Let's take a look at the Steelers 2009 schedule.

First off, the AFC North is slated to play the AFC West and NFC North this year.  They get a reasonably easy draw because the AFC West is definitely a down division.  The NFC North is respectable, Detroit notwithstanding.  Since the Steelers won their division in 2008, they also play the 2008 divison winners in the AFC East and South, meaning they get the Dolphins and Titans respectively.

As usual, the NFL likes to kick off its schedule with a prime-time special game.  In what will be a highly anticipated game, the Steelers play host to the Tennessee Titans in their season opener.  This ought to be an interesting game for both teams, as obviously both are going to want to start hot and stay that way, and so this represents a major game for both teams.  No one really likes to start with an "A Grade" game but it is what it is.

Overall, the schedule is pretty fair to Pittsburgh.  They have no West Coast trips this year - they host both San Diego and Oakland this year, and travel to Denver and KC.  Their bye week is mid-season - a double-edged sword (too late in case of injury but coming at a perfect time perhaps for early-season injuries??).  What's perhaps the most interesting element of their schedule is how the two Baltimore games are slated to be late-season games.  The NFL certainly has set its sights on playing up those two collasal games in their late-season schedule - theoretically forging even more interest in them assuming both teams have seasons as they hope.

If there's something to complain about, it's that the Steelers play 5 out of their final 9 games away from home.  Those trips include a MNF game at Denver, back-to-back road games at Kansas City then Baltimore, a Thursday night game in Cleveland and finally, a season-finale in Miami.  The Thursday nighter comes after a home game against Oakland - so in looking at the schedule one cannot really complain that the NFL hurt Pittsburgh by making the game before the TNF one a nasty battle.  Oakland games are usually entertaining, but unless the Raiders pull off a highly surprising season, this precursor to a TNF battle won't get a lot of attention.

I tend to grade games A through C - an A game meaning that it will get league-wide attention either because it pits two very, very good teams, or because there's some other element to it.  Pittsburgh has 4 "A" games this year - the season/home opener against Tennessee, the SNF game hosting the Chargers, and the two November/December Baltimore games.  By the way, Pit/Bal is always an "A" game in my opinion because of the bad blood/rivalry aspect to those games.  In my opinion, the Steelers have 5 "B" games.  Trips to Chicago, Denver and Miami, and home games against Minnesota and Green Bay make this list.  They are games that should be pretty competitive because the opposition is better.  That leaves our "C" games which are interesting only to the local teams playing the games - unless something unexpected happens.  I've ranked the four games against Cincy and Cleveland as "C" games because it doesn't seem at face value that either Cincy or Cleveland will be all that great this year.  The Cincy games, however, have the possibility of being upgraded assuming that the Bengals are the Bengals and not the Bungles.  One can only watch the season, however, before making that determination.  The other "C" games include the trip to Detroit, the trip to Kansas City and the home game against Oakland.

This is a far cry from last year's schedule, which was loaded with "A" games because of the nature of playing the NFC East and the AFC South.

Anyway, in my opinion the Steelers have a fair schedule.  It's not entirely their fault that the divisions they play this year are not considered very "sexy" by NFL people.  Sure, the NFC North will be competitive, and have good storylines, but is the NFC North the center of the football universe this year?  Not by a long-shot - and the AFC West will get some consideration for the NFL's worst division because of Oakland, rebuilding KC, and Denver's internal implosions.

Drafted first overall in the 2004 NFL Entry Draft, and subsequently traded to the Giants for their first-round selection Philip Rivers, these two players will forever be linked.  Later, in the 11th round, the Pittsburgh Steelers were drooling when Miami of Ohio QB Ben Roethlisberger fell into their laps.  And so, in the first 11 rounds, 3 QBs were chosen, and those 3 QBs will always have some measure of comparisons applied one against the other.

The paths these three QBs have taken to their respective starting roles are all vastly different.  In New York, Eli Manning was supposed to sit his rookie year and learn from the sidelines through watching the cagey veteran Kurt Warner lead his team.  Ben Roethlisberger was going to do the same thing in Pittsburgh, sitting behind NFL Comeback Player of the Year Tommy Maddox.  In San Diego, Rivers was slated to sit behind Drew Brees and learn.  Ah, how plans go awry.

