The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review gives us the finalized, 53-man roster for the 2008 season. A few standouts:
"Willie Parker retains starter status but won't be a workhorse as in previous seasons." Obviously the team is counting on Rashard Mendenhall to start living up to the hype in order to give the Steelers the one-two punch on the ground that has been so important. Mewelde Moore has been tapped as the designated third-down man. I still have questions that the game against Houston will have to answer.
Heath Miller and Matt Spaeth the only tight ends. Given the solid production from both men, we'd lose out if either one got injured.
Offensive line? I know I keep harping on this, but this ten-man group have a long way to go. Five holdovers from Super Bowl XL, but these are the same guys who've allowed Roethlisberger to get sacked far too many times.
Casey Hampton back in shape at NT. That's very good news. I know very little about Chris Hoke and I'm much more comfortable knowing Hampton is doing the job he's known for.
Linebacker corps retains strength. Farrior, Foote, Woodley, Harrison, all names we can rely on. I get good vibes from Davis, Frazier, Woods, Timmons and Fox, too.
Corner and safety positions solid. Happy with all these guys too. I get niggling worries about Polamalu -- can he keep it up? -- but that'll go away soon enough.
Special teams: I have absolute confidence in Jeff Reed. I don't know much about this Mitch Berger guy, though, and we're gonna miss Daniel Sepulveda very badly. Sepulveda was the only guy who could have replaced Chris Gardocki and I don't know if Berger can step into those shoes. Since Sepulveda's done for this season, it's gonna get a bit dicey in the punting game.
Keywords: pittsburgh, roster, steelers
