Didn't see a thread for this so here goes. The team is returning 20 of 22 starters, with ILB Timmons replacing Foote and CB Gay replacing McFadden, so there aren't many interesting camp battles for positions. Right Guard may be the only one worth watching with Darnell Stapelton having problems with his knee. Trai Essex looks to be next in line with rookie Urbik also a possibility.

Among the draft picks, Mike Wallace will likely be a kick returner and Joe Burnett has a good shot at returning punts. Both return spots were weaknesses for the Steelers last year. Two other rooks to watch are RB Frank Summers and CB Keenan Lewis who will play special teams and may see some specialist duty; Summers as a short yardage back and Lewis as a dime corner. UDFA OT Ramon Foster also has a great chance to make the roster.

Tomlin is taking the approach that there's nothing to defend since last year is over and the Champs for this year have yet to be determined, according to reports there isn't a single sign anywhere in Training Camp which identifies the Steelers as SB Champs.

The Vick rumors were ridiculous to any serious fan of the team since the Steelers don't operate that way.

Cant wait for the Thursday night opener. Im wondering how Big Ben's situation will affect him or the rest of the team. Also will Sweed have any impact this year?

From what I've read Ben will be fine. It appears that this chick is crazy and it's just a nuisance suit. ESPN may prove to be justified in their (non)coverage.
Sweed has a real shot a being the #3, it's likely between he and Shaun McDonald (FA from Rams). Early reports out of camp say Sweed can't be covered and that it's just a question of him hanging on to the ball. Mike Wallace has also looked really good, although it would be a stretch for him to compete for the #3 WR spot. Sweed looks to continue the Steelers line of great blocking WRs (Johnson-Ward-Sweed), although he might be affected by the new 'Hines Ward' Rule put in place to help protect helpless defenders from those mean WRs. Sweed had a vicious knockout shot on Corey Ivey last year that might have qualified. I hope he makes it, because he seems like a great kid with a really impressive work ethic, almost the polar opposite of guys like TO or Ocho Cinco.

Nice article on Sweed from the P-G.

Stapleton's injury looks to be serious, he's awaiting the results of an MRI.

Stapleton out 2-6 weeks after arthoscopic surgery on knee. Essex will be the RG for sure now. Shipley and Legursky almost locks to make the team. Mike Wallace looking very impressive, he may be #4 WR and breakout similar to Desean Jackson last year for Philly.

In the discussion about Eli's contract, Ben was being seriously underrated, how is this possible for a QB who has two SB rings and has finished as high as 2nd in DVOA?

I've heard Limas has improved drastically. Very good, b/c I really liked Nate Washington and didn't want to see him go. But if Sweed can step in, that would work. God I hope Mendenhall bounces back and gets significant playing-time this season.

Back-To-Back 3 times dealer!

I think Sweed has a Pro Bowl in his future, maybe in two years. He can consistently get behind NFL corners and has a serious work ethic. When Hines goes, he and Santonio will make an awesome duo. I dug Nate and rooted hard for him, but think Sweed will be much better.

The traditional training camp goal line drill is tonight in Latrobe, this will be Frank Summers chance to turn some heads and cement a spot on the roster.

First Pre-Season game tonight. Among the players fighting for rosters spots are UDFAs OG #73 Ramon Foster (Tenn) and RB #33 Isaac Redman (Bowie St). WR #17 Mike Wallace has been a star so far and could make a big splash tonight, he will return kicks and may play with the 2nd unit.

CB #40 Joe Burnett will return punts and can cement a spot with a good showing. #96 DT Ziggy Hood may also get some reps with the 2nd unit. CB #20 Keenan Lewis also appears to have made the team and may play in some Dime situations as well.

The Steelers could have as many as eight rookies make the roster this year, which is unusual for a SB champ. Plus another three may make the practice squad. So, so glad football is back.

i hope to hell we get vick

LOL Your coach looks like Foreman!11!

Steelers look to have good depth everywhere. Definitely capable of repeating.

Isaac Redman an UDFA RB out of Bowie State scored on 5 out of 7 tries in a goal line drill. 3 of those were against the 1st team D. Can you say lock to make the team? He's a 24 yo rookie, had some problems in school and missed a few years, but he's got Steeler written all over him, runs hard, breaks tackles and likes contact. Frank Summers was his lead FB on three of those runs and he is looking more and more like he might supplant Carey Davis at FB. Davis is a STs demon though, so Frank is going to have to be good at covering kicks.

