The 2008 season was terrific for the Pittsburgh Steelers, who capped things off with a 27-23 win in Super Bowl XLIII against the Arizona Cardinals during Mike Tomlin’s second year as head coach.

However, despite all the team’s success, there was a lot left to be desired by the Steelers offense who failed to rank any higher than 17th in the NFL in any offensive category.

Fortunately for the Steelers the team had the number one defense in the NFL. The Steelers defense was what carried the team. They ranked first in total yards and passing yards allowed, points allowed,and were second in number of rushing yard allowed.

Roethlisberger finished the season with 3,301 passing yards, 15 interceptions and 17 touchdowns. Hines Ward continued to be his favorite target, leading the team with 1,043 receiving yards, 81 catches and 7 touchdowns, with Santonio Holmes following with 821 yards, 55 catches and 5 touchdowns. Holmes also clinched the Steelers Super Bowl victory with his amazing catch over three Cardinals defenders deep in the end zone.

Willie Parker had 791 rushing yards on 210 carries with 5 touchdowns. Mewelde Moore, who split time with Parker, had 588 yards on 140 carries with 5 touchdowns.

Key Addition

During the off-season, Pittsburgh didn’t add any real key players.

Key Departure

Quarterback Byron Leftwich was solid as a backup to Roethlisberger. However, Roethlisberger is fairly durable despite his numerous injuries and has played in at least 15 games in each of the Steelers past three seasons. So losing Leftwich shouldn’t have a big effect on the team.

Losing cornerback Bryant McFadden is probably the harshest hit the Steelers had during the off season. McFadden was a steady performer at cornerback for Pittsburgh, and he was very familiar with the team’s system, playing for four years with the Steelers. Deshea Townsend and Ike Taylor remain, so the Steelers secondary should still be solid, but McFadden’s presence will be missed.

Wide receiver Nate Washington has shown potential in flashes here and there of emerging as a solid second receiver option while with Pittsburgh, but was always too inconsistent to ever fully get there. As an example of this, during the 2008 season during weeks 5, 7 and 8 (with Week 6 being a bye week), Washington scored for three straight weeks. However, those were his only scores for the season. With Hines Ward showing no signs of slowing down and the emergence of Holmes, losing Washington is probably something the team can handle.

Rookie To Watch

Evander Hood, former Missouri defensive lineman, should help the Steelers improve on their defensive line. Hood, who will play defensive end for the Steelers, weighs 300 pounds and stands 6′3″ but moves much better than his size would seem to indicate. He appears to be a perfect fit for the Steelers 3-4 defense.

Spotlight

Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger didn’t exactly meet the expectations of fantasy owners during the 2008 season when he threw only 17 passing touchdowns. This was far lower than the 2007 season when he had 32. However, although fantasy owners might still be disappointed with last season’s stats, no one can deny that Roethlisberger rises to the occasion when his team really needs him the most. Big Ben is the ultimate gamer, with the ability to make plays out of seemingly nothing at times when it counts the most. This doesn’t necessarily make him the finest fantasy quarterback, but he is definitely fun to watch.

Running back Rashard Mendenhall missed most of last season after he suffered a fractured shoulder in his first pro start during week four’s game with Baltimore. With Moore being to inconsistent to be truly reliable and Parker slowing down, the team will count on Mendenhall to play a major role in the 2009 season. If he stays healthy, look for Mendenhall to have more than 100 carries.