With Ben Roethlisberger's legal problems and NFL suspension, Santonio Holmes traded, and two key players lost for the season with injuries, it's probably going to be a long season for the Steelers.
View full sizeThe Steelers are hoping QB Byron Leftwich can keep them afloat until Ben Roethlisberger returns from a six-game suspension.As NFL training camps prepare to open next week, Plain Dealer pro football and Browns beat reporter Tony Grossi takes a closer look at Cleveland's rivals in the AFC North Division.
No team in the AFC North suffered a worse off-season than the Pittsburgh Steelers.
To wit:
•Franchise quarterback Ben Roethlisberger drew nationwide and civic scorn, plus a six-game NFL suspension, following accusations that he sexually assaulted a 20-year-old woman March 5 in Milledgeville, Ga.
•Receiver Santonio Holmes, MVP of the team's 2008 season Super Bowl championship, was traded to the Jets after an off-field transgression in March.
•Right tackle Willie Colon and receiver Limas Sweed were lost for the season after suffering Achilles tendon injuries in off-season practices. Charles Scott, a rookie tackle who may have competed to fill Colon's starting spot, broke a bone in his foot working out and will need three months to recover from surgery.
Then came news that top draft choice Maurkice Pouncey, a natural center expected to start at right guard, is the focus of an NCAA investigation of the Florida football program. That won't affect Pouncey's NFL career, of course, but it piled on the bad news for a franchise that has declined steadily since winning the Super Bowl in the 2008 season.
At a youth football camp in Pittsburgh last week, Kevin Colbert, the Steelers' director of football operations, said: "We know we have a huge challenge ahead of us. We didn't have the type of off-season that we're proud of."
Roethlisberger may have his suspension lifted after four games. In his place, the Steelers plan to use Byron Leftwich, who appeared in five games for them in their most recent Super Bowl year. Leftwich was immobile when he was 24 -- six years ago. His effectiveness behind an offensive line in disrepair is a huge question mark.
As always the case with Pittsburgh, there are fewer questions on defense. Draft selections Jason Worilds and Thaddeus Gibson will be phased in gradually as situational rushers, per the Steelers Way. But with age creeping up on their formidable defensive front and rock-solid linebacker James Farrior, who is 35, the Steelers need to have an offense on the rise, not on the descent, to remain an elite contender.
PITTSBURGH STEELERS
Full camp opens: July 30, Saint Vincent College, Latrobe, Pa.
2009 result: 9-7, missed playoffs.
2009 vs. Browns: 1-1. 27-14 in Pittsburgh, 6-13 in Cleveland.
2010 outlook: Back to the pack.
2010 uncommon opponents: Tennessee and Oakland.
Rookie to watch: OL Maurkice Pouncey. The Florida center, who had higher rankings than the Browns' Alex Mack in 2009, will break in as a starting guard.
Veteran to watch: QB Byron Leftwich. Reacquired in a trade with Tampa Bay in April, the immobile passer will start while Ben Roethlisberger serves a six-game league suspension.
Training camp issues: How will Roethlisberger's off-season troubles affect his relationship with teammates while coaches ready Leftwich for the season opener? How does the depleted offensive line scramble to protect the immobile Leftwich? Can safety Troy Polamalu prepare for the season without suffering another injury?