Offensive coordinator Bruce Arians may be a head-coach-in waiting and not necessarily by choice. Tomlin had better keep an eye on his rear view mirror because sabotage does not necessarily have to originate from the camp of the enemy. Did you ever think that whoever put together the 2008 schedule might have been setting up the young Steelers headmaster for failure? I mean, cmon yinz guys, this is crazy. The 2008 regular season schedule has the Steelers listed to play, their inner division opponents the Cincinnati Bengals, Baltimore Ravens and the Cleveland Browns, twice. Then the San Diego Chargers, Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, Indianapolis Colts and the Houston Texans will visit the friendly and sometimes turf-starved ball yard better known as Heinz Field. The men of steel will take their show on the road to face the Philadelphia Eagles, Tennessee Titans, Washington Redskins, Jacksonville Jaguars and the New England Patriots. Hey, what is with these cozy visits to Gillette Stadium? If my memory serves me right this will be the third Steelers regular season visit to Foxborough in the last four years. What, have they discontinued flights from Boston to Pittsburgh? Someone somewhere had to inform the Steelers organization of this schedule made in hell. They were 8-8 in 2006 and 10-6 in 2007. The Steelers record for the last two seasons is 18-14. Those numbers are not much above .500 and do not merit the brutal schedule that they have been handed for 2008.
There were some great young quarterbacks on display in the AFC and the NFC divisional playoffs last week and they were all worth the price of admission. San Diego Chargers quarterback Phillip Rivers and his backup were exceptional in defeating the Indianapolis Colts at the RCA Dome in Indy. New York Giants QB Eli Manning found his groove in Dallas, overshadowing his older sibling, Indy Colts quarterback Peyton, by defeating the Cowboys. However, Dallas quarterback Tony Romo played well, even in defeat. Big Ben supposedly gets paid to throw the football and make plays. He is not earning his keep. Why should Willie Parker, Najeh Davenport or any other of the Black and Golds running backs have to shoulder the load when Big Ben is paid mega-millions to win the game not just manage the game? There are some young elite quarterbacks out there but Ben Roethlisberger is not one of them.
