Dec 16, 2012; Arlington, TX, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Heathe Miller (83) runs after a catch against Dallas Cowboys linebacker Dan Connor (52) at Cowboys Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

When Heath Miller tore all three ligaments in week 16 against the Bengals, the hearts in all of Steeler Nation came to a complete stop. Not only did the Steelers lose that game, in turn knocking them out of the playoffs, they also lost their 2012 team MVP to a terrible knee injury.

After catching 8 touchdown passes last season, Heath Miller was elected to his first pro bowl. As a big fan of Heath Miller, I knew the potential Miller had to catch a boatload of touchdowns, but never did I envision Heath Miller to be the Steelers offense last season.

When Todd Haley had his introductory press conference, he only mentioned one name specifically that he was thrilled to work with, and that name was Heath Miller. The moment I heard Haley talk about Miller, I knew we were going to see a big season out of Heath. Miller fit perfectly the supposed “dink and dunk” offense that Todd Haley runs. The short yardage game is perfect for Miller since he is so big and strong. 71 catches later, Heath Miller became a vital part of the offense, something that Bruce Arians failed to do. I think the funniest thing is, the Steelers offense was its best in 2011 when it ran a short passing offense against the Titans and Patriots. But for some reason, Arians just did not want to use Miller.

Many people will tell you “Steelers are in trouble without Wallace.” I can honestly tell you I am more scared of life without being able to yell “HEATH” every game. Not only was Heath Miller a favorite target for Roethlisberger, he was also a fantastic in line blocker and personal protector. When you loose an entire package like Heath Miller, it takes away a dimension of your offense.

Kevin Colbert has been quoted numerous times saying that there is no time able for Millers return. For a while, I felt like Heath Miller was destined for the PUP list. One small unnoticed thing changed my mind. No, I don’t the Steelers are lying that they don’t have a good time frame, but I believe they figure to have Miller back soon enough. I thought at first Miller’s chances of playing a lot this year were very small, but when the Steelers didn’t draft any tight ends, I knew the front office had to have some faith that Miller would not miss more than a couple of games at the most.

After Miller’s surgery in January on his knee, Miller has been said to be walking jut fine without crutches or any assistance. At the point of the reports that came out, it was also said he was working on lifting lighter weights. While Miller is not there quite yet physically, he is a lot closer than some would be at this point.

Now say in theory, Heath MIller is the starting tight end come week 1 against the Titans. As great as that would be, we couldn’t expect him to just continue on right away where he left off. Even the great Adrian Peterson was eased into his starting role for the first couple games. At the age of 31, Heath Miller also isn’t as able to return to form as say a 25-year-old. Who knows if Miller returns to form ever again. Most of us assume that after completely messing up his knee, that he will just hop back on the field and be Heath Miller again. There is a lot of guessing involved with this, but what I will say is don’t count Heath Miller out just yet. Ben Roethlisberger was quoted saying “if anyone could do it, it would be Heath.”

All we can do is plan for the worst and hope for the best, but we all know that to make a run at 7, we need Heath Miller on the field. A season after Adrian Peterson came back better than ever, myself, along with the rest of Steeler Nation hope that Heath can do the same.

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What quarterback would you want in your huddle? Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Ben Roethlisberger is having a rough week in the news.  Well, granted he’s had rougher.  Earlier this week during the NFL Network’s annual “Top 100 players of 2013” list Ben ranked an abysmal 61 after his 30^th ranking the previous year.  Ben did miss some games this season due to his horrendous shoulder/clavicle/aorta threatening injury but he was having an MVP-caliber season prior to going down.  Ben is so often left out of the list of the top quarterbacks of his era due to having played alongside the likes of Tom Brady and Peyton Manning.  It just seems like Ben can’t get no respect when it comes to being thought of as a great quarterback.  Not only that but his previous favorite target in Mike Wallace, now defected to take his talents to North Miami Beach (Dolphins stadium is nowhere near South Beach FYI), has just compared second year QB Ryan Tannehill to Roethlisberger.

Keep in mind; the active NFL players are the ones who vote for this list each year.  Now it’s important to mention that they voted eleven quarterbacks higher than Roethlisberger.  Really?  The list is not yet complete but by all intents and purposes it’s likely that Andrew Luck was voted higher than Roethlisberger.  I realize the Steelers went 8-8 last season, boy do I realize that.  But in 13 games Ben threw 26 touchdowns and 8 interceptions.  How does that translate to 11 quarterbacks better than that?  Ben Roethlisberger isn’t going to win you any fantasy football championships but the bottom line is the Steelers are Super Bowl contenders every season as long as they have him and that’s worth a lot more than 61 out of 100, in my opinion.

Mike Wallace was speaking to reporters in Miami on Tuesday in regards to how he’s getting along with his new quarterback, Ryan Tannehill.  Wallace will go from supposing to catch passes from a veteran Super Bowl champion quarterback, to a quarterback entering his sophomore season.  Wallace compared the fact that both Roethlisberger and Tannehill played receiver in college and hinted that that fact allows them to have better chemistry with receivers.  Wallace also added that he thinks Tannehill

“may be able to throw the ball a little farther than Ben.”  Added Wallace, “Obviously, Ben is more experienced in game-time experience.  The way it’s going, it won’t take long for Ryan to be one of the great quarterbacks.  I feel like we can make a lot of big plays.”

Wallace also said that he doesn’t think it will take him long to establish chemistry with his new quarterback.  I believe he also said it wouldn’t take him long to learn Todd Haley’s playbook after showing up at the end of training camp last season with a contract holdout and we all see how that worked out.  Wallace has 60 million reasons to hope that Tannehill is just as good as Ben but I seriously doubt that Tannehill ends up a better quarterback than Ben.  Obviously it won’t take long for the players to vote him higher than Ben anyway.

