NFL News, Rumors, Scores, Predictions, and Stats

After winning the Super Bowl in 2008, the Steelers have had a tumultuous run both on and off the field. The team struggled to a 9-7 finish last season and then suffered through a horrendous offseason that included suspension for the franchise’s star player.

Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was suspended for four to six games for violating the league’s personal conduct policy. If that weren’t bad enough, wide receiver Santonio Holmes, coming off a career season, was traded due to his off-the-field troubles, and the team lost starting right tackle Willie Colon to a season-ending injury in June.

Whether or not the Steelers can remain in the playoff hunt despite these issues  in perhaps the league’s toughest division will be an interesting development to watch.

With Roethlisberger suspended, Byron Leftwich, Dennis Dixon, or Charlie Batch will be the team’s opening day starter at quarterback. That figures to increase the team’s reliance on the running ability of Rashard Mendenhall over the first part of the season. However, after passing the ball 536 times last year, the Steelers were expected to shift to a more balanced attack in 2010, even without Roethlisberger’s suspension.

Given Roethlisberger’s off-the-field issues, Steelers management is unlikely to give him another chance if he is involved in any more incidents. Still, he remains an elite quarterback.

After taking over as the team’s starter during Week 4, Mendenhall had an impressive 13-game stretch where he accumulated 1,063 rushing yards and six touchdowns. With no proven backup behind him, the Steelers need Mendenhall to remain healthy and to duplicate his feats from last season.

With Holmes out of the picture, second year speedster Mike Wallace moves into the starting lineup opposite Hines Ward. Wallace had an impressive rookie season that included several big plays, but he needs to prove that he can build on that production against starting cornerbacks. Ward is coming off a season in which he had the second most receiving yards of his 12-year career, and he doesn’t appear to be slowing down at thirty-one years of age.

The team is hoping to find a third receiver among veteran retreads Antwaan Randle El and Arnaz Battle or rookies Emmanuel Sanders (third round) and Antonio Brown (sixth round). Return specialist Stefan Logan could figure into the mix on gadget plays, as well.

At tight end, steady Heath Miller figures to see an expanded role with Roethlisberger out. He is a solid blocker and receiver but doesn’t offer much big play ability. Matt Spaeth backs him up.

With both the Bengals and Ravens shaping up as solid playoff contenders in 2010, the Steelers will be hard-pressed to make up ground if they struggle during Roethlisberger’s suspension. However, they will benefit from a schedule that features, over the first six weeks of the season, a number of winnable games.

QB Ben Roethlisberger

Roethisberger is coming off his best season as a pro, finishing as the eighth-ranked fantasy quarterback in 2009. The Steelers moved to a more pass-based offense last year, using three solid wide receivers in Hines Ward, Santonio Holmes, and second-year speedster Mike Wallace. However, Holmes was traded to the Jets, and the team is expected to move to a more ground-based attack in 2010.

Nonetheless, Roethlisberger’s fantasy prospects for 2010 were still solid until the league suspended him for four to six games for violating the league’s personal conduct policy.

Assuming a four-game suspension, Roethlisberger becomes a questionable fantasy starter, and drafting him becomes risky unless you plan on starting the fantasy season with three quarterbacks on your roster. If it turns out to be a six-game suspension, you need to plan on having two starting-caliber fantasy quarterbacks, and the resources to do so are likely better served strengthening your roster in other areas.

RB Rashard Mendenhall

From a fantasy perspective, the biggest winner from Ben Roethlisberger’s suspension is Mendenhall. The Steelers were expected to utilize the running game more in 2010 anyway, but Mendenhall now figures to be used even more heavily with Roethlisberger out of the lineup.

Mendenhall is a reasonably shifty runner who is a decent receiver (25 receptions last year), and he has impressive size, though he doesn’t always use it to maximum advantage. If he becomes a more physical runner, he has a chance for a true breakout fantasy season in 2010.

Once he was moved into the starting lineup in Week 4 last season, Mendenhall averaged a very impressive 13.8 fantasy points per game. Amongst running backs in 2010, Mendenhall is in the tier below the consensus Top Four running backs, and there is a decent chance he will be at the head of that tier by season’s end.

RB Jonathan Dwyer 

The rookie sixth-round pick has an opportunity to earn the primary backup role to Rashard Mendenhall.

While Mewelde Moore will assume the pass-catching role out of the Steelers backfield, his lack of size means the team will probably go with a bigger back in the starting role should Mendenhall go down with an injury, as he did during his rookie season in 2008.

Dwyer has good size at 5’11” and 230 pounds and was a workhorse runner at Georgia Tech. If Dwyer wins the role, he is worth taking a flier on and is worthy of using as a handcuff to Mendenhall.

