2007 Previews: Pittsburgh Steelers

Note: This is a team-by-team look previewing the 2007 season. These are my official thoughts on how I think things will play out.

Last year: 8-8 (third in AFC North)

Best addition: Lawrence Timmons (LB, 1st round pick out of Florida State)

Key personnel loss: Joey Porter (LB, Dolphins)

2007 outlook: Once again the Steelers improved their team through smart drafting and leaving the free agent marking relatively alone. Aside from replacing some of the depth that departed, the only real blow to the Steelers was the loss of Porter, who many Pittsburgh fans will say is on the decline. And if there is one thing Pittsburgh cranks out and always has an abundance of, it's LB's, which bodes well for Timmons whom was chosen in the first round.

Offensively, the Steelers are hoping Ben Roethlisburger's bad luck is behind him. After the year he had last year, there should be no place to go but up. However, Roethlisburger may not be back to form right away as last year's offensive staff is now in Arizona, meaning Big Ben now has a new offense to get under his belt. His weapons on offense should help soften that transition though.

Key to success: If the Steelers can have a seemless transition to what the new coaching staff wants to do, there is no reason this team can't return to being the Super Bowl contender it was two years ago. Most of the pieces remain intact and as long as the Steelers remain a run first offense (which may not be a given considering new O coordinator Bruce Arians' statements that he wants more out of the passing game), they should be able to win games like they always do, controlling the clock and playing solid defense.

Against Washington: While the Skins and the Steelers do not face each other in the regular season this year and haven't played a regular season contest against each other since Washington lost a 17-6 game in Pittsburgh in 2004, the two teams will play in Washington during the preseason. With it being the second week of the preseason, don't look for the starters to play a ton but take it as an opportunity to see which bubble players have the best chance at catching on.

Fantasy sleeper: Hines Ward. For some reason Ward is one of those guys who always seems to be overlooked when it comes to fantasy WR's, even though he had almost 1,000 yards receiving and 6 TD's last season. The TD's may have been a little low but in three of the past five years Ward has posted 10 or more TD's. Don't make the mistake of overlooking Ward because he is a steady producer that you know what you are getting when you pick him.