Here we are again Steeler fans. That time of year; the time where the season has come to an end and we look back and grade the positions on offense and defense. And, as we have done in the past, we will begin on offense and start with Quarterback.

Quarterback: In the off-season, Kent Graham was brought in to perhaps pressure Kordell Stewart into playing better. What he did do in the preseason was play a bit better than Kordell, putting up better numbers and then impressing Bill Cowher to the point that Kordell lost his starting job. Graham began his career as a starting Quarterback in Pittsburgh unimpressive. He got the Steelers off to a 0-3 start before getting injured. Kordell Stewart came in to relieve and won the next two games. When Graham returned for game #6, he got an easy assignment with the Cincinnati Bengals. However, despite winning 15-0, Graham was again unimpressive. He continued the poor play into the following week against Cleveland, and was yanked for Stewart. Kordell never looked back, leading the team to its fourth straight win, and as the starter the rest of the season, he finished 6-4. As a starter, Stewart's record in 2000 was 8-4. Graham's? 1-3. Stewart began slowly, but beginning with the Bengal rematch on November 26, he picked up momentum and by the season's end, he was looking like the Kordell Stewart version of 1997. HE went from boos in Three Rivers Stadium to loud yells and screams of approval. He finished with a 73.6 passer rating, 1,860 yards passing, 11 touchdowns passing, and seven touchdowns by way of fleet feet. He threw just eight interceptions in 254 passing attempts, for an impressive 2.8 interception percentage. 52% of his passes were completed and he averaged 5.6 yards per carry rushing the ball. Following the final game in San Diego, Bill Cowher had already proclaimed that Stewart was the starter for 2001. As for Tee Martin, he appears to be heading down the Pete Gonzalez path, riding the bench, and never getting an opportunity. Overall grade: B-

Running Back/Fullback: In 1999 Jerome Bettis's rushing yards per carry was unimpressive. Averaging just a little over three yards, the Bus still managed to get over the 1,000-yard mark again on the season. But critics and cynics were saying the wheels on the bus had gone flat. Talk of being washed up was what Bettis was hearing. But Bettis played the season not being 100% healthy, and tried to make people believe that if healthy he could still do major damage to opposing defenses. He spent the offseason getting into the best shape he could for the 2000 season, and once the campaign began, he proved to everyone that he has plenty of game left. He not only smashed the 1,000-yard barrier again, he showed the little things on the field that make him a great Running Back. He was running through players, often carrying them with him, but was also showing us some quick feet and nifty moves, not common on a big man. Many thought the departure of Tim Lester and the inexperience of Jon Witman was a factor, but that concept became void this season. When Jon Witman went down and out for the season with a broken leg, Chris Fuamatu-Ma'Afala filled in nicely, be it for a short time. The biggest surprise of the year came in and plugged the hole at Fullback perhaps better than the two players that preceded him. Dan Kreider, an untested, undrafted rookie was thrown into the fire, and did a magnificent job blocking for Jerome Bettis. He earned Steeler "Rookie of the Year" honors, and also showed the ability to catch and run with the ball. As the new "Bus" driver, Kreider put into place the credentials for a spot on the 2001 roster. He may have also played himself into a starting job over Witman. As for the other backs, they were all major disappointments. Fu was once again often injured. He is now earning a reputation for being "soft." Amos Zereoue once again played mostly on special teams, and saw limited action in the backfield. The skills that he was drafted for are rapidly being locked away as his opportunity to shine diminishes. Richard Huntley signed a major contract prior to the season, and he told the media he was going to be the #1 guy, and claimed Bill Cowher told him so. Cowher denied this and started the season with Bettis as the starting tailback. Huntley never got a chance to start, saw playing time mostly on third down only, and had only a handful of big plays. He also had one key fumble late in the season, but that was insignificant to the role he played. He will get no more of an opportunity in 2001, and it is quite possible he could be let go. The last word: it was the running game that kept the Steelers in games on offense in 2000. Overall grade: A-

