Pittsburgh Steelers Guide To 2009: Stairway To Seven, Super Bowl XLIV

2009 Pittsburgh Steelers Schedule

Thursday, Sept. 10 vs. Titans 8:30 p.m. (NBC)
Sunday, Sept 20 @ Bears 4:15 p.m. (CBS)
Sunday, Sept. 27 @ Bengals 4:15 p.m. (CBS)
Sunday, Oct. 4 vs. Chargers 8:20 p.m. (NBC)
Sunday, Oct. 11 @ Lions 1 p.m. (CBS)
Sunday, Oct. 18 vs. Browns 1 p.m. (CBS)
Sunday, Oct. 25 vs. Vikings 1 p.m. (FOX)
Sunday, Nov. 1 BYE
Monday, Nov. 9 @ Broncos 8:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Sunday, Nov. 15 vs. Bengals 1 p.m. (CBS)
Sunday, Nov. 22 @ Chiefs * 1 p.m. (CBS)
Sunday, Nov. 29 @ Ravens * 8:20 p.m. (NBC)
Sunday, Dec. 6 vs. Raiders * 1 p.m. (CBS)
Thursday, Dec. 10 @ Browns 8:20 p.m. (NFL Network)
Sunday, Dec. 20 vs. Packers * 1 p.m. (FOX)
Sunday, Dec. 27 vs. Ravens * 1 p.m. (CBS)
Sunday, Jan. 3 @ Dolphins * 1 p.m. (CBS)

* Flexible Scheduling

** All Times Eastern

Schedule Analysis

As I mentioned in my last post, the Steelers have two hidden Bye Weeks. The hidden Bye Weeks follow after these games: Thursday, Sept. 10 vs. Titans 8:30 p.m. (NBC), Thursday, Dec. 10 @ Browns 8:20 p.m. (NFL Network).

The first hidden Bye Week is more legitimate than the second, due to the expense of a shortened week by this game: Thursday, Dec. 10 @ Browns 8:20 p.m. (NFL Network), though every fan of Steeler Nation knows that the Cleveland Browns have a good while before they figure out how to beat the Steelers.

On the schedule, the Steelers have two 8:30 games on (NBC & ESPN), three 8:20 games on (NBC & NFL Network), two 4:15 games on (CBS), and nine 1:00 games on (CBS & FOX).

There are six teams on the schedule that I believe will give the Steelers a run for their money.

They are as follows:

Tennessee Titans - Last year they defeated the Steelers at LP Field 31-14. This year their biggest loss was DT Albert Haynesworth to the Washington Redskins. Though I don't believe that would make them any less of a threat, they still field a decent defense. Then again, as of late, the Steelers players regard the Terrible Towel like Steeler Nation does, using the stunt that the Titans players pulled with the Terrible Towel as motivation to give the Titans what they have coming to them.

Chicago Bears - Last time the Steelers played the Bears was in the 2005 season. The Steelers defeated the running HB Jerome Bettis up the gut. Since then, the Bears traded QB Kyle Orton to the Denver Broncos for QB Jay Cutler, giving them a reliable quarterback they haven't had in a good while. Still I believe that the Steelers defense will stuff them like a turkey on Thanksgiving Day.

San Diego Chargers - The Steelers played the Chargers twice last year, defeating them in the regular season with lowest point swing in the annals of football play at 11-10, and in the post season with a bone chilling crush at Heinz Field 35-24. Even still, the Chargers are no push-over with LaDainian Tomlinson and Shawne Merriman returning from injury plagued seasons in 2008. But I believe the Steelers will strike lightening three times in the same places for the win.

Minnesota Vikings - Yes! Yes! I know QB Brett Favre is still learning how to stay retired at the University of Retirement. So, the Vikings were successful signing Brett out of retirement, with the hopes of a rematch of Super Bowl IX. With Favre at the helm anything can happen, which makes the Vikings a suitable contender. Though I think James Harrison and Lamarr Woodley will give him a dose of retirement medicine, helping the Steelers clobber the Vikings.

