QB

Ben Roethlisberger

(+) He’s got a ton of talent, he’s huge (6’5”, 241 lbs), and he’s only 28-years old
(+) Despite a weak O-Line, he has shown really strong poise in the pocket and is very tough to bring down
(+) A solid run game around him should help keep defenses honest
(–) Pittsburgh lost a great playmaker in Santonio Holmes, but 2nd year standout Mike Wallace is ready to step in
(–) Off-the-Field issues have put him into a suspension that will last somewhere between 4-6 games
(–) The O-Line was already in very poor shape, and they just lost their best OL Willie Colon for the year

Byron Leftwich

Dennis Dixon

Charlie Batch

RB

Rashard Mendenhall

(+) Will begin the year as the clear-cut starter with no real backup looking to take carries away
(+) Mike Tomlin and the Steelers front office have completely re-committed to the run
(+) Ben Roethlisberger will be out for the first 4-6 games, which should lead the Steelers to depend on Rashard even more
(+) Averaged 85.2 rushing yards, 100.8 total yards and had 8 total TDs in the 13 games he was the primary ball-carrier in 2009
(–) His best O-Lineman in Willie Colon went down for the year
(–) Mendenhall plays in one of the toughest divisions against the run
(–) Defenses may crowd the box in the first 4-6 games with Leftwich as the QB and Santonio Holmes gone

Jonathan Dwyer

 (+) Started out as a 1st-round talent coming into the draft, but fell into the 6th round due to a poor combine and unknown medical concerns.  He’ll have something to prove
 (+) A bruiser at 5’11”, 229 lbs, Dwyer can break tackles as good as anyone and might end up taking the goal-line duties from Mendenhall
 (+) Was a sprinter coming out of High School, so even though he’s 30 lbs heavier now, there’s still speed in those massive legs
 (+) If something were to happen to Mendenhall, Dwyer would have a shot at being the starter on a good running Steelers team
 (–) Dwyer has a tendency to lose his muscular structure and fall out of shape from time to time
 (–) Realistically, the guy has no chance of taking the starting job from Rashard Mendenhall
 (–) Played in a “college-style” option offense at Georgia Tech, so will need time to adapt to the Pro game

Mewelde Moore

WR

Hines Ward

(+) Hines is more likely to miss a game for a charity event than a broken tibia
(+) For the first 4-6 games of the season, he’ll be Byron Leftwich’s guy
(+) Despite his age, he’s actually gotten better over the past three years
(+) Ward has a never-say-die attitude and can absolutely RUIN you on any given play
(–) No Roethlisberger could spell trouble
(–) Ward is a post-prime player on what could be a post-prime team
(–) Pittsburgh has the second toughest pass schedule in the league

Mike Wallace

(+) Wallace now becomes a starter and is the only legit deep threat with Santonio Holmes jettisoned to New York
(+) As a 3rd-round pick, Mike burst onto the scene last year and was one of the best sleepers in 2009
(+) Wallace actually led the league in YPC (19.4 YPC, DeSean Jackson was 2nd at 18.6)
(+) At the combine, Wallace ran a 4.33 40-yard dash despite weighing a robust 200 lbs
(–) Big Ben is suspended for the 1st 6 games (could be 4), so the Steelers will likely turn to the run-game to start off the year
(–) He might be a burner, but he’s not a very good route-runner – basically just a fly-guy
(–) Could be primed for a Sophomore Slump with expectations so high

Antwaan Randle El

TE

Heath Miller

(+) Miller is a great blocker and has amazing hands, two very important ingredients for staying on the field
(+) The loss of Santonio Holmes should put some extra targets in Miller’s pocket, and when you catch a high percentage of balls thrown your way… that spells points
(+) Heath is a great Red Zone threat (tied for first in the league with 9 caught balls inside the 10-yard line)
(–) Big Ben is going to be missing for 4-6 games, which could cut sharply into Millers production this year
(–) The O-Line really struggles to protect in passing downs, though Big Ben’s size hides this weakness; with Ben out, they may need to keep Miller in to block more often
(–) Pittsburgh has a dreadful Pass Schedule sitting at 31st in the league

-  The Pittsburgh Steelers came off their Superbowl victory against the Cardinals in 2008 with hopes of defending their title in 2009, but the one thing they didn’t do was defend
-  The Steelers lost 2 of their first 3 games then went on a 5 game winning streak looking prime to make the playoffs again in 2009
-  The Steelers finished the season third in the AFC North with a 9-7 record missing the playoffs due to not owning the tiebreakers between the other 9-7 teams
-  The Steelers scored 368 points while allowing 324 points against

2009 Total Points Rank:           7th (122 tot pts)
2009 Average/Game Rank:     9th (7.6 pts/gm)

FR=Fumbles Recoverd, PA=Points Allowed, FP Rank=Fantasy Points Rank, FP/G=Fantasy Points per Game

2010 Steelers Defensive Outlook...  

We can’t remember seeing such a noticeable change in a defense with the addition and subtraction of one player, but Troy Polamalu is that big a difference maker.  In his five games played season, he had 3 picks and 7 passes defended.  Having him will be the key to a successful Fantasy season for the Steelers defense.  The Steelers are sick in the middle of the field with Harrison, Woodley, Farrior, and Timmons, and this unit gets to make plays behind one of the great Nose Tackles in the game today, Casey Hampton.  When this defense is healthy, they are tough to beat.