WR Hines Ward

Mr. Consistency is back with the Steelers and, with Santonio Holmes off to New York, Ward’s role as the team’s top wide receiver seems secure for another couple of years.

At thirty-four years of age, there are no signs of Ward slowing down, and he is coming off his second consecutive 1000-yard season and has now reached that plateau in six of the last nine years (twice he finished with 975 yards). Even though he had to play through some nagging injuries last year, he managed his highest number of receiving yards since the 2003 season. He’s still Ben Roethlisberger’s security blanket.

Ward loses value because of the Roethlisberger suspension but gains targets with Holmes departing for the Jets.

WR Mike Wallace

Wallace looked like a budding star prior to the Holmes trade and he looks even better after it. He should be a solid option in 2010, even with the Roethlisberger suspension.

Wallace was the biggest surprise among rookie receivers in 2009, with 756 yards and six touchdowns—good enough for 34th overall at the position. Wallace has excellent speed and was as a solid deep threat for the Steelers last year, averaging 19.4 yards per reception. It’s not realistic for him to maintain that average in the starting lineup, but he should improve on his production from a year ago, and he has excellent upside and is a great option in keeper leagues.

TE Heath Miller

Coming off a career year, Miller emerged as a solid checkdown option for the Steelers as well as a great red zone target. He is likely to suffer due to Ben Roethlisberger’s four to six game suspension, which will likely reduce his looks in the red zone if the offense struggles.

However, he could quickly become a favorite for Dennis Dixon or Byron Leftwich, which may benefit him in PPR leagues. Miller was a low-end fantasy starter with Roethlisberger but reverts to a fantasy backup in 2010—albeit a high-end one.

Dave Stringer is a staff writer at FFToday.com , home of the popular Cheatsheet Compiler & Draft Buddy custom cheatsheet and draft tracking software.

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

You never know when a running back will go down or lose his spot because of fumbling issues. These are not guys for your fantasy roster, rather for your memory vault in case you need them.

LaRod Stephens-Howling, Arizona Cardinals
The second-year back out of Pitt caught three passes in the shootout playoff win over Green Bay. He’s buried in the Cardinals depth chart behind Beanie Wells and Tim Hightower, but could see an increased workload, especially in the passing game.

Jalen Parmele, Baltimore Ravens
If Ray Rice or Willis McGahee were to go down, Parmele could step in. He has the size (5’11, 220 lbs) and speed to take over as either the lead back or the goal line guy.

Bernard Scott, Cincinnati Bengals
Scott isn’t quiet as deep a sleeper after combining for 206 yards in Week 11 & 12 last year. If Benson went down, Scott would be a very hot commodity.

James Davis, Cleveland Browns
Davis was a sleeper last year, but never really got his shot after tearing his labrum. He’s behind Jerome Harrison and rookie Montario Hardesty, but could get a shot if there were issues in Cleveland.

Deji Karim, Jacksonville Jaguars
With Maurice Jones-Drew  leading the Jaguars’ attack, Karim might not get much run, especially with Rashad Jennings ahead of him on the depth chart. If MoJo did go down, it would take a committee to replace him, and Karim would certainly be included.

Albert Young, Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings would likely call on rookie Toby Gerhart if Adrian Peterson went down, but Young would be in the mix. He could also serve as the third-down back, which afforded Chester Taylor decent numbers last year.

Lynell Hamilton, New Orleans Saints
With Pierre Thomas and Reggie Bush ahead of him on the depth chart, Hamilton may not get many carries. That said, both PT and Bush have dealt with injuries in the past. Hamilton could fill the Mike Bell role.

Andre Brown, New York Giants
Brown’s 2009 season was lost to an Achilles injury, but if healthy, he could be in the mix this year. Brandon Jacobs is far from durable, which could speed the process up.

Jonathan Dwyer, Pittsburgh Steelers
First Dwyer will have to prove he can stay healthy. If he can, he could get a few carries.

Javon Ringer, Tennessee Titans
If the Titans plan to lessen Chris Johnson’s workload in 2010, Ringer would be the primary beneficiary.

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

After nearly one week of training camp for the Pittsburgh Steelers, the early reviews are coming in and one of the clear stars of camp has been Ben Roethlisberger.

Roethlisberger has been very sharp in team drills, moving swiftly throughout the pocket and connecting on a majority of his passes. Much of this can be credited to his physical conditioning as he is possibly in the best shape of his career.

Given his suspension, this will leave a lot of the members of the Steelers’ organization and fans alike wondering what could have been if Roethlisberger was able to start from week one.

Good news may be on the way though.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is coming to Latrobe on Thursday and will address the press and meet with Roethlisberger. So far, he has been impressed with Roethlisberger’s actions.

“He is doing what he’s been asked to do—and frankly more.”

