The Offensive Line, No Worries

Going into training camp every column I read by knowledgeable, and some semi-stupid, sports writers had the Steelers o-line as the biggest concern for 2008. I pondered on this for a while and when I had half a migraine I decided I'm just not buying it.

The loss of Alan Faneca will impact the run game to a degree but only for the start of the season. By week 4 or 5 Chris Kemoeatu will be, should be, able to gel with the rest of the unit. Although Faneca was a huge presence for the ground game he never excelled in the passing game and like it or not that is the direction the Steelers offense is headed in. In drafting Limas Sweed and Rashard Mendenhall the focus of the offense will shift squarely to the arm of Ben Roethlisberger. Last year Ben set the franchise record for touchdowns in a single season. I believe he can repeat or even exceed those numbers with the return of a healthy Marvel Smith.

Last season Marvel Smith played in a limited number of games due to a piece of broken vertebrae rubbing against his spinal chord. At times throughout the season the bone fragment would pinch the nerves and he would actually lose feeling in his right leg and foot for quarters at a time. Being that Smith plays the left tackle position it's no wonder Ben's sack totals went up last year. With the return of Marvel it should be a lock for those totals to go down.

Max Starks is said to be the most impressive lineman in camp. It's kind of hard to believe being that Max has never really wowed anyone. If Starks beats out Willie Colon for the right tackle spot it makes me wonder if Willie will get a crack at the right guard position. Kendall Simmons is good there so I don't necessarily see him losing the job, I just think it will be interesting to see if Mike Tomlin will make drastic changes or try to work with what he has.

The most important acquisition the Steelers made in the off-season could be Justin Hartwig. Last year Pittsburgh had virtually no push up the middle and Sean Mahan was the reason. Mahan did not transition well from a guard to a center and the line as a whole suffered for it. With the addition of Hartwig the o-line will immediately improve to some extent but until they have some reps in the regular season and start to move the pile as one unit it's all just hype and theory.

I can hear them talking about it on NFL Live in the background. It's kind of funny to me. They make it sound like the line is a wash, but somehow I'm still not worried.