Monthly Archives: October 2013

Markus Wheaton Out Another Week And Other Injury News

Mike Tomlin gave some injury updates to the media today. For starters, Markus Wheaton will be out again this week as he continues to recover from his finger surgery. Brett Keisel, who left the Jets game with what was initially described as a rib injury, is expected to be able to play on Sunday. Tomlin said his injury “is really kind of muscular in nature in that area”. He’ll probably experience some discomfort throughout the week, but we expect him to perk up and be ready to go. Lamarr Woodley has some inflamation in his right knee, that might limit him throughout the week, but should not limit him at all during the football game on Sunday.

Sean Spence will participate in a limited capacity this week, probably individual drills. Matt Spaeth is going to stay where he’s at for now. The team wants to see how Spence looks in drills on the field before determining how to proceed with his participation moving forward.

Mike Tomlin: Endzone Somersaults Are Silly…And Banned

Mike Tomlin told reporters during his weekly press conference today that aerial endzone celebrations are no longer allowed. The banning of somersaults, flips, or other diving celebrations comes after Emmanuel Sanders somersaulted into the endzone against the Jets on Sunday. Le’Veon Bell did a similar celebration during his first NFL touchdown which also drew criticism. When asked if the ruling came straight from him, Coach Tomlin said, “Absolutely.  It’s a potential for injury. It’s silly!”.

To quote a division rival’s former coach- “Son, act like you’ve been there before”.

Steelers Place Levi Brown And David Johnson On IR

The team has placed OT Levi Brown and TE David Johnson on IR, and announced two signings to fill the available roster spots. Brown injured his right triceps during pregame warmups on Sunday. He missed the 2012 season due to an injury to that muscle. Johnson dislocated his left wrist early in the first quarter against the Jets.

To fill the available roster spots, the Steelers have brought up CB Isaiah Green from the practice squad and have signed TE Richard Gordon. Green has been on and off the practice squad this season. You can see his roster bouncing here- Isaiah Green. Richard Gordon is a 6′ 4″, 285 lb free agent tight end who was released by the Raiders in August. The former 2011 6th round draft pick played with Oakland for 2 seasons, and started in 2 out of the 27 games in which he was active. His stats- 2 yards in 2011, 9 yards in 2012 with 1 touchdown. He was targeted once in 2011, and 7 times in 2012. It looks like the team is standing pat at the tackle position…at least for now.

Steelers Offensive and Defensive Play Counts Vs. Jets

Here are the play counts for the Steelers on offense and defense versus the NY Jets. Kelvin Beachum played the entire game at LT. David Paulson saw the most snaps since the Bengals game at just about 50%. Derek Moye was in on five plays.

On the defensive side of the ball, Brett Keisel saw a limited number of reps due to a rib injury. Jason Worilds saw an increase in snaps this week, and a sack. Cortez Allen and Vince Williams were in for far fewer plays this week than in the previous game. As anticipated, William Gay saw a large increase in playing time. Ryan Clark was in for every defensive play.

Offensive Play Counts

[table id=25 /]

Defensive Play Counts

[table id=26 /]

The Steelers First Win- By The Numbers

The team finally got the monkey off their back yesterday, and put a 1 in the W column. Aside from that most important number – 1 – here are some other numbers of interest.

2. The number of turnovers the Steelers defense forced yesterday.

3. The number of sacks the Steelers defense totaled yesterday.

4. The number of sacks the Steelers defense totaled during the first four games.

2:56. The time on my clock yesterday when the turnover drought ended.

287. The number of days the Steelers went without experiencing a win.

23. The Steelers were 23 minutes away from being the first team in history to not force a turnover in the first five games.

83. The Net Yards Rushing the Steelers defense allowed the Jets. This is the first game they have held an opponent under 100 yards net rushing.  The first four games were 112 ,127, 107, and 145 respectively.

600. This was the 600th victory in franchise history.

113.8. Big Ben’s passer rating yesterday. The Steelers are 47-4 when his passer rating is over 100.

42. Shaun Suisham is now 42 for 43 when kicking from inside the 50.

16-2. Dick LeBeau is now 16-2 against rookie quarterbacks dating back to 2004.

 

Steelers Injuries From Victory Over Jets

Two players were injured during (well, one was before) the victory over the New York Jets yesterday. Newly acquired OT Levi Brown injured his triceps during pregame warm ups and was scratched for the game. It was his right triceps, the same he tore in the 2012 preseason which caused him to miss the regular season last year.

David Johnson left early in the first quarter with what was later described as a dislocated left wrist. Coach Tomlin said both player’s injuries could be significant. Johnson has actually been playing solid football this season. We’ll likely have to wait until at least tomorrow to find out further details on the severity of the two injuries.

*Edit

Brett Keisel left the game with a rib injury that Coach Tomlin described as not serious after the game.

Steelers Vs. Jets Inactives

For the Steelers: QB Landry Jones, WR Markus Wheaton, RB Isaac Redman, LB Chris Carter, OL Cody Wallace, OT Mike Adams, NT Hebron Fangupo. Mike Adams is the most notable on that list.

For the Jets:  Brady Quinn, Santonio Holmes, Dee Milliner, Troy Davis, Will Campbell, Ben Ijalana & Oday Aboushi. Antonio Cromartie is active as expected.

Antonio Cromartie Expected To Play On Sunday

Despite not practicing on Friday, and being described as a “game time decision” by head coach Rex Ryan, Adam Schefter reports that Antonio Cromartie is expected to play versus the Steelers on Sunday.

https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/status/389059292193886208

Cromartie suffered a non-contact knee injury during practice on Thursday, that they were describing as a hyper-extension. MRI results came back negative,. If he weren’t able to play,  2010 1st round pick Kyle Wilson would line up at CB against Antonio Brown.

Steelers Vs Jets Injury Report

The injury news concerning the Steelers is pretty good. The official injury report looks like this:

Out: Markus Wheaton (finger)

Probable: Ben Roethlisberger (finger), Heath Miller (non injury), Ramon Foster (pectoral strain).

For the Jets:

Out: Santonio Holmes, CB Dee Milliner

Doubtful: TE Kellen Winslow

Questionable: CB Antonio Cromartie. Cromartie didn’t practice on Friday, after suffering a ‘non-contact’ knee injury Thursday.

https://twitter.com/RichCimini/status/388489388411215872