Pittsburgh Steelers 2006 Schedule

The Pittsburgh Steelers won the Super bowl last season—albeit among much controversy. Can they repeat this performance? The signs currently point to not likely. Their star quarterback, Big Ben, has just underwent an emergency surgery. While he's expe

   The Pittsburgh Steelers won the Super bowl last season—albeit among much controversy. Can they repeat this performance? The signs currently point to not likely. Their star quarterback, Big Ben, has just underwent an emergency surgery. While he's expected to be back soon, he will miss at least the first two weeks of the season. That could be huge for the Steelers, because their first few weeks of the season is filled with tough games.

Last season they finished 11-6 and got to the Super Bowl thanks to an inept Indianapolis Colts team that just didn't want to win the game even when it was handed to them. Over the offseason Jerome "The Bus" Bettis retired. He leaves a hole in the Steelers running game. Bettis was a battling ram that could move defensive lines forward by himself. The Steelers are potentially without that ability this season.

During the offseason, the Pittsburgh Steelers lost a good receiver in Antwaan Randle El. He went to the Washington Redskins. They also lost Chris Hope (DB) to the Tennessee Titans and Kimo von Oelhoffen (DE) to the New York Jets. To replace Hope, they brought in Ryan Black from Washington. They brought in Rodney Bailey (DE) from Seattle to replace Oelhoffen. Finally, they bought in Doug Easlick, fullback, from San Fancisco.

Here's the Steelers schedule for 2006. You'll see how heavy it is right out of the game.

Week 1: Miami Dolphins
Week 2: @ Jacksonville Jaguars
Week 3: Cincinnati Bengals
Week 4: BYE
Week 5: @San Diego Chargers
Week 6: Kansas City Chiefs
Week 7: @ Atlanta Falcons
Week 8: @ Oakland Raiders
Week 9: Denver Broncos
Week 10: New Orleans Saints
Week 11: @ Cleveland Browns
Week 12: @ Baltimore Ravens
Week 13: Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Week 14: Cleveland Browns
Week 15: @ Carolina Panthers
Week 16: Baltimore Ravens
Week 17: @ Cincinnati Bengals

The week four bye could play a critical role in the Steelers season. If Big Ben has to miss more time, he might only miss three games since he has the early bye week to use. The Steelers have a moderate schedule and could win 10 games this season. However, they could open the season 0-3, because of injuries and missing pieces. They were 5th in rushing last season. That number could drop a little now that Bettis is gone. Their passing game is somewhat suspect as well. The Steelers will need their defense to overplay and rise to the occasion if they want to see the playoffs again.

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Author is a sports betting editor at SportsGamblingReview.com, an online sportsbook review portal. He blogs on College Football Betting.