Coaching wheels turning

Mike Tomlin met with Todd Haley on Tuesday as he continues his search for a new offensive coordinator.

Previously, Tomlin met with former Indianapolis Colts head coach Jim Caldwell, who was later hired as QB coach by Baltimore.

According to the NFL Network, meanwhile, the Steelers have also made some inquiries regarding former Pitt QB Alex Van Pelt.

Van Pelt, a 1993 draft pick of the Steelers who never played with the team, was most recently QB coach in Tampa Bay. He previously served as a QB coach and offensive coordinator in Buffalo.

It's likely, however, the Steelers are interested in Van Pelt as a quarterbacks coach if they choose to elevate current quarterbacks coach Randy Fichtner.

One other name that could surface in Tomlin's search is current University of Colorado offensive coordinator Rip Scherer.

Scherer, like Tomlin, is a graduate of William & Mary and is the cousin of Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert.

The 59-year-old Scherer served as assistant head coach of the Cleveland Browns from 2005 through 2008 and quarterbacks coach in Carolina in 2009 and 2010.

© The news that Keith Butler decided to stay with the Steelers rather than accept the defensive coordinator position in Indianapolis isn't all that surprising.

Butler continues to be the leading candidate to eventually replace Dick LeBeau as defensive coordinator with the Steelers – though when that happens is anyone's best guess – and his family likes it in Pittsburgh.

© The Steelers have given Tampa Bay permission to talk to current defensive assistant Jerry Olsavsky, while also granting offensive assistant Harold Goodwin permission to speak with Indianapolis and Chicago about openings.

UPDATE: Goodwin was hired as Indianapolis' offensive line coach on Tuesday.

Both are good men and quality coaches who deserve shots to become position coaches.

In fact Goodwin stepped in as the Steelers running backs coach when Kirby Wilson was injured in the fire in his home a few days before the team's playoff loss at Denver.

Speaking of Wilson, according to Lance Zierlein, who runs a great blog out of the Houston area, his father, former Steelers offensive line coach Larry Zierlein, said that Wilson is now sitting up and doing much better.

He still faces a long road to recovery.

If Butler leaves, who replaces him

It appears that Steelers linebackers coach Keith Butler is going to take the job as defensive coordinator of the Indianapolis Colts under new head coach Chuck Pagano.

Butler is expected to be in Indianapolis on Tuesday to finalize things, leaving the Steelers another opening on their coaching staff.

This one, however, will be pretty easy to fill. Former Steelers linebacker Jerry Olsavsky, who is already on staff, will be the no-brainer replacement.

As a player, Olsavsky always got the most out of his talent by knowing the defense inside and out and being technically sound. Those traits will make him a great linebackers coach and possible future replacement for Dick LeBeau.

It is interesting to note that Pagano, who had been Baltimore's defensive coordinator, will now have Bruce Arians coordinating his offense and Butler coordinating his defense.

Adding to the irony of the situation is that Mike Tomlin was seen at a downtown Pittsburgh hotel meeting with former Indianapolis head coach Jim Caldwell, who was replaced by Pagano.

Caldwell presumably was interviewing for the Steelers offensive coordinator position vacated when Arians was fired/retired last week.

Roethlisberger's words not damning

Some people will try to make a mountain out of a molehill, which is what is happening with the Steelers jettisoning offensive coordinator Bruce Arians.

But Ben Roethlisberger seems to have put things in proper perspective.

"When I get back, I'm going to go up to Mr. Rooney's office and ask him what he wants from me, what he wants from this offense, because I think that's a viable question for him," Roethlisberger told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review on Thursday following an AFC practice at Hickam Air Force Base. "He's our owner and our boss, so I really would like to know kind of what he wants and where he sees our offense going because I'd like to tell him where I see us going."

Roethlisberger is 100 percent correct, though he didn't identify which Rooney, Dan or Art II, that he was speaking about.

The bottom line is that Dan Rooney has the title of chairman and Art II that of team president. If they were unhappy with the direction of the offense, they were free to express it.

In fact, Art did just that a couple of years ago, saying the team needed to run the ball more effectively.

And you know what, the Steelers made that a point of emphasis in 2010.

But the offense obviously took a step backward in 2011, though the defense's lack of forced turnovers certainly didn't help.

Still, the point is that Art Rooney II or Dan Rooney or whoever made the call for Arians to go - I believe it was Dan - was perfectly within their rights to do so. They are, after all, the guys writing the checks.

And this isn't out of character for the Steelers. Remember, back in 1989, Dan Rooney ordered Chuck Noll to fire linebackers coach Jed Hughes.

If Noll can be ordered to fire an assistant - one that Noll liked - why not Mike Tomlin?

Steelers looking in-house first

The Steelers will look for an offensive coordinator in-house first, giving Randy Fichtner and Sean Kugler the first shot at replacing Bruce Arians.

Fichtner, the team's wide receivers coach when hired, has spent the past two seasons as quarterbacks coach.

Kugler, meanwhile, has been with the Steelers for two seasons as offensive line coach, joining them after stints in Detroit and Buffalo.

Both men are sharp and it seems becoming an offensive coordinator would be the next logical step for either man.

And then there were two

The Super Bowl matchup is now set and for Steelers fans, I offer this insight.

On one side, you have the kind of offense the Steelers have long proclaimed they'd like to be - the multiple sets of New England.

On the other side is the kind of offense they should be - a Giants offense that employs two running backs to go along with its three pretty darn good receivers.

Here's why the Steelers could be the Giants offensively a lot easier than they could the Patriots.

Pittsburgh has three outstanding young receivers in Antonio Brown, Mike Wallace and Emmanuel Sanders. Add Jerricho Cotchery to the mix - if they can re-sign him - and add in a dash of Heath Miller and the Steelers could be every bit as dangerous as New York.

The interesting thing here is that while the general belief is that the Giants are a run-first team, they decidedly were not this season. But they ran the ball reasonably well when Ahmad Bradshaw was healthy.

Rashard Mendenhall could be used in the same fashion, if, and this is a big if, he would get more looks in the passing game.

Bruce Arians always raved about Mendenhall's hands. But the Steelers rarely did much to take advantage of them.

As for Brandon Jacobs, I'd say that Isaac Redman is a better, younger version of the big back, capable of picking up a yard when you need to and help run out the clock at the end of the game.

And yes, the Giants employ a fullback, former Pitt star Henry Hynoski.

It is interesting to note that Hynoski said in a radio interview last week with Joe Starkey that the Steelers wanted to sign him as an undrafted free agent.

Odds are that whomever the Steelers hire as their new offensive coordinator, having a true fullback will become a priority once again.

It is, after all, easier to find a fullback than it is the next Rob Gronkowski.

Philbin hire means Clements likely out

With Joe Philbin's hiring Friday as head coach of the Miami Dolphins on Friday, you can likely cross Green Bay QB coach Tom Clements off the list for potential Bruce Arians replacements.

It's likely that Clements will get the first shot to replace Philbin as Green Bay's offensive coordinator. So unless he has a burning desire to come back to Pittsburgh – where he grew up – to join the Steelers staff for a second time, it's unlikely Clements will be the man.

Arians, of course, "retired" on Friday after being with the Steelers since 2004, including the past five seasons as offensive coordinator.

Randy Fichtner would be the top candidate from within the organization to replace Arians.

The top two outside candidates could be a pair of fired NFL head coaches, Kansas City's Todd Haley and Indianapolis' Jim Caldwell.

Haley is a Pittsburgh native whose father - a McDonald native – Dick was a longtime personnel man for the Steelers.

Caldwell, meanwhile, coaches with Tomlin under Tony Dungy in Tampa Bay and the two maintain a relationship.

© Here are my picks for this weekend's games:

Baltimore (plus 7 1/2 ) at New England
The Ravens were bad on the road this season, but New England made it to the AFC Championship without beating a team this season that finished the season with a winning record.

Something tells me the Pats will figure out a way to bottle up Ray Rice.

Take Baltimore to cover in a 27-20 loss

N.Y. Giants (plus 2 1/2) at San Francisco

The Giants look like a team of destiny right now. Plus, they led the NFL with 48 sacks, while the 49ers gave up 44, most of any team that made the playoffs.

Take the Giants, 23-17

Early entrants for the draft

Here is the list of early entrants into the NFL draft:

Players granted special eligibility for the 2012 NFL Draft on April 26-28 in New York:
Alvester Alexander, RB, Wyoming
Dwayne Allen, TE, Clemson
Edwin Baker, RB, Michigan St.
Mike Ball, RB, Nevada
Jamison Berryhill, RB, Texas
Justin Blackmon, WR, Oklahoma St.
Michael Brockers, DT, LSU
Bryce Brown, RB, Kansas St.
Vontaze Burfict, LB, Arizona St.
Orson Charles, TE, Georgia
Morris Claiborne, DB, LSU
Fletcher Cox, DT, Mississippi St.
David DeCastro, G, Stanford
Tiree Eure, TE, Minnesota
Marcus Forston, DT, Miami
Stephon Gilmore, DB, South Carolina
Chris Givens, WR, Wake Forest
Dorian Graham, WR, Syracuse
Robert Griffin, QB, Baylor
Jewel Hampton, RB, Southern Illinois
Cliff Harris, DB, Oregon
Dont’a Hightower, LB, Alabama
Stephen Hill, WR, Georgia Tech
Ronnie Hillman, RB, San Diego St.
Max Holloway, DE, Boston College
Jayron Hosley, DB, Virginia Tech
Janzen Jackson, DB, McNeese St.
LaMichael James, RB, Oregon
Alshon Jeffery, WR, South Carolina
Aldarius Johnson, WR, Miami
Damaris Johnson, WR, Tulsa
Chandler Jones, DE, Syracuse
Matt Kalil, OT, Southern California
Dre Kirkpatrick, DB, Alabama
Peter Konz, C Wisconsin
Luke Kuechly, LB, Boston College
Ronnell Lewis, DE, Oklahoma
Andrew Luck, QB, Stanford
Terrell Manning, LB, N.C. State
Jonathan Martin, OT, Stanford
Bobby Massie, OT, Mississippi
Whitney Mercilus, DE, Illinois
Lamar Miller, RB, Miami
Brock Osweiler, QB, Arizona St.
Eric Page, WR, Toledo
Donte Paige-Moss, DE, North Carolina
Nick Perry, DE, Southern California
Bernard Pierce, RB, Temple
Ken Plue, G, Purdue
Dontari Poe, DT, Memphis
Rueben Randle, WR, LSU
Riley Reiff, OT, Iowa
Trent Richardson, RB, Alabama
Josh Robinson, DB, Central Florida
Mohamed Sanu, WR, Rutgers
Darrell Scott, RB, South Florida
Tommy Streeter, WR, Miami
Darron Thomas, QB, Oregon
Johnny Thomas, DB, Oklahoma St.
Phillip Thomas, DB, Syracuse
Barrett Trotter, QB, Auburn
Olivier Vernon, DE, Miami
Brandon Washington, OT, Miami
David Wilson, RB, Virginia Tech
Jerel Worthy, DT, Michigan St.

