The big news out of Tuesday's press conference was that Mike Tomlin only expects James Harrison to miss four weeks after having surgery to repair a broken orbital bone last week.
In fact, Tomlin wouldn't rule out Harrison returning sooner than that, saying if anyone could do so, Harrison would.
In other news, only Harrison and Aaron Smith have been declared out for Sunday's game against Jacksonville.
Mewelde Moore, Jason Worilds, Marcus Gilbert, Casey Hampton and Chris Kemoeatu are questionable.
Maurkice Pouncey, Cortez Allen, Rashed Mendenhall and Ben Roethlisberger are all expected to be available to play.
Interestingly enough, Tomlin didn't automatically declare Kemoeatu or Mendenhall the starters when they return, saying he would wait to see how they look in practice.
In addition, Tomlin said that William Gay and Keenan Lewis will continue to start ahead of Bryant McFadden.
"We're not going to fix it if it's not broken," Tomlin said.
The same goes for Lawrence Timmons at outside linebacker, even if Worilds is ready to go.
21 comments:
I'd like to see Worilds out there, but won't cry into my pillow over it. Hopefully Kemoeatu transitions to "out" or "not starting" by the end of the week.
I'd like to see the Legursky/Starks combo on the left side for a while and see if they maybe have stumbled into something that works.
Kemo would be a nice backup
I hope harrison misses all games except new england. No way we win without our best pass rushers playing that game
Dale,
You have to think Deebo will be back for the Ravens game if at all possible. That would give him five full weeks for his face to heal and that game will probably determine who will win the AFC North.
Do you think Bronco Legursky will start over Kemo even when Kemo is healthy? It seems like Bob Labriola and Mike Prisuta are in favor of that because they think Legursky makes far fewer mental errors than Chris K.
I don't have a problem with Timmons continuing to start at ROLB, but I hope that Worilds (if healthy) and Chris Carter will be used on the pass rush more. I'd rather see Timmons blitzing and in coverage on passing down from his normal ILB position than rushing against good NFL Left tackles.
I guess this will also mean more of the dime coverage, which means getting either Foote or Farrior off the field on passing downs and subbing in S Ryan Mundy. I'm all for that. I think Mendy is getting the message that he needs to stop tipping up to the line of scrimmage and run the rock. Redman and Dwyer are both hungry. I do not think Mewelde will be ready to play with a high ankle sprain after missing one week.
the only reason foote should be on the field for passing downs should be because of injuries. i agree, timmons hould anchor the dime on the inside if possible.
kudos to the o-line last week. their play, and #7's decision making, were the difference in the game, imo. the offense goes as the o-line goes, let's hope they can keep it up.
Well the Kemo injury might be a blessing in disguise. If Kemo is going to dress he is going to have to be the swing guy. Meaning he is going to have to play some at RG. Hmmm...I would really like to see him there. I have thought all along that he is a better fit at the right side.
I think with Kemo and Legursky, it's a situation of what you want. Kemo has the ability to make the bigger plans, but he also has lower valleys - if you get my meaning. He's wildly inconsistent.
Legursky is steady. I think they'll let Kemo sit again this week and see if Legursky can put another good game on film.
Dale, I agree and think the same comparison could be said with Mendy and Redman. I'm a fan of consistency without the "valleys".
More importantly, I just got a flu shot today. It got me thinking. The Steelers' first play from scrimmage should be an intentional interception to Rashean Mathis. But tackle him, don't let him score. Just to get it out of the way.
haha, been so long we don't play the jaguars I had forgoten he always has Ben's number
so weird we haven't played them since 08
Dale,
Don't you feel like they could employ the same offensive gameplan that they used against Ten on a regular basis?? They have the Wr's to run those drags,hitches and slants all day.
Yeah, no reason they can't. Keep letting Wallace occupy two and allow everyone else to beat one-on-one underneath or find the open spots in the zone.
Did the coaching staff not realize that at first that we have the personnel to execute that kind of gameplan?
It's can't just be all Starks?
Side not: Dale, what did you think of Chris Carter's play?
I don't think the Steelers have fancied themselves as a West Coast dink and dunk offense but I think they are much more effective that way. I give the coaches credit for adjusting, but I wish they had done it a little sooner (Houston).
Didn't see enough of Carter to form any kind of opinion.
Kemo should no longer be a starter. He is so dumb that he gets beat by stunts every time. He is also lazy when pulling quite often.
i thought pulling was what kemo did best, actually.
Anything been said about the play Gilbert was injured on. Kinda dirty. Shaun Smith saw Gilbert on the ground and given the choice between trying to tackle Redman or spearing/forearming a defenseless/irrelevant player on the ground, chose the latter.
Anonymous --
I don't think Kemo's ever been lazy on the field, just slow (both ways).
Other Anonymous --
You're absolutely right about Gilbert's injury. I hadn't noticed before. After he used all his weight to dive right on top of a man who was already face down on the ground and away from the play, he "rested" his upper body on Gilbert's head for awhile. The force of Gilbert's shoulder into the ground is surely what caused his injury. I can't imagine it was anything personal against Gilbert. He must have just been frustrated.
This is the kind of thing that should be fined. Not a clean block from Pouncey during the course of the play. But I'd bet $100 that he doesn't hear a peep about it.
I like Carter's hustle, but he's just too small and not strong enough to play any kind of run defense. A redshirt year helped Worilds a ton, and hopefully Carter can follow the same path.
Dale, I'd love to see a quote from Legursky about playing with Starks after he hadn't played in 11 months.
Just his impression or if he was surprised at how effective Max was.
I'm pretty ignorant when it comes to the journalistic process, but if it's as easy as just asking him, it'd be cool to read about.
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