The Steelers travel to Toronto this evening for their second preseason game against the Buffalo Bills. This is the first time the Steelers have traveled to Toronto for the first time since 1960 but the game might be hard to find on TV if you don't live in or around the Pittsburgh or Buffalo area. If you're like me you may have to wait until midnight (eastern) when the NFL Network replays the game. With another game staring us right in the face, here's the Steelers-related news from around the net.

Competition Battles: NFL.com takes at look at the center position and gives their take on the battle. Justin Hartwig will start this week after Mahan started last week so hopefully we'll take some steps towards narrowing down a decision after tonight. I'd imagine that they'd like to have the starting five set going into the final preseason game which makes tonights game and next weeks' game very important.

First Team Playing Time: Coach Tomlin has said that the starting units will play more tonight than last week although he hasn't said exactly how long they'll stay out on the field. I'd imagine that most of the offenses playing time will depend on the results and that two successful drives would send Big Ben and most of the offense to the sidelines. Casey Hampton will start at the nose so keep an eye on how he does with the first unit.

Bubble Guys: The Trib takes a look at several guys who are on the bubble heading into tonights game. Mike Prisuta even theorizes that the 5th receiver could come from another team's cut list because neither Reid or Baker have done much to secure the job (although it's hard for 3rd or 4th string receivers to make an impact when they throw 16 passes a game). He also hints that Tony Hills has looked bad enough that he should be worried about his job.

McFadden's Chance: If Bryant McFadden ever wanted an edge in the battle for Townsend's starting job, he'll get it tonight. Townsend has already been ruled out meaning that McFadden will step into the starting spot opposite of Ike Taylor. If he wants big money this offseason he has to become a starter and the door is cracked, now he's got to kick it open.

In order to have a cohesive offensive line and for that matter a cohesive offense as a whole, the interior of an offensive line has to be able to hold their own and win the famed 'battle of the trenches.' We all know that the Steelers struggled with pressure up the middle in 2007 and at times, Ben simply had no time to even brace himself (Dewayne Robertson in Jets game). They'll be hard pressed to improve in 2008 considering that the best interior lineman is now wearing another teams jersey but there is hope that the unit as a whole can be greater than any one player individually. But will it be enough?

The Incumbent Starters/Front-Runners: The starters last year were (from right to left) Kendall Simmons, Sean Mahan and Alan Faneca. Faneca is in New York now and if the season started today, Chris Kemoeatu would start at left guard. Kemo is a passionate, physical and at time wreckless player who is a road-grader in the running game. His lack of control at times and his poor pass protection have kept him off the field until now. He's recently been praised by the coaching staff though who think that he can step in admirably for the departed Faneca. In order to make a case for Simmons and Mahan, you'd have to consider what the offensive line went through in 2007. Simmons,  76 career starts, is a veteran who was playing with a inexperienced tackle to his right and a center playing out of position to his left. It led to his worst season as a professional and off season surgery. He gave up the second most sacks of anyone on the offensive line and was equally bad in the running game. Mahan, a free agent signee from Tampa, played out of position at center and lacked the strength to handle nose tackles. He is undersized (6'3 301) and had tremendous problems in both pass protection and run blocking. There are some though that think a second consecutive year working together would improve the games of Simmons and Mahan.

The Challengers: While fans can be underwhelmed by the lack of Pro Bowl talent at guard and center, they certainly can't be discouraged by a lack of warm bodies. The newcomer, is another free agent signee Justin Hartwig. Hartwig has solid starting experience at center and if he can stay healthy, something he couldn't  do in Carolina, he will instantly upgrade the center of the offensive line. He's got the size and quickness to not only handle the point of attack but also hold his own against pass rushers. Lurking in the shadows at the center position is second year pro, Darnell Stapleton. He was an undrafted rookie last year but the coaching staff thought enough of him to keep him over a two players who were either more experienced or drafted higher. He's gained the weight necessary to play center at an NFL and took reps with the first team at guard this spring. Some fans, myself included, see him as the center of the future and considering that he'll turn 23 in a couple of months, they have time to be patient with the kid. Don't be surprised though if he gets some rave reviews again this year during camp and if Mahan and Hartwig don't perform,  he could get his chance (someone at NFL.com likes him b/c he's already listed at the starter). Another dark horse in the mix at guard is Willie Colon, last year's 16 game starter at right tackle. The first thing that most people say when they see Colon is that he looks like a guard, but to this point in his career the coaching staff have kept him at tackle. If he loses the job to Max Starks early in camp, he could finally start getting reps inside. His added competition could be enough to push Simmons back to the player that he was a couple of seasons ago. If he ends up as a backup though, it's conceivable that he could be the primary backup at RT, RG and LG. 

