Buy or Sell: Pittsburgh Steelers

The Steelers have become one of the most talked about teams in the NFL due to their hard-line stance on discipline. Pittsburgh traded former Super Bowl MVP Santonio Holmes (and 2006 1st round pick). They also made a ploy to move Ben Roethlisberger--the franchise quarterback. Whether or not the Steelers actually wanted to deal him or scare him is another story altogether, but the Rooney's certainly made it clear that behavior that makes the team and the league look bad is not welcome in the Steel City.

2009 Finish -- 9-7, 3rd in the AFC North
Key Acquisitions -- C Maurkice Pouncey, CB Bryant McFadden
Key Departures -- WR Santonio Holmes

A running theme this off-season has been the lack of team turnover, and a lot of it has to do with the unsure labor dispute.

1. The Pittsburgh Steelers departure from classic power running was the cause of their 2009 failures and returning to it will help them in 2010. SELL.
I will give Pittsburgh fans this--the high-powered passing attack may have led to the defense being on the field a little too much. But I don't buy for a second that the Steelers struggled to win close games last year because of Ben Roethlisberger and Bruce Arians. The Steelers couldn't close out games because the running game was moderately above average and wasn't able to pound it out against the better run defenses. The Steelers don't necessarily need to get back to the power running game--they need to be a better 4th quarter running team.

2. Santonio Holmes departure is going to hinder the passing game. SELL.
Mike Wallace is going to make all of Pittsburgh forget about Santonio Holmes and pretty soon Emmanuel Sanders is going to do the same thing. The rookie out of Southern Methodist is a surprisingly crisp route runner, speedy, agile, and also has nice hands. He could be a major steal. Once Roethlisberger gets back the passing attack is going to be really good and with the way Roethlisberger moves around in the pocket it lessens the importance for good route running. And with Roethlisberger's love to push the ball downfield Mike Wallace's numbers could be huge. Wallace also has great sideline balance. He's going to be a breakout player.


3. If Dennis Dixon wins the starting job ahead of Leftwich and plays well it will create a major quarterback controversy in Pittsburgh. SELL.
For the first few weeks, it's possible. If Dixon plays well and the team is winning those first few weeks it's going to come up, but people are going to forget it about it when Roethlisberger brings the Steelers deep into the playoffs. Pittsburgh as a city is united in hatred of Big Ben, but the possible trade scared Roethlisberger straight I think. He seems to realize just how good he has it in a city that loves their football, he's led to two Super Bowl wins, and gave him a 100 million dollar contract. The hatred of Ben won't last.

4. The Steelers running game is going to rebound in 2010. BUY.
Slowly but surely Maurkice Pouncey and Kraig Urbik are going to work their way into the starting offensive line--possibly both at guard. The Steelers line is also slowly improving. Willie Colon was one of the better tackles in the league last year, and I expect Pittsburgh to try and work out a long-term deal. Mendenhall wore down at the end of the season and struggled against the better defenses. However, Mendenhall has already proven he can pretty much turn any above average or worse run defense into swiss cheese. One step forward is all he needs, and Mewelde Moore and late round draft pick Jonathan Dwyer could help that.



5. The Steelers defense will be back to championship form. BUY.
Troy Polamalu needs to stay healthy for this to happen, because he's the total difference maker. With his improved coverage skills he makes the entire Steelers secondary better. Bryant McFadden returning to Pittsburgh is an interesting fit. He was always better in Pittsburgh then in Arizona, and if he has a healthy and fit front seven in front of him as the number two corner he should do alright. It won't be great, but it'll do.

6. The Steelers are back to contender status. BUY.
Buy it all day. Roethlisberger will be back after a month, the offensive line is going to enjoy a run blocking boost when Urbik and Pouncey move into the line-up, the Steelers front seven is incredibly deep with Hampton and Hoke at nose tackle, the looming breakout of Ziggy Hood at end, and the deep linebacking corps. that includes rookies Jason Worilds and Thad Gibson.