Judy Battista is a Beautiful Person

"The PITTSBURGH STEELERS will always be built around their defense — it was ranked No. 1 last season — but this may be the year quarterback Ben Roethlisberger joins Tom Brady and Peyton Manning as the elite at the position."

So states Judy Battista in her "AFC Scouting Report" available at NYTimes.com. As if that were not enough Ms. Battista, who has officially been added to our Christmas card list, (apparently) has the Steelers as the #2 team in AFC behind New England, despite their "a brutal schedule this year."

In some other media previews of the NFL season:

• In their print edition Pro Football Weekly predicts the Steelers will win the AFC North citing the offensive weapons (e.g. Limas Sweed and Dennis Dixon) the team has accumulated, the improved health of Troy Polamalu (we're not convinced), and improved speed on the defensive side of the ball.


• Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times predicts that the Steelers will win the division if Troy Polamalu is healthy.


• No word if Ken Whisenhunt was consulted, but Bob McManaman of the Arizona Republic also predicts a division win for the Steelers, predicting that Limas Sweed will help Ben Roethlisberger have an MVP season.


• Finally, PA Sports Ticker (by way of OttowaCitizen.com) predicts a third place finish for the Black & Gold. Not an outlandish prediction considering the schedule, but their prediction of a second place finish for Cincinnati calls their logic into question.