Pittsburgh Steelers defensive team

July 14, 2010 @ 17:45:00

By Bryce McRae
Edited by Cory J. Bonini

Pittsburgh Steelers | defensive team/special teams

2010 Projected NFL/Fantasy Football Statistics

Score Allwd	Off Pts Allwd	Tot Def TD	Tot Spec Tm TD	Fum TD	Int TD	Int	Fum Rec	Pass TD Allwd	Rush TD Allwd	Def Scks
270	248	2	0	0	2	17	13	18	7	45

Pros: The Steelers have ranked in the top two in sacks in each of the last two years with 51.0 and 47.0, respectively. You can probably pin their slide last year on injuries to top defensive end Aaron Smith (shoulder) and safety Troy Polamalu (knee). The return of those two could help them reach their '08 level in interceptions when they tied for sixth with 20.

Cons: Pittsburgh picked off only 12 passes last year. What if Smith and Polamalu can't return back to their pre-injury playing levels? Their offense won't have Ben Roethlisberger for up to the first six games, and if they struggle with Rashard Mendenhall and Byron Leftwich, their D might be left on the field a lot.

Fantasy tip: Pittsburgh's on-field success rarely has translated to fantasy dominance in recent years. This defense has lost some of the luster it had a couple of years ago, but that hasn't stopped owners from taking them in the 12th round of fantasy drafts. Don't follow suit. Hold off on taking them as your No. 1 until the final two rounds of your draft.

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Bryce McRae
Bryce McRae is a Managing Editor with KFFL and has been involved in fantasy sports since 1999. He joined KFFL as a volunteer writer in March 2005 before becoming a Hot off the Wire Analyst in March 2006. He began working in his current capacity in September 2008. His work has appeared on fantasy sports sites such as Yahoo! and CBS Sportsline as well as in print. He graduated from the University of British Columbia in 2008 with a B.A. in History and U.S. Studies.

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