Steelers QB Dixon headlines Week 1 bill; 10 things to watch for

NEW ORLEANS -- Seen this week's slate of 16 games? It's as competitive a group as I've seen in a while. Maybe not the best slate of games, but the kind of schedule that makes me think: Glad I'm not in a knockout pool this year.

Atlanta-Pittsburgh. How do you pick that one? Atlanta, with a great summer and a lot of new defensive pieces in place to be a top-10 unit. Pittsburgh, with a controversial summer, with no Ben Roethlisberger, playing a kid quarterback in the opener. There are many subplots in a great opening weekend, and one that stands out in particular is Dennis Dixon's role with the Steelers.

Dixon's a great story, a mobile quarterback with a strong arm when he was at Oregon, where he was also a good outfielder with a seemingly bright baseball future. He was picked by the Braves in the fifth round of the 2007 MLB draft and selected in the fifth round (how coincidental) by the Steelers a year later.

Dixon failed at baseball, hitting .174 in a summer trial with a rookie league team. Then he shredded his ACL in the 2007 football season and his draft stock plummeted. Though he wasn't 100 percent by NFL draft day, Dixon piqued the interest of a lot of teams, and the Steelers took a chance on him as a developmental player. Pittsburgh has always been willing to take draft chances with interesting prospects -- Hines Ward and Antwaan Randle-El (college quarterbacks, NFL receivers), Kordell Stewart (college quarterback, NFL slash). Now that Dixon's healthy and has a chance to play, I'm anxious to see if the Steelers' investment is a smart one.

He's started one game to this point -- a pressure-packed road game against Baltimore last season on a November Sunday night when Roethlisberger was out with headaches. Despite having practiced only about 30 percent of the plays on the Steelers' offensive playsheet that night, Dixon played well in spots and sparked the Steelers, who lost 20-17 in overtime. He won the players that night. Though he completed only 12 of 26 throws, he proved he wasn't intimidated by the crowd or the Ray Lewis-led D. "He really grew up a lot that night,'' Ward said, "and the guys on our side came out of the game with a lot of respect for him.''

Now it's chapter two. If Dixon fails to lead the team or play well, I'm sure Mike Tomlin won't hesitate to go to his Old Man River, Charlie Batch. Dixon doesn't think it will come to that.

"The difference between last year and this year,'' he told me this week, "is now I feel totally comfortable in this offense. I'd be a fool to say my head wasn't spinning at Baltimore last year. I didn't practice with the ones [the first team], never mind that I didn't have the playbook down either. But now, going into this year, I feel so much better. And I don't feel like it's all on me. Coach Tomlin told me, 'Just ride the bus. We don't expect you to go out and win the game. Just play.' ''

What's going to be fun Sunday at Heinz Field is that the Falcons have added speed to their defense, including first-round pick Sean Weatherspoon, who chased mobile quarterbacks in spread offenses in the Big 12 while at Missouri. Dixon is the rabbit with the strong arm on the other side of the ball. I love what we're about to see.

"It's going to be interesting,'' Dixon said. "Obviously, the [run-pass versatility] is a threat they've got to game plan for. But I'm not just a guy looking to run. I never have been. I really love throwing the ball. I want to be a complete quarterback.''

This week, I said to Dixon, it's going to be interesting to see not only him have his first real chance at taking control, but also Mike Wallace, who replaces former Super Bowl MVP Santonio Holmes in the lineup. I've said this all summer: Wallace is going to approximate Holmes' impact, and soon. "The threat of the deep ball is going to be huge with Mike,'' Dixon said. "I can't overthrow him. I'm really looking forward to playing with him.''

Actually, Dixon's just looking forward to playing.

"Can't wait,'' he said. "I'm just looking forward to seize the moment and have fun.''

About Last Night

Three thoughts from the Saints' 14-9 victory over Minnesota:

1. You never pick up where you left off the season before in the NFL. Walked off the field with Sean Payton after the game and he was already into the we're-not-apologizing-for-anything mode. Good for him. His old mentor, Bill Parcells, always used to say every season is an individual entity, and that's the one thing we learned last night. "I'm not apologizing for this win,'' Payton said."We just won a different way.'' When the defensive front is as valuable as the quarterback -- which it was for New Orleans -- you know the Saints are winning in a different way.

2. Adrian Peterson should not have disappeared late. It's easy to say Peterson should have been used more -- and, of course, he should have. He had 19 carries, all in the first three quarters, and touched the ball just once -- a short reception -- in the fourth quarter. But the Vikings ran only eight plays in the final quarter, and had the ball but four minutes. Still, I believe if the Vikes had kept trying to pound Peterson, who averaged 4.6 yards per rush, instead of trying to force a rusty Brett Favre into being the difference-maker in the fourth quarter, Minnesota would have won that game

3. The Vikings figured a way to get the crowd out of the game. I was on the field at different points of the game with my NBC duties, and what amazed me was how quiet it was. "They did a great job neutralizing the crowd,'' was the refrain in the Saints' locker room. It wasn't just the Vikings, either -- that crowd was different last night. It wasn't as nutty as the Saturday-night Dallas crowd last December, or the NFC title crowd last January. Maybe it was the boringness of the game, or the fact that so many fans might be satisfied after such an electric season and the first world title in club history. But it wasn't the kind of atmosphere that lends itself to the kind of home-field edge the Saints have used so effectively in the Payton era.

Under Pressure

Cameron Wake, OLB, Miami

The Dolphins need a pass rush. They're asking two unproven NFL players -- the 6-foot-3, 250-pound, late-blooming Wake and rookie second-rounder Koa Misi -- to provide it. Wake was cut by the Giants in 2005 after playing at Penn State, and didn't have another shot to show what he could do until he was signed by the CFL's British Columbia Lions.

"It was pretty frustrating watching [NFL games] on TV, looking at guys and knowing I was better,'' Wake said. "I'd say, 'Why's he playing in the league and not me?' I never found out the answer.''

For a time, Wake "trained old ladies'' as a personal trainer ("I know what it's like to have a real job,'' he said.), all the while longing for another shot in the NFL. But 39 sacks and two defensive player of the year awards in Canada landed him that shot in 2009, and the Dolphins are convinced that, starting Sunday at Buffalo, he's going to be an edge-rush factor. He and Misi don't have to be Jason Taylor clones, but they do have to harass Trent Edwards for the Dolphins to start off with a win.