Superbowl Champions Prepare to Defend their Title

Get your grill ready, buy your HD flat screen television, and map out the quickest route home from your church on Sundays. Football season is here again!

In Pittsburgh, the baseball season mercifully ended early again this season with the arrival of Steelers Training Camp in beautiful Latrobe, PA. The Steelers Nation is primed and ready to watch a much anticipated encore performance following a season in which the most decorated franchise in NFL history won a record breaking 6th Lombardi Trophy. On the heels of watching our beloved Steelers win their 6th world championship, the Pittsburgh Penguins won a 3rd Stanley Cup Championship reminding everyone inside and outside the glorious city of Pittsburgh who the real City of Champions is! With all do respect to the city of Boston and the New England Patriots (did someone say spygate?), the Boston Red Sox (performance enhancing drugs anyone?), and Boston Celtics (is basketball a real sport anyhow? Seriously: have you ever seen a basketball player fight? Reminds me of a cat fight in high school.), there isn't a better sports town in America than Pittsburgh.

As the Steelers enter the 2009 season, there is only one goal in mind and that is to win a 7th Superbowl. The question is, "Can they do it?" After watching the first three preseason games, the Steelers appear to have all of the pieces in place to repeat. They return all of their starters on offense minus an injured Darnell Stapleton at RG and nine out of eleven starters on defense. Of the three new starters, the only concern may be Lawrence Timmon's ability to be consistently stout against the run like his underrated predecessor Larry Foote was. On special teams, the addition of Stefan Logan formerly of the Canadian Football League gives the Steelers a weapon in the return game they have been missing since number 82 Antwaan Randle El was in town, and the much anticipated return of punter Daniel Sepulveda should help improve field position.

Despite these positive signs, repeating as Superbowl Champions is no easy task. The Steelers will have a target on their back as the defending champions the entire season and their schedule is not as easy as once thought. Games against the Vikings and Bears for example certainly provide a tougher challenge than anticipated with the additions of Brett Favre and Jay Cutler at the respective teams' quarterback positions. Add to that the fact that each season there are teams in the NFL who come out of no where to become a playoff team just like the Miami Dolphins did in 2008. Could the Green Bay Packers whom the Steelers host on December 20th be that team this year? What about the Oakland Raiders? At some point one has to think all of those top 10 draft picks will pay off. The bottom line is there's no such thing as an easy schedule in the NFL especially when you're the NFL champions.

If the Steelers are going to repeat, here are five keys to success:

1.) Remember Superbowl XL: Following the Steelers victory against the Seahawks in Superbowl XL, the Steelers started the 2006 season on a downward spiral which was mainly attributable to Ben Roethlisberger's motorcycle accident and appendectomy but also in part because the Steelers got a little fat and happy in the off season whether they will admit it or not. The Steelers got off to a 2-6 start and were never able to recover in time to make the playoffs. Many of the Steelers on the 2009 roster were a part of the Superbowl XL victory and need to use the 2006 season as motivation to perform better following their Superbowl XLIII victory.

2.) Protect Big Ben: The offensive line was abysmal in 2008. Most would say the Steelers won the Superbowl in spite of their offensive line. If the Steelers expect to repeat, Big Ben has to remain upright in order to find talented receivers Hines Ward and Santonio Holmes downfield on a consistent basis. The Steelers were the exception to the rule last year leading the league in sacks allowed and still winning a Superbowl. This statistical anomoly will not repeat itself.

3.) Time to Step Up: Last season, linebackers Lawrence Timmons and Lamaar Woodely stepped up to the plate to be big time contributors in their second seasons. This year its RB Rashard Mendenhall's and WR Limas Sweed's turn. If these two talented young players can have a similar impact, the Steelers offense may become a top 10 offense in the league again. If that happens, the Steelers will be a dominant team this season considering their top ranked defense.

4.) Status Quo on D: When was the last time you heard a team say they wanted to maintain the status quo? Never. However, this season if the Steelers maintain their level of play on defense, nobody in Pittsburgh will be disappointed becuase it will mean they are the best defense in the NFL again.

5.) Regain Offensive Identity: The Steelers running game last season was ranked 23rd in the NFL in yards per game. That's not acceptable for a team that prides itself on being a physical running team. The Steelers have proven over the last couple of years that Big Ben is good enough to win games throwing the football, but a running game would make this team more balanced and difficult to defend. A running game wears opposing defenses down and makes the play action game a more viable option. The responsibility here falls on the shoulders of the five men up front again as the Steelers have plenty of talent in the backfield. There will be no excuses for the offensive line regarding an inability to develop cohesion this season as the starting five in training camp should be the starting five throughout the season barring injury.

Season Prediction 13-3 Regular Season, AFC North Champions, 7th Superbowl Championship: Looking over the Steelers 2009 schedule I was hard pressed to find three losses in the regular season. In fact, one of the losses is the last game of the season and that's only because I expect many of the Steelers starters to be sitting on the bench resting having wrapped up the AFC North Title and a first round bye as the second seed in the playoffs the week before. The Steelers will start the season 6-0 while passing tough tests against the Titans (the curse of the Terrible Towel bites LenDale White), Bears (whose Jay gonna throw to?), and Chargers (not in Pittsburgh Rivers) and handling the hapless Bengals, Lions, and Browns. I see the Steelers losing their first game of the season against Brett Favre and the Vikings, splitting the season series with the Baltimore Ravens by losing in Baltimore on November 29, and losing the season finale in Miami to the Dolphins who will still be competing for playoff positioning.

This sets up a heavyweight rematch in the AFC Championship game against the hated New England Patriots. The Patriots and Steelers have won a combined 5 Superbowls this decade while meeting twice in AFC Championship games at Heinz Field the Patriots the "victor" both times. Revenge will be sweet for the Steelers as Spygate can't help the Patriots survive the Steelers defense this time around. Tom Brady will be harassed all day by James Harrison and Lamaar Woodley as the Patriots offensive line, which has shown some chinks in its armor since Superbowl XLII, will not be able to protect the pro bowl QB. The Steelers win 24-16 and move on to play the Philadelphia Eagles in a Keystone State Superbowl. In the Superbowl, hard luck quarterback Donovan McNabb loses again this time to Big Ben and the stingy Steelers Defense 27-20. With a seventh Superbowl victory, the only concern in Pittsburgh will be what to do when we start running out of fingers to put rings on!