Marc Uhlmann

he Pittsburgh Steelers begin “Official Team Activities” tomorrow in the Steel City and if there isn’t already a sense of urgency from an 8-8 season, there damn well should be. You can lay the blame at the feet of any number of players, coaches, general managers or owners that you want but that doesn’t change anything.

OTA’s by design are meant to do a number of things for each of the National Football League’s 32 teams. Some, like the Steelers were last year, are in the position of having new coordinators or new head coaches. Thus, the importance of having everyone there.

This is year two of the Todd Haley offense so I don’t want to hear any excuses coming from the guys who played in it last year. Like him or not, he’s the OC and animosity must be put aside for the success of the team. On the defensive side, Dick LeBeau will be dealing with a number of guys who are never his favorites and that means rookies.

Linebacker Jarvis Jones is of course the most intriguing one but so is safety Shamarko Thomas and linebacker Vince Williams. Rookie cornerback Terry Hawthorne should also press for time as well but we all know how LeBeau gets along with rookies in terms of playing time. Very much like oil and water.

One of the biggest issues for this team the last several years has been of course injuries. It is incredibly important that the health of this team remain priority number one through the off-season and that starts tomorrow.

Tweaked ankles and tender hamstrings often lead to other problems and can linger well into the start of training camp so I cannot stress enough how crucial staying healthy is to this team.

OTA Schedule: May 21-23, May 28-30, June 3-6, Mandatory minicamp: June 11-13

Guys to keep an eye on: Ben Roethlisberger, recent photos of him show he has dropped some weight perhaps giving him added mobility. LaMarr Woodley, everyone dying to see what kind of shape he’s in, Markus Wheaton, very anxious to hear how he fits into the offense, Jarvis Jones, said all the right things at rookie camp but now let’s see how he does with the vets, Le’Veon Bell, starting position is his to lose so let’s see his attitude and work ethic match that, Shamarko Thomas, why do I have a feeling this kid is going to do special things?

Also, Kelvin Beachum, David DeCastro, Steve McLendon, Cortez Allen, David Paulson/Matt Spaeth

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Marc Uhlmann

He’s hurt all the time. He hasn’t had a fourth quarter comeback in forever. It was his fault Mike Wallace left because he couldn’t throw it deep enough for him. He makes the wrong audibles. He was too ‘chummy’ with Bruce Arians and he is clearly the reason the team lost Super Bowl XLV and went 8-8 last year.

Ben Roethlisberger is a lot of things, but he isn’t Atlas. He is a human being after all and after being hailed as the savior of the beloved Pittsburgh Steelers’ franchise in 2004, he’s delivered on the field more often than not but yet his issues off the field still resonate with people which I find sad.

Some of what I mentioned in the opening is true. Roethlisberger cost his team at the end of games in Dallas and at home against Cincinnati with late game interceptions. While there were moments in each of those games where other Steelers certainly had a hand in the failings of the team, Roethlisberger is the QB and as such either gets the credit or gets the blame and he clearly fell into the latter.

I always find myself having to defend Roethlisberger on a periodic basis like this because there are so many who just love to pile on him for a myriad of reasons and often without much in the way of facts to support them.

Roethlisberger was having a Pro-Bowl caliber season before getting hurt against the Chiefs last year. He still ended up throwing 26 touchdowns to just eight interceptions and had a passer rating of 97 which was more than four points higher than his career average.

I often wonder if the injury that he sustained wasn’t as much mentally destructive as it was physically. Newly married and with a baby just under two weeks away, perhaps the sense of mortality was a factor and I can’t argue that one bit. No business of mine the way a person feels at a certain time so I can’t hold that against him.

Of course he received the usual ‘drama queen’ moniker when he revealed how serious the injury was but I’m pretty sure he could have cared less. He has often been ‘over the top’ but again, I’ll take it with everything else he brings to the table.

This week the NFL Network named Roethlisberger the 61st best player in the league as they count down their Top 100 which is so subjective it isn’t even funny. Honestly, I really could care less about these rankings because they are nothing more than an attempt to get people to pay attention to the NFLN between the draft and the pre-season.

For Roethlisberger, a two-time Super Bowl winner, I hope the list serves as one thing and that would be motivation. How much more can this guy be slighted by the so-called ‘experts’ before he just gives up? Maybe he has already and I couldn’t blame him. People hold grudges a long time and that’s their prerogative but for some reason perfection is expected of Roethlisberger but not everyone else. Welcome to being a QB in the NFL right?

This is year two now of the Todd Haley offense. There can no longer be any excuses made about the wrong audibles and whether or not Haley and Roethlisberger are ‘getting along.’  Go play the damn game and get over it. Roethlisberger only has so much time left in his career and should not waste it being pissed that Bruce Arians is no longer there. Leave that to the fans.

The motivational factors for Roethlisberger heading into this season are mounting. From the hated Ravens winning the Super Bowl behind Joe Flacco to the lack of respect from around the league and the drafting of his “successor”, Roethlisberger should have plenty of fuel for his motivational fire.

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Marc Uhlmann

It’s no secret that I have major issues with the way Pittsburgh Steelers’ safety Ryan Clark does things to promote his post-football career. From calling out opposing players to saying things about his own teammates, Clark is clearly focused on the next phase of his life rather than his current one.

Perhaps Clark should take a look at another guy in the very same defensive backfield for a clue as to how to handle one’s self during the off-season.

Veteran Steelers’ cornerback Ike Taylor is a busy guy who has the new experience this off-season of returning from a season-ending ankle injury. He has his share of media responsibilities such as his show on Trib-Live Radio every Tuesday and the occasional appearance on national shows like the one he had yesterday on “The Jim Rome Show.”

He also has started doing radio for the Arena Football League’s Pittsburgh Power team which he clearly loves doing, but the difference between Clark and Taylor is that one is a self-promotional tour while the other is a guy who just enjoys what he is doing.

In yesterday’s interview on Jim Rome, I didn’t hear Taylor utter one word about Tom Brady or the decline of the Patriots or throw any one of his teammates under the bus. I heard a guy who is passionate about the game of football and who rewards himself for his intense, long workouts by….. Working out again.

If you listen to him discuss the team during his weekly shows on Trib-Live Radio, you won’t hear him talk negatively about anyone. Sure, he makes comments about himself or others needing to get better or needing to improve, but he doesn’t have an agenda as Clark often does. Most importantly, if Taylor is on a national TV or radio show, there isn’t an instant media reaction to something that he said, at least not in recent memory.

In essence, Taylor is preparing for his post-football career without telling everyone about it. He is enjoying that side of his life but has clearly not forgotten he is a football player and still dreams of playing four or five more years.

When Rome asked him about not making a Pro Bowl in 11 years, Taylor said it was all about interception numbers. Amazingly for a pro athlete today, he took complete blame for not having more picks too by saying “That’s on me. I’ve had my chances.”

How nice to hear a Steeler taking accountability rather than attacking someone else.

970 ESPN has enlisted a team of listeners to bring you a side of Pittsburgh sports you have never heard before.   Check back here daily for a unique perspective on sports in Pittsburgh.

These are listeners' opinions only. These opinions do not reflect opinions of Clear Channel Media & Entertainment or 970 ESPN.