For the entire month of August, the Sportable Staff will look at one National Football League team a day. We?ll look at their offense, defense and in the end, assess their playoff chances. Previews will be done by division, starting with the NFC East. Each new division will also feature a new podcast devoted entirely to that division.

Can the Steelers return to Super Bowl form?

There have been many questions in the steel city since the team won the Super Bowl two years ago. Ben Roethlisberger has had his issues and the rest of the team has had a few problems as well. There are a lot of new faces on this team, including new head coach Mike Tomlin, who takes over for Bill Cowher who was the (ugly) face of the organization.

Offense.

The offense shouldn’t be too big of a concern for the Steelers this year. Roethlisberger has proved that he is a capable quarterback, but last year he started to get into a little bit of trouble with interceptions. Some people attributed that to symptoms he was still feeling from his motorcycle accident, I personally think it was the result of Roethlisberger thinking that he had to do too much. With Willie Parker having established himself as a premier back in the league some pressure should be taken off Roethlisberger and that could make him a little more effective. Hines Ward continues to be an effective receiver and Santonio Holmes is coming into his own as a receiving threat, in addition, Heath Miller remains a solid option at tight end. This is going to be a typical Steelers offense, run first and pound the running game until they submit, and then throw the ball a few times.

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Either Lynn Swann’s golf game has gone to hell or he really hates sideline reporting. After his failed campaign to become Governor of Pennsylvania in last November’s election, Swann is again thinking about politics. He’s confirmed that he’s been approached to run for an open Pittsburgh-area seat in Congress.

“It’s a process. It’s not a matter at this point about whether it’s something I thought about doing in the past or would think about doing in the future,” Swann said.

Here’s an idea Lynn. Don’t be so vague. I know you’re practicing your vagueness for the campaign trail but that’s probably the most unsure statement I’ve ever read. Go ahead and read it again. I can’t understand what the hell he’s even trying to say. Are you running or are you not?

If Swann does get elected to fill that seat in Congress, expect him to travel through Pittsburgh and applaud the city’s blue collar ethic because nobody ever relates Pittsburgh and blue collar work. Swann would likely face Republican Jason Altmire in the race for Congress. With over a year until the election, expect Swann to call on Jerome Bettis to help out on the campaign trail.

It’s day three of the tribute videos done by BradyFan83. This one is hilarious as well. Ben Roethlisberger is parodied/insulted to the perfect song: “Ben”, by a young, still black Michael Jackson. There’s a couple of low blows about the motorcycle crash. But now that he’s okay and started playing better towards the end of the year, it’s fair game right? Right? Enjoy.

Staaaart Baaaatch.

Bill Cowher is pleading with the press to take the blame off of quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and put it on his shoulders. Sorry Bill, as noble an act as it is, throwing yourself under the bus just isn’t going to work for me. You aren’t the one who threw four interceptions against the Raiders.

If you were such a bad coach, you wouldn’t have managed to keep that Pittsburgh job for the past 14 years. Though you may well be the scariest human being on the face of the Earth, you are also probably one of the best football coaches. So don’t be taking the blame for the actions of a struggling quarterback. If it was your fault, if you were struggling as a coach this year, your defense wouldn’t have held the Raiders to 98 total yards of offense.

I’m not saying to throw Big Ben under the bus, but at some point he has to take responsibility. He is the one who has tossed up 11 interceptions this year, surpassing his total from last year, and tying his rookie number in under half the number of games played. Cowher isn’t the one out there struggling to make passes, that’s Roethlisberger, so I am going to blame him.

The Steelers are a better team than their 2-5 record indicates and something, or someone has to spark a turn around in this team. I’ll be the first to call for a coach to light a fire under a teams ass, but this isn’t one of those cases. Roethlisberger needs to realize he doesn’t suck, and start making smart throws, and if he is feeling effects from his concussions (which he claims he isn’t) then he needs to sit himself on the bench and do what is best for his team.