FanHouse Ben Roethlsiberger

Two weeks ago, Byron Leftwich met with the Redskins. It was the first free-agent visit of the offseason for a player most of us thought would be in high demand. Leftwich would also visit the Buccaneers, which prompted the Steelers to step up their efforts to re-sign Ben Roethlsiberger's backup, but Tampa Bay has apparently landed the 2003 first-round pick.

That's the word on the street, anyway: "Free-agent quarterback Byron Leftwich has agreed to a two-year deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a source told ESPN's Michael Smith."

Bill Cowher might no longer be the Steelers coach, but we did see a little of his approach seep into the Steelers playbook Saturday night.

The knock on Cowher was that he was too cautious, too prone to pull the gameplan in at the first sign of a lead he could sit on. The result was some come-from-behind losses in AFC Championship games and comparisons to Marty Schotenheimer, at least until Cowher won Super Bowl XL.

Cowher might be gone, but his old wide receivers coach is still calling the plays in Pittsburgh, and with the game on the line, the Steelers got too conservative.