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Steelers give up a 7th round draft pick to get former back-up Bryon Leftwich (spelling). Decision on Ben and his punishment may come shortly. (Maybe tomorrow, April 21)

DIXON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dixon is definitely not the answer. He has no experience and is miserable at throwing the ball down the field. Leftwich will play in Roethlisberger's absence. The Steelers have a fairly favorable early schedule. They open with Atlanta; sort of a mystery team. Will this year's Falcons be the team of Matt Ryan's rookie year or sophomore year? Will Michael Turner return to form? We'll see. Then, it's Tampa Bay who I still don't expect too much from. Followed by Tennessee, but which Vince Young will we see? I think VY could have a good year. Then it's Baltimore who is my pick to win the division, followed by a bye week. I expect Roethlisberger's sentence to be reduced to 4 games and that he will return after the bye week. I think it's a victory if the Steelers are 3-1 at this point, but 2-2 would be acceptable.

Is Big Ben allowed to play in the pre-season?

Mystery man you're crazy, Dixon played well against the Baltimore Ravens last year and if the Steelers remained successful with Kordell then Dixon can contribute just as much if not more. It's a hard decision for me to pick who will start because I am definitely a Leftwich fan. But since the jets have Holmes then the steelers should GET FANECA BACK NOW!!!!!!

Yes, as long as he completes the evaluations that the NFL is making him undergo then he will be cleared to play in the preseason. His suspension will be very similar to Vick's suspension last season.

Dixon was okay against Baltimore. I would hardly say a qb rating of 62 was a good game. Let's face it. He was a late round pick for a reason and has limited experience. Leftwich will manage the first four games just fine.

Definitely. They should still get Faneca even though Kevin Colbert says they aren't pursuing him. I honestly dont believe they'll return to smash mouth football for the season but it would then become clear if they signed him back. They just said they would run the ball because they knew they would have to for the first 4-6 games..sneaky snakes.

Faneca signed with Arizona. Even if Pittsburgh did try to get him, I doubt he would have came back. May still be sore for the way he left Pittsburgh a few years ago.

Dixon did fine in the first half against Baltimore but when they started to switch up their defense and coverage is when he started to struggle. Remember, quarterbacks who play in the style of spread offenses played at Oregon or Florida are usually taught to make one or two reads before running the ball themselves. Usually takes them awhile to make the switch to a pro style offense and make reads while dropping back.

The question I have is who will be the odd man out? I look for Leftwich to start while Ben is on suspension, so that leaves either Dixon or Batch to fight over the third spot.

I say when Ben comes back, Batch is out. He is old, and Dixon can still develop a bit...even if it is to be a quality career back up.