Now that their respective teams have completed their fourth game of the season, the Pittsburgh Steelers, New York Jets, and Houston Texans all welcome back big parts of their teams as they move foward thru the season.
Ben Roethlisberger – Ben returns to the helm as the quarterback of the Steelers. At the beginning of the season, Steelers fans just hoped and prayed for a 2-2 record. Others wondered if Dennis Dixon would create some sort of quarterback controversy for Omar Epps, errr Coach Mike Tomlin based on Dixon’s play last season in the playoffs. If not for a defensive let down at the end of the Baltimore game this past Sunday, the Steelers would have gone 4-0 in Ben’s absence and Dixon’s injury and lack of big plays put everyone’s fears to rest. While Charlie Batch has been serviceable, he is no Big Ben. Now that Roethlisberger is back, it will be interesting to see how the team responds to him. Will Coach Tomlin hesitate to pull Ben if the team chemistry isn’t there and the the team struggles?
Santonio Holmes – Santonio had often been on the fringe of controversy while a member of the Steelers, so maybe a change of scenery will give him a breath of fresh air (no pun intended). Santonio is back with the suddenly offensively explosive New York Jets and gives Mark Sanchez a strong receiver opposite the “Dougieing” Braylon Edwards. As the running game gets stronger and barring any injuries, get ready for more great quotes from Rex Ryan and an even better J-E-T-S, JETS, JETS, JETS team.
Brian Cushing – Ok, the Houston Texans offense has been great, however they need help on the defensive side of the ball and Defensive Rookie of the Year Brian Cushing is back to take over his linebacker position. With the rushing capabilities of Cushing, perhaps the Texans secondary will be able to defend against the pass as opposing teams won’t have as long to sit back in the pocket. Let’s just hope that Cushing doesn’t work out to much and get suspended again.