Arians retiring?

Gerry Dulac of the Post-Gazette is reporting that Bruce Arians is strongly considering retirement.

If Dulac is reporting it, you can bet it came directly from Arians. The two are pretty close.

Most Steelers fans will rejoice at the news that Arians is considering retirement again - Ben Roethlisberger reportedly talked him out of it last year.

Quarterbacks coach Randy Fichtner would be the in-staff replacement for the Steelers.

The team will also be searching for a replacement for running backs coach Kirby Wilson, who suffered burns over 45 percent of his body in a fire in his home earlier this month.

Wilson faces a long recovery before he's out of the woods with his injuries.

Kirby Wilson's family releases statement

The family of Steelers running back coach Kirby Wilson released this statement today:

“Mr. Kirby Wilson remains in critical condition in the Trauma Burn Center at UPMC Mercy in Pittsburgh. In addition to burns sustained over 45 percent of his body, he has suffered a smoke inhalation injury and will require multiple operative procedures in the future.”

Wilson was burned in a fire in his home two weeks ago.

East-West Shrine rosters set

East-West Shrine Classic Rosters
By The Associated Press
Saturday, Jan. 21, at St. Petersburg, Fla.
EAST
Coach: Bobby Ross
1 Jerrell Young, S, South Florida
2 Micah Pellerin, DB, Hampton
3 Tim Benford, WR, Tennessee Tech
4 Gary Gray, DB, Notre Dame
5 A.J. Jenkins, WR, Illinois
7 Nick Sukay, LB, Penn State
8 Tysyn Hartman, S, Kansas State
9 Chase Ford, TE, Miami
10 Shawn Loiseau, LB, Merrimack
11 R.J. Blanton, DB, Notre Dame
12 Austin Davis, QB, Southern Mississippi
13 Kevin Hardy, WR, Citadel
14 Charles Brown, DB, North Carolina
15 Davin Meggett, RB, Maryland
16 John Brantley, QB, Florida
17 LaRon Byrd, WR, Miami
18 Thomas Mayo, WR, California (Pa.)
19 BJ Coleman, QB, Chattanooga
20 Lance Lewis, WR, East Carolina
21 B.J. Cunningham, WR, Michigan State
26 Justin Bethel, DB, Presbyterian
28 Tauren Poole, RB, Tennessee
29 Steven Erzinger, LB, Army
31 Josh Norman, DB, Coastal Carolina
32 Alfred Morris, RB, Florida Atlantic
33 Christian Thompson, S, South Carolina State
35 Brandon Lindsey, LB, Pittsburgh
38 Emanuel Davis, DB, East Carolina
40 Matt Daniels, S, Duke
42 Najee Goode, LB, West Virginia
44 Emil Igwenagu, TE, Massachusetts
45 Shawn Powell, P, Florida State
48 Bruce Figgins, FB/TE, Georgia
50 Joshua Linam, LB, Central Florida
53 Quentin Saulsberry, C, Missisippi State
54 Micanor Regis, DL, Miami
55 Max Gruder, LB, Pittsburgh
57 Blair Walsh, PK, Georgia
63 Derek Dennis, G, Temple
65 Tyler Horn, C, Miami
70 Jeremiah Warren, G, South Florida
72 Lamar Holmes, OT, Southern Mississippi
73 Desmond Wynn, G, Rutgers
75 Rishaw Johnson, G, California (Pa.)
76 Jeff Adams, OT, Columbia
79 Joe Long, OT, Wayne State (Mich.)
78 Bradley Sowell, OT, Mississippi
88 Evan Rodriguez, TE, Temple
90 Nick Jean-Baptiste, DL, Baylor
92 Travian Robertson, DL, South Carolina
94 Matt Conrath, DL, Virginia
95 Kyle Wilber, DL, Wake Forest
97 Julian Miller, DL, West Virginia
98 Jabaree Tuani, DL, Navy
99 Akiem Hicks, DL, Regina
———
WEST
Coach: Brad Childress
2 Duke Ihenaho, S, San Jose State
3 Rodney McLeod, DB, Virginia
4 Jarius Wright, WR, Arkansas
5 Lennon Creer, RB, Louisana Tech
6 Matt Prewitt Punter Kentucky Christian
7 Aaron Henry, S, Wisconsin
8 Austin Cassidy, S, Nebraska
9 Tyler Hansen, QB, Colorado
10 Darius Hanks, WR, Alabama
11 Ronnie Thomton, LB, Southern Mississippi
12 Chandler Harnish, QB, Northern Illinois
13 Dale Moss, WR, South Dakota State
14 Dan Persa, QB, Northwestern
16 Greg Zuerlein, PK, Missouri Western
17 Brandon Hardin, DB, Oregon State
19 Bryan Anger Punter California
21 Blake Gideon, S, Texas
23 Keith Tandy, DB, West Virginia
24 Trevin Wade, DB, Arizona
25 Devon Wylie, WR, Fresno State
26 Marc Tyler, RB, Southern California
27 Chris Greenwood, DB, Albion
28 Shaun Prater, DB, Iowa
30 Bobby Rainey, RB, Western Kentucky
31 Kentrell Lockett, DL, Mississippi
33 Brandon Marshall, LB, Nevada
34 Jerry Franklin, LB, Arkansas
40 Tyrone Crawford, DL, Boise State
43 Tank Carder, LB, Texas Christian
45 Arnaud Nadon, DL, Laval
47 David Paulson, TE, Oregon
49 Kaniela Tuipulotu, DL, Hawaii
52 Steven Johnson, LB, Kansas
53 Markus Zusevics, G, Iowa
54 Moe Petrus, C, Connecticut
56 Brandon Brooks, G, Miami (Ohio)
58 Josh Kaddu, LB, Oregon
61 Ben Heenan, G, Saskatchewan
70 Matt Reynolds, OT, Brigham Young
73 Ryan Miller, OT, Colorado
75 Al Netter, OT, Northwestern
76 Tom Compton, OT, South Dakota
77 Josh LeRibeus, G, Southern Methodist
78 David Snow, C, Texas
79 Marcel Jones, OT, Nebraska
82 Junior Hemingway, WR, Michigan
84 George Bryan, TE, North Carolina State
85 Greg Childs, WR, Arkansas
86 Kevin Koger, TE, Michigan
87 Cory Harkey, TE, UCLA
89 Tyler Shoemaker, WR, Boise State
90 Dominique Hamilton, DL, Missouri
91 Justin Francis, DL, Rutgers
95 Vaughn Meatoga, DL, Hawaii
97 Dajohn Harris, DL, Southern California

Season wrap-up story

http://www.observer-reporter.com/or/sports11/01-15-2012-Steelers-season-wrap

Final Four set

The NFL's Final Four are now set with the Ravens set to visit New England in the AFC and the Giants traveling to San Francisco in the NFC.

There are a couple of interesting notes about that.

First is the fact the Steelers played three of the final four teams this season - and five of the eight final eight.

In fact, all five of Pittsburgh's losses this season came to teams that were in the final eight teams standing. Three of their five losses – and one victory - came against teams that reached the conference championship game.

Home teams went 7-1 in the first two rounds of the postseason, a far cry different than things had been in the previous four seasons when the home teams were just 21-19.

Finally, three of the final four teams employ more traditional offenses - ie. a fullback on a regular basis.

New England is the only team that uses the multiple tight end formations favored by the Steelers, though San Francisco certainly uses plenty of multiple tight end sets.

The 49ers remind me quite a bit of the 1994 Steelers. Great defense, solid running game and so-so quarterback.

Does that make Eli Manning Stan Humphries next weekend. We'll see about that.

© As I was talking about how I'd hate to see another Harbaugh vs. Harbaugh game in the Super Bowl, my wife remarked how silly the their parents were before the first meeting on Thanksgiving.

Jack Harbaugh and his wife, whose name escapes me, said something to the effect that watching their two sons coach against each other was one of the hardest things a parent could do.

Please.

Their sons are making millions to coach football teams. Every once in a while, they'll face each other.

But there are plenty of other tough things that parents go through on a daily basis that make what the Harbaugh family went through on Thanksgiving look like a day at the beach.

More odds and ends

Casey Hampton's partially torn ACL did not need surgery, but apparently Maurkice Pouncey's ankle did.

According to Kirk Kazienko on Twitter, he was on a flight with Pouncey out of Pittsburgh and the center's injured ankle was in a cast after having surgery.

© Sanity prevailed and Troy Polamalu's fine for using a team doctor's cell phone to calm his wife after getting his bell rung in a game earlier this season was waived upon appeal by the NFL.

© James Harrison was not fined or reprimanded for drawing a personal foul for a penalized late hit last week at Denver.

Could it be that what was called on Harrison wasn't a penalty?

© I like three of the four home teams to advance in this weekend's playoff action, but I do like Houston to make things interesting and cover against Baltimore.

The only road team I'm favoring this week is New Orleans, which will finally win the first road playoff game in team history at San Francisco.

Odds and end zones

Both offensive coordinator Bruce Arians and defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau have told Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin they want to return for the 2012 season.

Cue the complaining, particularly about Arians.

© The Steelers have now played eight playoff games under Tomlin. All eight have gone over, including the 29-23 loss to the Broncos in which the over/under went off at 33.

File that away for future use.

© Hines Ward has told the P-G that he wants to play for the Steelers next season and is willing to take a pay cut to do so.

But, if a deal can't be worked out, Ward plans on trying to play somewhere else.

There are some on the coaching staff who don't want Ward back. In fact, one member of the staff didn't want him back in 2010.

But ownership wanted Ward with the team then and will likely want him back in 2012 as well.

Ward has been such a popular player for such a long time that the team will allow him to go out on his own terms and in a Steelers uniform. Unless, of course, Ward insists on having a greater role than what he played in the second half of 2012.

© I'll have my season wrap on the Steelers in Sunday's paper. Hopefully, it will be an interesting read for those who frequent this blog. It does answer a lot of the questions posed - many of which I haven't answered because I knew I was going to do so in the season wrap.

© My thoughts are with Joe Philbin and his family following the death of his son, Michael, whose body was found in a Wisconsin river earlier this week.

I did a story on Philbin, the Packers offensive coordinator, at the Super Bowl last season and found him very nice and accomodating.

Philbin is a 1984 graduate of Washington & Jefferson College here in Washington.

Monday news and notes

Mike Tomlin said today that given another opportunity, he'd defend Tim Tebow the same way.

I actually don't blame him. Tebow hadn't shown the ability to throw the ball like he did on Sunday in previous weeks.

