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Steelers: A new coach means a new start for Ben Roethlisberger.
4. If the Chargers plan to flash a look similar to last year's, the Pittsburgh Steelers will go the other way. Bill Cowher's retirement removed the longest tenured coach in the league from the scene. The Steelers hired Mike Tomlin, 35, off his one season as the Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator.
Tomlin wants to open up the offense, use more formations with multiple tight ends and swing back and forth between the Steelers' traditional 3-4 defense and his 4-3 scheme, based on the Tampa 2. The Steelers released linebacker Joey Porter, a key cog in their drive to the Super Bowl two years ago, and drafted Lawrence Timmons and LaMarr Woodley.
Whether or not the Steelers line up the way they used to, they want to restore some of the speed and attitude they once possessed on defense after slipping to 8-8 and third place in the AFC North last year.
"Quite honestly, we have to be better than we were last year as a pressure team, especially on third down," says Kevin Colbert, Pittsburgh's director of football operations. "So hopefully we have added two guys that can help there right away."
The Steelers won't have to worry about the Super Bowl hangover after missing the playoffs. Of prime importance, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger should come to training camp healthy. A motorcycle accident in spring 2006 left him with head and facial injuries that kept him from the spring workouts. He missed the season opener after an appendectomy and suffered a concussion in Week 7. He did not look like the player who led the Steelers to a 15-1 record in 2004 and the Super Bowl in 2005.
Though he started every game but the first, his physical condition limited him. Bottom Line: 18 touchdown passes, 23 interceptions. Over his frist two seasons, he thew 34 TD passes and only 20 picks.
The Steelers must claw their way back in a tough division. The Baltimore Ravens were 13-3 before losing a home playoff game to the Colts. The Ravens did not allow a touchdown to Peyton Manning and Co., but five field goals proved to be enough in a 15-6 humiliation. The Cincinnati Bengals also must be reckoned with, though they draw much of their notoriety for reasons having nothing to do with the game.
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