In the 3rd game of the 2004 season, QB Tommy Maddox suffered an injury during a game against the Baltimore Ravens.  Roethlisberger was inserted and looked frankly like a rookie getting his first significant playing time against a top NFL defense - in other words he looked bad.  However, Maddox's injury was serious enough that Roethlisberger "earned" the starting slot by default.  The rest is now NFL history.  Roethlisberger rewrote the record books, beating several significant rookie year records previously held by Dan Marino.  One record - his 13 straight wins in his rookie year - is a record that I think may withstand the test of time forever.  However, to be fair to both Manning and Rivers, Roethlisberger took the reins on a very good football team.  His defense was among the best in the NFL, and the team's running game was also among the best.  Ben's role was easy - hand off to Jerome Bettis, and make the high-percentage passes that were obvious.  Make the first read.  When that failed...run like hell and give it a whirl.  For 13 amazing games, that tactic worked remarkably well.  When the dust settled, the Steelers ended their season with a sparkling 15-1 record, and the AFC's top spot.  Of course, in the AFC Championship Game, the saavy, veteran New England Patriots dismantled the Steelers offense primarily by forcing Ben to beat them - which he couldn't do.  So that was that. 

Eli Manning in New York watched for the first 9 games I think, and then as the Giants faced a losing season, inserted Eli into the starting role.  Manning's rookie campaign was more typically "rookie" than Ben's - he threw interceptions, had a poor passer rating, didn't complete many passes and frequently looked bad.  His "highlight" game that year was a rookie-year battle between his Giants and the Steelers - it was a game in which both QBs played very well and was a very entertaining game at that. 

Rivers didn't see the light of the starting lineup that year, and with Drew Brees having a spectacular year, some wondered whether or not he'd ever see the starting lineup.

It was in 2005 that the careers of these three players began to diverge.  Ben again led a veteran-heavy, defense-minded team into the playoffs, and this time they turned the tables in the playoffs and rode Ben's arm to several "upset" wins, and then into the Super Bowl.  In Super Bowl XL, Ben was nothing short of arguably the worst quarterback performance by a winner or loser in the big game.  However, the Steelers won the game, and Roethlisberger, in only his second year, was fitted for a Super Bowl ring.  Eli Manning faced tough conditions in New York - constant media attention, howls because of his poor to lackluster performance, and some internal criticism.  He was stoic, because he's that way about everything, all of the time.  But the fires burned.  Philip Rivers again rode the pine.

In 2006, changes began appearing in the careers of these three QBs.  Ben took a substantial step backwards - first almost getting killed in a motorcycle accident, then undergoing an emergency appendectomy, and he and his team had to deal with a long season marred by injury and a "will he or won't he" discussion regarding coach Bill Cowher.  In 2006, Manning led his Giants into the playoffs, but were scorched in their opening round game.  The upshot of that game was that long-time running back Tiki Barber retired, and Barber promptly criticized Eli Manning rather harshly.  Philip Rivers finally became the starter of the Chargers, and played well all season long, but didn't do anything to vault him into the upper echelon of QBs in the NFL.

2007 marked a huge turning point for all 3 QBs.  Ben had a stellar statistical year, earning over a 100.0 QB rating and would have easily been among the candidates for NFL MVP - only it was his bad luck to have that season in a year in which Tom Brady had arguably the best regular season by a quarterback in the history of the NFL.  Manning solidly took the reins in New York, and didn't falter down the stretch - instead beginning to play some of his best football as the air grew colder and the weather worse.  Rivers helped lead his Chargers into the playoffs, and played very well there even in the loss to the Patriots.  Ben, for all of his regular-season exploits, couldn't lift his team beyond his own mistakes (3 first-half INTs) or the team's raging injury problems (Willie Parker's broken leg) when the Steelers lost the Wild Card game against the Jags.  Manning, however, had a career post-season that ended with the Giants tremendous upset of the previously undefeated New England Patriots in the Super Bowl.  Four years had passed since these 3 players were drafted, and now 2 of them had rings.