And Ike Taylor had more than done his job throughout this season on the opposing team's No. 1 receiver.

There was no reason to believe Tebow would suddenly become John Elway and Taylor would no longer be able to tackle in the open field.

© A report surfaced today that Hines Ward told his teammates he was probably retiring.

That may have been the way Ward was leaning prior to Sunday's game – if the Steelers made a long run in the playoffs.

But something tells me he'll want to come back in 2012 if the Steelers want him. He won't want to go out with a loss and without a reception.

For the Steelers, bringing Ward – at a discounted price – back could make sense.

Ward will count $4.6 million against the 2012 cap with a base salary of $4 million. If he cuts that in half, having a veteran leader behind the disappearing Mike Wallace, Antonio Brown and somewhat brittle Emmanuel Sanders could be a plus. That becomes even more critical if the Steelers are unable to bring Jerricho Cotchery back.

© The same thing could be said of James Farrior.

Farrior's base salary is just $2.8 million next season with a cap value of $3.8. If he's willing to take a cut, his veteran presence could be big.

© So where do the Steelers find the $15 to $20 million they are going to need to get under the cap next year?

Casey Hampton is scheduled to make $4.9 million in 2012 and has a cap value of just over $8 million. That might be a place to start, particularly if the team can get a young nose tackle in the draft.

Guard Chris Kemoeatu and his $3.5 million salary would be another place to look. Then you've got Bryant McFadden ($2.5 million) and Johnathan Scott ($2.2 million), Will Allen ($1.2 million) and Arnaz Battle ($1 million) that could also free up some cash.

The Steelers have been blessed in recent years to have some veteran backups. But those veteran backups also cost more money. The team is likely going to have to go with more youngsters behind their starters in 2012.

© If I had to bet, Aaron Smith and Chris Hoke will retire. Charlie Batch might as well, though the team could coax him to come back one more time if Byron Leftwich is not re-signed. William Gay probably played well enough this year to get himself a contract elsewhere (Detroit anyone?). Dennis Dixon, Mewelde Moore and Daniel Sepulveda won't be back.

Post-Denver thoughts

Well, I couldn't have been more wrong about that game. Then again, I couldn't have been more wrong about a team all season long.

This Steelers' team really left me perplexed this season. And Sunday's game was a microcosm of everything that was wrong with it.

The offense marched up and down the field in the first quarter, yet had six points to show for it.

Then, after Denver hits the defense for a couple of plays to score in the second quarter, Ben Roethlisberger decides it's time to start chucking it deep. Only Mike Wallace can't come up with the catch - which was slightly underthrown – and the Steelers have to punt the ball back to Denver.

The Broncos again hit them for a long gain and score.

Roethlisberger comes out, gets hammered on a sack and then intercepted.

Wham, bam, thank you mam. A 6-0 advantage turns into a 17-6 disadvantage.

© Ike Taylor had a tough day, but you have to give some credit to Tim Tebow. He looked lost holding the ball against Kansas City last week and John Elway told him he should just let the ball fly.

Tebow apparently took that to heart and made some very nice throws.

His first long completion to Demaryious Thomas was an excellent throw, as was his TD pass to Eddie Royal.

After that, the Pittsburgh defense was caught in a tough place. They were bringing nine or 10 men to the line of scrimmage to stop the running game, but that was leaving the corners in one-on-one situations and Denver was winning those.

© Not having Brett Keisel, Casey Hampton and Max Starks really hurt the Steelers.

Losing Keisel and Hampton left the Steelers with just three active linemen.

Losing Starks left the Steelers with Jonathan Scott on the field.

The Steelers would have been without all three next weekend at New England, so it's just as well that they lost now instead of dragging the season out another week.

© If that was a late hit for roughing the passer on James Harrison as called, they should just quit playing football and make the games a seven-on-seven passing drill.

You think if anyone other than Harrison makes that hit that it's called? I don't.

© Some people were complaining about Harrison's hit on Eric Decker that knocked him out of the game. But that's what defenders are almost forced to do rather than take a chance at helmet-to-helmet contact - particularly Harrison.

He can't even take a chance that he'll come in contact with another player helmet-to-helmet for the remainder of his career without facing a lengthy suspension.

© The offense scored 23 points, but squandered points at the end of each half.

Some people will put that on offensive coordinator Bruce Arians – mostly because they hate Arians.

But it's Roethlisberger.

Instead of taking the short passes that are available, he constantly looks for the home run or bigger play.

Until he's content to take what the defense is giving rather than constantly trying to make the splash play, he won't be considered in the same breath as Tom Brady, Drew Brees or Aaron Rodgers.

© On a personal note, I think I made journalistic history today, writing both my game story and column on my Droid after my power cord died.

It made for a perfect ending to what was a tortuous season watching the Steelers muddle their way through a 12-4 season.

Is it possible to muddle your way through a 12-4 season? The Steelers apparently did.

Pouncey inactive

Maurkice Pouncey is inactive for the Steelers today.

Also inactive are Mewelde Moore, Ryan Clark, Cortez Allen, Mortty Ivy, Al Woods and Jamon Meredith.

Lots of news today, prediction

First and foremost today, my thoughts and bests wishes go out to Steelers running back coach Kirby Wilson who was burned in a fire in his home in Butler County early Friday morning.

According to sources, Wilson, 50, suffered burns on 30 to 50 percent of his body in the fire, which began in his kitchen.

Thankfully, the injuries are not considered life-threatening to Wilson, who has been with the Steelers since 2007.

© Maurkice Pouncey, who along with Troy Polamalu, was named a first-team All-Pro on Friday, will not play for the Steelers in Denver.

He has experienced some swelling in his injured ankle and did not practice at all this week.

Doug Legursky will get the start at center with Chris Kemoeatu at left guard.

LaMarr Woodley, Ben Roethlisberger, Brett Keisel and Polamalu will all play.

© It's strange, but I didn't think either Pouncey or Polamalu had outstanding seasons.

Don't get me wrong, Polamalu was still very disruptive, even though he only had two interceptions.

But to me, him being a first-team All-Pro – meaning he was the best at his position – seems a bit of a stretch, especially when Ed Reed was on the second team.

Pouncey being named to the first team, however, is a bit more strange. Pouncey's play wasn't nearly as good in 2011 as it was in 2010. He also missed some games.

I know offensive linemen often get chosen based on their reputation, but I didn't see Pouncey as the best center in the league this season.

© This week's game at Denver looks like a layup for the Steelers. It seems like a layup for the Steelers.

That probably means it won't be a layup, particularly on the road.

Don't get me wrong, I think the Steelers will win. But it won't be easy.

Outside of the opening loss at Baltimore, the Steelers have played up or down to their competition all season.

This week will probably be no different.

But a quarterback who completes just 46 percent of his passes isn't going to beat the Steelers.

Pittsburgh will control Denver's running game, especially with guard Chris Kuper out of the lineup, and force Tim Tebow into some third-and-long plays.

That will spell doom.

The Steelers offense has struggled of late with Ben Roethlisberger hobbled, but should be good enough against Denver's 20th-ranked defense, which will be playing without safety Brian Dawkins.

Take the Steelers to win, 17-6

Pouncey sits out again, looking questionable

Maurkice Pouncey, James Harrison, Brett Keisel and Troy Polamalu were among the players who sat out practice again on Thursday and of that group, it appears that Pouncey is the only one who is a question mark to play this week at Denver.

Pouncey, like Ben Roethlisberger, tweaked his injured ankle at Cleveland - only his occured in the first half.

Pouncey said the injury is still bothering him a bit and the Steelers may keep him out of this one.

The return of Doug Legursky could help ease that loss. Legursky has practiced the past two days after sitting out with a shoulder injury the past two weeks.

© Ben Roethlisberger returned to practice Thursday for the Steelers. There were no setbacks.

© For the Broncos, safety Brian Dawkins, who missed last week's game, was out again today and is looking highly questionable to play against the Steelers.

That would be a big blow for Denver.

Wednesday news and notes

Ben Roethlisberger announced to the world today that he had suffered a "setback" in Sunday's 13-9 win at Cleveland.

Roethlisberger said the setback put him back a week in his recovery from a high ankle sprain. Even at that, however, playing Roethlisberger in Cleveland was the right move for Mike Tomlin to make.

Here's why:

Had Roethlisberger sat out the game against the Browns, he would have gone into Sunday's game at Denver not having played in three weeks.

That's too much inactivity and the Steelers may not have been able to handle the quarter or half it took for Roethlisberger to shake off the cobwebs.

In addition, had the Steelers started Charlie Batch and lost at Cleveland - and Cincinnati had beaten Baltimore – the Steelers would have looked pretty silly for not starting Roethlisberger, who was feeling good before the game against the Browns.

As it is, Roethlisberger said he feels as good now as he did prior to the game against St. Louis. That's better than he felt before the game at San Francisco.

© There's an undercurrent in the Pittsburgh locker room that Tim Tebow is getting too much attention this week.

Nobody is going to come right out and say it, but it's there if you read between the lines.

The Steelers feel like the Broncos defense has been winning games for the Broncos, not Tebow. They'll get a chance to end the Tebow mystique on Sunday.

© Isaac Redman said he's going to be a full-time back this week, playing all three downs.

That will change some next week if Mewelde Moore gets back, but rookie John Clay isn't going to help on third down at all.

And the Steelers will need Redman's third-down blocking as much as anything to help slow Denver's pass rush.

Tuesday with Tomlin

Mike Tomlin didn't hedge on this one: Ryan Clark will not play when the Steelers travel to Denver Sunday for the opening round of the NFL playoffs.

Clark will miss his second consecutive game in Denver after suffering through an episode of illness following playing there in 2007.

Clark carries the gene for sickle cell anemia and the high altitude there coupled with the physical strain of playing there that year forced him to miss the final 10 games of the season after he lost 30 pounds and had to have his gall bladder and spleen removed.

Ryan Mundy will get the start at free safety.

© In other news, Tomlin said the hamstring injury suffered by Keenan Lewis does not appear to be serious and he should play against the Broncos.

In fact, the only players Tomlin said were questionable were cornerback Cortez Allen (forearm) and running back Mewelde Moore.

© Doug Legursky is expected to return and start at left guard.

© If the Steelers add a running back because Moore is unable to play, it would be Chad Spann, a rookie from Northern Illinois who is on the practice squad.

