FanHouse TonyHills

If there's one 2008 Steeler draftee who is being counted on more than any other, it's Limas Sweed.

Even a year after he was drafted, first-round pick Rashard Mendenhall will be the No. 2 tailback, but even if he fails at the job, Mewelde Moore and Tank Summers are available to step in. Third-round pick Bruce Davis and fourth-round pick Tony Hills will need extremely impressive training camps just to make the gameday roster, fifth-round pick Dennis Dixon is likely the No. 3 quarterback while sixth-round pick Ryan Mundy is battling for a roster spot.

The Steelers decision to franchise Max Starks may seem puzzling, but for a team that just won the Super Bowl, it's a pretty logical move.

By tagging Starks, Pittsburgh ensures that it doesn't head into free agency with a gaping hole. With Starks locked up, Pittsburgh could start the season with Starks, Kendall Simmons, Justin Hartwig, Darnell Stapleton and Willie Colon. It's not a good line; in fact, it's a pretty poor one, but it's not really any worse than the one that won the Super Bowl.

It's preseason, so there's no reason to freak out too much over the Steelers loss to the Bills, but here's what jumped out to me from the game.

• Steelers fans have been noticing Santonio Holmes for two years but this is the year taht evberyone else will get to notice the third-year receiver. It's not hard to imagine Holmes going for 1,200+ yards with an outstanding yards per catch average. In two games this preseason he's looked unstoppable.

• It's hard not to get excited about the idea of James Harrison and LaMarr Woodley coming off the edges. For the second straight week, Pittsburgh generated a pretty solid pass rush just by lining up and beating people off the edge--something that hasn't been true in recent years.