Of course, last year, Ben led his Steelers to his second title, and the team's sixth overall.  Ben surged ahead of his draft-pack competitors in wins, and Super Bowl titles, but perhaps more importantly, showed that he's already among the game's most clutch performers.  Time after time, the Steelers rallied from fourth quarter deficits during the 2008 regular season to forge a victory, including a sensational 2-minute drive in the waning minutes of Super Bowl XLIII that iced that victory.  Eli Manning was steady but not spectacular as he led his Giants to a terrific season.  However, theirs crashed to earth when idiot WR Plaxico Burress shot himself in the leg - without Plax, Manning found the passing game a lot more difficult.  The Giants kind of fell slowly apart, and eventually lost to the surging Eagles in the playoffs.  Rivers emerged as one of the game's most dangerous quarterbacks, earning sensational reviews as he had a great individual season.  However, the Chargers very iffy 8-8 (division winning) record left a lot to be desired.  The Chargers upset the Colts in their first playoff game in 2008, and then got pounded by the Steelers.  Two of Rivers' worst games in 2008 came in Pittsburgh against the Steelers, but that wasn't anything all that noteworthy - the 2008 Steelers defense made a lot of very good QBs look simply ordinary.

So where do we stand now?  Ben has two titles, and is now widely recognized as being an elite QB in the NFL.  When people debate the "top 5" QBs in the NFL, Ben is usually among that cadre.  It's hard to argue against 2 titles, one season in which he had a better than 100 QB rating, and earned over 50 wins in his first five seasons.  His "clutch" abilities are easily in the game's top 3.  Sure, his detractors point out that most of his wins were earned on the backs of great overall Steeler teams, but he did his part not to lose any of those games.  Plus, his detractors also point out his penchant for taking sacks; Ben himself admits to holding on to the ball too long, but this is a strange argument - he's always looking to make a play, and has total confidence that he can - and therefore, holding onto the ball for longer than usual is his best and surest way to making things happen.  If it wasn't for that, the 2008 Steelers wouldn't have beaten Baltimore in their last regular season game (the controversial TD pass to Holmes was one of Ben's signature "broken play" moves). 

Philip Rivers is probably the best pure "passing" quarterback of the three.  He has a fantastic deep ball, and his leadership skills, fiery personality and passion for the game makes him a tremendous leader on that team.  No Rivers-led team will quit on a game - his head would almost literally explode.  Rivers hasn't tasted the ultimate glory yet, but one has to think that his time is coming and that right soon.  It's Rivers' misfortune to have a poor head coach calling the shots, however.  The Chargers may win a title with Rivers leading the team, but it's highly unlikely in my opinion that they'll win anything with Turner calling the shots.  Still, as a QB, Rivers is probably on the outside of that "top 5" QB ranking...but sitting at 6th or 7th and rising rapidly.

Eli Manning has dual misfortunes of being the younger brother of the more famous Peyton Manning, and being constantly compared to both Ben and Philip Rivers.  He's never going to get to stand on his own unless he does something spectacular - like winning a second Super Bowl Title.  The thing about Eli is that sometimes he looks bad, but more often than not, even when he looks bad, he and his teams win games.  He's a solid QB - destined I think never to be an "elite" QB like Brady or his older brother, but never out of the picture entirely when discussing the game's best QBs.  Eli's the complete package at QB, however - leadership, passing ability, clutch playing.  With him, the Giants will never entirely be out of the playoff picture.  The Giants are also poised I think to compete solidly for the Super Bowl in the short-term future (2-3 years) and it's entirely possible that Eli Manning could slip a second Super Bowl ring onto his finger as well.

All in all, these 3 QBs will probably be the posters for NFL quarterbacks in the next 5-7 years.  Brady and Peyton will fall back into that "Hall of Fame" elite category, where nothing they do will generate any surprise - it's just that they'll be tremdendous all of the time.  But their careers are beginning to enter the twilight, while Eli, Ben and Philip are all entering their primes.  It will be a lot of fun to watch these 3 QBs, for whether as fans or detractors, it's impossible not to watch these three and recognize how talented they are.  The NFL seems to be in an era of simply amazing QBs right now - Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Brett Favre, Donovan McNabb - and pretty soon the NFL will be talking about Eli Manning, Ben Roethlisberger and Philip Rivers all in the same way.  With the amazing rookie starts that both Joe Flacco and Matt Ryan had, one can only hope that they, too, will continue their success.

Preseason football in the NFL is nothing short of tremendously boring, and occasionaly bad to the point of unwatchable.  But it is good to see that the game is back, and the teams are working their way towards what they all hope will be a successful season.  Once again, the AFC seems far more stocked with good to great teams than the NFC.  Once again, TO is making headlines for his off-the-field antics rather than making the 80-yard electrifying touchdown catches.  And once again, injuries are causing concern for NFL teams and coaches.

