How does a team go from Super Bowl contender to hoping to land a franchise quarterback in… How does a team go from Super Bowl contender to hoping to land a franchise quarterback in the draft?

Let’s take a quick and painful stroll down memory lane and try to figure out where things went wrong for the Steelers.

Personally, I believe the first and worst mistake came when the team decided not to renew veteran left tackle Wayne Gandy’s contract, but then opted to give right tackle Marvel Smith a new deal when he still had a year remaining on his current contract.

Why let your established left tackle walk and force your right tackle to change positions? Really doesn’t make much sense when you consider the fact that the Steelers could have held on to both linemen for at least a year.

If there’s one thing Steelers’ fans should learn from the 2003 season it’s that a strong offensive line is the essential ingredient in any championship-caliber team. If your line can’t block, your running back won’t have any holes to run through, and your quarterback will not have time to find his receivers.

And that’s not all.

Lack of offensive production means losing the battle for time of possession, which equates to things like, oh, say … a weak secondary being exposed over and over again! You can draw up all the X’s and O’s you want, but the bottom line is: If you can’t get it done in the trenches, you’re not going to get it done anywhere else.

Smith switching sides meant a vacancy at the right tackle spot. Career back-up Oliver Ross won that job, leaving both sides of the line anchored by inexperienced players.

Then, just before training camp, it became known that promising second-year guard Kendall Simmons had diabetes. Simmons managed to make it through the season this year, but weight loss and lack of energy hampered his play at right guard.

As for Smith, he wasn’t quite as lucky. Bothered by a pinched nerve in his neck, Smith, who started in all 32 games in 2001 and 2002, only started six games this past season. Injury is the one part of the game that even the smartest men in player personnel cannot predict.

Smith’s injury forced Pro Bowl guard Alan Faneca to slide over to left tackle. Despite spending most of the season flopping between guard and tackle, Faneca will start at guard in this year’s Pro Bowl for the second consecutive season.

In short, the Steelers’ offensive line was nothing short of an absolute mess. With a struggling offensive line, the team needed its defense to play mistake-free football. That is asking a lot of any defensive unit, but with the players that this team has in its secondary, the task proved to be too tall.

Next season, the team should be able to count on both Smith and Simmons to return to form, but it will still need to draft a player to fill the right tackle spot. A healthy offensive line would have meant more wins and, with the AFC North as bad as it was this year, probably would have given the Steelers at least a playoff appearance.

The team has many problems to address this off-season. Between defensive coordinator Tim Lewis’ pink slip and offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey accepting the head-coaching position in Buffalo, the Steelers are looking at serious changes in their offensive and defensive game plans.

As much as the fans would love to see the Steelers take their quarterback of the future or a replacement for Dewayne Washington in the first round of this year’s draft, it is in the best interest of the team’s immediate future to take a tackle. The sooner the Steelers get their offensive line in order, the sooner they will return to championship contention.

Ryan Walker is a senior staff writer for The Pitt News and is confident that Super Bowl XXXVIII will feature the Eagles and the Colts. E-mail him at [email protected].