For a team that has had three wide receivers earn Super Bowl MVP honors and has placed two wide receivers in the Hall of Fame, the Steelers have had very few receivers put together standout rookie seasons. Lynn Swann, John Stallworth, Hines Ward and Plaxico Burress all went on to have excellent careers, but none of them finished their rookie years with 300 yards receiving.
Rookie Mike Wallace has already topped that, and he's on pace to put together one of the best rookie seasons in Steelers history. His season may not fully eclipse Louis Lipps' excellent 1984 debut and Jimmy Orr's rookie receiving record (way back in 1958) is at the outer edge of what Wallace could do this year, but Wallace is on pace to put finish with 50 catches and 874 yards, which would rank second in both categories among Steelers rookies.
Whether it's torn, sprained, broken or just needs to be taped, Injuries to Watch will keep you up to date on injuries around the NFL and how they'll affect your fantasy football team.
Quarterback
Mark Sanchez, Jets - There's been a report out of Jets practice that says Sanchez has been fussing about his right knee. Nothing more is known at this time and Sanchez isn't listed on the injury report either. Keep an eye on this.
Matt Hasselbeck, Seahawks - The Seahawks quarterback injured his ribs in Week 2 and hasn't practiced yet this week. Coach Jim Mora said that Hasselbeck could still play in Week 3, even if he doesn't practice all week.
In any case, Stafford and Sanchez will start Sunday in New Orleans and Houston as the NFL season finally gets under way after what seems like an eternal offseason.
There are other QB story lines the first week (although folks often forget there are 21 other guys on the field).
If you're a football fan (and who isn't), you were treated to an excellent first game of the season. We saw everything from blocked field-goals to a last-minute fumble, and you have to love any first game decided in overtime. If you're a fantasy football fan, however, there were a few things to like about Thursday's clash (Kenny Britt and Ben Roethlisberger, for example), and several things to hate. Since we have to wait a couple days for more pro football, let's analyze (and potentially over-analyze) the Tennessee-Pittsburgh game.
PITTSBURGH -- The Steelers won the Super Bowl last season, thanks in part to their poise while handling a difficult regular-season schedule.
In 2008, Pittsburgh played against seven playoff teams -- a grind that helped them prepare for the postseason. The Steelers celebrated that postseason on Thursday night, dropping a huge championship banner behind one of the Heinz Field goal posts before they took on Tennessee in the NFL's season opener.
The fans went crazy, but their team strolled onto the field as if that Super Bowl title never existed. There would be no ring ceremony. There would be no marching the Lombardi Trophy around at midfield.
Last year was last year, and if the Steelers are going to repeat, they have to play it cool.
Before too long, fans may say that John Elway had a Ben Roethlisberger-esque ability to put together fourth-quarter comebacks.
For the 16th time in his still relatively short NFL career, Roethlisberger led the Steelers from behind in the fourth quarter -- this time he did it twice, as Pittsburgh grabbed a 13-10 overtime win over Tennessee. Only a game into his sixth NFL season, Roethlisberger is 20 comebacks behind Dan Marino for the NFL record. (As an aside, NBC kept citing it as Roethlisberger's 18th comeback, but two of the comebacks, including last year's win over the Cowboys, aren't really a Roethlisberger comeback because the Steelers' defense scored the go-ahead touchdown).
Training camps have wrapped up, the NFL season is right around the corner, and it's still hot as sin outside. But instead of cooling you off with a warm island song, FanHouse break out ye old heat check for our 2009 NFL Season Previews. " We'll rate each club in 5 categories on a scale of 1 to 10, high score wins.
The last time the Steelers won a Super Bowl, in 2006, they limped through the encore season as Bill Cowher headed towards retirement, Ben Roethlisberger battled a motorcycle wreck, two concussions and appendicitis, and the offensive line fell apart. Now after winning another Super Bowl, Pittsburgh's offensive line is still shaky and Roethlisberger has already endured an Achilles injury and a civil suit, but Pittsburgh believes it has built a team that can make a much better defense of its "sticky Lombardi."
The plan was for Ben Roethlisberger to ride the pine as a rookie. That changed when Tommy Maddox went down two weeks into the 2004 season. Five years, two Super Bowl championships and one helmetless asphalt head-butt later, it's all worked out.
As the season nears, FanHouse's fantasy football team decided to put our heads together for another set of updated positional rankings. In this installment, the prima donnas take their turn.
We've flipped again -- after Larry Fitzgerald made an appearance atop of the 2.0 rankings, Andre Johnson is back at No. 1 here. We also see the effects of injuries to Steve Smith, Antonio Bryant and Donnie Avery. Remember to use these rankings as a tool, not as the be-all, end-all of your draft preparation. As news breaks, we'll keep you updated on the fantasy ramifications of it all. Enough talk, let's rank! (Last Updated: 8/29/09)
It's been over a month since we last posted positional fantasy football rankings, so it's time to run our second version. Plus, we added some staff. This is now an average ranking from eight Fantasy FanHouse writers. To view the early version of our wide receiver rankings, click here.
Unlike the second version of quarterback or running back rankings, the receivers have seen a change at the top. In this second installment, Larry Fitzgerald has surpassed Andre Johnson as our collective No. 1 wideout; it wasn't unanimous, as I still personally like 'Dre for a better year.
For a team that has had three wide receivers earn Super Bowl MVP honors and has placed two wide receivers in the Hall of Fame, the Steelers have had very few receivers put together standout rookie seasons. Lynn Swann, John Stallworth, Hines Ward and Plaxico Burress all went on to have excellent careers, but none of them finished their rookie years with 300 yards receiving..jpg)
Whether it's torn, sprained, broken or just needs to be taped, 
PITTSBURGH -- The 
Before too long, fans may say that John Elway had a 
Training camps have wrapped up, the 
As the season nears, FanHouse's fantasy football team decided to put our heads together for another set of updated positional rankings. In this installment, the prima donnas take their turn.
It's been over a month since we last posted positional fantasy football rankings, so it's time to run our second version. Plus, we added some staff. This is now an average ranking from eight Fantasy FanHouse writers. To view the early version of our wide receiver rankings, 
