No surprises among the Steelers who missed practice Wednesday as Marcus Gilbert, Chris Kemoeatu and Casey Hampton were among those who sat out.
Rashard Mendenhall was back and said he should be ready to go Sunday against Jacksonville.
I would expect Mendenhall to start against Jacksonville, though the Steelers will likely use give Isaac Redman a series in each half like they did against Seattle.
* I talked to Ziggy Hood today and he told me he did have a tough time on the right side because he hadn't seen a ton of practice there. Remember, all of his practice time last season came on the left when he replaced Aaron Smith.
It may not seem like such a big deal, but Hood said the hand placements and leverage are different on the other side of the line. That likely forced him to think more than react, leading to him getting pushed around.
* Also spoke to Antonio Brown about his return game. He's very confident in his abilities and feels he can be a Pro Bowl returner - if teams kick to him.
Tennessee kicked away from him in the punt game last week, the ultimate show of respect for a return man.
Dale I'm curious, has anyone asked Tomlin if Hood is going to be the starter on the left side from here on out? I love Smith and his contributions over the years have been monumental but I think it's clear his body can't take the weekly beating of a starter and that he's probably better suited as a backup at this point in his career.
ReplyDeleteZiggy is still a young guy. I'm sure when he becomes a grizzly vet he'll have no trouble starting in either side of the line
ReplyDeletebut for now the left is his spot. Love ya Aaron, but you'll still play plenty as a backup
I worry about extending contracts just to let veterans slide into back up roles. The salary cap hit is too high just for the loyalty of keeping guys around. Even Joe Montana played his last years in Kansas City.
ReplyDeleteI would love to have Smith around for another year, but if he can't be a starter, the price may be too high when we need to sign Wallace and others.
Mrs. Isaac Redman
Didn't they already establish his cost when they recently extended with him. What 875,000? Is that right? Not a bad number for a backup.
ReplyDeleteMoney is not a factor for Aaron. As I've said before, I would expect that he would say something if he felt he was hurting the team out there.
ReplyDeleteRemember, they've only had Keisel and Smith together for one full game.
As for asking Tomlin about it, what's the point? He's not going to answer it anyway.