The 2006 season is one the Pittsburgh Steelers and their fans would like to forget. Their up and coming star quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger, almost lost his life between a motorcycle accident followed up by an appendectomy right before the start of the season. The one stout Pittsburgh defense could not feed off the strength of a 3-4 defense by only managing 39 sacks compared to their own signal caller hitting the ground 49 times. Despite this, the Steelers ended the season with an 8 8 record. If they expect to improve on last year, here are the questions that need to be answered in the upcoming NFL season.
The “Retirement” of Bill Cowher Whether Bill Cowher remains away or he returns within a year or two, Cowher has left his mark on the NFL and the city of Pittsburgh. The man is beloved and treated like a God, thanks to his continual success. Even despite the fact he only managed to win one Superbowl over the course of 15 years, he helped guide the Steelers to playoffs more often than not. First year coach, Mike Tomlin will have some big shoes to fill. What will make this task easier is that this is a team for the most part that won the Super Bowl after the 2005 season. Already people have noted that Tomlin’s training camps have been more physical than those in past years under Cowher. And with the sour taste of 2006 in their mouths, expect the Steelers to start fast out of the gate when they face Cleveland in Week 1.
Change of Pace In 2007 season, you will not see your typical Steelers football. Most fans may feel a bit uneasy when they see Roethlisberger line up with four wide receivers on first or second down. By the end they will like the results of the Bruce Ariens offense. The new offensive coordinator plans on playing to the strengths of his key players and play with a more aggressive nature. The spread formations should create more creases and lanes for Willie Parker to hit the big run. Roethlisberger has already shown improvement during the Spring and expect to see him improve his game dramatically compared to the 2006 campaign.
Return of the Steel Curtain One smart move the Steelers did in the off-season was to let Joey Porter and his 5.5 sacks run off to the Miami Dolphins. Not only did we see a drop in sacks by the defense, the number of forced fumbles dropped from 29 in 2005 to only 13 in 2006. For their 3-4 defense to be successful, the Steelers need to have more production from the outside linebacker position.
