Monthly Archives: October 2013

David DeCastro Did Not Practice Again Today

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David DeCastro missed practice again today due to his injured ankle. The hope is that he’ll be able to return to practice on Friday. For what it’s worth, Marcus Gilbert said earlier today that he expects all of the offensive linemen to be ready to go this weekend, including DeCastro.

Markus Wheaton was limited today in practice. His first participation since having surgery on his broken pinky.

Ramon Foster and Guy Whimper practiced fully today. Heath Miller, Ben Roethlisberger, and Steve McLendon were full participants, as well.

Foster passed his first ImPACT test on Tuesday and will need to pass the second one tomorrow to be able to play on Sunday against the Patriots.

Edit- Curtis Brown was excused from practice today for personal reasons.

Steelers Vs Patriots TV Distribution Map

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The Steelers travel to Gillette Stadium to face the Patriots on Sunday. Kickoff is at 4:25 Est., and the game will be televised on CBS.  Phil Simms and Jim Nantz are the announcers, which is always a treat…if you’re a Patriots fan. The game will be televised in most areas of the country as you can see below.

2013-10-31_1418

 

H/T the506

Red: Steelers @ Patriots

Blue: Ravens @ Browns

To those of you living in the blue areas of VA an OH, you have my condolences.

Steelers And Patriots Wednesday Practice Participation

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Here is the practice participation report from the Steelers facility today.

Did Not Practice: Markus Wheaton (finger) and David DeCastro (ankle).

Limited: Ramon Foster (concussion), Ben Roethlisberger (non-injury), Heath Miller (non-injury).

Full: Guy Whimper (knee).

Sean Spence was also back to practice participating in drills. One reporter noted that David DeCastro was walking around the facility without a limp.

For the Patriots:

Limited:

WR Danny Amendola (groin), CB Kyle Arrington (groin), RB Brandon Bolden (knee), OL Marcus Cannon (shoulder), WR Julian Edelman (thigh), TE Rob Gronkowski (back, forearm, hamstring), TE Michael Hoomanawanui (knee), DT Tommy Kelly (knee), CB Aqib Talib (hip), RB Leon Washington (ankle), S Tavon Wilson (hamstring).

Full:

QB Tom Brady (right shoulder), WR Matthew Slater (wrist).

The Patriots have not officially disclosed Tom Brady’s hand injury according to ProFootballTalk, so we’ll have to wait and see if that is addressed as the week unfolds. Here is a highly circulated photo of him from the weekend with his fingers taped up with flesh colored tape.

The Patriots also placed starting Tackle Sebastian Vollmer on injured reserve today.

Steelers Sign P Mat McBriar, Zoltan Mesko Waived

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The team has announced that they have waived Zoltan Mesko. Former Cowboys punter Mat McBriar has been signed as his replacement. Zoltan Mesko has preformed relatively poorly and inconsistently this season, and ranks 31st in the NFL and dead last in PFF’s punting grades.

McBriar is an Australian born 10th year veteran who spent all of his active NFL seasons with the Dallas Cowboys, until joining with the Eagles in 2012.  In 2012, McBriar averaged 37.1 Net Yards, and averaged 45.4 total, 38 net over his NFL career. He was a 2 time pro bowl selection.

About Mesko, earlier today Tomlin said, “He’s been inconsistent and that’s not good enough. He needs to perform better.”

Mesko, who is full of good humor, seemed to take the news well.

https://twitter.com/ZoltanMesko/status/395296108173221888

Steelers Appear To Have Dodged Serious Injury Bullet

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Coach Tomlin gave injury updates to the media during his press conference earlier, and the news sounded pretty promising.

Ramon Foster, who left the Raiders game with a concussion, has been cleared to practice. Coach Tomlin said, “We’ll let that practice participation dictate where we go with him. Obviously, with that concussion, we’ll do what’s appropriate like we always do.”

David DeCastro will be limited early in the week, maybe with an opportunity to play with his ankle injury.

Guy Whimper could be limited in the early portion of the week with his hyper-extended knee, but he’s expected to be available for the game and to practice at some point.

Steve McLendon was ill yesterday and was sent home.

Markus Wheaton’s finger fracture is being evaluated to see what his availability will be for the game this week, and for practice.

Lawrence Timmons continues to work through his hand injury, but it didn’t effect his availability during the Raiders game, and it’s not expected to for the Patriots game either.

 

Depth Chart Change- Jason Worilds No. 1, Jarvis Jones No. 2

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This week’s depth chart has been released, and Jason Worilds has been listed as the starting ROLB over Jarvis Jones this week. Jones didn’t start the game in Oakland, and was pulled out after struggling to contain the edge during the loss to the Raiders. He played for a total of only 11 defensive plays.
https://twitter.com/BobLabriola/status/395196607559266304

David DeCastro: “I’ll Do My Best To Get Back ASAP”

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David DeCastro was on 97.3 The Fan this morning for his weekly radio interview. When asked about his injury, DeCastro said “I’ll do my best to get back as soon as possible”. He wouldn’t get into the specific details of his injury or how long he expected to be sidelined, but it did not sound like he expected to be available to return this week.

The injury happened in the 3rd quarter when Raiders CB Tracy Porter was blocked into the back of DeCastro’s lower leg. He attempted to play through it with a very noticeable limp on the next play, but subsequently stayed out for the remainder of the game. We’ll know more about his injury in the next couple hours.

Steelers Offensive And Defensive Play Counts Vs Raiders

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Here are the offensive and defensive play counts for the Steelers versus the Raiders. On offense, Foster (concussion), DeCastro (ankle), and Whimper (knee) all left the game early due to injuries.  On defense, Jarvis Jones and Ziggy Hood saw very limited playing time, while Vince Williams saw more plays than he has yet this season.

Offensive Play Counts

[table id=27 /]

Defensive Play Counts

[table id=28 /]

Steelers And Raiders Inactives

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The following players are inactive for the Steelers today:

QB Landry Jones, WR Markus Wheaton, CB Curtis Brown, TE Rich Gordon, LB Kion Wilson, LB Chris Carter, and NT Loni Fangupo.

For the Raiders:

SS Tyvon Branch, LB Martez Wilson, DE Ryan Robinson, C Andre Gurode, T Menelik Watson, T Tony Pashos, and WR Juron Criner.