Green Bay Packers - After Brett Favre retired the first time, at the beginning of the 2008, the Green Bay Packers promoted QB Aaron Rogers as their franchise gun slinger. Even though Rogers is no Favre, he still is no push-over. The Packers also revamped their defense to a 3-4, drafting NT B.J. Raji to anchor it. Time will tell if their 3-4 defense will stand up to the Steelers 3-4 defense. The Steelers still have the edge to win this game.

Baltimore Ravens - Last season the Ravens and the Steelers had three games of slug-fests, with the Steelers throwing the hardest punch en-route Super Bowl XLIII with three wins. Now the Ravens lost their defensive coordinator Rex Ryan to become the Jets Head Coach, bringing along with him LB Bart Scott and S Jim Leonard. The Ravens will still put up a fight with the Steelers, leaving me to believe the series will be knotted up at 1-1.

The rest of the teams the Steelers play are pretty much cake walks, though there are three teams that I think are sleepers, meaning they could beat the Steelers if they rest on their laurels. Then again I don't see coach Mike Tomlin allowing that to happen. I will not go into details with these teams.

Sleeper teams as follows:

Cincinnati Bengals

Oakland Raiders

Miami Dolphins

Steelers 2009 Team Roster

No	Name	Pos	Hgt	Wt	Birthday	Exp	College
55	Bailey, Patrick	LOLB	6-4	235	11/19/85	2	Duke
16	Batch, Charlie	QB	6-2	216	12/5/74	12	Eastern Michigan
27	Burnett, Joe	CB	5-9	192	11/28/86	R	Central Florida
23	Carter, Tyrone	SS	5-9	195	3/31/76	10	Minnesota
25	Clark, Ryan	FS	5-11	205	10/12/79	8	Louisiana State
74	Colon, Willie	RT	6-3	315	4/9/83	4	Hofstra
02	Dixon, Dennis	QB	6-3	195	1/11/85	2	Oregon
93	Eason, Nick	RDE	6-3	305	5/29/80	7	Clemson
79	Essex, Trai	RG	6-4	324	12/5/82	5	Northwestern
51	Farrior, James	LILB	6-2	243	1/6/75	13	Virginia
73	Foster, Ramon	OT	6-6	325	1/7/86	R	Tennessee
57	Fox, Keyaron	LILB	6-3	235	1/23/82	6	Georgia Tech
54	Frazier, Andre	ROLB	6-5	245	6/29/82	5	Cincinnati
22	Gay, William	LCB	5-10	190	1/1/85	3	Louisville
98	Hampton, Casey	NT	6-1	325	9/3/77	9	Texas
97	Harrison, Arnold	LOLB	6-3	241	9/20/82	4	Georgia
92	Harrison, James	ROLB	6-0	242	5/4/78	6	Kent State
62	Hartwig, Justin	C	6-4	312	11/21/78	8	Kansas
66	Hills, Tony	LT	6-5	304	11/4/84	2	Texas
76	Hoke, Chris	NT	6-2	305	4/6/76	9	Brigham Young
10	Holmes, Santonio	WR	5-11	192	3/3/84	4	Ohio State
96	Hood, Ziggy	DE	6-3	300	2/16/87	R	Missouri
85	Johnson, David	TE	6-2	260	8/26/87	R	Arkansas State
99	Keisel, Brett	RDE	6-5	285	9/19/78	8	Brigham Young
68	Kemoeatu, Chris	LG	6-3	344	1/4/83	5	Utah
90	Kirschke, Travis	LDE	6-3	298	9/6/74	13	UCLA
64	Legursky, Doug	C	6-1	315	6/9/86	1	Marshall
20	Lewis, Keenan	CB	6-0	208	5/17/86	R	Oregon State
11	Logan, Stefan	WR	5-7	185	6/2/81	1	South Dakota
87	McDonald, Shaun	WR	5-10	183	6/30/81	7	Arizona State
34	Mendenhall, Rashard	RB	5-10	225	6/19/87	2	Illinois
83	Miller, Heath	TE	6-5	256	10/22/82	5	Virginia
21	Moore, Mewelde	RB	5-11	209	7/24/82	6	Tulane
29	Mundy, Ryan	S	6-1	215	2/11/85	1	West Virginia
39	Parker, Willie	RB	5-10	209	11/11/80	6	North Carolina
43	Polamalu, Troy	SS	5-10	207	4/19/81	7	Southern California
31	Ratliff, Keiwan	CB	5-11	188	4/19/81	6	Florida
03	Reed, Jeff	PK	5-11	225	4/9/79	8	North Carolina
07	Roethlisberger, Ben	QB	6-5	241	3/2/82	6	Miami (Ohio)
09	Sepulveda, Daniel	P	6-3	230	1/12/84	3	Baylor
91	Smith, Aaron	LDE	6-5	298	4/9/76	11	Northern Colorado
89	Spaeth, Matt	TE	6-7	270	11/24/84	3	Minnesota
78	Starks, Max	LT	6-8	345	1/10/82	6	Florida
44	Summers, Frank	FB	5-10	230	9/6/85	R	UNLV
14	Sweed, Limas	WR	6-4	220	12/25/84	2	Texas
24	Taylor, Ike	RCB	6-2	195	5/5/80	7	La.-Lafayette
94	Timmons, Lawrence	RILB	6-1	234	5/14/86	3	Florida State
26	Townsend, Deshea	LCB	5-10	190	9/8/75	12	Alabama
65	Urbik, Kraig	G	6-5	323	9/23/85	R	Wisconsin
17	Wallace, Mike	WR	6-0	199	8/1/86	R	Mississippi
86	Ward, Hines	WR	6-0	205	3/8/76	12	Georgia
60	Warren, Greg	LS	6-3	252	10/18/81	5	North Carolina
56	Woodley, LaMarr	LOLB	6-2	265	11/3/84	3	Michigan
Reserve/Injured
49	McHugh, Sean	TE	6-5	265	5/27/82	6	Penn State
72	Stapleton, Darnell	RG	6-3	305	9/21/85	3	Rutgers

