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Question: Although there are a few games left in the 2006 season, do you think the Steelers need a "Big Back" for 2007? Can Willie Parker get the tough short yards, soften defenses late in the game, and make Ben Rothlisberger's job easier?

Bob McGrath, Lawrenceville, N.J.

BOUCHETTE: Parker has done a nice job in his two seasons as their starting halfback. However, I do believe the Steelers need a complimentary back to give them a change of pace. He does not have to be the so-called big back at 255 pounds. He could be a Barry Foster-style runner -- shorter with powerful legs who runs low to the ground, thus a lower target. Parker is a hit-or-miss kind of runner. He can have a string of runs in which he gains 1, 2, 0, 2, 1 and then whip off a 35-yarder. The Steelers have been built more on the kind of guy who gets 3 or 4 yards on first down, 3 or 4 yards on second and setting up third and short. I don't buy the fact that they've run so little this year because they've constantly been behind in games -- as Bill Cowher pointed out on Tuesday, they've been in every game in the fourth quarter that they've lost this season except the most recent one in Baltimore.