The Pittsburgh Steelers won the Super Bowl following the 2008 season and entered 2009 with high expectations. The Black and Gold didn’t have the season they anticipated, however, finishing 9-7 and a game out of the playoffs.

A close analysis of the season, however, shows that while the Steelers lost several games they were expected to win, there still wasn’t a single game they lost by more than one score. Couple that with the return of several players who were affected by injuries in 2009 and expectations in the Steel City have to be high for the 2010 season.

That has to make it all the more frustrating for fans, coaches and teammates of quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who continues to put himself in the middle of controversial situations. Roethlisberger certainly deserves his day in court and nobody at Zoneblitz.com is convicting trying to convict him prematurely.

But there are rumblings that whether he’s guilty or not the team and its fans are tiring of how frequently he seems to be appearing in the news sections rather than the sports sections of local and national newspapers.

Zoneblitz.com got in touch with Michael Bean, founder of the blog Behind the Steel Curtain, to discuss the 2009 season, the Roethlisberger situation and what the Steelers need to do to get back into contention in 2010.

Thank you, Mr. Bean, for taking the time to speak with us.

Zoneblitz: Coming off the Super Bowl season the Steelers missed the playoffs in 2009. What caused the team to struggle?

Michael Bean: Where to start. Obviously losing one of the league’s premiere playmakers in Troy Polamalu hurt. When he plays, the Steelers win. When he’s shelved with injuries, the defense – and the secondary in particular – goes from outstanding to susceptible.

The Steelers 2009 season also lent credence to the old adage – ‘it’s a game of inches’. Pittsburgh held 4th quarter leads in five of their seven losses and was either tied or down just one score or fewer in the 4th quarter in their other two defeats. You have to win the close ones in the NFL if you hope to be a playoff team. In 2008, the Steelers defense bailed them out time and time again in close games. In 2009, the defense couldn’t replicate such success and the result was a 9-7 record and no playoffs.

Zoneblitz: Ben Roethlisberger is facing more legal allegations. How does Pittsburgh proceed at the quarterback position if he becomes unavailable for part or all of the 2010 season?

Bean: Well, fingers crossed there. It would be just devastating for the organization to not have the services of their franchise quarterback for any amount of extended time in 2010 or beyond, though it’s worth noting that there seems to be a growing faction of the Steelers fan base that is sick and tired of the poor judgment exhibited by Roethlisberger, irregardless of whether or not he’s guilty of a crime for this latest alleged incident.

If he were to be suspended by the organization or the NFL, Pittsburgh would hand over the keys to Dennis Dixon, the team’s fifth round draft pick out of Oregon back in 2007. Dixon fared admirably in his one and only NFL start last year. It certainly came in a hostile environment – on the road against Baltimore with both teams desperately needing a win at that point in the season.

Dixon ultimately cost his team a chance to win with a costly pick in overtime, but he played well and showed he may very well have what it takes to compete at this level from the quarterback position.

Finally, I’ll mention just for discussion’s sake that the legal proceedings of this latest Big Ben incident probably won’t play out prior to this year’s draft. So, even if the organization is forced to suspend or … gasp … part ways with Roethlisberger for his continued lack of judgment off the field, I don’t think they’d draft a quarterback this spring. Maybe in 2011. We’re a long ways off from those kinds of developments though.

Zoneblitz: Roethlisberger has been very good on the field but has definitely had his issues off the field. As these new allegations come out what’s the sentiment toward him right now in Pittsburgh among fans?

Bean: There’s a general feeling that we should all wait until all relevant facts come out before passing judgment, but we know that’s not that how the court of public opinion works. Even if Ben was guilty of no criminal wrong doing, there’s a growing consensus amongst Steelers fans that Big Ben is still guilty of exhibiting poor judgment with his off field decision making.

When you’re a $100 million dollar franchise quarterback, you’re expected to steer clear of these kinds of lapses in judgment. It’s impossible to expect every young man to be perfect, but Ben’s not going on his first strike here. If you count his motorcycle incident back in 2006 when he was riding without a helmet and a valid motorcycle license, this is actually his ‘third strike’ when it comes to unnecessarily putting himself in potentially compromising situations.

Zoneblitz: What about in the locker room? Is he seen as a team leader?

Bean: I’m not in the locker room but there have been rumblings and rumors about how Big Ben is not universally loved and respected inside the Steelers locker room. There was the whole verbal exchange between Hines Ward and Big Ben last season; some also wonder how Ben’s never been voted team MVP thus far in his career.

That said, if you listen to Big Ben stand up for his much maligned offensive line this past two years, it’s hard to label him a “bad” teammate. I think some may take offense to his brazen, cocky attitude, not to mention his uber-huge paycheck.

Zoneblitz: What has the team’s approach to free agency and the draft been so far and how does Roethlisberger’s situation alter that approach?

Bean: The organization has shocked its fan base by re-signing a number of its veteran players the offseason after their contracts have expired. This isn’t the way the Steelers have historically done business. Usually they re-sign the guys they want the summer before the final year of their contracts. If no deal is reached by then, it has usually meant that said player will be playing his final year in the Black ‘n Gold. That hasn’t been the case this year.

The team has re-upped Casey Hampton and Ryan Clark during the first week of free agency. They also slapped the franchise tag on kicker Jeff Reed, who’s had a few off-field issues of his own this past two years. Finally, the Steelers brought former jack-of-all-trades and Super Bowl XL hero Antwaan Randle El back to Pittsburgh after three largely unsuccessful seasons with the Redskins.

Nobody saw that one coming. So, to answer your question I guess I’d say the Steelers are throwing us a lot of curveballs early on in the 2010 version of free agency. And we’re only in the first week. How that affects the team’s draft strategy in April is yet to be seen. Check back with me once free agency is over and I might have a better answer as to what the team most likely will target with their 2010 Draft picks.

Zoneblitz: What do you think the team needs to do to get back into contention in 2010?

Bean: Stay healthy at key positions – namely Troy Polamalu, James Harrison, LaMarr Woodley, and Aaron Smith. Beyond that, they just need to hope they have #7 under center. If he’s not available, all bets are off with the club in 2010 and 2011. If he’s eligible to play and hasn’t worn out his welcome with the Rooney family, the Steelers should be in excellent shape to make a run at Lombardi Trophy #7 in the upcoming years.

Zoneblitz: Can you provide some history and background on your Steelers blog?

Bean: I’ve been writing Behind the Steel Curtain since the week before the 2005 Super Bowl. It’s been a labor of love that I’m thrilled to have stuck with for so long, and it has allowed me to meet some incredible people across the country and even the world. Steeler Nation is like no other fan base in the NFL and I couldn’t be more proud to be a vocal part of it.