Baby steps

As doubtful I am that the Steelers will win a Wild Card spot this season, I'm equally hopeful about the future of this team. All that's necessary, in my view, is for the team to make a series of small changes--call 'em baby steps.

There's certainly nothing wrong with the core of this team. While every Steeler fan is banging his/her head on the wall by now, we don't need to throw out the baby with the bath water in fixing what's wrong. That's how you end up like the Detroit Lions or Tampa Bay Bucs.

So here's a look at what I think is working and what needs some work. Let's hear what you think.

Stuff that's working:

1) Big Ben: This guy is a winner and money in the bank--pure and simple. Sure he needs to develop some new ways to get it done, but there's no doubt this is the top guy you'd want calling signals for your team--even if you could choose from any QB in the league.

2) WRs: The Steeler receiving corps is among the NFL's best. To reach their full potential, though, they need a much more diverse offensive scheme. The Steelers aren't respected much for their running game or for short passing, especially to the RBs. This needs to change, and soon.

3) OL: Good and getting better, but perhaps one key player away from being excellent. Not sure whether we need to take an offensive lineman in next year's draft. It depends on how the younger guys (Stapleton, Urbik, Foster, Legursky, Hills, Shipley) pan out. Pretty clear, though, that we need to work on our run blocking to get more consistency with Mendy.

4) LBs: I don't buy that Farrior is finished or that Timmons is a disappointment. Both of these guys have been in there making important plays all season. And if you say the Steeler LBs aren't good enough, you're really saying the Steelers don't know how to draft LBs--a totally crazy idea. The LBs are suffering now mainly because of a banged-up line and poor play in the secondary. 

5) Backup QB: Dennis Dixon is an exciting player with enormous upside. Get him more involved in the offense and help him develop. Ben won't always be healthy, especially the way he likes to run the ball (without any hook slide). But we might also get an opportunity during the off-season to trade Dixon to a team needing a good young QB. Maybe we can use a trade to fill one of our pressing needs. If Dixon can get some additional game experience before the end of the season (but hopefully only in mop-up roles), his stock on the trade market might go up considerably. It would be great to keep Dixon but the Steelers can find a lot of guys to back up Ben capably. In Pittsburgh, Dixon will never get to play anyway.   

Stuff not working:

1) DBs:  We need two guys back there besides Troy who can catch the ball and make occasional splash plays. Maybe we've got them on our roster already (Mundy, Lewis, Burnett?), but probably not. Don't forget that Troy was a top draft pick. I think we'll need another one for back there in 2010. Deshea, it's been a great run man, but I'm afraid you're done.

2) Defensive Line: The problems here are reaching critical mass, especially if Hampton, Smith, or both retire. All we've got left there now are some graying part-timers and Ziggy the rookie. Ziggy is gonna be a stud but we need some immediate help in the draft or via trade.

3) Special Teams:  A huge disappointment and a factor in too many Steeler losses. We need to get some head-crackers in there and put an end to all this silliness. Logan is good enough as a return guy and he's worth the roster spot no matter what some people think. With even an ounce of creativity, we should also be able to find a way to use this guy's speed in the offense. It's not like we couldn't use another option on 3rd down plays.

4) Kicking:  Jeff Reed is still a very accurate and dependable FG kicker. But his kickoff distance leaves much to be desired. So far, Daniel Sepulveda hasn't been the punter we thought we were getting when he was drafted. He's getting outkicked pretty consistently by opposing teams' punters. Not saying that Daniel needs to go; just that he needs to get better. 

5) Matt Spaeth: Tomlin loved this guy as a college player, but it hasn't translated to the NFL. His roster spot is simply too valuable and he needs to go.

Well that's my prescription. Bombs away!!