The first exhibition game doesn't mean much. No doubt. But the Steelers first teamers did look pretty good in a 16-10 victory over the Eagles on Friday night. Especially the offense. The first team offense and defense each only played a single series after which the score was 7-3. The Eagles left their starters in for another series each. When they left about 5 minutes into the second quarter the score was 10-7. Pittsburgh's second, third and fourth stringers then hung tough and won the game.

QB: Ben Roethlisberger completed both of his passes for 38 yards and a touchdown. Can't really do much better. Roethlisberger is primed for a big fantasy year. He has developed into a top five quarterback. Charlie Batch didn't do much completing only 1 of 3 passes for 3 yards before leaving the game with a broken collarbone. It was originally reported that Batch would miss the season. Now they are saying he will be out 6 to 8 weeks. Whether there is a job waiting for the 34 year old backup when he returns is an open question. The injury leaves only rookies Dennis Dixon and Mike Potts behind Roethlisberger. Expect a veteran to be signed. Byron Leftwich is coming to Pittsburgh for a workout on Saturday.

RB: Willie Parker looked good on the first drive carrying the ball 3 times for 20 yards. Rashard Mendenhall also saw action against first teamers. He had 7 rushes for 34 yards. He looked especially impressive on 15 and 7 yard runs. A time share in the Steelers backfield is of course not the best thing for fantasy football purposes. Expect it to happen anyway. A mistake by Mewelde Moore led to the broken play that resulted in Batch's injury. Not a good way to make an impression. Gary Russell also did not have a particularly impressive night gaining 25 yards on 10 carries and 2 yards on 2 receptions. Justin Vincent pitched in with 28 yards on 9 carries. This is likely to be the only time I will get to mention him in a Steelers report.

WR: Santonio Holmes and Hines Ward each caught a pass for 19 yards. Holmes got into the endzone. Expect Holmes to have a breakout year and be an every week fantasy starter. Limas Sweed looks like he will eventually be an excellent compliment to Holmes as a possesion receiver and redzone target. He could be worth a look in keeper leagues. He is unlikely to be worth much this season. Sweed caught 3 passes for 23 yards. Nate Washington was held catchless. He will still probably hold on to his role as the third receiver throughout the season. Willie Reid did catch a pass for 5 yards.

TE: The tight ends did not have a reception.

DEF: Backup inside linebacker Keyaron Fox led the team in tackles. Backup defensive end Ryan McBean recovered a fumble. James Farrior, Nick Eason and undrafted free agent Donovan Woods each had a sack. Undrafted rookie Kyle Clement started at nose tackle with Casey Hampton on the physically unable to perform list after drawing the ire of Mike Tomlin by reporting to camp overweight. Troy Polamalu did not play due to a hamstring strain. DeShea Townsend started opposite Ike Taylor at corner. That is not expected to change. Bryant McFadden will still get plenty of playing time as the third corner. Ryan Clark being on the field was a welcome sight.

ST: Jeff Reed kicked 3 field goals. The first 2 were both under 30 yards, but his final field goal in the fourth quarter was from 50 yards. Reed should be a solid second-tier fantasy starter for those that like to draft their kicker late. The bad news came at the begining of camp. Second year punter Daniel Sepulveda was diagnosed with a torn ACL. Some believe it might have happened during his senior year at Baylor. Sepulveda will miss the season. Paul Ernster was signed as a replacement. That is quite a dropoff. The Steelers could look to sign another punter as more become available. Mendenhall and Tyrone Carter each returned a kick. A bit of a surprise with Moore and Eddie Drummond on the roster. Drummond and Moore had 21 and 9 yard punt returns respectively. Jeremy Bloom's chance to make the team seems slight.