A look at the Steelers' success and failure at quarterback in the draft and free agency since 2003 ...

191/108/344: Career touchdown passes, interceptions and sacks taken by Ben Roethlisberger (127 games)

212/210/307: Career touchdown passes, interceptions and sacks taken by Terry Bradshaw (168 games)  

Source: Pro Football Reference

Draft: Not since a coin flip in 1970 gave them the rights to draft Terry Bradshaw has such a pick so greatly affected the fortunes of this football team. The selection of Ben Roethlisberger in 2004 ultimately brought Pittsburgh its coveted one-for-the-thumb in 2005, another in 2008, and nearly a seventh Super Bowl ring in 2010. He will almost certainly hold every significant team passing record by the time he retires.

And because Charlie Batch is the Rasputin of backup quarterbacks, draft picks Brian St. Pierre, Omar Jacobs, and Dennis Dixon were all made expendable as potential no. 2 men for the Steelers.

Free Agency: The chronically injured Byron Leftwich has had two stints with Pittsburgh, the first earned him a Super Bowl ring in 2008, the second spanned from 2010 to the present. Though he appeared in eight games four seasons he made only his one and only start for the Steelers this year at home against Baltimore – in which he was injured. Also, this week John Parker Wilson was claimed off of waivers from Jacksonville.

A look at the Steelers' success and failure with the secondary in the draft and free agency since 2003 ...

.701 – Steelers winning percentage since 2004 when Troy Polamalu starts (80-34)

.567 – Steelers winning percentage since 2004 when he doesn't (17-13)

Draft: Trivia question: what does Larry Johnson have to do with Troy Polamalu? Besides pulling him down by the hair once in a 2006 game, Johnson was selected 27th overall by Kansas City in 2003 – a pick they had swapped with Pittsburgh who moved to no. 16 to take their all-everything safety of the last decade.

Ike Taylor was chosen in the same draft forming one half of what became a two-time Super Bowl champion secondary. Bryant McFadden, selected in 2005 was also a crucial component to the Steelers' two championships. Now with Arizona, 2007 pick William Gay eventually developed into a starter as did 2009 selection Keenan Lewis who stands to get a big raise, either with the Steelers or elsewhere.

Cortez Allen is being groomed as a potential replacement for either Lewis or eventually Taylor and Curtis Brown has seen regular action on special teams.

However, even with an impressive drafting track record in the secondary, plenty – like Ricardo Colclough, Anthony Smith, Joe Burnett and Crezdon Butler – couldn't stick.

Free Agency: Ryan Clark is easily among the best free agent signings of the Kevin Colbert era. Tyrone Carter and Will Allen have provided "starter capable" – to borrow a Tomlin-ism – depth at safety. McFadden was reacquired after a year in Arizona and started every game in 2010. Anthony Madison, and undrafted free agent in 2006, is on his third stint with the team as a special teams specialist. Justin King, Josh Victorian, Robert Golden and Demarcus Van Dyke have all also been added over the past year.

(This first appeared on the PG Plates Forks blog)

As if our cadre of super-talented food writers (and wannabe pikers like myself) here at the PG needed any further competition, what with all the great work done by other publications and websites. Now Steelers are getting into the mix.

Running back Baron Batch started detailing his “food odyssey” on his blog, "My Life and Its Happenings," last week as he made a roundabout offseason trip from Pittsburgh back to his home in West Texas. It reads a lot like an episode of Anthony Bourdain’s show.

Thus far, he’s logged a detailed entry of a “food crawl” night in Pittsburgh before he hit the road and a stop in the gastronomical paradise of Charleston, S.C.

A Rennaisance man if ever there were one, Batch has kept the blog for years, detailing his writing, art, spirituality, travels and other interests from photography to pop culture.

That he plays professional football makes it more interesting than if he were just some guy, even if playing professional football might be one of the less interesting things about him.

And the guy has good taste. In Pittsburgh he wrote about a range of places that run the gamut from upscale to comfortable dives to tiny holes in the wall -- Smoke BBQ Taqueria, Tootie's Italian Beef, Dish Osteria and Michael's Pizza.

His writing isn’t bad either.

Of Tootie’s Batch wrote:

“ … simplicity in food is a beautiful thing. Doing one thing extremely well is what it’s all about. I am a sucker for small menus and simple well done dishes. Tootie's boasts slow cooked Italian beef that simmers for 17 hours served up on an Italian bun with onions, green peppers, and mozzarella, then dipped into the meaty flavor packed broth that the meat cooks in ...

"Carl is an awesome guy too, and turns out that all the recipes are his grandmothers. It’s awesome to see people passionate about what they do and Carl is just that. I have major respect for anyone that basically works 7 days a week and stays open until 3am to serve stragglers walking home.”

He wrote this about Bowen’s Island Restaurant in Charleston:

“It’s located in an area that resembles the swamp area where Dexter killed agent Doakes in season 1, and it looks like it’s about to sink right into the ground.

"But that is one reason I love it. It is tattooed in past visitors handwriting over the years, written in anything that could be found. The menu is simple. I love simple. I love fried. I love the South.

"Fried oysters, fish, shrimp, hush puppies, crab cakes, French fries, and slaw highlight the menu, along with steamed trays of freshly harvested oysters that require shucking.”

Not bad at all, but just what the rest of us need – more competition.

Baron Batch photos

A look at the Steelers’ success and failure at linebacker in the draft and free agency since 2003 ...

116: Career sacks by James Harrison and LaMarr Woodley as Steelers (214 combined games)

89: Career sacks by Greg Lloyd and Kevin Greene as Steelers (195 combined games)

DRAFT: The linebackers are the playmakers of Dick LeBeau’s 3-4 zone defense and to that end the Steelers have invested regularly at the position, however the returns are varied.

The Steelers used their 2007 first and second round picks on Lawrence Timmons and LaMarr Woodley respectively, and both are crucial to the success of the defense as it is comprised now. The line of succession at outside linebacker could be the envy of a monarchy, and Jason Worilds may assume James Harrison’s spot as soon as this coming season.

2012 rookie Sean Spence is an unknown commodity, having suffered a preseason knee injury that ended his year. Likewise, Chris Carter has made a few starts, but finished both of his NFL seasons on IR. Stevenson Sylvester is a special teams mainstay, but hasn’t been able to usurp Larry Foote as a starter.

Others like Alonzo Jackson, Thaddeus Gibson and Bruce Davis had impressive collegiate pedigrees but were jettisoned quickly. A 2004 pick, Nathanial Adibi, is now a police officer in Hampton, Va.

FREE AGENCY: This category essentially starts and ends with the arguably greatest undrafted free agent in the team’s history, James Harrison, who re-joined the Steelers in 2004 (he was first signed by the team in 2002).

Foote was re-acquired from Detroit in 2010 after a one-season stint in his hometown. Other linebackers were added for depth and special teams prowess -- Clint Kriewaldt, Keyaron Fox, Patrick Bailey and Andre Frazier to name a few.

Brandon Johnson, Adrian Robinson and Marshall McFadden are all UFAs currently with the team.