2008 Steeler Predictions
Last year, my predictions weren't that far off for the Pittsburgh Steelers. With the season to kick off this weekend, here are my thoughts for this season. (Aren't you excited!?!)
The Steelers left off last year with much room for improvement losing 4 of their last 5 games. So here are the questions the Steelers need to answer this year.
- Can the offensive line protect the franchise, Ben Roethlisberger, even after losing perennial pro bowl tackle, Alan Faneca? - For what it's worth, Pittsburgh has been one of the worst teams in the NFL giving up sacks, and Big Ben continues to produce (In fact, Ben finished with 104.1 passer rating, which was second in the NFL only to Tom Brady!). We got rid of Shawn Mahan, who I saw laying on his back or turned around watching Ben run for his life, one too many times last year. In Mahan's place is Justin Hartwig, who seems to have it together. However, RT Willie Colon still kills me, but I guess he can't do much worse than what he did last year (Someone please tell me again why Max Starks is still on the bench!?!)!
- Can Troy Polamalu stay healthy and bring the "Steel Curtain" down upon its opponents? In my book, when completely healthy, Troy is one of the best overall defensive players in the entire NFL. He can completely take control of a game and the Steelers' defense has a bite to its bark when Polamalu is on the field. However, Troy has been injury plagued for the past two seasons. He needs to stay healthy for Steelers to remain an elite defense in the league.
- Can we do any worse in special teams? Not much more needs said. Wow, we stunk on special teams last year! We do have Jeff "Skippy" Reed with his golden leg, and Rookie Rashard Mendenhall looks good on returning kick offs (as long as he doesn't fumble!).
So here's what you've been waiting for....
The Steelers will finish the regular season 10-6 and that will win the division! Also, they'll win one playoff game, however, I'm not sure how much deeper Pittsburgh go into the playoffs because much of that will depend on the health of the players and momentum.
LET'S GO STEELERS!!!
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