The problem the Pittsburgh Steelers have is that they will be without two-time Super Bowl champion quarterback Ben Roethlisberger for the first 4 games of the season; he’s not even allowed to be in the practice facility for those 4 weeks either. So how will the Steelers handle this? And how will Ben handle this?

As for the Steelers, they will have to make some major changes and adjustments to their offensive scheme in order for Dennis Dixon to take Ben’s place for the first 4 games. His running game will have to take most of the pace to make up for Dennis Dixon’s inexperience. They will most likely use a lot of power and tackle stuff, with a bit of a fast break too, they have recently acquired Flozell Adams playing left tackle and he is a very big guy so expect the Steelers to run to the left side a lot. Rashard Mendenhall is coming off a decent year, but he’s going to have to be better with his vision to hit the hole because last year he was always trying to bounce everything out, which is really hard to do in the NFL because everyone is just too fast. so that it works a lot.

With the Santonio Holmes trade, the No. 2 receiver will be Mike Wallace, who is capable of being No. 2, but is raw. Santonio Holmes was our speedster, who would pass through high school, and Mike Wallace has the ability to do it, but inexperience can make it difficult for him to perform. Leading the No. 1 receiver spot is Steelers veteran Hines Ward; he’s going to have to be able to really improve his performance because with a very inexperienced quarterback, Dennis will need all the help he can get. As for the passing game, they’ll probably limit your playbook to only plays that you know 100 percent for sure, I also don’t think they’ll give you a lot of control options because you’re just not that familiar with all the different checks yet. Look for your passing plays to be 1-3 step drops with just a couple of reads, that way you don’t have to think too hard and you can get the ball out of your hands more quickly.

Because they will rely heavily on running the ball, most of the teams the Steelers will play against in the first 4 weeks will have their defense stacking the box, which leaves a lot of one-on-one coverage on the open outs, so Dennis you’ll be able to see this and it’s much easier for a quarterback to get an out with single coverage, rather than double or zone coverage. So expect Pittsburgh to run some game action with their passing game, that way the game action will lift the safeties up a bit to honor the running game that the Steelers will try to do, which leaves Dennis to do his reads and throw to a wide receiver, or even run with him.

I haven’t mentioned yet that Dennis Dixon is a very good rusher, with a speed of around 4.4 40 yards. He is much more mobile on his feet than Ben, so he can break up a great run if the defense lets him. get him out of the pocket, so I think most of the defense will play a hybrid of a run zone and bar to make sure someone always has an eye on Dennis Dixon. As the Steelers demonstrated in the first start of Dennis Dixon’s NFL career against Baltimore last year, don’t be surprised if they throw some quarterback drafts as well as some wildcats with him. He’s electrifying off his feet, so when or if they run the wildcat, Dennis Dixon will just have to be another threat to the defense, who will have to honor him again and account for him on the field. There are so many different ways that with a new unknown quarterback who can run, Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin can try to run their offense and it should be exciting to see how they try to manipulate the defense with the run and The permission.

Defense will definitely be the key here I think, the Steelers defense has been one of the best in the NFL for many years, and now that Troy Palamalu is back and everyone is healthy, they will need to rely heavily on their defense. . They run a 3-4 defense up front, but the secondary is anyone’s guess. They play a cover two and they cover one a lot in the secondary, that way when they play a cover one, Troy can float around and basically roam the field however he wants to try to create plays. Also, when playing cover 2, he and Clark are the 2 deep safeties that make sure everything is in front of them. The real key in the Steelers’ defense is their blitz packages. They have so many different packages that at any time and on any play, the defensive coordinator can pressure any of his guys.

They have the opportunity to do very well this year; however, the key will be how the team handles the first 4 games of the season without Ben at quarterback. And if Dennis is successful, look for him to play a role on offense even after Ben Roethlisberger returns from suspension, they have a very high caliber team and if they can keep their composure throughout the season, and most of all stay healthy, with the one they battled all of last year, don’t be surprised if you see Pittsburgh playing in the AFC Championship Game, or maybe even the Super Bowl this year.