Bumped to the main page. I'm just about tired of the draft, so I'm pleased to see selections like this about the rest of our roster. BadMaafala has been rolling out fantastic write-ups about our selections, but once those are completed, I look forward to putting the draft behind us for awhile. - Blitz -

There's a lot of concern about the state of the o-line in Steeler Nation, in part merited but to a great degree overblown. Steelers fans need to worry about something, and this is the gripe of choice these days.

The constant refrain I hear is that the 2008 season will be doomed by the toughest schedule in the league (true) and a shoddy offensive line (maybe). The offensive line may still prove me wrong, but i suspect that - while not dominant - our line will be less of a "sky is falling" disaster than many are predicting.

Here's 7 reasons why:

1)  New center - the center might be the most important player on the line. The left tackle protects the QB's blindside, but the center brings the rest of the line into a cohesive unit. Last year, other players were forced to slide over and help Mahan, exposing other areas on the line. Big DT's could collapse the center of the pocket and force ben into outside edge rushers.

Opinions are mixed, quite fairly, about Justin Hartwig. He was a big free agent acquisition for Carolina, and didn't quite work out. The reason he was let go, however, had more to do with Ryan Kalil taking his place than a strict failing on his part. He will likely be the starter in 2008. But i'm more excited about Darnell Stapleton, the former free agent the coaches liked enough to keep on the roster last year. His weight is up to 315, though he'll drop a bit for conditioning purposes, and i think he will see some playing time with Hartwig as a good mentor. He could start this year, or more likely in 2009.

Simply reinforcing the center of the line could do wonders for the whole unit.

2) Technique - Russ Grimm has a different style than Larry Zierlein - for one, he's more careful about forwarding emails. But more importantly is his philosophy. I remember hearing last year that players were having a hard time to adjusting to his preferred techniques. While Grimm's philosophy was "just block the guy," Zierlein prefers the whole line to quick set - firing off the ball and getting a good initial punch. I wouldn't be surprised if some of our problems in 2007 didn't come from the adjustment - and if next year will be better because the line will be operating with the technique that the blocking assignments are drawn up for.

3) 2008 Isn't the problem - This is a big one when it comes to complaints about us not trading away our entire draft for some 1st round lineman. It wasn't likely that any of the rookies short of Jake Long would have been starters this year anyway. 2009 is the concern, because Marvel Smith and Max Starks will both be free agents. Hopefully, Hills will develop into a solid starter. If not, we'll have another draft to pick up a stud tackle (Michael Oher, anyone?)

4) More weapons - Tomlin's remark about protecting the QB by giving him weapons is part spin, but has a grain of truth to it. A defense will be more reluctant to blitz if Ben can dump the ball off to Mendenhall (better hands than parker) and he can take it to the house, or if ben can fire the ball off more quickly but less accurately because he is hitting a big target like Sweed. Even better, we could see some sets with Holmes and Sweed out wide and Hines in the slot finding soft spots against zone D.

5) Better Ben - Ben will never be a check-down throw the ball away kind of guy. But he also wouldn't be Ben if he did, because some of the times we want him to throw the ball away he makes big plays. If Ben keeps improving, so will the o-line - a lot of those sacks were his fault. Moreover, he potentially can make big plays just by checking down to a back like mendenhall or letting it go early to a WR like Sweed who can break a tackle.

6) We're pretty good at running - as others have said, we had the league's leading rusher before Willie went down with an injury. Pass protection is the biggest issue. Of course, we lost our best run blocker, which leads us to...

7) Guard play - yes, Alan Faneca is gone. I'm guessing that hurts our run game more than pass pro, since that was never his strength. But we're better off at the guard position than people think. Kendall Simmons started out awfully, but i've read a couple of reviews of our line that said he got better as the season went on (see #2?). And Zierlein says Chris Kemoeatu almost beat out Simmons last year. Plus - that kids a beast. Anyone else remember the game (I think it was the preseason) where Kemoeatu was flagged for whacking a defender upside the head? He knocked the guy's helmet clean off with a punch from one hand. If he improves the mental aspect of his game, that's the type of aggression i want to see on the field.

So there you have it. Now that i've put this down in writing, no doubt our offensive line will suck just to spite me. But i'm cautiously optimistic that it won't be as bad as everyone is saying. What do you think?