Offensive Line: The offensive line has been one of the most problematic areas for the Steelers over the past several seasons. The loss of key free agents like Leon Searcy, and John Jackson, a slate of injuries, and flops like Jamain Stephens and Chris Conrad had Bill Cowher trying to glue together a patchwork line. They held their own in 1998 and 1999, but were far from anything close to an all-pro line. In 2000, Cowher had his line set from the get go, and despite Dermontti Dawson being sidelined again, the line stayed nearly completely healthy. Alan Faneca, Wayne Gandy, Rich Tylski, and the combination of Dawson and Roger Duffy at Center, as well as the trio of Marvel Smith, Shar Pourdanesh, and Larry Tharpe taking turns at Tackle, this crew did an outstanding job at not only protecting the Quarterback, but opening up holes for Jerome Bettis and blocking downfield. On top of that, Wayne Gandy played the entire season with an injured right shoulder. A shoulder that pained him 24 hours a day. But instead of opting for season-ending surgery, Gandy toughed it out and finished the season, having played to the caliber that his teammates felt should have earned him a trip to the Pro Bowl. In the end, it was only Jason Gildon who would get the free flight to Hawaii. Overall grade: A-

Wide Receiver: The Steelers passing offense has not been effective since Yancey Thigpen and Charles Johnson left several years ago. We all know about Lynn Swann and John Stallworth, Louis Lipps, Ernie Mills and Andre Hastings, and as mentioned, Thigpen and Johnson. But the Steelers haven't seen a dangerous tandem or let alone one receiver who could truly test an opposing defense since the 1995 Super Bowl year. When Pittsburgh drafted Plaxico Burress in April 2000's NFL draft, the Steelers thought they had a true game-breaker. At 6'5 ½", Burress appeared to be the real threat we had been looking for. He showed signs of stardom in the preseason making a spectacular catch in the Dallas game. Once the season began however, the passes to Burress did not come often, and he was consistently running routes poorly and dropping passes. He did nothing spectacular and was easily defended. Last season's top draft choice Troy Edwards faired no better. He picked up a bad case of "drop-itus" and was eventually benched for Courtney Hawkins. So the tandem thought to bring the passing attack back to life of Burress/Edwards had taken a total nosedive and instead Hines Ward became the star. Still, Ward could not become the big "game-breaking" receiver, one who could truly stretch a defense that the Steelers area in such a need for. Courtney Hawkins remained a good clutch third down short-yardage receiver, and Bobby Shaw was sort of like Chris Oldham on offense, making a big play when you least expect it. But, Shaw had his share of drops as well. Malcolm Johnson was surprisingly cut loose when Will Blackwell returned, and was used primarily on kick returns. Overall grade: C-

Tight Ends: We have been waiting years for Mark Bruener to have a breakout season and towards the end of 2000 he started coming on strong. He ended up with only 17 catches, but three were for touchdowns. He averaged 11.9 yards per catch with his longest being 30 yards for a touchdown. When he wasn't' catching the ball, he was doing an exceptional job of blocking. Backing him up was Matt Cushing, Jerame Tuman, and Corey Geason. Geason may have been the most impressive of the three. No help is needed in this department. The depth is solid at Tight End, loaded with four talented players. Overall grade: B+

Kicker: The Steelers found a keeper at this position in last year's draft when they chose Nebraska's Kris Brown. Brown tied a record for rookies with 13 consecutive successful field goals to begin a career. He was consistent in 2000 but not spectacular. And, later in the season, there began to rise a doubt as to how strong Brown's leg actually is due to the distance he was getting on kickoffs. Bill Cowher said he was not concerned about the situation, but evidence was right there on the field as Brown's kickoffs were not getting into the end zone, and opposing teams were consistently getting good field position on kickoff returns. There are several teams that employ two kickers, one for field goals, and the other for kickoffs. That might be something the Steelers should consider in 2001. Overall grade: B-

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