2012 NFL Draft order

NFL Draft Order
By The Associated Press
At New York
April 26-28
First Round
Opponents
W L Pct Pct W L
1. Indianapolis Colts 2 14 .125 .539 138 118
2. St. Louis Rams 2 14 .125 .590 151 105
3. Minnesota Vikings 3 13 .188 .559 143 113
4. Cleveland Browns 4 12 .250 .531 136 120
5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 4 12 .250 .551 141 115
6. Washington Redskins 5 11 .313 .477 122 134
7. Jacksonville Jaguars 5 11 .313 .500 128 128
8. Carolina Panthers-x 6 10 .375 .504 129 127
9. Miami Dolphins-x 6 10 .375 .504 129 127
10. Buffalo Bills 6 10 .375 .520 133 123
11. Kansas City Chiefs-x 7 9 .438 .512 131 125
12. Seattle Seahawks-x 7 9 .438 .512 131 125
13. Arizona Cardinals 8 8 .500 .469 120 136
14. Dallas Cowboys 8 8 .500 .473 121 135
15. Philadelphia Eagles 8 8 .500 .488 125 131
16. New York Jets 8 8 .500 .500 128 128
17. Oakland Raiders 8 8 .500 .504 129 127
18. San Diego Chargers 8 8 .500 .516 132 124
19. Chicago Bears 8 8 .500 .527 135 121
20. Tennessee Titans 9 7 .563 .461 118 138
21. Denver Broncos-y 8 8 .500 .520 133 123
22. Cincinnati Bengals-y 9 7 .563 .492 126 130
23. New York Giants-y 9 7 .563 .520 133 123
24. Houston Texans-y 10 6 .625 .453 116 140
25. Atlanta Falcons-y 10 6 .625 .480 123 133
26. Detroit Lions-y 10 6 .625 .535 137 119
27. Baltimore Ravens-y 12 4 .750 .477 122 134
28. Pittsburgh Steelers-y 12 4 .750 .492 126 130
29. New Orleans Saints-y 13 3 .813 .441 113 143
30. New England Patriots-y,x 13 3 .813 .449 115 141
31. San Francisco 49ers-y,x 13 3 .813 .449 115 141
32. Green Bay Packers-y 15 1 .938 .457 117 139

x-Subject to coin flip
y-Subject to playoffs

Post-Cleveland thoughts Part II

I'm really glad Hines Ward got his 1,000th catch. He's always been a good guy to talk to and has worked hard.

But I'm also glad it's over. Now, the Steelers can just play Jerricho Cotchery, who is a better receiving threat at this point in their respective careers.

It is a shame, though, that Ward's milestone catch came on a three-yard loss on a shovel pass.

He had a couple of big catches in this game, but his final stat line read five catches, 24 yards.

© It's amazing how Josh Cribbs has his best games against the Steelers.

Ike Taylor began the game by shadowing Greg Little. He finished it shadowing Cribbs, who finished with seven catches for 91 yards.

Cribbs also led the Browns with three special teams tackles.

Yet some bozo from New England was named the AFC's special teams representatives.

If there's a better special teams player in the NFL than Cribbs, I haven't seen him.

© The final stats show that Troy Polamalu had just two tackles in this game. But if there was a defender who made a bigger impact, I didn't see him.

© The Steelers had better hope those two fumbles by Isaac Redman didn't hurt his confidence. I spoke at length with him after the game and it didn't seem like they did, but you never know until he gets back out there again.

Without Rashard Mendenhall, Redman is going to have to shoulder the load.

© The games still must be played, but I wouldn't bet against a Pittsburgh at Baltimore AFC Championship, in a reversal of 2010.

I know, that's discounting the Patriots and counts on Houston beating Cincinnati.

But New England beat one playoff team this season - Denver – and doesn't own a victory over a team that finished with a winning record.

Pittsburgh and Baltimore are the two best teams in the AFC.

© The Steelers finished with seven sacks in eight road games this season. They'll have to fix that if they hope to get to the Super Bowl.

A healthy LaMarr Woodley opposite James Harrison will help.

© Much will be made about whether Ryan Clark plays or doesn't play in Denver.

If it's me, I'm not playing.

Clark wants to play, but it could be a life-or-death situation for him. He was the Steelers' leading tackler this season with 100 and has played solid football.

But none of his teammates will think any less of him if he doesn't play - at least not the ones I spoke with.

Having seen Clark in 2007 when he had to have his spleen removed after playing in Denver, his teammates know the hell he went through.

Plus, against Denver, is the free safety really all that important - even one who has a knack for filling the holes in the run defense?

© UPDATE: The Steelers have reportedly signed veteran cornerback Anthony Madison.

Madison, a special teams ace, would appear to be a replacement for Cortez Allen and Curtis Brown, who have been the team's best special teams gunners this season.

Brown was put on IR a couple of weeks ago, while Allen suffered a forearm injury against Cleveland Sunday.

Happy new year from Cleveland

LaMarr Woodley leads the Steelers inactives today.

Also down are Mewelde Moore, Chris Carter, Doug Legursky, Al Woods, Jamon Meredith and Arnaz Battle.

Colt McCoy is inactive for Cleveland, as is starting right tackle Tony Pashos.

Artis Hicks will start for the Browns at RT opposite Ziggy Hood and Jason Worilds.

© The weather here is pretty horrid. Windy and rainy. The temperatures are dropping and the rain could turn to snow before this is over.

Who I like this weekend

It should be a very interesting weekend in the NFL with all but a handful of games being meaningful in some way, shape or form.

Of course, here in Pittsburgh, the games everyone will be keeping an eye on will be at 4:15 p.m.

That's when Cleveland will host the Steelers, Cincinnati hosts Baltimore, Denver hosts Kansas City and Oakland hosts San Diego.

The Steelers will be as healthy as they've been in quite some time with only LaMarr Woodley sitting this one out.

Pittsburgh should be plenty motivated and the Browns are, let's face it, not very good. Cleveland will be inspired by the idea of helping to put a bump in Pittsburgh's playoff road, but the Browns are 4-11 for a reason - they earned it.

Take the Steelers, who are favored by 7, 23-13.

In Cincinnati, Marvin Lewis owns a 10-7 record against the Ravens as the Bengals' head coach and they probably would have won the game in Baltimore if not for the league's silly rule about receptions in the end zone.

The Bengals match up well against the Ravens and will have a full house for only the second time this season. The other was in a seven-point loss to the Steelers when they were driving late before being stopped by Pittsburgh.

Baltimore is a 3-point favorite but is just 3-4 on the road.

I like Cincinnati, 21-17

In Denver, Kyle Orton returns and will exact some revenge on the Broncos for cutting him to go with Tim Tebow.

The Chiefs also seem to be inspired to play for interim coach Romeo Crennel.

Kansas City is getting three points and I like the Chiefs to win, 16-14

Finally, the Raiders can win the AFC West with a win and a Denver loss.

They are three-point favorites over San Diego, which will be playing what is surely the last game of the Norv Turner era.

I like the home team in this one, 24-20.

That will leave the AFC playoff seeds as so: 1. New England 2. Pittsburgh 3. Houston 4. Oakland 5. Baltimore 6. Cincinnati

Brown named Steelers' MVP

In somewhat of a surprising vote, Antonio Brown was named the Steelers MVP after a vote of his teammates.

Not bad for a player who started three games this season.

But Brown broke the team record for yards from scrimmage in a season and has the highest kick return average for the Steelers since Mel Blount in 1970.

There were, however, a number of good candidates on this team this season, Ben Roethlisberger, Mike Wallace and Ike Taylor among them.

You could also make a case for Max Starks as well. The Steelers were 2-2 without him and have gone 9-2 with him.

© Marcus Gilbert was named the team's top rookie in somewhat of an awkward moment.

The vote, which is made by the writers who cover the team, was done before last Saturday's game.

That was also prior to anyone learning Gilbert had been benched in that game.

Gilbert, who has started 12 games this season, still deserved the award, but getting benched because you missed a meeting and apparently have a sleeping problem - ie. falling asleep in meetings - is an issue.

Hopefully, Gilbert learned his lesson here and starts going to bed a little earlier - or at least drinks some coffee.

© James Farrior won The Chief award, which is given to the player who works the best with the media that covers the team.

I voted for Casey Hampton, but it was purely for personal reasons. I wanted to see Hampton step up in front of a podium.

Hampton is always funny to talk to and really doesn't hold anything back.

But Farrior, who's a guy others look up to in that locker room, was a good choice as well.

© James Harrison returned to practice Thursday and Ben Roethlisberger and Maurkice Pouncey both went through a full practice for the second consecutive day.

Troy Polamalu sat out again with his knee issue, but I expect him to return Friday.

© It appears Chris Kemoeatu, who somehow was named third alternate to the Pro Bowl, will be back in the starting lineup Sunday for the Steelers.

Trai Essex is too valuable to have out there every down, particularly since the Steelers would like to get Pouncey out of the game if they can build a big lead.

Wednesday news and notes

Ben Roethlisberger went through a full practice on Wednesday and appears to be on course to start for the Steelers Sunday at Cleveland.

It's the first time Roethlisberger has practiced since suffering a sprained ankle Dec. 8 against the Browns.

It's also a needed step for Roethlisberger. He needs to be on the field to be ready for the playoffs.

© Things don't look quite so good for LaMarr Woodley. I spoke to Woodley at length today and he sounded like a player who was resigned to sitting out again this week to get another week's rest for his injured hamstring.

© Maurkice Pouncey was also back on the field today and says he's pain free.

© Missing from practice most notably was safety Troy Polamalu, who is said to be suffering from a knee injury.

That's a new one. Polamalu had been playing through a hamstring problem, but he was very active last Sunday against the Rams.

© Interesting to note that the Steelers finished their home schedule with 28 sacks at Heinz Field, but have just five in seven road games this season.

Tuesday with Tomlin

Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said Tuesday that there's a good chance Ben Roethlisberger, Maurkice Pouncey, LaMarr Woodley and Emmanuel Sanders will suit up and play in the team's critical game at Cleveland on Sunday.

Tomlin said the the foursome practices this week, they'll play, which would be a boost for the Steelers, who need a win over Cleveland and a loss by Baltimore at Cincinnati to clinch the AFC North title and No. 2 seed in the playoffs.

Tomlin said he expects Pouncey, Woodley and Sanders to practice on Wednesday, but would not commit to Roethlisberger doing so.

© Doug Legursky and Mewelde Moore were the only two players declared out against the Browns.

© If Trai Essex starts at left guard as expected, the Steelers would start their eighth different grouping of offensive linemen this season. They started seven different variations in 2010.

© Since averaging 3.0 yards per carry in Pittsburgh's first four games, Rashard Mendenhall has averaged 4.4 yards per carry.

That coincides with the team's signing of Max Starks to play left tackle.

© Pouncey, Roethlisberger, Troy Polamalu, Antonio Brown and Mike Wallace were named to the Pro Bowl Tuesday night.

James Harrison and Ryan Clark were among the alternates at their positions.

Getting the snub for the Steelers: Ike Taylor and Brett Keisel.

Post-Rams thoughts

Not a lot to say about this one. The Rams flat-out stink other than Steven Jackson.

As much as Maurice Jones-Drew is Jacksonville's entire offense, Jackson is the same for St. Louis.