The Steelers were second in the league in sacks last season with 47, and we don’t see this number going away with all the great blitz packages this team uses.  The turnovers were down last season, but we like that number to go up with Polamalu and a fierce pass rush.

-  James Farrior led the team with 102 tackles, Ryan Clark had 89
-  The Steelers had 47 sacks last season
-  Leading sacker was LaMarr Woodley with 13.5
-  How can the Steelers defense allow less points then last season and create more turnovers
-  Ryan Clark and Troy Polamalu led the team with 3 INTs each
-  Team forced 14 fumbles
-  Team forced a total of 26 turnovers

Team PYRO is hyper about Offensive Lines!  Understanding who will be blocking for the players on your roster is vital to your teams Fantasy success.  We take many factors into account when we rank these units, including weight, height, starts together as a unit, starts per year played, rushing average, sacks allowed, draft position, contact situation, pro bowl/all pro honors, Adjusted Line Yardage (ALY) and Adjusted Sack Rate (stats found at the link below).  O-Line Rank is one more piece of the puzzle that directs us towards delivering you a Fantasy Football Championship. 

Here is another great resource for looking at O-Lines…    http://www.footballoutsiders.com/stats/ol

The fantasy lifeblood of the players sitting on your roster boils down to one EXTREMELY important stat.  Drum Roll please……………………………  ATTEMPTS!!!!  Ahhhh, there, we said it.  Before you can make a play, you gotta have the pill in your hands.  It’s pretty simple really, in the immortal words of the maligned Keyshawn Johnson… “Just give me the damn ball”.  There is no “I” in the word “team”, but don’t fool yourself, it’s in the word rotisserie twice. 

For the QB, it’s Pass Attempts, for the RB, it’s Carries, and for the WR and TE, it’s Targets.  If you look at the players in the league who are amassing large quantities of points, they are the ones who are seeing the rock come their way the most often.  Sure, you have to be good enough to do something with the p-skin when you get it, but never forget, you can’t make a play until you have the pill in your hands. 

The PYRO Offensive scheme charts aim to deliver you perhaps the most important information you could attain before and after draft day; Will my player get the chances they need to put out or will they be shut out?  It really boils down to what the offensive game plan on Sunday is.  These charts should provide some perspective on which teams are going to live by land and which are going to live by air. 

By Air

-  Ben Roethlisberger will be suspended for the first 4 to 6 games of the season leaving a potential QB battle
      between Dixon and Leftwich
-  The Steelers finished last season ranking 9th in the league with 4,148 passing yards
-  Hines Ward continues to be a consistent performer at the WR position
-  Mike Wallace will have to replace the production lost from Holmes, he showed glimpses of being able to do so
      with 19.4 yards per reception
-  Antwaan Randle El rejoins the team along with Arnaz Battle to add to the depth at wide receiver that includes
      just Limas Sweed
-  The TE position is led by Heath Miller who had a superb showing in 2009
-  Moore and Mendenhall are both able to catch the ball out of the backfield

By Land

-  The Steelers ranked 19th in the league with 1,793 yards on the ground
-  The Steelers had a changing of the guard last season from Willie Parker to Rashard Mendenhall
-  Mewelde Moore will serve as teams primary back up and 3rd down back
-  Jonathan Dwyer was drafted to add depth to the running back position

RZ Touches (Position Rank) = The first number you see is Red Zone Touches (a pass attempt, a carry, or a target inside the 20 yard line).  The number in the parentheses is where this player ranks amongst the rest of the NFL at that position.

% of Teams RZ Touches (Position Rank) = The first number is the players percentage of touches cut out against the total number of the Teams Red Zone plays called.  The number in the parentheses is where this player ranks amongst the rest of the NFL at that position.  So, if Thomas Jones received a touch in 45 percent of the Jets Red Zone calls last year, and Knowshon Moreno received a touch in 38 percent of all the Broncos plays last year, Jones would be ranked higher at his position than Moreno would be.

RZ TD Success Rate (Position Rank) = The first number is the percentage of which an individual player was able to score a TD against his total number of touches.   The number in the parentheses is where this player ranks amongst the rest of the NFL at that position.

Why Should I look at this Chart?

We couldn’t possibly take up a whole minute of your valuable fantasy football research time babbling about the importance of Attempts for your team and then leave out Red Zone Tendencies.

Yep, same drill with these charts, only a lot more important if scoring TD’s is what you’re leagues about.  The PYRO Red Zone Tendencies chart delivers a touchdown focused microcosm of the Offensive Scheme section.

To score a TD, your player needs a touch (pass att, carry, or target), and when they get a touch inside the 20, great things can happen for your Fantasy teams total points line.

It’s really easy, touches are King and converting a touch in the red is Fantasy Gold.

