http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pitt.../s_547230.html
It will be unusually quiet this week at the Steelers' South Side practice facility, as the coaches are on vacation.
When they return from a brief respite after a grinding stretch -- one that started with high hopes in late July and ended with a deflating playoff loss more than five months later -- their focus will be squarely on next season.
And specifically what the Steelers have to do to go from a team that was good enough to win 10 games and a division title to one that is good enough to contend for a Super Bowl title.
"I won't take what happened from a positive standpoint for granted," Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said last week. "(But) the '08 team will be just as different from '07 as '07 was from '06."
Indeed, there will be significant personnel changes, since guard Alan Faneca, a seven-time Pro Bowler, will almost certainly sign somewhere else in March when he becomes an unrestricted free agent. Offensive tackle Max Starks could follow Faneca out of Pittsburgh, since he will be an unrestricted free agent, too.
The Steelers would have had to address their offensive line during the offseason even if they weren't facing Faneca's imminent departure.
Ben Roethlisberger was sacked 53 times in 16 starts last season, including the postseason. Considering the financial investment Steelers figure to make in him some time before the start of the 2008 season, they need to do a better job of protecting their Pro Bowl quarterback.
Tomlin conceded that the Steelers need help on the offensive and defensive lines and also need to get younger in both areas.
The Steelers finished first in the NFL during the regular season in total defense, but they were not a dominant group, especially after they lost defensive end Aaron Smith to a season-ending arm injury in early December.
"I thought they struggled late in the season," ESPN "Monday Night Football" analyst Ron Jaworski said. "I don't think defensively they were as stout against the run, which has always been kind of a hallmark of the Pittsburgh Steelers."
Another hallmark of the Steelers has been building from within.
That is why they are not expected to be very active during the free-agent signing period that starts March 1, even though the Steelers are believed to have significant room under the salary cap.
"We like to do things our way," Steelers chairman Dan Rooney said. "We believe that if we bring a player up and bring him through our system, being in this organization, having the coaches train them the way we want, that that's the way you develop a team."
Not that the Steelers have shunned free agency since the current system was instituted in 1993. Notable signings include center Jeff Hartings (2001) and inside linebacker James Farrior (2002), but the Steelers have never gone for splashy signings.
"Will we take a guy in free agency? Sure," Rooney said. "But we don't believe in going out and acting like you're an expansion team, signing 20 guys that way."
The Steelers might target a guard, one who would come considerably cheaper than Faneca, during the free-agent signing period, especially since that position is not considered strong in this year's NFL draft.
Rob Rang, a senior draft analyst for NFLdraftscout.com, said it is a good year for teams looking for offensive tackles, since as many as five, including Pitt's Jeff Otah, could be taken in the first round.
If the Steelers take an offensive tackle with their first-round pick (No. 24 overall), they might move right tackle Willie Colon to guard or even try him at center.
The Steelers also might consider trying right guard Kendall Simmons at center, given the struggles of Sean Mahan, their only significant free-agent signing last year.
If the Steelers take an offensive lineman among their first two picks in the draft, Rang said, Arizona State center Mike Pollak could be a good fit.
The 6-foot-4, 292-pounder's draft stock has "skyrocketed" this season, Rang said, and he could be a second-round pick.
"Very physical and knows how to play with technique," Rang said of Pollak. "He's the kind of guy that Pittsburgh in the past may consider."
If the Steelers are looking for immediate contributions from the players they take in April's draft, they also will be looking for more help from the players they took in last year's draft.
They didn't get much out of first-rounder Lawrence Timmons, in part because a groin injury limited the linebacker during offseason practices and a significant portion of training camp.
Timmons, who was stuck behind Pro Bowler James Harrison at right outside linebacker, has been moved inside, and he'll compete with Larry Foote for playing time at the "mack" position next season.
Second-round pick LaMarr Woodley thrived at the end of the season, and his emergence is why the Steelers most likely won't bring back Clark Haggans at left outside linebacker.
Tomlin made it clear last week that the growth of the Steelers' most recent draft class will play a significant role in shaping what happens in 2008.