It is somewhat troubling that, knowing that, the Steelers still permitted Jackson to rush for 100 yards and the Rams to go for 164 as a team.

The defense had been trending toward better showings against the run after some horrendous efforts early in the year.

It took a step back in that regard Saturday.

© Rashard Mendenhall takes a lot of flak from Steelers fans, who apparently prefer their runners to be 250-pound plodders.

But he made some outstanding runs in this one.

Yes, it was against St. Louis, which is awful against the run.

But coupled with Mendenhall's recent efforts - including a strong game last week at San Francisco – and you have a unit that has to at least keep opponents on edge heading into the playoffs.

Mendenhall's yards and carries are way down this season - 890 on 220 heading into Week 17 – but he's been kept fresh from having just one 20-plus carry game all season.

© Chris Kemoeatu played an entire game without a penalty

There's your early Christmas gift.

© Charlie Batch played OK in this one. Not great, but not bad.

But he didn't enough to show me that he would have led the Steelers to a win at San Francisco last week.

I'll stick with my original feeling that starting Roethlisberger in that game gave the Steelers the best chance to win. It didn't work out that way, but it's the truth.

© Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin send a message to rookie offensive tackle Marcus Gilbert, benching him because he wasn't happy with his preparation.

I've got a feeling, however, that if Baltimore would have been the opponent, Gilbert would have been out there.

© Kudos to Antonio Brown for breaking the team record for all-purpose yards in a season.

© The Steelers-Cleveland game has been moved to 4:15 p.m. and will be played at the same time as Cincinnati-Baltimore.

© Merry Christmas everyone. Enjoy your friends and family if you have the opportunity.

Who I like, St. Louis version

I know this one is up late this week, but there's a reason.

I wanted to see what the atmosphere at Heinz Field would be like on Christmas Eve before making a pick.

After seeing that, I like … nobody!

On Steelers.com, head coach Mike Tomlin made a strong comment that this game isn't all that meaningful for the Steelers, saying that while the standard is the standard, he also wants to make the most of opportunity.

The opportunity he is speaking of is not winning the AFC North or securing a first-round bye, but instead is allowing Ben Roethlisberger, LaMarr Woodley and Maurkice Pouncey to sit out against what he feels is an inferior opponent.

So much for the old line about how the other guys are getting paid as well!

It will be interesting to see how the Steelers respond to that when the head coach dismisses an opponent in that manner.

The line on the game is 12 1/2 points and I don't like the Steelers to cover it.

Take Pittsburgh, 17-9

If Roethlisberger sits, what message does it send?

It now appears to be at least a 50-50 proposition that the Steelers will rest Ben Roethlisberger this weekend against St. Louis.

Roethlisberger did not practice again Thursday and offensive coordinator Bruce Arians called him a game-time decision.

But what message does it send to the team if Roethlisberger, who said he feels better this week than he did last, doesn't play against the lowly Rams?

They don't need their best players to win?

They can afford to take the Rams lightly?

Roethlisberger did not suffer any kind of setback and if I were coaching the Steelers, he would at least start and hand the ball off a lot to Rashard Mendenhall and Isaac Redman.

© It now appears the Steelers will keep Maurkice Pouncey out of this game as well. But at least Pouncey didn't play last week.

© It is probable that the Steelers will activate running back John Clay from their practice squad to replace injured Mewelde Moore.

Moore's injury, coupled with that of Jonathan Dwyer, leaves the Steelers with only Mendenhall and Redman.

Roethlisberger laughs off report he won't play

Ben Roethlisberger was surprised by an NFL Network report that he will not play Saturday against the St. Louis Rams.

The report, made via Tweet by Jason La Canfora, claimed that team officials told him Roethlisberger would sit out against the Rams.

"The NFL Network said that? Not really, they always like to say things," Roethlisberger said when asked if he was surprised by the report.

"Unless coach has said something, I’m going to wait to hear it from him."

Roethlisberger said he expects to play.

© Maurkice Pouncey also expects to play this week. He's been fitted with a brace for his injured ankle.

Post-SF thoughts

Starting Ben Roethlisberger Monday night was absolutely the right call for the Steelers.

Roethlisberger is the Steelers' franchise quarterback, a two-time Super Bowl winner.

He said he was healthy enough to play. If that happens, he plays.

© The fact that Baltimore lost Sunday night had nothing to do with Roethlisberger playing. That decision had already been made.

© Really, there's not a lot to say about this game.

The Steelers did the one big thing against the 49ers that they absolutely needed not to do - turn the ball over.

They didn't force any of their own - though that call against Keenan Lewis for interfering with the return man was a bad one and should have resulted in a fumble recovery for the Steelers.

You can't beat anyone at minus-4.

© Steelers fans should be rooting for the Bengals.

Given Baltimore's struggles on the road this season, there's no reason a motivated Cincinnati team can't beat the Ravens at Paul Brown Stadium in Week 17.

© All the Rashard Mendenhall haters need to watch Monday night's game. He ran the ball well and hard against the league's top-rated rush defense in a game in which the Steelers needed a running game to protect their quarterback.

© The offensive line did an outstanding job keeping Roethlisberger clean until late in the game.

© The Steelers' rush defense was solid for the most part against a very good rushing attack. But where was the pressure?

The few times the Steelers did get pressure on Alex Smith, Smith threw the ball wildly.

Roethlisberger is active

Ben Roethlisberger is active tonight and will start against the 49ers.

But, the Steelers also have both Charlie Batch and Dennis Dixon active as well.

Cornerback Curtis Brown, Maurkice Pouncey, Chris Carter, Al Woods, Jamon Meredith and Emmanuel Sanders are inactive.

Who I like, San Francisco version

Who will play and who won't?

That is always a key heading into any game. And for the Steelers and 49ers, it's critical.

Being here in Pittsburgh, we all know about the question marks for the Steelers.

Obviously, James Harrison is out, suspended by the NFL for this game. But quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, safety Troy Polamalu and center Maurkice Pouncey are huge question marks for the Steelers as well.

For San Francisco, running back Frank Gore, linebacker Patrick Willis and left tackle Joe Staley are hurting.

That's a lot of star power.

Polamalu, Gore and Willis, in my opinion, are the three biggest factors there.

We all know the Steelers' struggles over the past few seasons without Polamalu. They are a Super Bowl team with him, a sub-.500 team without.

On the other hand, they proved last season they could win without Roethlisberger in the lineup – at least in the short term. And Doug Legursky is a capable replacement for Pouncey, even if he's not the Pro Bowl player Pouncey is.

Gore is San Francisco's entire offense. He's dealt with ankle and knee injuries over the past six weeks and without his running, the 49ers' offense relies solely on Alex Smith. That could be difficult without Staley at left tackle.

Gore should play, but he managed just 10 carries last week in a loss at Arizona.

And Willis is the heart and soul of San Francisco's defense. While Ray Lewis may get the publicity, it's Willis who is the best inside linebacker in football.

He's a big reason why the 49ers are allowing 3.2 yards per carry and haven't given up a rushing touchdown this season.

Regardless of who plays and who doesn't, the Steelers are the better team.

Take Pittsburgh, 17-16

© Update: Polamalu practiced today and is probable to play.

Roethlisberger was again limited and will be a game-time decision.

Pouncey is out.

No news remains good news for Harrison

Defense attorneys will tell you that the longer a jury deliberates, the better the chance is that their client will get off on whatever he is being charged with.

So it seems to be with Steelers linebacker James Harrison.

Harrison had his appeal conference call with Ted Cottrell on Wednesday at 2 p.m. And more than 24 hours later, Cottrell still had not made a ruling on Harrison's suspension for a helmet-to-helmet hit on Cleveland's Colt McCoy.

It would seem that if Cottrell was inclined to go along with the league's suspension, he would have already made an announcement in that regard.

But the longer Cottrell considers the appeal, the more it appears he is looking for a way to rescind the suspension without leaving the league with egg on its face.

© Ben Roethlisberger, Troy Polamalu and Maurkice Pouncey did not practice again on Thursday.

And that's OK. As long as they can get on the field by Saturday, they will be OK to play Monday night at San Francisco.

Wednesday news and notes

James Harrison had his appeal heard by Ted Cottrell on Wednesday and a ruling is expected to come on Thursday.

The Steelers aren't too optimistic Harrison's suspension will be lifted.

That means Jason Worilds will slide over to Harrison's spot after starting four of the past five games in place of LaMarr Woodley, who was nursing a hamstring injury.

© Woodley went through a who practice on Wednesday with no issues and looks ready to go on Monday at San Francisco.

Same goes for Emmanuel Sanders.

© Ben Roethlisberger, Troy Polamalu and Maurkice Pouncey did not practice Wednesday. But expect that to change by Friday.

Tuesday with Tomlin

As I'm sure everyone now knows, James Harrison has been suspended by the NFL for one game.

Harrison will not be permitted to be at the team facility until Dec. 20 - pending an appeal, if there is one.

Harrison Tweeted Tuesday: "Thank you to all of my fans and supporters, I'm just going to move on from here and get ready for my next game."

Harrison and his agent had earlier talked about appealing any fine/suspension, but that statement makes it sound as if Harrison will not do so. We'll see where this goes.

© I didn't think what Harrison did rose to the level of a suspension - given that he has not been fined this season.

And in that regard, the NFL has been inconsistent this season.
The league came out with a chart detailing its fine process this summmer.

Here is the link: http://blogs.nfl.com/2011/09/15/nfl-releases-details-on-fines-discipline/

The fines listed are the minimums.

As we've seen this season, other "repeat offenders," which is what Harrison - who has been fined five times since the start of the 2009 season – was not given the same leeway the league gave some other repeat offenders, teammate Ryan Clark among them.

You can't help but wonder if Harrison's statements in a magazine article released in the offseason had an affect on this.

© Mike Tomlin said Tuesday that he expects LaMarr Woodley back again this week, which will help lessen the blow of losing Harrison.

Woodley and Jason Worilds would likely start at OLB for the Steelers against the 49ers next Monday night.

Troy Polamalu (hamstring), Ben Roethlisberger (ankle) and Maurkice Pouncey (ankle) are among those who are questionable.

Tomlin said he expects Emmanuel Sanders (foot) to play as well.

I don't see Harrison being suspended

I just don't see linebacker James Harrion getting suspended for his hit on Cleveland quarterback Colt McCoy Thursday night. A stiff fine in the $40,000 range? Sure.

But he hasn't had a helmet-to-helmet hit this season.

Heck Ray Lewis has had two in the past two years as well, but he got fined the minimum for the hit on Ward, his second in two seasons.

The NFL seems to have reset the clock this year, even though it says it didn't.

Steelers safety Ryan Clark's big fine came on his second offense, even though he had also been fined last season.