PYRO 2010 Steeler Leaders in the Red Zone... 

1. Rashard Mendenhall
2. Isaac Redman
3. Hines Ward
4. Mike Wallace
5. Heath Miller

Grade* = Team PYRO took this number directly from NFL.COM - not a number devised here by us, you know, your friends who don’t sleep?  In other words, proceed with caution knowing the source, but we thought it was at least a worthy effort and could help you gauge just how solid the teams draft was.  We hope it helps, we think it will.

Draft Bits...

Anytime we start talking about Pittsburgh’s offensive line, we find ourselves salivating.  There is huge opportunity to improve and just think what Big Ben and Mendy would do with a good line.  C Pouncey will start right away, and we really like him already.  He may end up at one of the other line positions, but either way, he’s an upgrade. 

OT Chris Scott is hurt with a fractured foot.  Surgery will keep him sidelined early and maybe longer.
Regardless of the fact Mewelde Moore is the 2nd string RB, Jonathan Dwyer would get the call as the early down back with Goal Line duties if Mendenhall was hurt.  He is at least worthy of a handcuff if you get Mendy.

Emanuel Sanders will struggle to make any impact outside of Special Teams.

Team PYRO considers our Strength of Schedule data an essential part of building you a Fantasy Championship.  This data is integral in helping us rank our players each year.  So far, so good.  We go to GREAT lengths to deliver you this PYRO nugget and we know nobody else in the industry is putting forth this type of effort, which puts you at a great advantage if you have been using us as your fantasy football research outlet.  Our SoS considers three factors when determining rankings for schedules for the upcoming year:

1) 75% weight is applied to the strength of defense from the previous season.  This is determine by fantasy points given up (run and pass).  Easy right? Here's where Team Pyro goes deep: before we get to that number, we factor in the quality of teams that these defenses had to face (essentially, a strength-of-schedule for the prior season).

 
2) 20% weight is applied to Free-Agent, Trade, and Injury Returns that will help or hurt the team for the current year.  We rank each players impact to their former team (2008), sum it all up, and then rank each team accordingly.

3) 5% weight is applied to the NFL drafincoming rookie impact.  It's a challenge to successfully gauge a rookie's effectiveness (too many Jamarcus Russells out there) which is why we valued it so low.  Some teams not only drafted highly touted defensemen this year, but will be immediately filling deficient positions from '09 with rookies, and usually, anything is an upgrade when you are starting a rookie.

Chart Key =

Ranking:  1=easiest  32=toughest

QB's, WR's, and TE's

(INDY) Peyton Manning, Reggie Wayne, and Dallas Clark have the EASIEST passing schedule in 2010

(BALT) Joe Flacco, Anquan Boldin, and Todd Heap have the HARDEST passing schedule in 2010

RB's

(SF) Frank Gore has the EASIEST rushing schedule in 2010

(MIA) Ronnie Brown has the HARDEST rushing schedule in 2010

July 23, 2010

Signed coach Mike Tomlin to a two-year contract extension through the 2012 season.

June 16, 2010

Signed OT Chris Scott and CB Crezdon Butler. Released S Da'Mon Cromartie-Smith.

June 15, 2010

Signed WR Emmanuel Sanders, LB Stevenson Sylvester, RB Jonathan Dwyer and WR Antonio Brown. Cut WR Jason Chery, PK Piotr Czech, LB Derrick Doggett, P Adam Graessle, NT Cordarrow Thompson, C Brad Vierling and CB Trae Williams.

June 11, 2010

Signed LB Thaddeus Gibson and DE Doug Worthington.

May 11, 2010

Placed WR Limas Sweed on the injured reserve list. Signed WR Isaiah Williams.

April 27, 2010

Signed G Dorian Brooks, S Da'Mon Cromartie-Smith, OT Kyle Jolly, FB Demetrius Taylor, DT Cordarrow Thompson, S Justin Thornton and C-G A.J. Trump.

April 20, 2010

Acquired QB Byron Leftwich from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for a seventh-round draft pick.

April 16, 2010

Signed OT Willie Colon, TE Matt Spaeth and CB William Gay to one-year tenders.

April 13, 2010

Signed PK Jeff Reed.

April 12, 2010

Acquired WR Santonio Holmes from Pittsburgh for a 2010 fifth-round draft pick. Signed DE Nick Eason to a one-year contract extension.

March 26, 2010

Signed QB Charlie Batch to a two-year contract.

March 15, 2010
Signed LB Larry Foote to a three-year contract.

March 9, 2010

Re-signed S Ryan Clark and WR Antwaan Randle El.

March 8, 2010

Signed WR Arnaz Battle and S Will Allen.

February 25, 2010

Agreed to terms with NT Casey Hampton. Designated PK Jeff Reed as the franchise player.

February 16, 2010

Named Scottie Montgomery wide receivers coach.

February 10, 2010

Named Brandon Hunt pro scouting director.

February 9, 2010

Signed P Adam Graessle and WR Brandon London.

January 29, 2010

Named Jerry Olsavsky defensive quality control coach.