If you believe in Pete Prisco's NFL player rankings, the Steelers are lacking in impact players. In his new listing of his Top 50 players in the NFL, no Steeler makes the cut. Troy Polamalu and Casey Hampton are listed as guys who just missed the list, but no member of the Black and Gold is considered worthy of a Top 50 ranking.
In case you're wondering, the Bengals have two players (Carson Palmer, No. 5 and Chad Johnson, No. 7) in the top 10, while the Ravens have three (Ed Reed, Ray Lewis and Jonathan Ogden) who made the cut.
As crazy as that might sound, it's hard to argue too much. I think Polamalu should be on the list instead of Jets safety Kerry Rhodes, but last year wasn't Polamalu's best work, and Hampton misses out while equally impressive Chargers run-plugger Jamaal Williams just scrapes by at No. 50, so that seems fair.
What it really point to is the Steelers need for some of their younger stars to take a couple of steps forward. Ideally Willie Parker (who should have at least been on the honorable mention list), Ben Roethlisberger, Heath Miller or Santonio Holmes will work his way onto the list in future years, but just two years after winning the Super Bowl the Steelers are a little bereft of truly elite talent. Of course the Super Bowl victory proved something else as well--you don't have to have anyone among the Top 10 players in the league to win a title. When Prisco last did these rankings, only Polamalu and Roethlisberger made the list.
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Originally Posted by ARKIESTEEL
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