Last week, the Steelers traveled to Arizona to play the Cards in both teams' first game.  The Cardinals left their starters in until mid-way through the second quarter.  For some insane reason, this brought Steelers fans out of the woodwork...COMPLAINING!  Unbelievable.  Look, preseason games are about the individual teams' agenda.  True, you have unfamiliar competition across the line, but you're not interested in exploiting the other team's weaknesses or looking to minimize their strengths.  It's about practicing what is going to make you or break you.  The Steelers first drive of the year looked every bit as what us fans expected.  A mix of run and pass, with two scrambles from Roethlisberger and delivering the ball with accuracy on the run.  The runs were okay, the screen nice, the reverse also nice.  Arizona certainly looked pretty good too, marching down the field offensively and scoring.  Then, the Steelers started putting in their reserves, and the reason for that was quite simple: the Steeler coaches need to evalulate their talent in game situations.  How does this backup offensive tackle react to a stunt?  Or how does this receiver adjust to the defense he sees?  How does the defensive secondary react to the offense's formation and pre-snap movement?  These are the things that the Steelers coaches need to see and evaluate.  Whether or not Arizona kept their first team in longer matters not at all - maybe it was a good thing!  The Steelers can then see how their second team matched up against better competition (not well, if you want to know the truth).  But it's all about what Cowher and company wanted to do, and not at all about what Arizona was going to do.  That was inconsequential.  Maybe Dennis Green wanted his offense in longer so he could get his offensive line more time to come together as a group.  Maybe he saw that the timing between Warner and his receivers wasn't quite there yet, and wanted to practice the timing issues more than anything else.  What the hell does it matter?  Its preseason - the games mean absolutely nothing at all.  There's no psychological impact for going 0-4 in the preseason!

The AFC certainly seems to be stocked again this year.  Pundits are raving about Duante Culpepper's performance in Miami, and some are openly wondering if Miami has enough in the tank to unseat the Pats as AFC East leader?  Anthony Wright gave fans in Cincinnati a big sigh of relief when he played pretty well in his first game with the team, giving them hope that if Carson Palmer's knee isn't quite ready that there's a servicable backup in place for the start of the season.  Indy fans might be wondering a little about their running game, but then again, its early, and their offense as a whole didn't seem to lose any steps in their first game. 

The injury bug has struck some teams in a nasty way this year, as it seems to do in every preseason.  Clinton Portis went down with a partially dislocated shoulder on making a tackle on an interception.  What hurts far more than this injury is how it occurred.  Regardless, injuries are a concern for every single team in every single game.  Look at the Packers last year - it seemed that in every game at the start of the season, Brett Favre lost another major weapon to a season-ending injury four games in a row.  That effectively killed the Pack's season last year, but did he say that somehow the game was at fault for the injuries?  No - they are a part of the game.  Preseason games are necessary for the teams so that they can get a read on who they have.  They are necessary to build cohesion among the major units of the game.  They are necessary for the coaches to being building their regular season game plans.  All these things take time, and the only way to work out the bugs is through the games themselves.  Coaches, too, have to get back into the groove of calling plays, adjusting to the other team, and overcoming in-game challenges.  People seem to think that by reducing the preseason to 2 or 3 games would somehow resolve the injury situation.  I doubt that it would, and it would certainly make the first two weeks of the regular season look painful sometimes.  No, four games are necessary.  It's a brutal game; you just have to take your lumps as they come, and adjust as necessary.

Of course, if Big Ben got hurt in the preseason, I'd probably be screaming a different story. 

Finally, it seems that the TO saga is ramping up in Dallas.  I cannot imagine Bill Parcells being a happy camper right now under any set of circumstances.  One of the game's best playmakers comes with an entire Boeing 777 full of baggage, and its starting to be obvious that TO's baggage is making Parcells have headaches.  Parcells is a tough coach, and he doesn't take it well when players don't do exactly what he thinks they should.  Adding to that is the fact Drew Bledsoe is already on record saying he's occasionally hot-headed in the huddle, and if he thinks TO screwed up, he'll tell him about that.  It is well-documented how thin TO's skin is, and he reacts to criticism - especially from quarterbacks - about as well as us citizens react to the news we need a root canal.  I think that the stage is set for Dallas to aboslutely implode this year.  The team has the talent to be a playoff contender.  But they could just as easily go 6-10 or worse if the volcano TO erupts.