giving up too many big plays. Taylor's hands are suspect and he has just 3 interceptions in two seasons with the first team. He has a long way to go before becoming the elite corner many expected him to be by this point in his career. Veteran Deshea Townsend has been the steadiest member of the Steelers backfield since he became a starter in 2003. He could be challenged in training camp by Bryant McFadden who worked in the nickel and replaced Taylor as the starter for a time in '06.

Backup DBs: The Steelers selected Syracuse free safety Anthony Smith in the third round of the 2006 draft. Smith was rated as their fourth best safety with the top three going in the first sixteen picks. He is a very intelligent player with great intangibles who will compete with Ryan Clark for the starting FS position in training camp. Tyrone Carter is a versatile veteran who can be plugged in at any position if needed. Cornerback Bryant McFadden will challenge incumbent starter Deshea Townsend in training camp. McFadden quickly became a key part of the Steelers defensive backfield as a rookie and saw an increased role last season. Ricardo Colcough is a former second round pick who has struggled with injuries and not lived up to expectations. He spent nearly all of last season on IR with a neck problem but is expected to be ready.

Last modified: 2007-09-01 21:29:12