The fans are on the radio shows asking for Dennis Dixon to start – or at least give him a chance to start.

The Pittsburgh Steelers are without their star quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger, for at least the first four games this season as Big Ben is serving a suspension for violating the league’s personal conduct policy. 

The Steelers went out and signed Byron Leftwich after the suspension was announced.  Leftwich was released from Tampa Bay after a dismal 2009 that ended up with him on the bench.  But Leftwich was on the Steelers last Super Bowl winning team; hHe was brought in after back-up Charlie Batch went down in 2008 and performed well in limited action. 

Dennis Dixon was forced into action late last season against the Baltimore Ravens.  The rookie actually performed rather well considering he was third on the depth chart.  During the first preseason game, Dixon was able to escape the pass rush and showed even more promise with his arm. 

The Oakland Raiders’ defense was called to action more than the offense last season.  Though that might have been part of the reason for their lack of success, the Raiders didn’t stay by idle during the offseason. 

The silver lining for the defense was its pass defense ranking.  Led by corner back Nnamdi Asomugha , the pass defense ranked 6^th in the NFL.  But that number is skewed due to the fact that teams didn’t have to pass on them.  Teams let their running back loose against the 29^th ranked run defense. 

Richard Seymour came to camp riding the bus with the rookies – a sign that he has accepted the team he was traded to last season from the New England Patriots.  Seymour’s veteran leadership will help bolster the run defense along with the recent additions added in the offseason.  The Raiders signed DE Quinton Groves, DT John Henderson and LB Kamerion Wimbley.  These players will add to the run defense right away as long as they work a single body and have time to actually rest inbetween defense stands. 

Raider Nation is hoping this season they will finally see the improvement they have been waiting for since drafting JaMarcus Russell.   It should be easier to see that improvement now that Russell is no longer on the team.

It was evident last season that the team was much more productive with anyone but Russell under cent.  With this in mind, the Raiders traded for Jason Campbell, who became expendable in Washington after trading for Donovan McNabb, and released Russell.  Though Campbell had a turbulent career in D.C., he did pass for a career high 20 touchdowns last season and finished the season with a 64.5% completion percentage. 

Have you heard the buzz?  Baltimore Ravens Fans are pumped this year.  They are keyed up and expecting a long run in the playoffs.  They truly believe the Super Bowl is anything but out of reach. 

But if you have a chance to speak with a Baltimore Ravens fan, you will learn that there stock in their team isn’t as much in the defense as it has in the past.  It is the offense that many fans are touting…and for good reason. 

The Raven’s defense has been riding the reputation of the team that won the Super Bowl a decade ago.  In recent years the squad has aged quite a bit.  Ray Lewis, still a great linebacker, has lost a step or two in recent years (it’s only expected for a 35 year old), corner back Domonique Foxworth tore his ACL and is out for the season, old man Reed is on the PUP list and will most likely miss the first 6 weeks and their draft pick Sergio Kindle bumped his head on some steps last month.  The 2009 third rank defense looks suspect at this point; the fans have to pray that the offense is the key.