Goodell continued, saying that Roethlisberger “understands the seriousness of this and the fact that he has to change the way he’s doing things. I’m encouraged by that.”

Through his comments, it is becoming apparent that Goodell will indeed reduce Roethlisberger’s suspension from six games to four games, which has been expected since the punishment was initially implemented.

Since Roethlisberger has gone “above and beyond” what Goodell has asked, people are now asking if the suspension will be reduced beyond four games?

According to one camp source, the an announcement of the reduction of Roethlisberger’s suspension could come as early as next week and Goodell may actually reduce it to two games.

UPDATE: When Goodell was asked today if Roethlisberger’s suspension could be reduced to fewer than four games, he stated, “I’ll make that decision later this month, but that’s the way it was designed. We’ll evaluate all of that at the end of the month.”

Overall, Goodell was pleased with Roethlisberger’s progress.

“Ben is doing great,” Goodell said. “I had a chance to chat with him briefly and hopefully we’ll talk again later today. I’ve been encouraged by what I have seen. He’s understanding the seriousness of teh issue. I think that’s a very positive development.”

In other camp news, Dennis Dixon is picking up his play and may be given an opportunity to have special packages in the Steelers offense.

According to ESPN Radio’s Ken Laird, “Steelers offensive coordinator Bruce Arians hints that Dixon might be used as a change of pace QB this year.”

If Dixon is used as a change of pace quarterback one thing is for certain, it will not be in the wildcat formation, something that Arians is not a fan of. Instead, Dixon told Laird: “I can pass/run depending on the situation. We’re still working on things, haven’t defined it yet.”

Wouldn’t that have been nice last year against Baltimore?

Beyond the quarterbacks, the offensive line is coming together nicely according to Arians.

“I’m really pleased. Trai (Essex) has done a fantastic job working with Flozell (Adams) and Flo’s jumped in and given us a great effort…I feel real fine with the right side of the line.”

The Steelers will need the line to fall into place if they are to run the ball more effectively in short yardage and fourth quarter situations.

But do not expect much more running than that as Arians still plans on throwing the ball. When asked if the Steelers could have a 4,000-yard passer and two 1,000-yard receivers, Arians felt that it was a definitely possibility.

“We want to have another 4,000-yard passer and two 1,000 yard receivers, I don’t care who they are. We should have had three last year.”

The Steelers quarterbacks will have plenty of options as long as rookie receivers Emmanuel Sanders and Antonio Brown continue to develop.

Sanders has been running outstanding routes all camp and has finally made an impact during team drills as the week progressed.

Brown has shown improvement each day and made several catches over the last few practices.

Others who have not had such a successful week have been rookies Jonathan Dwyer and Jason Worilds.

Dwyer, a sixth round running back, was considered a sleeper by many and was expected to contribute this season, but has been sidelined by injuries.

Worilds had flashed some ability, but a recent injury setback has kept him from practicing over the past few days.

This has put him behind fellow rookie outside linebacker Thaddeus Gibson, who has shown good pass rushing skills, but has to improve on his pass coverage.

Defensive linemen Ziggy Hood and Ra’Shon “Sunny” Harris have both had very good camps so far. Hood, in fact, is one of the best looking players on the Steelers roster right now and should be poised for a breakout year.

As the week comes to a close, the Steelers will hold a night practice at Latrobe Memorial Stadium on Friday evening. Traditionally, they run their fan favorite goal line drill at this practice, though this was not the case last season.

Given the team’s emphasis on improving the run, it should be expected that they run this drill this year. Keep an eye on Rashard Mendenhall, but maybe more importantly Isaac Redman.

Redman established himself as a good goal line presence last season, but it was not enough to get him on the team. He looks much more comfortable this season and continued success at the goal line will help him earn a roster spot.

I plan on provided live Twitter updates from practice Friday and will have a full weekend report on Monday.

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

The Pittsburgh Steelers have a tough challenge ahead of them for the 2010 season. They have to find a way to manage at least the first four games of the season without starting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who was suspended for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy.

At the same time the Steelers are trying to bounce back from a disappointing 2009 season where they failed to defend their Super Bowl title by missing the playoffs. Here is a look at what the Steelers bring to the table for the 2010 season, plus my prediction on where they finish the year in the AFC North.

Offense

The Steelers added veteran quarterback Byron Leftwich this offseason and he figures to battle it out with Dennis Dixon for the starting job until Roethlisberger gets back. If either of these guys gets the team off to a good start, it will be interesting to see if they immediately plug Roethlisberger back into the starting lineup.

Look for a monster season from running back Rashard Mendenhall, as he will get the majority of the carries this season with the team letting Willie Parker go. Mewelde Moore and rookie Jonathan Dwyer will compete for carries as the backup.

