Road gets tougher for Steelers

By Jeff

Ben Roethlisberger made his triumphant return to the Pittsburgh Steelers lineup yesterday in a 28-10 thrashing of the Cleveland Browns. The Steelers jumped atop the AFC North standings at 4-1 with the victory, despite being without Roethlisberger for four games.

Most fans thought that the big test for the team was surviving until Big Ben came back, which the team did. But the next four games are the ones that are really going to give the team, media and fans an idea if this team is for real or not.

I'm not trying to downplay the significance of the 3-1 starts sans Roethlisberger. The three teams the Steelers beat, the Atlanta Falcons, Tennessee Titans and Tampa Bay Bucs, are a combined 10-6 (Tennessee plays tonight). They were not cupcakes. Add in the Baltimore Ravens, who beat the Steelers on a last minute drive in Week 4, and the Steelers played some very good teams to the start the season.

Reason No. 5,731 with I would never insult James Harrison. 

But they didn't play an elite quarterback in those games.

The Steelers' opponents in the next four games will include Drew Brees (away) and Tom Brady (home). These two games will be the biggest tests for the team this season. Both quarterbacks can pick apart secondaries with ease. They control the clock and get rid of the ball quickly. Both games will prove big challenges for the Steelers secondary that has only really dealt with one major receiving threat (Roddy White) in their first five games.

Last season, mediocre quarterbacks like Bruce Gradkowski and Matt Cassell tore through the Steelers secondary. Playing against Brees and Brady (Can I call them the Killer B's for the rest of this entry?) will let us all see if the Steelers defense truly is back. So far, they have conquered every challenge they've encountered. Sure, they let the Ravens score late, but that was right after they stuffed Baltimore four times inside the 5-yard line. If they shut down, or even contain, the Killer B's, then the defense is officially back.

But wait, I said four weeks. Let's look at the other two games. The Steelers go on the road to face the gritty Miami Dolphins next week. The game worries me because the Dolphins can play tough defense, as they showed against the Green Bay Packers yesterday, and this will be Roethlisberger's first road game this year.

This won't be the accepting and welcoming crowd of Heinz Field. How will Big Ben respond to the jeering he's going to receive? Usually, he is ice cold on the field, but that was before he was accused of sexual assault. We won't know if "She said no!" chants will get under his skin until we see the outcome.

Then there were the Cincinnati Bengals. In the words of The Pensblog (Happy, Greg?), they're jokes. With losses to the Browns and the Bucs, they just don't look very good right now. Carson Palmer still sucks despite having more weapons than ever before and their stud defensive lineman Antwan Odom is out four weeks for juicing. So why am I bringing them up? They're a rival and the game will be in Cincinnati. They beat the Steelers twice last year in close games. They can't be overlooked.

If the Steelers come out of this stretch with an 8-1 or 7-2 record, that first round bye is looking pretty good.

Phantom Planet - She's Gotta Be Somebody's Baby