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Steelers Fans Should Keep an Eye on Keenan Lewis

If you're looking for a lesser-known rookie in Steelers camp worth keeping an eye on as training camp begins, the player to watch apparently is Keenan Lewis.

The Steelers' third-round pick out of Oregon State was mentioned as a dark horse for team rookie of the year by Steelers' beat writer Jim Wexell. Now SI.com's John Lopez has also singled him out as a rookie who could make an impact.

The scouting report on Lewis was that he had very good size and good enough speed. Apparently he has pretty decent instincts as well. The good news is that more than almost any other position, cornerback is one where how a player looks in shorts and a helmet isn't that different from how they look in a full-contact practice. Unlike linemen, linebackers, running backs and wide receivers, it's more about how they react to the ball and the receiver then how they react to hitting and being hit.

Fantasy Football Team Preview: Steelers

Ben RoethlisbergerWith Fantasy Football season ready to kick in high gear, FanHouse is here to preview each and every team -- one per day until we've done them all.

Meet the...
Team with more Super Bowl titles than any other franchise in existence. Fresh off of their sixth Super Bowl title, the Steelers return in 2009 with a solid shot at a repeat performance. The stellar defense is still around and the main keys to the Pittsburgh offense are back and healthy.

While the NFL version of the Steelers is a force to be reckoned with, the Steelers, as fantasy assets, are just average.

FanHouse in the Stands: Game 3


There's a scene in an old Simpsons episode (the exact episode escapes me) where Otto the bus driver is attending a concert, sitting amongst a sea of spectators who are all standing up, screaming, and enjoying themselves. Otto, annoyed by his line of vision being obstructed by his fellow concert-goers, screamed for everyone else to "sit down, sit down, you're ruining it for the rest of us."

A similar scene played out high atop section E-16 of Mellon Arena on Tuesday night, nearly leading to a fight between two women as the Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit Red Wings frantically played the final six minutes of the third period of Game 3.

Steelers Pre-Draft Moves Help Clear Up Draft Plans

Even though the Steelers don't pick until No. 22, they've already made some news today with the news that they re-upped Hines Ward for four more years. Throw in the news from yesterday that they have signed cornerback Keiwan Ratliff to a one-year deal and the Steelers have somewhat solved two of their pressing draft needs before the draft even began.

By re-upping Ward, the Steelers now have their top two wide receivers locked up through 2010 and have Limas Sweed to develop as the No. 3 receiver. While you would like to have some insurance in case Sweed doesn't pan out, wide receiver is now a late-round need, not a first, second or third-round need.

Steelers Will Be OK Without McFadden

After a week of hoping that Bryant McFadden would decide to stay in Pittsburgh, the Steelers lost him to the Arizona Cardinals Sunday, as Ryan Wilson reported.

It's a disappointment for the Steelers, but one they can easily survive. When McFadden was hurt last year, the Steelers secondary didn't miss a beat. William Gay, the starter when McFadden was hurt, will replace McFadden as a starter, Deshea Townsend will be the nickel back and the Steelers will likely draft a cornerback to eventually replace Townsend and give Gay competition.

According to the Football Outsiders' game charters, Gay was the best cornerback in the league last year in yards allowed per attempt thrown his way, so he's not likely to be in over his head.

Bryant McFadden Finally Finds Home, Signs With Cardinals


Heading into free agency, most people assumed that former Steeler Bryant McFadden would be in demand, perhaps even the first cornerback to ink a big-money deal. Ten days and a handful of defensive back signings later, McFadden finally got a new contract. And it has to be a lot less than what he was expecting: he's headed to Arizona for two years and $10 million.

More FanHouse Coverage: NFL Free Agent Tracker | Latest Mock Draft

Steelers Offseason Will Be Focused on Planning Ahead

The Steelers have $19 million in cap room with only a talented cornerback and a slew of mediocre or injury-prone linemen heading to free agency. So everything's great, right?

Well, take a look at this list of Steelers who are getting ready to head into the final year of their current contracts (thanks to davaughnci for pulling a list together over at Football's Future Forum): RB Willie Parker, LB James Harrison, WR Hines Ward, TE Heath Miller, C Justin Hartwig, S Ryan Clark, CB Deshea Townsend, DE Brett Keisel, NG Casey Hampton, K Jeff Reed.

On Tony Romo's Game-Deciding Pick, Steelers Knew What Play Was Coming


Despite being the reason for the season and all that, I'm pretty sure Tony Romo could do without December and January, two months that haven't been very nice to him during his professional tackle football career.

Sunday against the Steelers he threw three interceptions -- including the game-deciding pick-six -- and mixed in a fumble for good measure. After the game, Romo took full responsibility for the outcome, and tight end Jason Witten also suggested he deserved a few fingers pointed in his direction (Dominic Raiola gladly obliged on behalf of disgruntled fans everywhere).

That said, fans also took issue with Stay Puft Wade's coaching skills, as well as Boy Genius' play-calling abilities.

Studs and Duds Week 14: Brian Westbrook Takes Naps in the Giants' End Zone

Each week in the NFL, there are players that impress and players that distress. One week a certain quarterback might toss four touchdowns and run around with his finger in the air while the next he's laying on his back, holding his facemask as the other team returns one of his three interceptions for the game-winning score. With that in mind, here's Studs and Duds.

Here's Week 14 at a glance, where we point out the horses destined for the Kentucky Derby and jeer those headed to the glue factory. (Disclaimer: This will only be for the Sunday games, since you probably can't even remember the Thursday games at this point.)

Studs

Brian Westbrook, RB Philadelphia (33 rushes, 131 yards, 1 TD, 6 catches, 72 yards, 1 TD) -- Not a lot of people have exposed the Giants' defense like Westbrook did yesterday, but I guess not a lot of people have completely taken over games in Brandon Jacobs' house. Westbrook had 203 all-purpose yards in the upset by the Eagles, not only keeping Philly's playoff chances very much alive but showing that when the offense is clicking, this team will be scary for the other side of the sidelines. Donovan McNabb might have just found his best offensive scheme yet -- check down to Westbrook and let the athlete make the plays.

Steelers 20, Cowboys 13: Steelers Defense Devours Another Offense

For 53 minutes, this was setting up to be one of those games where Cowboys fans would breathe a sigh of relief, while Steelers fans would bang their heads against walls.

Pittsburgh forced four first-half turnovers and still went to the half tied 3-3. Tony Romo had played about as bad as he could play in the first half, and all Pittsburgh had gotten out of it was a tie.

Dallas then took control of the game in the third quarter, scored a touchdown (something that seemed very hard to do in a game where the defenses dominated), added a field goal and continued to hold the Steelers offense down to double digits in total yardage. Even when the Steelers finally started moving the ball, Dallas stuffed the Steelers on fourth and goal to take away the Steelers first good chance at a touchdown. With the Falcons losing, Dallas' chances of taking control of the wild card race was looking very good.

And then everything changed. Santonio Holmes returned a punt 35 yards to the Cowboys 25. Even when Pittsburgh was held to two yards on three plays, it was still enough to give the Steelers a field goal that cut the lead to seven, 13-6. The Steelers' defense steppped up to force a three and out, and the Steelers went to the no-huddle. That finally seemed to get the Steelers' passing game finally going, as Ben Roethlisberger found Nate Washington for 14, 21 and 16 yards, setting up a touchdown pass to Heath Miller that tied the score at 13-13.

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