PLEASE Note: New E-mail Address!!

I have been having a lot of issues with my Steelers e-mail account recently, so I just decided to create another account with Google gmail instead of continuing to deal with these problems (which is an inconvenience to everyone)!

To contact me, my new e-mail address is (please make note and update your address books):

thesteelcitysportsfan@gmail.com

No Better Time for the "Bye" Week

The "bye" week couldn't come at a better time for me since it's allowing me to "catch up" on my blog!! While everyone else is trying to conjour up ideas to fill in the "off time," I'm getting to go over what I've missed (and a recap for you that won't feel too much like the re-run of Spring Break on MTV that you just can't stand by the 3rd time around).

But most imortantly, it's coming at a great time for the Steelers. They seem to be undergoing major adversity with all of their injuries and 1 battered QB that can use the time to work through his bumps and bruises.

This is just a short introduction of what I hope to cover today and throughout the week until the next game on the 19th against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Serious LACK of Updates

I apologize to any faithful readers I may have for this blog!!

I've been devoting alot of what time I have to my Pens blog (I'm a bigger hockey fan than football fan, if you can believe that)!!

I'm hoping that with this bye-week, I can do a little catch-up because I'd rather not stop something I already started (i.e., close the blog down), so PLEASE BEAR WITH ME!!

Thanks!

Big Ben Back at Practice

Despite the fact that Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin reported at his press conference on Tuesday that QB Ben Roethlisberger was expected to be limited at practice, he took part in the team’s full practice yesterday.

Roethlisberger's shoulder injury continues to be a small issue but it's much better than it was a week ago.

“I feel better,” said Roethlisberger. “Obviously it’s sore. Who in here isn’t sore who plays this game? But, it’s definitely better and we’re making progress.”

“On Thursday, I took all the snaps and instead of throwing I just went through all the motions and pointed to the guy I would have thrown to,” said Roethlisberger. “It’s a way to the play, as coach said, in the helmet and it’s good to be mentally in there.”

Yesterday, much of the news media was focused on Ben's shoulder wanting to clear up the confusion (they should've just visited my blog!), but Roethlisberger was not particularly open to discussing the matter saying that "it's still attached" and not worth discussing further.

It was also one of the discussions last night on the Subway Nightly Sports Call between Bob Pompiani and Bob Smizak. When Pompiani asked where he thought the confusion was coming from, Smizak was certain that Roethlisberger had everything to do with it (i.e., he was the one who reported that his shoulder was separated to NBC and whoever else would listen). Whatever, if he gets the job done - WHO CARES?! So what if he seeks a little attention (perhaps wanting to make himself look like a better QB playing "hurt") - let's face it, he's a "high maintanence" QB - maybe it's because of his young age and something he'll "outgrow," but he get's the job done and I think we've given him enough time talking about his latest injury; let's move on!

NEXT --

You Say "Sprained" and I Say "Separated"

The debate continues regarding quarterback Ben Roethlisberger's shoulder. Although only a few minutes were dedicated to talking about it during Coach Tomlin's press conference yesterday, it's still as clear as it was the day before - clear as mud!

As previously posted, Tomlin reported that Roethlisberger has a sore shoulder ("sprain") and he is unaware as to who told the media (specifically NBC sportscasters) that his shoulder was separated.

Perhaps the answer lies in the fact that an AC sprain is a slight separation as pointed out by Jory Rand last night on KDKA-TV news. He was the first one to actually look into the medical terminology (although I don't remember which medical source he referenced). I took his lead and "googled" "shoulder AC sprain" and most of which gave short descriptions including "sprain / separation" in the explanation, so I just picked the University Sports Medicine site.

This site explains that there are different grades of sprains (but the description involves some type of separation). Here's the part of the description that would best narrow in on our area of confusion (taken directly from the source):

Shoulder separations, or sprains, are graded I, II, or III depending on how far the collarbone is separated from the shoulder

• A Grade I sprain has tenderness but no actual separation
• A Grade II sprain has slight separation of the clavicle from the shoulder
• A Grade III sprain has even more separation
  

LET'S CALL THE WHOLE THING OFF!

Roethlisberger Still Feeling the Effects

Steelers quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger's shoulder is still sore from a hit he took during the game against the Houston Texans.

“Hopefully he will progress like he did last week,” said Tomlin. “I met with him and he said he feels better this week than he did a week ago, which is good.”

Unlike previous speculation that was reported during last Sunday night's game coverage, Roethlisberger’s shoulder was not separated. The injury is classified as an AC sprain and when asked about the false report, Tomlin responded that he had no idea and that the information did not come from him or Steelers medical staff.

Tomlin added that Roethlisberger will be limited in practice, but it's not something to be concerned about.

“Some guys require a great number of snaps to be prepared to play, some guys can learn visually in the film room and some need physical reps,” said Tomlin. "Thankfully with Ben he is a quick study and sharp guy. He can learn in a variety of ways, film study, visual reps and so forth. It doesn’t take him a great deal of reps to be ready to play, at least in my experience.

“I thought he played pretty well the other night. Hopefully it won’t be an issue if he is limited this week. I know it won’t be an excuse.”

Keisel "Week-to-Week" with Calf Sprain

During his weekly press conference, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin reported that they will be without defensive end Brett Keisel on Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Keisel left the 1st quarter of last Sunday night's game against the Cleveland Browns due to a calf strain and his status is week-to-week.

Coach Tomlin did not announce a replacement player, but indicated it won't be just a single player to fill the spot. Travis Kirschke, Nick Eason, and Orpheus Roye are all expected to play.

“We followed the rotation principle at the defensive line,” said Tomlin. “We have suited six guys and played six. Now is an opportunity for Orpheus Roye to step up into the rotation. It won’t be one guy; it will be a collection of guys that get an opportunity to play in his spot. As always our standard of expectation won’t change. We expect those guys to play and play at a high level.”

Other noteable injuries:

• Donovan Woods, rookie linebacker - hamstring injury (will not play Sunday)
• Deshea Townsend, cornerback - heel contusion (day-to-day, but Tomlin is hopeful he will practice on Wednesday)
• William Gay, safety - ankle sprain (limited in practice)
• Santonio Holmes, wide receiver - knee bruise (limited in practice)
• Travis Kirschke, defensive end - back (limited in practice)
  
  
  “All of those guys are not in question for the game, just limited for the first part of the week,” said Tomlin. “All in all, considering how physical that game was, not a bad laundry list of injuries.”