Steelers are likely to re-sign Brett Keisel before the end of camp.

Yeah, the openers going to be a great match-up tbh. I wanna see how Chris Johnson runs against our defence :$.

I moved from Pittsburgh over a year ago so I'm a bit out of the loop.

What are people there saying about Dixon? Is he viewed as ready to be a backup? I was pretty happy when we drafted him because I'm also a duck. I thought it a bit unfortunate since Ben isn't going anywhere, but no matter where he went he'd have been a backup that would need to impress after the starter got injured or was rested in a meaningless game to become a starter. Given that, he might as well be in Pittsburgh where I can at least see him on the sidelines with a clipboard Like most Steelerists, I Batch but I'd love to see Dixon get the snaps during the useless minutes at the end of a sure victory.

If they think he's close to ready then Dixon as a backup would be better too because I think he could be useful getting 5-10 plays as a receiver or in the (dare I say it?) wildcat. Based on reading the online P-G it seems they haven't practiced the wildcat for so much as a play so it's probably not going to happen, but I could see them keeping it under wraps until the season start. In any case, I think Dixon would be great as a more quarterbacky Randle El for a few plays to at least keep the defense guessing. IIRC your starter can't play after the 3rd QB takes the field, so he'd have to be the backup for it to happen.

I thought he was ok in the preseason game. The press seemed to think he did well but Tomlin's words were pretty mixed.

I'm a big Dixon fan and would really like to see him become the #2 QB. The problem is that this team is built to win now and Batch is a proven vet. Without a competent backup QB behind someone who takes as many sacks as Ben does, the team would be taking a huge risk.
Dixon looked much better in the game than he had in practice, at this point he's a lock to make the team, the ? is will he be the # 2 or #3.
Going to a team that didn't need him to play right away was a huge blessing for him because he was still injured and recovering when he was drafted.
Bruce Arians the OC isn't a big fan of trick plays and has pointed out that the guy taking the snap in the Wildcat has to be big enough to run inside between the tackles. People tend to forget that Ronnie Brown is 235 lbs. Dixon is way too thin (190) to be a threat as an inside runner in that set. In college when he ran between the tackles it was mostly on QB draws in a Spread offense. There is no evidence that Dixon can catch the ball either. So there is little chance we'll see him in an ARE type role. That sucks, but it is what it is.

Repeat of this would be nice.

Lets hope this Roethlisberger ankle injury is nothing serious or one of those injuries that tend to linger for a while!!

He'll be fine, he's just a drama queen.

Big Bitch imo

Very good news on Ben's civil suit here. Basically, emails sent from the plaintiff to the Harrahs head of security show that this chick really wanted to get boned by Ben. The most damaging email has her saying "Hail Mary full of grace give me the strength to not go to his room to fix his television." That email is timestamped for the night before the alleged incident occurred. Game, Set, Match.

Stefan Logan will have a chance to make the team as he will be the primary PR for the Buffalo game on Sat.

Tomlin said today that Isaac Redman will have to be able to play special teams to make the 53 man roster.

Brett Keisel re-signed until 2013. Typical Steelers move to lock up a solid starter at a reasonable price. No surprises in the early cuts. Darnell Stapelton put on IR for the season.

Yeah, so I just watched the America's Game Super Bowl thing on the 2008 Steelers; now I can't sleep.

Some team is gonna be happy they got Anthony Madison now that the Steelers cut him. That guy was a great special-teamer imo..... but Stillers decided Joe Burnett > Madison. Unfortunate.

I watched it too. It was pretty awesome, so many great Tomlin quotes; "When I come to work every morning I walk past 5 Lombardys, not 5 rushing titles.", "It's a 5 star matchup because we're in it." I am soooo psyched for tonight's game against the Titans.

Ben reading poetry was pretty LOL, but then when he was reading it again as he jogged out for the SB drive saved it for me. The image of the disappointed secondary watching as the Oline jogged out too was pretty sick. The show has a lot of great insight into Tomlin which is what I've been craving.

Troy was pretty funny in his commentary about the AFCCG INT - "I got the ball! OMG, what do I do?"