Written by: O

Now that training camps are starting all across the NFL, predictions are being made about this season. Most people are picking the Patriots to win the AFC again since their offense was the best of all-time last season. Some think the Chargers are going to break through since they now believe in Philip Rivers and Norv Turner. Some believe Jacksonville will take that next step and be the AFC’s representative in the Super Bowl. All of these predictions, but everyone seems to be forgetting about the Pittsburgh Steelers and this could be the team to watch for in the AFC.

At first glance, one could make the case that the Steelers not only are not one of the top contenders in the AFC, but they may not even be the best contender from the AFC North. Many believe the Cleveland Browns will be the best team in the AFC North. The Browns have spent a lot of money on players such as Donte Stallworth and Shaun Rogers while the Steelers never spend a lot of money in free agency. The problem is the Steelers are not going to make a ton of moves, but they are always solid in player acquisition and the draft, which could keep them on top of the AFC North.

The talent on the Steelers is deep and talented. Ben Roethlisberger was arguably the second-best quarterback in the league last season. Willie Parker rushed for more yards in the AFC than anyone not named LaDainian Tomlinson. Santonio Holmes established himself as a big-time receiver and could become the top wideout since Hines Ward is getting up in years. Heath Miller is quickly becoming one of the top tight ends in the league. In other words, the Steelers have a ton of offensive weapons and if you add their draft picks like Rashard Mendenhall or Limas Sweed, the depth on the offensive side of the football looks as good as any.

When the Pittsburgh Steelers have been good, the consistent strength of the team has always been their defense. Last year, they were one of the best in the NFL and they should be again this season. They seem to just keep a stockpile of linebackers – last year James Harrison replaced Joey Porter and was the team’s MVP and a Pro Bowler. They hope the same can happen for LaMarr Woodley who will be replacing Clark Haggans this season. Haggans, Harrison and Woodley could have the Steeler fans talking about the old “Blitzburgh” days with Kevin Greene and Greg Lloyd over a decade ago because of their ability to get to the quarterback. The defense, however, will need healthy seasons from safeties Troy Polamatu and Ryan Clark because when they went down, the defense fell apart at the end of the season.

The end of the last season should be the rally cry for the Steelers this season if they need any motivation. The Steelers lost 4 of their last 5 games, including a playoff loss in Pittsburgh to Jacksonville that the city has been talking about for the last 6 months. People forget that this team was 9-3 with the best defense in the league at the beginning of the month of December, but could not stop anyone the last 5 games. Do not expect that to happen again and expect the Steelers to make a serious noise in the AFC in the playoffs this time.

Tags: football, NFL, Pittsburgh, Steelers

This entry was posted on Sunday, July 27th, 2008 at 12:00 am and is filed under Random Buzz. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.