2007 Pittsburgh Steelers NFL Picks & Predictions
June 6, 2008
Everyone seems to be a little down on Pittsburgh with their 2007 Steelers predictions, but this team has a lot of the same components from the team that won the Super Bowl two years ago. Nearly everyone is back from a year ago, minus an aging Joey Porter, and this team should be a little hungrier after a disappointing season last year. They will have a new head coach in Mike Tomlin, but if that is the biggest wild card then this team should be poised for another breakout year in 2007.
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Will the real Ben Roethlisberger please stand up? Last season he was borderline awful at times with a 75.4 pass rating and 23 picks to just 18 touchdowns. In 2005 he had a passer rating of 98.3 and lead the Steelers to 13 straight wins. If something happens to Big Ben then Charlie Batch has proven he can step in and take over. Willie Parker had a breakout year in 2006 by rushing for 1,494 yards, his second straight with more than 1,000. Pittsburgh also added depth to take some of the pressure off Parker by signing Kevin Barlow, who isn’t a top back but an able change of pace and they still have Najeh Davenport. Hines Ward should start slowing down soon as he is currently 31, but Santonio Holmes is progressing into a no. 1 guy. Cedrick Wilson and Nate Washington are capable backups and Heath Miller is an above-average tight end to compliment the passing game.
Pittsburgh expects to stay with the 3-4 and defense and with the personnel that they have, it’s pretty much a must. The Steelers have the best front three in the game with Casey Hampton leading the way at nose tackle, a guy who takes down lineman and frees up the rest of the defense. On the ends there is a solid pair with Brett Keisel and Aaron Smith. Both of these guys get to the passer better than anyone on the team, and can hold their own against the run as well. Traditionally this team has been stacked at linebacker, but this year may be a little down. The middle is set with James Farrior and Larry Foote, both great at stopping the run. On the outside Calrk Haggans has been a main stay and the team has a bunch of youth to develop. Hopefully one of the youngsters turns into a start to replace Porter. The Steelers secondary is also pretty young, with Troy Polamalu being the All-Pro leader and Anthony Smith being a hard hitter to solidify the safety positions. At corner you’ll most likely see Ike Taylor who will be looking to regain his 2005 form and Bryant McFadden who has been solid but not special.
Pittsburgh is stuck in one of the toughest divisions in all of football, but they will have the Browns to pick on. The team shouldn’t get as much attention since they won’t have the defending Super Bowl Champions target on their back. Offensively the team has all the tools it needs to make the playoffs, an defensively they are no slouches. Do they have enough to make it over the hump? That’s tough to say. Most likely this team ends up with 9 wins, but if we had to choose we would say that 8 is more likely than 10. However at the heavy odds they are getting for the Super Bowl and the AFC, don’t be shy to take a look at either of those two wagers.
Odds on Season Win Totals:
Sportsbook: o9.0(
+105) u9.0(
-135)
Odds to Win the AFC North:
Bookmaker:
+260
Sportsbook:
+250
BetUS:
+250
Odds to Win the AFC:
Bookmaker:
+1200
Sportsbook:
+1500
BetUS:
+1400
Odds to Win the Super Bowl:
Bookmaker:
+2200
Sportsbook:
+3000
BetUS:
+3000
