Pittsburgh has always been a team built on defense first. Things could be different for the 2008 season. The Steelers added running back Rashard Mendenhall with their first round pick, giving them a solid complement to Willie Parker. They added wide receiver Limas Sweed with their second pick. Sweed joins a talented receiving group that includes Hines Ward, Santonio Holmes, tight end Heath Miller, and wide receiver Nate Washington, who caught five touchdown passes in the final nine games of the regular season last year.

The additions to the offense will greatly help Ben Roethlisberger, who showed what he is capable of last season. Only one quarterback had a better rating than Roethlisberger, and that was Tom Brady. Only one quarterback threw for more touchdowns and fewer interceptions, and that was also Brady.

With a strong passing game, AccuScore wanted to see whether the Steelers would be better abandoning their run first offense in favor of a pass first offense, like the 2007 Patriots. In AccuScore simulations, a pass heavy offense lowers the Steelers’ chances to winning by one percent. A run heavy offense does worse, lowering their chance of winning by four percent. The Steelers would be best going with a balanced attack, which gives them the best chance of winning in AccuScore simulations.

The additional offensive pieces, plus last year’s emergence of Roethlisberger as a top quarterback, could make the 2008 Steelers a team that is built on offense rather than defense. The Steelers offense is averaging 24 points per game in AccuScore simulations, while the defense is seeing a drop off from the 2007 numbers. The 2007 defense allowed 16.8 points per game, but the 2008 defense is allowing 21 points per game in AccuScore forecasts.

The main reason for this is the strength of schedule the Steelers have to deal with. The 2007 team only played three playoff teams (Seattle, Jacksonville, and New England), losing to two of those teams. The only team with a winning record that the 2007 team played, outside of the three playoff teams, was Cleveland. The 2007 Steelers defense allowed 15 points per game against teams with losing records, and 19.6 points per game against teams with winning records.

This year the Steelers are scheduled for seven games against teams that made the 2007 playoffs, plus they play potent offenses like Cleveland twice, Houston, and Philadelphia. Pittsburgh is projected to go 9-7 in AccuScore forecasts, winning the division in 51.3 percent of simulations, and making the playoffs in 62.2 percent of simulations. With a much tougher schedule for the 2008 season leading to defensive struggles, Pittsburgh will need their new offensive approach to succeed in order to live up to their AccuScore forecasts.