Following the Redskins game, I half-heartedly pledged to take it easy on the Steelers' potential offensive line woes. I feel a little better about Pittsburgh's front five -- whoever they may be -- but not so much because some of the lingering questions were magically answered the past few days, but because of something Randy points out in the comments: namely, there are plenty of other teams with their own o-line issues. In addition to the Jets crapping themselves to spite Chad Pennington's ... face(?), the Ravens also have some concerns.Off the top of my head, the Bengals' Levi Jones just returned to the team after being injured, and the Browns are, well, the Browns; their o-line, predictably, sucks. Sure, there's Joe Thomas and Eric Steinbach, but they're no match for Cleveland sewage and staph infections.
The point, I guess, is that every team has questions along the offensive line. Last week, the Pats, infallible as they may be, had to tighten things up following the Titans game. Hey, Buzz Nutter isn't going to walk through that door (points toward door).
In addition to watching how the front five perform tonight, I'll also be paying attention to the running back situation, keeping an eye on whether Nate Washington can put together back-to-back good games, and, of course, Larry Timmons. He's supposed to get some real playing time tonight. Not just a handful of snaps at the end of game with a bunch of guys who won't be with the team in a few weeks, but some meaningful playing time.
Should be interesting.
Oh, and J.J. Cooper put together the first FanHouse Steelers Roundtable. (This week, it's Neal Coolong, J.J. and me) I think I bring a certain insane asylum feel to the proceedings. But I suspect you people have come to expect nothing less.
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