Note: Steelers.com had some position typos so I corrected them.

Roster Analysis

The Steelers have:

6 – Wide Receivers with Stefan Logan as a multi-purpose return specialist and Limas Sweed, Mike Wallace, and Shaun McDonald duking it out for the third WR spot.

3 – Quarterbacks with Charlie Batch returning as the back up to Big Ben Roethlisberger.

8 – Linebackers with Andre Frazier and Arnold Harrison joining the group.

7 – Defensive Linemen with rookie Ziggy Hood joining the group.

9 – Offensive Linemen with rookies Kraig Urbik & Ramon Foster, first year guy Doug Legursky, and second year guy Tony Hills joining the group.

3 – Tight Ends with David Johnson joining the crew.

10 – Defensive Backs with rookies Joe Burnett & Keenan Lewis, FA Keiwan Ratliff, and first year guy Ryan Mundy joining the pack.

3 – Running Backs with Willie Parker and Rashard Mendenhall returning from an injury plagued 2008 season.

1 – Fullback with rookie Frank Summers replacing Carey Davis.

3 – Specialists with LS Greg Warren, P Daniel Sepulveda, and PK Jeff Reed.

The practice squad is yet to be determined. A.Q. Shipley, Sonny Harris, and Issac Redman may be put on the practice squad if they clear waivers.

Summary

Now that I went through the schedule and roster, it's time to get down to brass taxes. We all know the Steelers won Super Bowl XLIII 27-23 against the Cardinals. However, now it is time for the Steelers to start anew and climb the “Stairway to Seven” Super Bowl XLIV.

In order for the Steelers to make the climb to the Super Bowl again, Head Coach Mike Tomlin will keep a keen eye on the players, to make sure that they don't rest on their laurels falling into complacency. The first order is for the offensive line to liberally work hard gelling together to protect Ben Roethlisberger from getting sacked 47 times.

The fairly new wide receivers need to step up and pull their weight, the running backs need to run crisp and find the holes to pick up the running game.

The defense is the defense, and Coach (Dad) Dick LeBeau has that squared away.

Special teams will be upgraded with Daniel Sepulveda back for his mountain high punts, and the addition of Stefan Logan will help give the Steelers great field position, something that they haven't had since Antwan Randle El left in 2006.

I'd have to say in full honesty, that the Steelers are primed and loaded to climb the “Stairway to Seven” and reach Super Bowl XLIV. Hopefully they will get there, and show that nothing stands in their way but themselves.