People are comparing this to Ndomukong Suh, but Suh had multiple infractions both this year and last. And, I might add, what he did came after a play was over. His stomp that was the final straw wasn't done in the context of playing the game.

© Ben Roethlisberger was in a walking boot today. So was Maurkice Pouncey.

Some have questioned why Roethlisberger was able to return to the game with the same injury that Pouncey was unable to come back from.

It's simple, really. Roethlisberger isn't pushing on a 320-pound defensive tackle on every play like Pouncey needs to be able to do.

Roethlisberger's mobility was very limited following the injury. But he got by.

Pouncey would not have been able to do the same thing.

Post-Clevleand thoughts

I predicted 27-10 in this one and it should have been a three-score win had the Steelers not turned the ball over three times in the red zone - four counting an interception at the 15 by Ben Roethlisberger. I count turnovers on downs as turnovers, even though the Steelers don't.

When I asked Mike Tomlin if he had any doubt about going for it on fourth-and-goal from the 1, he replied, "None. If you can't score on four shots from the 2, you potentially deserve to lose the game."

© If there was any doubt about who the toughest QB in the league is, just watch the tape of this game.

© Chris Kemoeatu should be cut, re-signed, and then cut again.

Three penalties in two and a half quarters of play? Are you serious?

I was watching Full Metal Jacket the other night and had several of R. Lee Ermey's famous lines come to mind while watching that.

The worst thing about it was that Kemoeatu was getting called for holding penalties and still allowing his man to hit Roethlisberger.

If you're going to hold the man, hold him so he doesn't hit your quarterback.

© Even though the score was 7-3 through three quarters, you never really had the idea that the Browns were going to even kick a field goal to make it interesting.

That was still the case even after James Harrison's roughing the passer penalty against Colt McCoy.

Did Harrison hit the quarterback in the head after he threw? Yep.

But McCoy had also tucked the ball and started running with it prior to dumping the ball off when he saw Harrison peel off of Montario Hardesty.

Tough call, but he's going to be fined for it.

© Same goes for James Farrior, who called McCoy a "good actor" after Farrior was penalized for knocking him down three yards out of bounds.

Farrior said he barely brushed McCoy when he went sprawling.

When I asked him if he wished he'd have just drilled McCoy – since he drew the penalty and likely a fine anyway – Farrior replied, "I wish I would have."

© Ziggy Hood said he didn't feel like his sore groin was serious and that he will be back by the time the Steelers play San Francisco.

Who I like, Cleveland version

The Steelers continually made a point of saying that the Browns are No. 1 in the league against the pass and eighth overall in total defense.

It's a farce. Cleveland's pass numbers are so good because everybody is running like crazy against them, particularly in recent weeks.

Over the past five games, the Browns have given up 1,098 rushing yards, nearly 220 per game.

Why throw the ball a lot when you can do that?

The Steelers will have a similar game plan tonight. They'll come out throwing and use the no-huddle to build a lead and then turn things over to Rashard Mendenhall and Isaac Redman to finish it off.

And on the short week against a team with five rookies in the starting lineup, this could get ugly.

Take the Steelers to win 27-10

Tuesday news and notes

A bevy of Steelers did not practice today. In fact, the Steelers really didn't practice. It was more of a glorified walkthrough using a Nerf ball instead of a normal one for most of the session.

But two players who did not work were linebacker LaMarr Woodley and wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders.

The bet here is that neither will play Thursday against Cleveland.

Offensive coordinator Bruce Arians said Sanders favored his sore knee and ended up with a sore foot. Sanders had surgery on both feet in the offseason and likely will sit until the Steelers travel to San Francisco.

One player who did practice was guard Ramon Foster. He looks like he'll play against the Browns.

© Nose tackle Chris Hoke will have neck surgery next week and his season is done.

It's likely Hoke's career is finished as well.

Apparently his stinger issue was not getting any better and the best course of action was surgery.

© Arians said today that its a priority for him to get Hines Ward the 10 catches he needs to get to 1,000 career receptions - so long as its in the context of winning football games.

The Steelers wanted to get Ward some more catches against Cincinnati, but the Bengals doubled him all over the field, knowing what the Steelers were up to.

Post-Cincinnati thoughts part II

It's funny how a game is looked at as total domination and the Steelers had just 295 yards of offense, their third-lowest total of the season.

Then again, many of the starters were pulled midway through the fourth quarter.

The most impressive thing about this victory for the Steelers was that their running game was highly effective. Pittsburgh picked up 136 yards on the ground of 33 carries against a good Cincinnati front seven.

That set up a lot of the other things the Steelers did offensively.

And Pittsburgh's domination up front was never more apparent than on its final scoring drive in the third quarter when Rashard Mendenhall and Isaac Redman combined for five carries for 48 yards during a 93-yard drive.

If the Steelers can keep that up, they are going to be tough to beat in January.

© The Steelers have been looking for ways to get talented rookie corner Cortez Allen into their dime package and may have found it.

They brought safety Ryan Clark off the field at times in the dime in favor or Allen, giving them four corners and Troy Polamalu on the field at the same time.

That's a lot of coverage.

© It was nice to see Hines Ward get his 12,000 yards in front of the home crowd, which gave him a nice ovation for the feat.

It also didn't seem like the Steelers forced the issue, just allowing it to happen.

© The Steelers have now won seven of their past eight games and beaten Cincinnati (twice) and New England during that stretch.

That doesn't look to bad on the résumé.

The win over Kansas City wasn't all that inspiring, but there was plenty to be optimistic about following the dismantling of the Bengals.

© LaMarr Woodley told me after the game that he could wind up being a part-time player for a period of time until he gets his wind back.

That's the trouble with hamstring injuries. Unlike James Harrison, who was out with an eye injury and therefore able to keep his cardio up, Woodley's exercises have been limited to stretching and such to build his hamstring strength.

He said his hamstring felt "tired" Sunday, so the Steelers shut him down.

Having Jason Worilds prove that he can be competitive out there helps the situation.

© Steelers special teams coach Al Everest was taken aback when asked if he thought Curtis Brown had a block on in the back on Antonio Brown's 60-yard punt return touchdown at the end of the first half.

"You could call three of those on any play," said Everest. "We've had them go against us."

But not on this occasion.

In the grand scheme of things, it wouldn't have mattered. It's likely that with two timeouts, the Steelers would have gotten the ball at their own 30 and at least gotten into field goal range. But even if they didn't, this game was never in question.

Nate Clements down for the Bengals

Nate Clements is inactive for the Bengals today, meaning Kelly Jennings will be in the starting lineup.

In the first meeting with the Bengals, the Steelers went into the game hoping to target Jennings, who stinks.

Now, he's starting opposite Pac Man Jones.

I originally predicted a 24-20 Pittsburgh win, but we can bump that a bit and make it 27-17 Steelers.

Who I like, Cincinnati version II

It's rare that two division opponents meet so soon after playing just a couple of weeks before, but that is what faces the Steelers and Bengals this week.

The Bengals have gone 1-1 since losing to the Steelers Nov. 13, while the Steelers have played just once, winning last week in Kansas City, 13-9, coming off their bye.

The Bengals suffered a big loss in the previous meeting, a 24-17 Pittsburgh victory in Cincinnati, as cornerback Leon Hall was lost for the season to an Achilles' tendon injury.

That's huge considering Hall is their best cover corner.

Against the Steelers, that's a considerable loss. While Baltimore and Cleveland, Cincinnati's past two opponents, aren't built to exploit the loss of Hall, the Steelers are.

Pittsburgh is getting healthy as well, as linebacker LaMarr Woodley will make his return after sitting out three games with a hamstring injury.

The Steelers are 6 1/2-point favorites and that's a pretty big spread against a solid Cincinnati club.

I like the Steelers to win, but the Bengals to cover in a 24-20 Pittsburgh victory.

Wednesday news and notes

It appears the Steelers will get linebacker LaMarr Woodley back this weekend to face the Cincinnati Bengals.

Woodley was a full participant in practice Wednesday and looked good moving around.

His return would help bolster a defense that has recorded just 24 sacks this season. Woodley and James Harrison, who have played just three full games together this season due to injuries, have recorded 14 of those 24 sacks.

© Emmanuel Sanders said today that he has been told he will continue to return kickoffs this week and he guaranteed that he will do a better job of it than he did last week at Kansas City.

I also spoke to Antonio Brown, who had been handling all of those duties, about it and he said he takes way more of a beating returning kicks than he does punts.

Remember, Sanders was the team's primary kick returner last season and averaged 25.1 yards per return.

© Troy Polamalu and Maurkice Pouncey did not practice today, but both are expected to be ready to play against the Bengals.

Tuesday with Tomlin

Steelers coach Mike Tomlin sounded optimistic about LaMarr Woodley returning to the lineup this week against the Bengals. Woodley has missed the past three games with a hamstring injury.

Same goes for safety Troy Polamalu. Tomlin said Polamalu has not had any concussion symptoms since Sunday and actually didn't have any during the game. But the Steelers erred on the side of caution.

I thought from the beginning Polamalu's injury appeared to be more of a shoulder than a head and watching it again, that still appeared to be the case.

Getting Woodley back would be huge for the Steelers. Stevenson Sylvester missed Sunday's game with a calf injury, while rookie Chris Carter and Larry Foote went down with hamstring injuries against the Chiefs. That left the Steelers with just four linebackers to finish Sunday's game.

© Tomlin said he was unhappy with the results in the return game Sunday night. That could mean that Antonio Brown, who had been returning all the kicks, could move back into that spot.

Emmanuel Sanders was used in some situations against the Chiefs.

I'm not a big fan of using a starter as your primary return man. Why give some team's scrubs a shot at a receiver who's on pace to go over 1,000 yards receiving?

Post-Kansas City thoughts

Sloppy is the only way to describe the Steelers' 13-9 win at Kansas City Sunday night.

And not just sloppy play, but coaching as well.

Both the offensive and defensive units were penalized for having 12 men on the field. I can't remember the last time that was called on the Steelers once, let alone twice, in the same game.

Add to that Ben Roethlisberger's inexplicable brain cramp when he waived the punting team off the field on fourth down in the third quarter from the KC 39, only to take a timeout with time expiring and you get the idea that nobody's head was really in this game.

Kansas City outcoached and outplayed the Steelers for much of this game. The Steelers were fortunate that Tyler Palko was in the Christmas mood and kept on giving.

© Any game plan in which Mewelde Moore gets five first-half touches compared to none for Mike Wallace in the first two quarters of play is not a good one.

Nothing against Moore, who's made some big plays over the years, but Wallace is one of the premiere game changers in the league.

I also realize he was being doubled constantly and some of Moore's touches came on dumpoffs and such, but you've got to get the ball into Wallace's hands.

© The same theory is why Hines Ward isn't a big part of this offense any longer.