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So we've ranted and raved about the offensive line since week 4 of last season, but is the solution on the roster? Here's your last chance to predict the starting lineup for week one before camp starts. Is Stapleton the future or just another guy? Is Kemo the answer at LG?

This always tends to happen and as Coach Tomlin says it's probably a 'necessary evil.' As tough as competition is in the NFL, tempers are going to flare up and fights will break out and that was the case yesterday as two separate bouts broke out while the Steelers were at their indoor practice facility. The participants were Willie Colon and Lawrence Timmons in the first showdown and Trai Essex and Arnold Harrison in the second. Neither scuffle amount to much and were over nearly as soon as they started. After practice Coach T talked about the scuffles:

"Practice broke out into a fight," said head coach Mike Tomlin afterwards. "You know, the competition is good, but the level of intensity has to be there if we want to get better.

"You have to understand professional etiquette; that's what we talked about after practice. These kinds of things have to happen as we develop our football team because it gives us a venue to address them, and why we do what it is that we do and how we approach what it is that we do.

"You don't like to see it happen, but it's a necessary evil. I'm glad that it happened, we addressed it and move on."

• In some actual football related news, Larry Foote sat out yesterday with a sore neck and that of course means that Timmons took all the reps the first group. I've always been a Foote fan but I really hope that Timmons can beat him out this preseason.
  
• Jim Wexell has been giving some pretty detailed OTA reports and some of the news encouraging and some it 'head-scratching' to say the least. I keep trying to move past the OL, but I just couldn't help myself when he mentioned that with the return of Marvel Smith yesterday, the starting lineup was Smith, Chris K, Mahan, Stapleton and Colon (Simmons isn't practicing yet). For what it's worth it looks like the starting five is different almost every day, but for what it's worth, when Mahan is there he runs with the first group. I did find one practice that had Essex running at guard though so it looks like they're trying to throw as much as they can against the wall and we'll see what sticks.
  
• There's also random notes of various players who have looked good at one time or another. Dallas Baker is a name that is in every report for either making a great catch or beating William Gay deep. Travis Williams (undrafted corner from East Carolina) is a youngster that Wexell thinks is worth keeping an eye on. He's also excited about Moore's versatility (compares to Kevin Faulk) and says the 10 pounds that Russell put on seem to help him quite a bit. Don't worry though Wexell also mentions how 'studly' Mendenhall looks at everything he's done so far. In addition to Simmons and Foote sitting out Ryan McBean, Deshea Townsend, Traivs Kirschke, Najeh Davenport, Willie Parker and Santonio Holmes were all sidelined with various bumps and bruises. It too early for someone to seriously worry about their job but if I was Davenport I don't think I'd let some minor bump/bruise keep me from the field considering all the praise we're hearing on the younger backs.
• In an earlier practice from last week, Timmons talks about LeBeau's new wrinkle for the dime defense that includes Timmons and Farrior as the inside backers. During that same practice they worked on punt returns with the returners going in this order: Reid, Moore, Holmes, Marion, Bloom, and Travis Williams. Wexell also mentions Tony Hills getting beaten badly by Silverback, although that's a heck of an assignment for the rookie. Anthony Smith is working at strong safety behind Tyrone Carter while Grant Mason is taking the second string reps at free safety behind Clark.

Thoughts about OTA's so far? Anyone run across any other news?

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I ran across a video (that you can watch here) that left me pretty perplexed. The Las Vegas PD was simulating crashes involving multiple vehicles and also accidents involving a pedestrian earlier this week, but for some reason they but a Ben Roethlisberger jersey on the pedestrian. I don't know what was more off setting, the idea that putting a jersey on a crash test dummy or the reporters skating around the mention of it.