The Steelers need an upgraded plan

The Pittsburgh Steelers are challenged to prove that last season's 8-8 campaign — which began to unravel when quarterback Ben Roethlisberger suffered shoulder and rib injuries in mid-November — was an aberration and they will bounce back into the title hunt.

Then again, the challenge to replenish a roster with aging impact players hasn't just popped up. With fading stars, the prospect of a crash has been looming.

Maybe the infusion of young blood — including linebacker Jarvis Jones, running back Le'Veon Bell and wide receiver Markus Wheaton — will pay off quickly.

And if Roethlisberger goes down again, there's a new Plan B at quarterback with Pittsburgh native Bruce Gradkowski.

The Steelers need an upgraded plan. The battle-scarred squad was 6-3 when Roethlisberger was hurt in 2012, then lost three consecutive games to fall out of playoff contention when he returned.

So much for gutting out the early season injuries in time for a late Super Bowl run.

That turned out to be the narrative for the archrival Baltimore Ravens. And now the Steelers — one of the league's most consistent winners for a decade — are playing role reversal in the AFC North. They are not only chasing the champion Ravens but also an emerging Cincinnati Bengals team coming off back-to-back playoff seasons.

"When it's not you, you never like it," Roethlisberger says about the Ravens winning the title. "And when it's someone in your division, it's always tougher. It's just motivation to be better this year."

The Pittsburgh Steelers safety is coming off another strong season, but his contract is up after 2013 and there are no active negotiations between player and team. Clark wants to finish his career in Pittsburgh, but it's unclear if he remains in the team's long-term plans as he approaches his 34th birthday.

"I've definitely let the team know I want to continue playing there," Clark told Around The League from NFL Network studios. "I'm also very comfortable with what's happened in my career and how long I've been able to play. I'm also actively working on setting things up for when I retire. Seeing what things I like to do and hopefully have those opportunities. I wouldn't necessarily say I'm concerned, but I would like to play. If I don't, I'm pretty happy how it went."

Clark is open to playing elsewhere, but he has no plans to uproot his family with a daughter entering high school. If he can't stay in Pittsburgh, he could target teams in the region. Retirement also sounded like a possibility.

"To bounce around and try to go to all these different places and maybe play for one-year contracts here and there, that's not something I really want to do," he said.

We asked about Ben Roethlisberger, coming off an injury-plagued season and now recovering from knee surgery. Is there internal concern in Pittsburgh that Roethlisberger's durability is in decline?

"No, there isn't. Ben plays a brand of football that puts him at harm's way at times," he said. "I think he's built for it. We also know that's who he is and that's what he has to play for us to be successful. If Ben tried to play like Peyton (Manning) or be Tom (Brady), that's just not who he is. It wouldn't work for us, it wouldn't work for him."

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