Who would you rather have the ball, Ward or Antonio Brown?

Yes, Ward came up with a big third-down catch, but his other three receptions went for seven yards.

Wallace, by the way, finished with two catches. Ward and Moore combined for seven for 30 yards.

© Hard to believe that LaMarr Woodley would have had a more impactful game than the one Jason Worilds played.

Subbing for Woodley, Worilds had six tackles, including one for a loss, four hurries and the Steelers' lone sack.

© The coaches were also raving about the catch Wes Saunders made in the back of the end zone for the game's lone TD as well.

Couple that with the fact that Saunders is a credible blocker and you have to feel a little better about the Steelers' overall depth.

© Oh, and did I mention that Ryan Mundy had a team-high 10 tackles and an interception?

© The Steelers played poorly and stole a game on the road. Baltimore has played poorly on the road a couple of times this season and lost.

It happens.

The biggest issue is that the offensive line just doesn't seem to handle crowd noise well, which could be an issue in the postseason.

There weren't a lot of Steelers fans in Kansas City Sunday night and pretty much every offensive lineman had a holding penalty – except Chris Kemoeatu. Go figure.

Steelers-Chiefs news, notes

Don't look for the Steelers to use any of the pony formation tonight as they did when Ben Roethlisberger was having injury problems a year ago.

Head coach Mike Tomlin hates the formation.

© It's a little windy and cold here at Arrowhead Stadium, my favorite venue in the NFL.

© Cincinnati had to deal with a little emotional letdown today after playing the Steelers and Ravens in back-to-back weeks.

To the Bengals' credit, they found a way to win at home against Cleveland.

The bad news is that they now have to face the Steelers again next week - in Pittsburgh.

© LaMarr Woodley is down again tonight for the Steelers. Emmanuel Sanders is active.

Also out for the Steelers are Dennis Dixon, Stevenson Sylvester, Al Woods, Jamon Meredith, Chris Hoke and Arnaz Battle.

Who I Like, KC version

I thought the Chiefs were highly overrated last season and took advantage of an easy schedule. This season, that is proving true.

Kansas City is 4-6, but the Chiefs have been blown out by four or more touchdowns in four games this season.

If it weren't for Indianapolis and a couple of wins over AFC West opponents, everyone would be asking what happened to the Chiefs.

The Steelers are also as healthy as they have been all year. Yes, LaMarr Woodley will sit out again, but it won't matter against Tyler Palko.

Palko may have all the football smarts in the world - and I don't doubt the he does - but what he doesn't have is an NFL-caliber arm.

And given that the Chiefs have trouble running the ball, that's not a good combination.

Take the Steelers to win, 31-6

Wednesday news and notes

Doug Legursky is fully healthy and will return to the starting lineup when the Steelers play Sunday night at Kansas City - in place of Chris Kemoeatu at left guard.

Kemoeatu, a four-year starter, said he considered the move a demotion, though he did say the coaching staff told him he just doesn't look healthy out there.

Kemoeatu has been dealing with a knee injury all season.

The move doesn't come as a huge surprise. Kemoeatu has struggled throughout his career with his pass protection and Ben Roethlisberger has been sacked 31 times, the fourth-most in the NFL.

© Only Roethlisberger, LaMarr Woodley and Arnaz Battle were limited in practice today, the healthiest the Steelers have been all season.

© Roethlisberger said today that offensive coordinator Bruce Arians talked to the offensive unit about forgoing personal goals in order for the team to win.

That could have been aimed at Hines Ward - though Ward has handled his demotion well. It also could have been aimed at Mike Wallace - who has been getting frustrated regarding his lack of looks of late due to opponents doubling him.

In the last month, Antonio Brown has 26 receptions, Wallace 20 and Heath Miller 19.

© Perhaps this would only interest me, perhaps not.

The Steelers are 7-0 when they have a higher third down conversion rate than their opponent, 0-3 when they don't.

Tuesday with Tomlin, coming out of the bye

From the sound of things, Mike Tomlin expects Emmanuel Sanders to be available when the Steelers travel to Kansas City this weekend.

Sanders has been out of action a couple of weeks following the death of his mother and having his knee scoped.

What that means for Hines Ward remains to be seen. Tomlin said the team hasn't come up with its complete game plan yet for the Chiefs and decided on what role, if any, Ward will play.

One thing that likely won't happen is Ward being a healthy scratch. No. 6 receiver Arnaz Battle, a special teams ace, is still dealing with a hamstring injury and won't play this week.

But what happens when Battle is healthy is anyone's guess.

© Linebacker LaMarr Woodley is continuing to work his way back from a hamstring injury. Tomlin said he'll continue to be limited in practice for now. But he's been less limited of late than he was a couple of weeks ago - when limited meant he did some work with trainers.

© Tomlin said there are a couple of reasons for Cameron Heyward's lack of playing time against the Bengals.

Tomlin doesn't want to take Brett Keisel and Ziggy Hood off the field – "they are highly conditioned athletes" – and the Steelers have been playing more sub packages that use only two defensive linemen.

Things that make me go hmmm

The Steelers have scored points on 60 percent of their opening possessions of the game. On all of their other possessions, they score 34 percent of the time.

Offensive coordinator Bruce Arians scripts the first 15 plays of the game and - seemingly - they work well.

It makes me wonder why the team struggles so much after they're done with the script.

Part of it, I'm sure, are adjustments made by the other team. Another part of the blame could also fall on quarterback Ben Roethlisberger's shoulders.

Roethlisberger calls audibles quite a bit and sometimes it just doesn't work.

Perhaps the best thing would be for the Steelers to run Arians' scripted plays and then go to a no-huddle, when Roethlisberger seems to be at his best.

© Pittsburgh is unbeaten when it scores on its opening possession, 1-3 when it doesn't.

© It's been a tough couple of weeks for quarterbacks, with Jay Cutler going down on Sunday.

This came after Matt Cassell, Matt Schaub and others were lost for the season the weekend before.

It shows why the league has the protection rules in place for its QBs. We'll see tonight how Tyler Palko does replacing Cassell.

© If that wasn't a touchdown by Cincinnati's Jermaine Gresham in the fourth quarter against Baltimore, they should just stop playing the game.

Gresham pulled the ball in, had it under his control when he crossed the goal line and took three steps.

Then he lost the ball when he went to the ground.

If that happened in the field of play, it's a catch. If he were a runner and did that, it's a touchdown.

But since the ball was thrown, it's not a score?

Ridiculous. It's a rule that needs to be changed.

Who I like, Cincinnati at Baltimore

This is a big game and you all know all the reasons why for the Steelers.

The Bengals are going to have a bit of an adjustment to make without top corner Leon Hall in the lineup. But Ray Lewis is also banged up for the Ravens, which could help negate that against a solid Cincinnati run game.

Know this, in his last four games against the Bengals, Joe Flacco has thrown two touchdown passes and nine - count 'em - nine interceptions.

Also, after giving Ray Rice just five carries last week - you've gotta love Cam Cameron - expect the Ravens to try to get him a lot more involved this week. That's all well and good, but the Bengals can actually stop the run pretty well.

Baltimore is also finally expected to get Lee Evans back.

If this game were in Cincinnati, I'd pick the Bengals. As it is, I still like them to cover the 7-point spread.

Rookie QB Andy Dalton is playing some good football.

Take Baltimore to win, but Cincinnati to cover in a 23-17 loss

Roethlisberger injury no big deal

Ben Roethlisberger announced to the world today that he has a broken thumb on his throwing hand.

Let the drama begin.

Actually, the break is a small fracture, one he played with before in 2005. It didn't hinder Roethlisberger then and it won't now.

The one difference is that the Steelers are now primarily a passing team as opposed to 2005, when if he threw it 30 times in a game, it was a lot.

The Steelers will splint the thumb and he'll wear a glove to protect it. And as we've seen in the past, Roethlisberger usually plays better, more focused football, when injured.

The news could have been worse. Think about the situations in KC, Philadelphia and Houston.

Post-Cincinnati thoughts

I've said it before and I'll say it again, there's a reason why they play the games.

And that's all I'm going to say about what happened in Seattle on Sunday.

© Tough day all around for Heath Miller. First he gets hammered a half-second after making a catch by Reggie Nelson; then he bobbles a ball that gets intercepted; and finally he draws an iffy pass interference penalty that negates a touchdown.

To me, the hit by Nelson, by the way, was on a defenseless receiver. The only thing was that Miller held onto the ball.

© The bye comes at a good time for the Steelers.

They'll get LaMarr Woodley and Emmanuel Sanders back in two weeks. And Ben Roethlisberger got pretty beaten up in this game. Cincinnati was credited with 13 QB hits and added five sacks.

© The Bengals are going to be a team to be reckoned with moving forward. They're building a nice nucleus, though the loss of top corner Leon Hall Sunday will hurt them moving forward this season.

© Mike Tomlin said the decision to keep Hines Ward on the bench was his and that Ward was OK to play. But if Tomlin admitted he was protecting Ward, who was coming back from 'concussion-like symptoms,' he might have gotten himself in trouble with the league for playing him in the first place.

With Arnaz Battle and Sanders out, the Steelers needed Ward active. But they didn't need to play him all that much and risk further injury.

And Jerricho Cotchery is getting more comfortable in the Pittsburgh offense.

This is going to be a scary wide receiver group moving forward.

© All the people who wanted to bench/cut William Gay coming out of last week's game can see why the Steelers didn't do so. Gay is having an outstanding season.

© The Steelers were 3-4 scoring touchdowns in red zone trips Sunday. But some people will still complain about the one trip inside the 20 in which they didn't score.

Of course, they actually did score a touchdown on that trip as well - only Miller was called for the penalty.

© With their two turnovers Sunday, the Steelers now have six for the season. That still puts them on pace for just under 10 for the season.

Makes you wonder how they're 7-3.

But they have forced three turnovers in the past two weeks, so maybe they're turning the corner there.

© The lack of turnovers, in my opinion, is because the only player in their secondary who can consistently play the ball in the air, Troy Polamalu, is spending so much time at the line of scrimmage because of the team's issues against the run.

And the corners, who don't play the ball well to begin with, are playing more man, which doesn't allow for a lot of picks either.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

© Can't wait to watch the Ravens and Bengals play next week.

Steelers inactives

Chris Hoke, Al Woods, LaMarr Woodley, Arnaz Battle, Emmanuel Sanders, Dennis Dixon, Jamon Meredith down for the Steelers today.

The Steelers catch a break with Carlos Dunlap inactive for the Bengals.

Who I like, Cincinnati version

I have to admit, I'm surprised at how well the Bengals are playing this season. The defense, which has been solid the past couple of years, is again playing well - not having allowed more than 20 points in a game - and the offense isn't making the big mistake.

That's really saying something considering the Bengals have started rookie Andy Dalton at QB all season.

