The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com
August 30, 2012
PLAYERS TO WATCH The Steelers’ offensive linemen. Pittsburgh’s first-round pick, guard David DeCastro, is out with a serious knee injury. Another rookie, tackle Mike Adams, begins the season as a second-stringer. This is the Steelers’ biggest weakness.
GAME TO WATCH Baltimore at Pittsburgh, Nov. 18. These teams play bloody, bruising games, and this is the first of two meetings in three weeks, with the division title probably in the balance.
IT’S HARD TO FORGET THE WAY the Pittsburgh Steelers lost to Denver in the playoffs last year, with their injury-riddled defense so shaky that ithelped burnish the Tim Tebow mythology. But don’t forget this either: Pittsburgh’s aging defense still finished first in the league in yards and points allowed, even though it was surprisingly last in turnovers producedchecklast. The health of James Harrison’s left knee — he had arthroscopic surgery during training camp — is an issue, and so is his return date. But if he and his fellow outside linebacker LaMarr Woodley are on the field for most of the season (they each missed considerable time in 2011), the Steelers’ crushing pass rush should return to the form that makes the defense a perennial powerhouse. The offense is now in the hands of the coordinator Todd Haley, whose relationship with Ben Roethlisberger will be as closely scrutinized as a royal romance. With running back Rashard Mendenhall returning from a late-season knee injury, the focus is likely to be on a passing game that features a top three-man receiving corps. If their line is improved, the Steelers could have one of the N.F.L.’s most explosive offenses to pair with a smothering defense, the formula for a deep playoff run.
The Baltimore Ravens’ ouster from the playoffs might have been even more painful than the Steelers’. Baltimore was a dropped pass away from a trip to the Super Bowl. Getting back to that point will be more difficult without outside linebacker Terrell Suggs, the league’s defensive player of the year last season, who tore his Achilles’ tendon in the spring. That usually requires a yearlong rehabilitation, but even if Suggs returns this season, he will not be the pass-rushing force that produced 14 sacks and 7 forced fumbles last year. Also gone is Jarret Johnson, a top run defender who is superb at setting the edge and is now with San Diego. This put even more attention on Baltimore’s offense, which is an ideal test case for the premise that a team can still win a championship with a run-first offense. It helps that the runner is the workhorse Ray Rice. The Ravens will get an early reading on where they stand with games against Cincinnati, Philadelphia and New England in the first three weeks.
During the preseason, Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton crowed about his improved arm strength after completing a 50-yard pass to the otherworldly receiver A..J. Green. Brash confidence from the Bengals? Cincinnati seems to have turned the corner to respectability and stability, despite not having back-to-back playoff seasons in 30 years. This could be the season that changes, with a roster stocked with young talent like Dalton and Green. The best news for the Bengals is their schedule. After opening against Baltimore, they face some of the weakest teams in the league — Cleveland (twice), Washington, Jacksonville and Miami — before playing the Steelers. The worst news is that the Steelers and the Ravens are still in their division.
Sometimes you wonder if Jimmy Haslam III wants to stop payment on his very large check and just forget this whole Cleveland Browns venture. The rookie running back Trent Richardson has had a procedure on his knee, but if he recovers quickly, he can be a dominant offensive force. Of course, that’s not how you win Super Bowls in the current N.F.L., so Mike Holmgren finally got to draft a quarterback in the first round, Brandon Weeden, who struggled against pressure in the preseason. Holmgren will be gone after this season, and everything else is under review, too. The Browns have the N.F.L.’s longest-suffering fans, and that isn’t going to change anytime soon.
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