The Steelers decided to trade away Santonio Holmes to the Jets, after Holmes got into some trouble himself. Look for second-year pro Mike Wallace to take over for Holmes, while veteran Hines Ward remains the go-to guy out of the slot position. The Steelers also went out and signed Arnaz Battle and former Steeler Antwaan Randle El.

The offensive line wasn’t all that good in 2009, but the hope is first round pick Maurkice Pouncey can change that around. Pouncey is best suited to play center in the NFL, but will likely spend the season at right guard while Justin Hartwig holds down the position. The Steelers decided to stick with Max Starks at left tackle, even though he is better suited at the right tackle spot. Jonathan Scott figures to step in for the injured Willie Colon at right tackle.

Defense

The Steelers were able to lock up nose tackle Casey Hampton with a new deal, and even at 33-years-old he is one of the best at what he does. Defensive ends Aaron Smith and Brett Keisel are also getting up there in age, and Smith was only able to play five games last season. Keep an eye out for second-year end Ziggy Hood to make a bigger impact this season.

At linebacker the Steelers have two of the best outside linebackers in the league in James Harrison and LaMarr Woodley, but there are some concerns in the middle. The Steelers brought back Larry Foote after he spent one season in Detroit, and he figures to compete for a starting job with Lawrence Timmons and James Farrior.

The key to the Steelers defense is safety Troy Polamalu, who turns a really good defense into a great defense when he is on the field. The problem is that Polamalu has had some trouble staying healthy, and played just five games last season.

The Steelers re-signed safety Ryan Clark, who gives the Steelers a dangerous duo when he and Polamalu or on the field. At corner the Steelers welcome back Bryant McFadden, who should end up starting opposite Ike Taylor, but could get some competition from youngsters Keenan Lewis and Joe Burnett.

Prediction – 3rd AFC North

Even with a healthy Roethlisberger I think the Steelers would have a hard time topping both the Bengals and Ravens this season, but with Roethlisberger out for the first four games I don’t think this team will have what it takes to win the division in 2010.

See where I have every team finishing the 2010 season in my 2010 NFL predictions . If you plan on betting the NFL this season, be sure to stop back for our live NFL odds each and every week to ensure you the best chance at a winning season.

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

Thanks to bad behavior leading Big Ben to suspension and Santonio Holmes to being shipped out of town, the Steelers have all sorts of questions this year. Assuming Troy Polamalu can stay healthy, the defense should be formidable once again.

Fantasy Playoffs Schedule :  Moderate
The Steelers take on the Bengals and Jets at home in Week 14 and 15. Going by last year, they were two of the top defenses. I’m skeptical that the Bengals can play on as high a level this year. Still, neither game is a walk in the park. They then face Carolina on the road in the fantasy championship. It remains to be seen how the departure of Julius Peppers will affect the team, but John Fox usually puts out a strong defensive team.

Five Star Fantasy Options
None

Four Star Fantasy Options
Rashard Mendenhall—Mendenhall had 1369 total yards (1108 rushing) and 8 TDs (1 rushing) last year. He’ll likely be leaned on more in Big Ben’s abscence.

Steelers Defense/Special Teams—If Polamalu can’t stay healthy, knock them down a peg. If he can, they have some nice match-ups like Tampa Bay (Week 3), Cleveland (6), Oakland (11), and Buffalo in Week 12. They usually are among the league leaders in sacks and takeaways.

Three Star Fantasy Options
Ben Roethlisberger—Big Ben’s misdeeds got him what will likely be a four-game suspension. He’ll have to shake the rust off a little, but he should finish strong.

Hines Ward—So he’s 34. He’s in great shape and is clearly the No. 1 option in Pittsburgh. He should be a force in PPR leagues and a solid WR2 in standard leagues.

Heath Miller—Miller consistently turns in good fantasy seasons. He is a better actual TE because of his great blocking ability, but he is anything but an extra lineman out there. He could be a nice safety blanket early on and continue to shine when Big Ben returns.

Two Star Fantasy Options
Mike Wallace—Wallace has exceptional speed, but is a definite step back from Santonio Holmes. He’s only entering his second year, so there is still plenty to learn. He is a good option for WR depth, but I’m not sure I’d want to count on him from week to week.

One Star Fantasy Options
Byron Leftwich—Leftwich should get the four early starts. I don’t expect the Steelers to rely too much on the pass with him under center.

Mewelde Moore & Jonathan Dwyer—Moore is an elusive back that can do some exciting things on the field, but he’s a far cry from being a reliable fantasy option. Dwyer has good size, but he’ll have to stay healthy and learn how to play at this level.

Antwaan Randle El, Arnez Battle, & Emmanuel Sanders—Randle El is the guy to own initially out of this group.  Emmanuel Sanders is the guy to keep an eye on because he has much more upside.

Click here for additional 2010 NFL Team Previews .

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com