But the Bengals have also not faced a quarterback as good as Ben Roethlisberger this season, beating the likes of Colt McCoy, Curtis Painter, etc.

Yes, they beat the Buffalo Bills, their only quality win this season, but that was coming off a game in which the Bills won their Super Bowl, having knocked off New England for the first time in a decade the week before.

The same could be said of the Steelers this season. They have only beaten one quality opponent - New England.

But, the Steelers are a proven commodity, much more so than the Bengals.

And something tells me the rookie QB isn't quite ready for what he's going to see Sunday.

How do I know this?

When asked this week if the city is starting to buzz about how well the Bengals are playing Dalton replied that it must be because the game is a sellout, the first one for the Bengals this season.

What Dalton didn't realize is that it's a sellout because Paul Brown Stadium will be filled to the rim with Steelers fans.

Take the Steelers, 24-17

Wednesday news and notes

Ryan Clark was fined $40,000 for his penalized hit on Baltimore tight end Ed Dickson last Sunday and he and his teammates aren't happy about it.

This is the second week in a row Clark has been fined. He got hit with a $15,000 fine for hitting New England tight end Rob Gronkowski out of bounds two weeks ago.

Meanwhile, Baltimore's Ray Lewis was fined $20,000 for his unpenalized helmet-to-helmet hit on Hines Ward that knocked Ward out of the game.

And therein lies part of my problem with the way the NFL levies its fines.

If a player draws a penalty for what it deemed and illegal hit, hasn't he already paid - and by extension, his team - for the incident?

How can an incident that drew a flag also draw a larger fine for a hit that wasn't flagged and also knocked a player out of a game?

Some will say it is because Clark is a repeat offender, and there is some truth to that. But Lewis has also been fined for illegal hits in the past.

James Harrison said he has not heard anything from the league about a potential fine from Sunday's game. ESPN reported that Harrison will be fined, but Harrison said that was speculation on the part of reporter Adam Schefter.

He does not expect to be fined.

© Mike Tomlin released this statement in regard to the fine on Clark: "I think the fine that Ryan Clark received was excessive. I am a proponent of player safety and the league's pursuit of improvement in this area. I, like the vast majority of people in this industry, witness daily the steep price that these young men pay to play this game on so many levels. Ryan has my full support if he chooses to appeal this in any way."

© Ben Roethlisberger talked about the final sequence of plays at the end of the game against the Ravens today. Here's what he had to say:

Q: Ben, in retrospect, would you just rather have run the ball three times at the end?

Unfortunately, the plays were there. It was either a miscommunication where one guy saw something and the other guy say something else. The plays were there. You can look at it now and say, ‘If we would have done this, this would have happened.’ You can do that in every sport after every game. We’ll go and we’ll stay aggressive because that’s the kind of offense we are.

Q: Re: The miscommunications?

I think it’s always going to happen. I guarantee that Tom Brady and Peyton Manning and those guys that you say are the best offenses, have had miscommunications. You have to limit them. You can’t have them in key situations like that with guys that you expect to make the plays. If you have one a game, you have one a game, but we have to limit them and not have them in key situations.

Q: You and Mewelde Moore have completed a lot of passes over the years.

He’s running a flat route and he’s got the option to turn it up late. He felt he had the linebacker on him, which he did, he could beat him turning it up the field. He’s supposed to wait a second to see if I wait half a second to turn it up. He was excited about turning it up because he had the backer trailing him. I was trying to get it to him in the flat to get the first down. That’s one of those things that it’s the first time it ever happened and it probably won’t ever happen again.

Tuesday with Tomlin

Mike Tomlin said today that Emmanuel Sanders had his knee scoped and will be out until after the bye.

Daniel Sepulveda also had surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his knee, but he's already been placed on injured reserve.

Hines Ward is OK after suffering from "concussion-like symptoms" following an illegal helmet-to-helmet hit by Ray Lewis that was not flagged during the game.

They'll watch Ward this week to determine his status for Sunday's game at Cincinnati.

LaMarr Woodley could possibly return this week, but there's a better chance James Farrior comes back.

If Farrior returns, Lawrence Timmons could be moved to left outside linebacker - where he lined up at times Sunday - with Farrior and Larry Foote inside.

Wide receiver Jerricho Cotchery is experiencing some swelling in his knee, but is expected to be OK.

Steelers-Ravens thoughts II

The Steelers locker room was as subdued Sunday night as it was after they lost the Super Bowl in February.

There were no what ifs or questioning of officials calls. There was only shock that the vaunted Pittsburgh defense had allowed Joe Flacco and the Ravens to drive 92 yards in the closing moments to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat in a 23-20 win over the Steelers.

Pittsburgh's defense did a much better job of bottling up Ray Rice Sunday night, limiting him to 43 yards on 18 carries and five catches for 43 yards.

But at what cost.

While the concern about not allowing Rice to beat them as he did in a 35-7 win in Baltimore earlier this season was understandable, the Steelers, for whatever reason, couldn't seem to get off the field on third downs.

Baltimore was a ridiculous 14 of 21 on third down and converted its only fourth-down attempt.

That allowed the Ravens to run 77 plays, compared to 58 for the Steelers.

© The main culprits were the secondary.

While William Gay will get tortured because he's everybody's favorite whipping boy and he gave up the game-winning score, Ike Taylor may have been worse in this game.

If not for Torrey Smith's poor hands, it would have been Taylor, not Gay, who allowed the go-ahead score.

© If Ryan Clark had hit Hines Ward the way Ray Lewis did in the first quarter, a penalty flag would have been thrown.

That hit on Ward was clearly helmet to helmet and should have resulted in a penalty.

Clark was flagged for a hit on Smith later in the game that, while a penalty under the letter of the (new) law, wasn't nearly as vicious as the hit Lewis put on Ward.

© While we're on the subject of Ward, I apparently no longer know what constitutes a catch in the NFL.

Ward caught the ball, got hit in the head by Lewis, yet went to the ground with the ball in his possession. Once he landed, the ball was knocked loose by a defender's behind.

Ward was already flat on his back when the ball finally came loose, or at least that's the way I saw it from the replays I viewed.

© I've been a pretty harsh critic of Joe Flacco over the years. But the Steelers have seemed to bring the best out in him this season.

I still don't think Flacco is a championship-caliber quarterback. But he seems to be getting the hang of playing against the Steelers defense.

© I understand Mike Tomlin's hesitation to send Shaun Suisham onto the field to kick what would have been a 47-yard field goal into the open end of Heinz Field late in the game with the Steelers up 20-16.

With a new holder and kicking into that end, it was probably about a 50-50 proposition that Suisham would have made the kick.

But how about using a timeout? How about keeping the offense on the field and just going for it, driving a dagger into the Ravens?

Instad, Tomlin hesitated, the Steelers took a delay of game penalty and gave the ball back to the Ravens.

That said, the defense still could have come up with a stop.

Baltimore-Pittsburgh game thread

James Farrior is down for the Steelers tonight, a move that is not surprising. But the decision to scratch Chris Hoke is somewhat interesting.

No real surprises for the Ravens on the inactive list.

The loser of tonight's game falls behind the Bengals in the AFC North standings.

Steelers place Sepulveda on IR

The Steelers on Saturday placed punter Daniel Sepulveda on IR, replacing him with Jeremy Kapinos.

Sepulveda's name surprisingly came up on the injury list Friday as he was listed as questionbale with a knee injury to his plant leg.

The injury is to the same knee that cost him the final four games of the 2010 season and marks the third time in his career that he will end the season on IR.

Sepulveda was having his best season in 2011, averaging 46.1 yards per punt.

Kapinos replaced Sepulveda for the final four games and in the postseason in 2010, averaging 41.9 yards per kick.

Who I like, Baltimore version II

Going into their Week 1 loss at Baltimore, the Steelers had a 6-0 record against the Ravens when Ben Roethlisberger was their starting quarterback.

The Ravens forced seven turnovers in that game, including five by Roethlisberger, whipping the Steelers, 35-7.

Since then, the Steelers have turned the ball over six times, including just twice in their current four-game winning streak.

As for the Ravens, they've looked like garbage in six of the past eight quarters they've played - at least offensively.

A big reason for that is the regression of Joe Flacco.

Flacco's 75.4 passer rating and 53.8 completion percentage have him keeping company with the likes of Curtis Painter, Matt Moore and Blaine Gabbert.

Imagine what those numbers would be if he hadn't checked down 33 times to running back Ray Rice.

Rice will be tough for the Steelers to handle, but without Lee Evans in this game, Ike Taylor, who followed Evans all over the field the first time these two teams met, will likely match up one-on-one against Anquan Boldin.

That's going to make life just a little more difficult for Flacco, who has led the Ravens to one win in three road games - that one win being at St. Louis.

Take Pittsburgh to win, 20-16

Wednesday news and notes

Ben Roethlisberger was named AFC Offensive Player of the Week for the second time in the month of October.

Roethlisberger has a good chance to also be named offensive player of the month in October after completing 114 of 176 passes for 1,360 yards, 11 touchdowns and three interceptions in five games last month as the Steelers went 4-1.

That's a passer rating of 102.0 for those of you keeping track at home.

© Quote of the day came from the Ravens' Terrell Suggs via conference call with the Pittsburgh media.

Suggs, when questioned about the ferocity of the rivalry with the Steelers said, "F$#% it. Let's do it."

Suggs also called Heinz Field his, "Madison Square Garden," and several times referred to getting his p@$$ hot, particularly when talking about Hines Ward.

© The Steelers will wear their throwback uniforms this week. Maybe the Ravens can wear their throwbacks as well. Oh wait, they already do.

Then again, perhaps they could wear some old Colts unis.

© The Steelers released nose tackle Elisha Joseph from their practice squad and signed wide receiver Jamar Newsome.

Wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders will be dealing with the death of his mother all week and, with Ward still limited with an ankle injury, the Steelers needed an extra receiver to practice.

© The Steelers listed a number of players as limited in practice Wednesday. Some were much less limited than others.

Tueday with Tomlin (Baltimore edition)

Mike Tomlin declared just one person out for Sunday's game against Baltimore - guard Doug Legursky.

As expected, Tomlin said linebacker James Harrison has been cleared to practice and that his status, along with that of LaMarr Woodley, James Farrior and Jason Worilds would be determined later in the week.

But that was purely coach speak.

More realistically, Worilds is the only player expected to return and the Steelers aren't sure what they are going to get from him since he has very little playing experience.

More telling was Tomlin's statement that the Steelers might have to line up with a four-man defensive line - though you can assume if they do that, Brett Keisel may do so as a stand-up end, sometimes dropping into coverage.

© New to the injury list this week is wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders, who has a left knee issue.

Sanders is also dealing with the death of his mother.

© Hines Ward could return this week after sitting out against New England with an ankle injury.