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The Steelers have made and broken camp at St. Vincents, gone 0-4 in the preseason, cut the roster to 53 and scoured the waiver wire.
Commentators of all sorts and from all corners have analyzed the 2013 Pittsburgh Steelers from almost every possible angle. Even so, with just 5 days remaining before the season's start, 5 Burning Questions remain for Steelers Nation to grapple with.
1. "We lost parts of an 8-8 team " was Kevin Colbert's response to free agent defections. Colbert pledged change and he delivered as the Steelers have radically reshaped either the starting line ups and/or the benches of the offensive line, secondary, running backs, and quarterbacks.
Was such profound change necessary or did the Steelers brain trust cut too deeply?
2. Since cutting the roster to 53 cuts the Steelers have used the waiver wire more aggressively than at any time in recent memory. How do you interpret this? Are these acts of a savvy front office seeking extra "added value" out of roster spots 49-53 or do these moves smack of a front office that's desperate?
3. Based on what you've read and seen, is the decision to start Ziggy Hood over Cameron Heyward because Hood's improve or is it because Heyward's stunted development?
4. The only times the Steelers have gone winless in the preseason were 1965, 1987, and 2006. Observer-Reporter columnist John Steigerwald even dug out a study detailing how poorly 0-4 preseason teams have fared when the games began to count.
Is the Steelers 0-4 preseason cause for concern for or not? Defend your answer.
5. The Steelers used their injury reserve-recall designation on Matt Spaeth. Do you think it is wise to use their only injured reserve-recall designation on a back up tight end?
There you have them folks. For those of you new to the column, let me quickly summarize the rules: Use only a No. 2 dark pencil, you must show your work to get full credit, all work must be your own, but looking at your neighbor's papers is encouraged.
Have at it folks!