Head coach Mike Tomlin feels confident that Troy Polamalu will return to action this Sunday for the first time since suffering a knee injury in Week 1.

That’s the good news. The bad news is that defensive end Aaron Smith has been placed on injured reserve due to a shoulder injury and his season is now over. Look for Travis Kirschke to take over Smith’s defensive end spot, although first round pick Ziggy Hood will get snaps there as well.

This is the type of injury that tests a team’s ability to find depth in the offseason and given that Pittsburgh always drafts well, they should be fine. But Smith’s injury is a major blow to the Steelers’ vaunted run defense, one that has stifled opponents over the years. Kirschke and Hood (and maybe even Nick Eason) need to step up and fill the void or the Smith’s end position will become a weakness opponents can take advantage of.

That said, getting Polamalu back is massive. The Steelers are great without Polamalu, but with him they are exceptional because he freelances so well. Quarterbacks have to know where he is at all times and even then, he still finds a way to make plays.

After sitting out the past four weeks, Polamalu should be hyped up to play on Sunday against Cleveland.

Entering the 2008 NFL season, the Steelers offensive line was supposed to be the one thing that would hold Pittsburgh back from being a Super Bowl contender.

But towards the end of the year the line gelled and while it still had issues run-blocking, the five starters became a cohesive unit and that became one of the big reasons the Steelers won their second title in four years.

Coming into this season, the offensive line wasn’t viewed as a strength, but it certainly wasn’t a weakness after the unit came together last year. Also, with former first round pick Rashard Mendenhall coming back, he would help keep Willie Parker fresh and the pair would form a nice 1-2 punch in Pittsburgh’s backfield.

But after watching the Steelers struggle once again to run the football in their 13-10 overtime win over the Titans on Thursday night, it appears that Pittsburgh still has issues moving the ball on the ground.

The Steelers’ running game ranked 23rd last year and Pittsburgh did nothing on Thursday night to quiet the concern that it will be more efficient in that area this season. Tennessee’s run defense is good (even without Albert Haynesworth commanding double-teams from his DT position), but Pittsburgh managed just 36 yards on the ground for a paltry 1.6 YPC-average. That’s brutal – I don’t care if they were playing against a concrete wall on every play.

The Steelers running game was non-existent and even when they would break off a decent run, one of the linemen would get a penalty to kill the play. And when the Steelers needed to pick up a huge third down inside Tennessee’s 10-yard line late in the fourth quarter, Mewelde Moore found zero running room and was shut down for no gain.

The Steelers wound up winning the Super Bowl last year without a running game, but that was an aberration. Teams usually have to run the ball to have success and while Pittsburgh’s passing game looked great at times again on Thursday night, one would think that their lack of a running game will eventually cost them.

The Steelers used to run the ball at will – now they rely on the pass to get them out of jams. How long can they keep winning that way, great defense or not?

Quick-Hitters:

– Even great veterans make mistakes from time to time. Hines Ward knows better – he never saw Michael Griffin and he’s lucky his fumble didn’t wind up costing the Steelers a win. (Although his hit on the Tennessee DB in overtime was nasty.)

– The Steelers’ defense did a great job of not giving in during the second half without safety Troy Polamalu, who hurt his knee in the second quarter and didn’t return. Hopefully Polamalu’s injury isn’t serious – fans deserve to see that guy play every week. (How amazing was his one-handed interception in the first quarter?)

Caught this commercial the other night during the Miami-Florida State game and got a good laugh:

Of course, nothing beats the one guy’s scream in this other commercial Polamalu did for Coke:

If Super Bowl XLII between the Giants and Patriots taught us anything, it’s that regular season records mean nothing and there are no guarantees when it comes to crowning a champion in the NFL.

The 17-0 Patriots looked like a slam-dunk to win the Super Bowl last January. That is, until a rowdy Giants bunch that played perfect football throughout the playoffs shocked most of the world en route to a 17-14 victory. Sound familiar?

No, the Steelers didn’t go 17-0 in the regular season. In fact, they were far from perfect and at times, looked awfully inconsistent. But with their No. 1 defense leading the way, it’s hard to argue that Pittsburgh doesn’t have the better overall talent heading into this year’s Super Bowl against the Cardinals, especially when you consider Arizona finished with a 9-7 record, competed in a crappy division and scored just one more point than they allowed this season.

But as the Giants proved last year, sometimes all it takes is momentum, which the Cards certainly have after soundly defeating the Falcons, Panthers and Eagles to get to Super Bowl XLIII. Arizona has a lot going for itself these days, including a resurgent veteran quarterback in Kurt Warner, a highlight reel playmaker in Larry Fitzgerald, and an underrated defense that is playing its best football of the season.

So who has the edge in Super Bowl XLIII? You can make a case for either team, which is exactly what I did. (Five of them actually.)

Below are five reasons the Cardinals will win on Sunday and five reasons why the Steelers will come away victorious. Contradictory? Sure, but play along – it’ll be more fun that way.

– Despite the best efforts of Pittsburgh head coach Mike Tomlin to keep the story under raps, Steelers’ quarterback Ben Roethlisberger apparently underwent an x-ray on his ribs on Wednesday. Big Ben suffered the injury in the AFC Championship Game, but there is no indication that he’ll miss the Super Bowl. (Rotoworld.com)

– Hines Ward returned to full practice on Thursday and is on track to start Sunday against the Cardinals. (FanHouse.com)

– Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times writes that the Steelers’ defense won’t let Kurt Warner enjoy a fairy-tale ending to his 2008 season. (Los Angeles Times)

– Tim Cowlishaw of the Dallas Morning News wrote an excellent piece featuring the top two safeties in this year’s Super Bowl: Adrian Wilson of the Cardinals and Troy Polamalu of the Steelers. (Dallas Morning News)

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