Ask a Steeler fan

Right now, it seems we are banking on William Gay to step up and assume Mcfaddens #2 CB role opposite from Ike Taylor. McFadden was injured during the year, and Gay and Townsend performed well enough in his absence that Mcfadden actually ended up having to split time with Gay because of how well he was playing. That being said, i expect teams to throw in Gay’s direction, so he will have to step up big time, but we in Steeler Nation think he is capable.

As for Foote, it was unfortunate that he left, but it is Lawrence Timmons time now. Timmons may well be the best athlete on the team, it just now needs to be applied to the football field. He is very good rushing the passer, and he replaced Foote in passing situation due to his superior coverage skills and speed. I think you will be seeing a huge year out of him, provided he has the durability to play 3 downs

Ah the O-Line, in the end, we were at the bottom of the first, with no real chance at getting a top class OL worthy of a 1st round pick. The fact that many OL prospects that we passed on lasted till the middle 2nd round, it seems we were not the only ones who werent "1st round: impressed with the likes of Unger and Beatty. We took a couple OL who could be moulded into future plans, but i think that we wil be using the same Oline as last season, so its time to put faith in the coaches to get them up to scratch.
Khalif Barnes was probably the only FA OL who the Steelers would have been interested in based on age, but he was commanding too high a price tag.

In summary, we look like our Defense will keep us in games, and we have Big Ben who has proven he can win games in the last quarter, even if the first 3 quarters arent the best.

The thing with Joe Flacco is you cant teach poise. You ever have it, or you dont. That was the problem i saw with Kyle Boller, he’d get hit once in the game, and then was constantly up on his toes for the rest of it rushing throws because he let the pressure get to him. Flacco I think will benefit greatly from last year, he was very calm in the pocket, and even on MNF against the Steelers when he got sacked numerous times (icluding the fumble TD), he always came back out and stood strong and held his ground. You cant teach that. This year, he should (keyword: should) be much more mature as a leader, and he knows what to expect from tough defenses after playing Pittsburgh 3 times and Tennessee twice. I love his deep ball, probably one of the best I have seen, if he can get his short-intermediate game up to par and not force throws (see AFCCG), i think he should have a very good second year.

As for frontrunning fans, it can be a little annoying but for the most part doesnt bother me too much. Howvever when fans of say Detroit or Kansas City try to say “Im actually a fan of the Steelers too” just so they can feel good for a moment bugs me, or people who dont even follow football suddenly say “oh i like the Steelers”. Ive always believed in a one team only mentality, no soft spots for other teams. You can respect other teams, but id never cheer for another team unless there was say a friend in it or the Steelers needed that team to win for whatever reason. The Steelers, like the Yankees and the Lakers, are always consistently up the top, which is always going to bring out the glory seeker fans unfortunately.

Our Uniforms aren’t about looking good, (we have the throwbacks for that) they’re about a timeless organization. It’s about history, and I know B-more is still a young franchise but you will find yours soon. I love the uniforms, it’s easily the most recognizable uniform in the world. I think that Baltimore needs to come up with it’s own gimmick (GB-Cheese heads, Pitt-Terrible towel.) It would be sweet. You guys should start a thread and brainstorm. I’ll help. Lol

….he has some issues that can’t seem to be resolved without evasive surgery and shock therapy.
(even though we agree w/ him).

Only question I have for you is…..

Which set of hair contains more power, Joe Flacco’s unibrow or Palamlu’s afro? You better give the right answer!

I hope the 7th Superbowl title :)

lol, not that i know of

2. The Ravens fans seem to think that we would be as good with Troy Smith at QB.

By Ravens fans, you do mean Malor, right?

Do you think Troy Smith would have looked as good in that last 2007 game if the Steelers had been more concerned with getting a win than with getting past a meaningless game without any injuries to key players?

We like the pickup of Hood in the first round, as the DLine, although still playing well, is getting long on the tooth and we need replacements eventually. Hood will be groomed as a 3-4 end rather than tackle.
Footes departure at MLB opened the door for Timmons, who everyone in Pittsburgh is really excited about. The guy is just a physical freak, and may just be the best athlete on the team. Gay and Sweed are expected to step up, which I think they will.
The thing with the OL is that i really think we need to keep together the guys who played the majority of last season together, although everyone wants a replacement for Willie Colon. Our OL last year was nearly completely different from 2007 season, we lost Faneca to FA, then Simmons and Smith early on to injury. I see the OL to improve, but still be below average, i hope im wrong. Continuity can do wonders for a team, which I think is the way our coaches have approached the OL problems.

I expect the Steelers and Ravens to duke it out again, but im really not underestimating the Bengals too.

Keyaron Fox and Andre Frazier most likely those to step into the backup MLB role, although neither have the skill level Foote had. Steeler fans are high on Fox as a backup, so heres hoping it delivers. It is yet to be seen whether our LB rotation will be as effective with Foote now gone. I think the starting 4 will now dominate playing time, rather than 5.
Fourth cornerback behind Taylor, Gay and Townsend is a little hazy. Personally i really like our 3rd round pick Keenan Lewis, who i think will take the role come seasons end, but it could well be Keiwan Ratliff, who we got in FA to begin with.
Fourth WR is likely to be Shaun McDonald, who we picked up in FA after he departed Detroit. Sweed WILL be the #3. However he will face strong competition from Mike Wallace, our 1st 3rd round pick, who is a real burner and really what we need to stretch the field now that Washington has left. People close to the organisation also have Martin Nance rated highly, but i think hes more likely battling for a 5th slot.

Timmons and Woodley are my up and comers to watch, which sounds stupid since they arent really all that new. I just really really feel we havent seen the best out of them yet. Woodley in the postseason was the most dominant player on our Defense, and i really really think this year he blows up everyone.

As for lesser knowns, Frank “the Tank” Summers has nearly all of Steeler Nation excited, as a bruiser of a back, who hopefully will see some action although he has Parker, Mendy and Moore in front of him.

I also really want to see Mike Wallace step up in our return game, as ours was just embarassing last year, i mean we were returning kicks with two slow, power RBs (one was a fullback for effs sake!).

Its hard to pick up and comers, because there isnt much space to break into considerable playing time due to us only having 2 starters depart