Pittsburgh's 27-0 Shut Out of the St. Louis Rams was quite a nice present Christmas present on behalf of the franchise to the faithful in Steelers Nation. But even such a victory as this has left us with plenty of material for this week's installment of the 5 Burning Questions.
1. Ed Bouchette has been arguing on PG Plus that the Steelers are not giving Hines Ward a fair shot at getting his 1000 catches and suggests that someone in the Steelers organization "has it in for him." Do you agree with the erstwhile "Dean of the Steelers press corps." that Hines Ward isn't getting a fair shake?
2. The Steelers run defense has improved steadily throughout the season after a weak start. Neal Coolong, however took the running defense to task for its performance vs. St. Louis. Are you concerned that the running defense might be slipping at just the wrong time, or do you see the Rams' game as an aberration?
3. Michael Bean spelled out a number of individual milestones that players can reach in the Cleveland game (click here for Michael's list). All these milestones are understandably important to individuals in question. But which individual milestones, if achieved, will tell you that the team is headed in right direction with the playoffs starting?
4. For several summers at St. Vincent, Trai Essex has treaded the borderline between securing a roster spot and starting his "life's work." Does the versatility he brings, being able to step in at all five offensive line positions out weigh the reality that Essex failed mature into a solid starter, which you expect 3rd round picks to do?
5. Mike Wallace, Troy Polamalu, Antonio Brown, Maurkice Pouncey and Ben Roethlisberger will represent the Steelers at the Pro Bowl. What other Steelers do you think to deserve to go?
There you have them folks have at it!