What are your thoughts, Steeler Nation?  Where would you have ranked Roethlisberger among the players and quarterbacks of last season?

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Tomlin spits wisdom

A week before the NFL draft I wrote an article on why the Steelers needed to draft LB John Simon out of Ohio State. I presented many reasons why he was the one player I felt the Steelers not should, but needed to draft after round 1.  Before rounds 4-7 last Saturday I wrote about the absolute failure the Steelers have had for over 20 years drafting quarterbacks past round 3. On Wednesday Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette went one step further and covered the last 25 years of the entire NFL. Only 7 of 125 quarterbacks drafted in 25 years after round 3 have had moderate success as starter for more than one year.  Two turned out to be true success stories: Tom Brady in 2000 and Matt Hasselbeck in 1998.

After selecting Shamarko Thomas with their first pick in round 4 (#111) I was hoping the Steelers would take Simon with their second pick (#115) of the 4^th round. The Steelers did have Simon in for a visit, they typically draft OSU players and he was now a value pick since he had a third round grade. I was starting to get excited with the thought of Jarvis Jones, Shamarko Thomas and Simon who could have been that linebacker that could have played either inside or outside. But then the Steelers took Oklahoma QB Landry Jones and worlds were about to collide.

Why pass up on not only Simon but there were many other outstanding players who were available that early in the 4th round who  can possibly start in a year or two and contribute on special teams immediately? I have read varying opinions on the Landry Jones pick from love it to hate it but all of the Steelers fans that I have spoken with have expressed anger or dismay at the selection. If the Steelers were so dead set on drafting a “developmental” quarterback why didn’t they take Tyler Bray out of Tennessee later?  Is there really that much of a gap between Bray and Jones?  The knocks on Bray who came out a year early are his immaturity and decision making. Landry Jones knock is his inability to handle pressure or chaos in the pocket. In fact at Oklahoma last year Jones was removed from the game whenever Oklahoma entered the red zone. Oklahoma did so because they felt Jones  replacement gave them a better opportunity to score. Does this sound like a quarterback who should have been taken in the 4^th round?

Most of the analysts on ESPN and NFL Network did not like the Landry pick and none had much good to say about Landry Jones last 2 years at Oklahoma stating to “throw away” his senior year tape. The analysts said Jones  looked like a first round prospect after his sophomore year but got progressively worse because he couldn’t handle pressure or chaos in the pocket. Trent Dilfer went on a tirade trashing Oklahoma and the downward slide of Landry Jones. Only ESPN analysts Bill Polian former Colts GM and Todd McShay liked the Steelers pick of Jones.

It has always been said that because the Steelers have Roethlisberger they will always be in contention and that has proven to be true. What is bothersome about these reports on Jones is that he has not been capable of raising Oklahoma’s level of play. As the team declined so did he or was it the other way around? What Jones’ play has showed is that he is no better than the team surrounding him. Everyone who feels negatively about this pick might be wrong about Jones but the problem is we may never find out. That is what is so bothersome. With so many needs to fill coming off of an 8-8 season why take a player who Steelers GM Kevin Colbert acknowledged in post draft interview, may never see the field?

December 30, 2012; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Todd Haley (left) talks to quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (7) on the sidelines against the Cleveland Browns during the fourth quarter at Heinz Field. The Pittsburgh Steelers won 24-10. Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

The 2013 NFL Draft is officially in the books. After mock drafts are put to shame, we all reflect on the additions each team has made. The Steelers did not disapoint, like usual. Jarvis Jones was dead on when he was quoted saying that he wouldn’t get past the Steelers. Like most mock drafts predicted, Jarvis Jones was a Steeler at the end of Day 1. From the selections of Le’Veon Bell, Markus Wheaton, Shamarko Thomas, Landry Jones, Terry Hawthorne, Justin Brown, Vince Williams, and Nick Williams, the Steelers added a variety of youth to their aging team. Here is an early look at the Pittsburgh Steelers offense 2013 starting lineup.

November 12, 2012; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers running back Isaac Redman (33) takes a hand-of from quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (7) against the Kansas City Chiefs during the first quarter at Heinz Field. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Happy Friday Steelers Fans!  The news this morning includes some feedback from Ben Roethlisberger’s latest round of radio interviews as well as continued discussion about what the Steelers still need.

Hallelujah!  The NFL regular season is out.  Check out the NicePickCowher post on the schedule.

Of course, the commentary is spinning up on the season.  Here is an article from ESPN.com about the Steelers schedule by Jameson Hensley.  He notes the Thanksgiving evening game against the Ravens and Mike Wallace’s potential return to Heinz Field with the Dolphin on Dec 8th.

Ben visited the “Vinnie and Cook” show on 93.7 the Fan and Ron Cook summarized the discussion for the Post Gazette.  One of the bright spots for the Pittsburgh Steelers is the talent and passion for football that Ben Roethlisberger has.  Cook notes that’s a lot of pressure for a single player.  Cook asked Ben to address that and he’s saying what I think Steelers fans want to hear:

I’m fine with people saying we’re going to be terrible. ‘Let’s overlook them,’ ” Roethlisberger said. “I like that. I like being the hunter. It’s kind of a fun place to be.”

Isaac Redman has also finally signed his tender with the Steelers and will remain with the Steelers for 2013.  According to Curtis Crabtree of NBC Sports, Redman will make $1.323M for the year.

Alan Robinson of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette looks at the “Year of the Offensive Linemen” in this year’s NFL draft.  He concentrated on Luke Joeckel from Texas A&M.  Robinson thinks it is possible that 5 out of the first 12 picks will be offensive linemen.

So, what do you think Steelers fans?  Do you like that the Steelers are playing the Ravens on Thanksgiving evening?  Vote here!  Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.