PITTSBURGH -- Todd Haley came up with a goal of averaging 30 points a game a year ago.And if the always tinkering, ever aggressive Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator is being honest, hes kind of surprised his group came as close as it did in 2015.No Ben Roethlisberger for four games. No LeVeon Bell for 10. No Martavis Bryant for five. No Maurkice Pouncey for an entire season. And still the Steelers managed to put up 26 points every week on their way to a second straight playoff berth.When you look back at the tape, even with the hands we were dealt, whether it was injuries, suspensions, whatever it was, to me it would have been a very attainable goal for us last year, Haley said.So why change it even with some of the same issues that plagued Pittsburgh a year ago -- Bell suspended for three games, Bryant suspended until next spring, tight end Ladarius Green out indefinitely with ankle issues -- popping up again ahead of Monday nights opener in Washington?As a coach, you are trying to set the bar high but at an area you can feel like you can achieve and attain, Haley said. I just think thats a number if we are able to get it done, it will give us the best chance to win week in and week out.The preseason provided a brief but perhaps telling glimpse of whats to come. Roethlisberger, Bell and wide receiver Antonio Brown played all of two possessions together during an exhibition game.Both drives in Week 3 featured Roethlisberger working almost exclusively out of the no-huddle and finished with the Steelers in the end zone.Giving Roethlisberger the latitude to call what he wants when he wants -- akin to Peyton Mannings prime in Indianapolis -- is a sign of just how the relationship between quarterback and coordinator has evolved over the past four years.The trust level between the two is at an all-time high thanks in part to Roethlisbergers embracing of Haleys system that tasks the 34-year-old with getting the ball out of his hands (and hopefully keeping him healthy) to a skill group thats as talented as any in the league when its on the field at the same time.Its a collection that will include heavy doses of DeAngelo Williams until Bell returns in Week 4. Its a role he filled remarkably well in 2015 while running for 907 yards and 11 touchdowns at 32, a time when most of his peers are eyeing retirement if theyre still in the league at all. Williams looks as fresh as ever.DeAngelo does not lack confidence by any stretch of the imagination, but thats what you want, Roethlisberger said. You want a guy who is going to step up and be ready to go, try not to miss a beat. Last year, he showed what he can do, and I think well see the same thing.Williams even caught a career-best 40 receptions and remained one of the best backs in the league in pass protection. Hes hardly concerned about living up to Haleys mandate. Last he checked, the goal was to score as often as possible.Theres two types of pressure, you either apply it or you feel it, Williams said. Were applying 30 point a game rule because its what our offensive coordinator and head coach want us to do.Pittsburghs test will be an unfamiliar one. The Redskins spent the offseason upgrading a defense that finished 28th in yards allowed in 2015, though Washington somehow won the lackluster NFC East anyway.All-Pro cornerback Josh Norman comes over from Carolina and former Pittsburgh defensive end Ziggy Hood will try to revitalize his career after bouncing from Jacksonville to Chicago to the nations capital since leaving the Steelers after the 2013 season.The division remains wide open and slowing down Pittsburgh -- a club Washington hasnt beaten since its most recent Super Bowl-winning season a quarter century ago -- would be an ambitious start.Yet it may come down to the Steelers stopping themselves. For all the yards and the points they put up in 2015, Pittsburgh also turned it over 28 times, the 10th-most in the league. That number includes 16 interceptions by Roethlisberger, his most since 2006.We just gave the ball away too many times last year, Haley said. Our defense did a great job of getting it, so we stayed in the plus, but for us to be up over one-plus giveaway per game, thats too much for a group that wants to be great.---AP Sports Writer Stephen Whyno in Washington, D.C. contributed to this report.---Online:AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL Nike Shoes Black Friday 2019 . -- Whether Jeremy Hill deserves a prominent role in LSUs offence this early in the season is a matter for debate. Nike Shoes Black Friday Online . -- PGA TOUR Canada member Steve Saunders took a three-stroke lead Saturday in the Web. http://www.nikeshoesblackfriday.com/ .7 million, one-year contract, a raise of $2.2 million. Wieters had asked for $8.75 million and the Orioles had offered $6. Cheap Nike Shoes Black Friday . Toronto has dropped games to Indiana and Miami since a five-game winning streak and closed out a three-game road trip at 1-2. Nike Shoes Black Friday Sale . -- Matt Rupert scored once in regulation and again in the shootout as the London Knights extended their win streak to nine games by defeating the Owen Sound Attack 4-3 on Friday in Ontario Hockey League action. DALLAS -- Dirk Nowitzki?eliminated any doubt about his commitment to salvage the struggling Mavericks season Saturday night, when he addressed the media for the first time since being shut down a week ago due to lingering soreness in his right Achilles tendon.Im all-in. I want to play, Nowitzki said in front of his locker after his teammates pulled off the Mavs most lopsided win of the season, a 107-82 victory over the Chicago Bulls that improved Dallas record to a Western Conference-worst 4-15. This is obviously not a career-ending injury that Ive got. Its something that just keeps lingering unfortunately. I can hopefully get over it.Theres still a lot of season left. December just started. We know that theres a lot of games coming, so hopefully sometime soon Ill be out there and then stay out there. I dont want to jump in and out of the lineup with soreness or fight this whole year. Id love to be healthy and stay out there once I go.Nowitzki, the sixth-leading scorer in NBA history, has been limited to only five games this season because of Achilles soreness that started after he played 38 minutes in a season-opening overtime loss to the Indiana Pacers.He is out indefinitely but hopes to return before the end of the month.After missing eight straight games, Nowitzki played in blowout losses to the Clippers and Cavaliers last week. He said the soreness and stiffness in his Achilles returned during the second half of the Nov. 25 loss in Cleveland. He has not played since.Its frustrating for me, said Nowitzki, a 19-year veteran who has missed more than 10 games in a season only once before in his career. The whole situation is frustrating to be dealing with something I never have before in my career,, so its tough.dddddddddddd. But once Im out there, I dont want the same thing to happen again that just happened last week, so I want to make sure now its good to go. At this stage of my career, I dont move well anyways, so if Im out there at 80-90 percent, I dont think Im a big help. I want to make sure my bodys responding the right way and well go from there.Achilles injuries are tough, and they just limit your movement a lot. Limit my movement 10 years ago, Id still be able to play effectively out there. But if you limit my movement now, Im already a step slow, and that makes me three steps slow. It just makes no sense to be out there.Nowitzki said the Mavs athletic training staff has been ramping up his workouts recently. He has run on a treadmill and did some work on the court Friday, but he acknowledged that significant progress must be made before he is ready to play in games again.Nowitzki deflected a question about whether his health issues could influence his decision to return for next season, when only $5 million of his $25 million salary is guaranteed. He said his sole concern at the moment is returning as soon as possible.Nowitzki refuses to view this as a rebuilding season for the Mavs. He said they had an extremely difficult November schedule and had to deal with a lot of health issues in addition to his own. But Nowitzki added that the teams prospects have improved with the return of guards Deron Williams and Devin Harris.Hopefully Ill be back soon and we can run off some wins, Nowitzki said. Thats the only way I look at it. Everything else is nonsense. ' ' '