The signing of Michael Vick seems all but certain has happened. Vick is a polarizing figure and many fans have voiced their opinion on the topic today. Does the signing change the way you feel about the Pittsburgh Steelers?
[poller_master poll_id=”1″ extra_class=””]
As was reported earlier, Bruce Gradkowski has a dislocated finger that requires surgical repair. WPXI is reporting that Gradkowski already had his surgery today. The veteran QB had two dislocations in his left ring finger. One that required surgery to repair, the other that will heal without surgery. He also suffered some torn ligaments.
Following up on the Michael Vick news from earlier, he is at the Steelers south side facility now.
https://twitter.com/C_AdamskiTrib/status/636224376833241088
According to Adam Schefter, the Steelers are hosting QB Michael Vick today.
https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/status/636181642617356288
Schefter also reports that Bruce Gradkowski has a dislocated finger, and will be getting surgery today.
https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/status/636182772210630656
Vick appeared in 10 games with the New York Jets last year. He completed 52.9 percent of his passes for 604 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions.
Obviously Vick’s history doesn’t need reiterating. I think there are going to be a lot of Steelers fans who will be very upset if the team signs him. From a football standpoint (putting what kind of human being he is aside), he could be a serviceable backup with some time to get the playbook under his belt.
If his physical checks out, I have to think the team will probably sign him. As Mike Tomlin said in an interview on NBC, the two both grew up in Newport News, VA, and Coach Tomlin indicated that he was interested in bringing Vick in after he was released from prison in 2009, in hopes to help rehabilitate the veteran quarterback.
Share your thoughts- http://thesteelersfans.com/forums/threads/vick-coming-for-a-look.12101/
The Steelers have signed former Steelers C/G Doug Legursky this morning. To make room for the signing, the team has placed WR David Nelson on the waived/injured list.
https://twitter.com/steelers/status/636153694908715008
The signing comes just the morning after Maurkice Pouncey had surgery to repair his broken ankle. Legursky started his career in 2008 as a UDFA and spent time on the Steelers practice squad. The following year he got a handful of reps across the line as a backup. He continued as a swing man across the middle until eventually replacing Maurkice Pouncey in the 2010 AFCCG and SuperBowl.
He was a free agent in 2013 and the Steelers didn’t re-sign him. He was signed by Buffalo, and was their starting left guard. Last year he was signed by the Chargers after their starting center fell to injury early in the season. Legursky only played a couple games before tearing his ACL which sidelined him for the year.
Legursky has battled with knee injuries the past couple seasons, and it wouldn’t be inaccurate to say he hasn’t exactly gotten better with age. As I said the other day, I expect the Steelers to roll with Cody Wallace at center, and if he goes down, then Legursky will be the next man up.
The Steelers wasted no time getting injured center Maurkice Pouncey into surgery. According to ESPN’s Chris Mortenson, Pouncey had surgery to repair his broken ankle bone this afternoon.
Pouncey is in surgery as we start show, per source.#Steelers
— Chris Mortensen (@mortreport) August 24, 2015
While the specific details of his injury haven’t been disclosed, I postulated last night that his injury is a broken fibula. These are the most common ankle breaks due to the size and weakness of the bone. Coach Tomlin will undoubtedly update Pouncey’s status later in the week. As I said last night, I imagine the team will start the injured center on IR with the return designation. That would keep Pouncey out for at least 8 weeks.
I expect the team will roll with Cody Wallace, and will want to bring in another center who can step up in case Wallace goes down.
Here is the player participation data from yesterday’s game at Heinz field. As you can see from the charts below, most of the offensive starters were in for 23 plays. Chris Hubbard replaced the injured Maurkice Pouncey at center, where he played for the remainder of the game. Bruce Gradkowski returned to game action after sitting out the first two preseason games due to a shoulder injury, but left the game after suffering an injury to his left hand. Landry Jones took his place and remained for the rest of the game.
On the defensive side of the ball, the division of labor was well spread, and the unit registered 6 sacks on the day. Dan McCullers made his return to preseason action. Holliman and Hemer saw significant drops in their participation from the previous week. Recently signed LB L.J. Fort was in for 7 defensive plays. One of which he sacked the QB.
Offense
| Pos. | No. | Player | Total |
| C | 74 | Christopher Hubbard | 51 |
| RG | 67 | B.J. Finney | 51 |
| RT | 78 | Alejandro Villanueva | 51 |
| QB | 3 | Landry Jones | 41 |
| WR | 10 | Martavis Bryant | 33 |
| TE | 81 | Jesse James | 31 |
| WR | 19 | Shakim Phillips | 30 |
| WR | 14 | Sammie Coates | 30 |
| OT | 64 | Mitchell Van Dyk | 26 |
| OT | 69 | Kelvin Palmer | 25 |
| LG | 65 | Miles Dieffenbach | 25 |
| WR | 16 | Tyler Murphy | 24 |
| WR | 84 | Antonio Brown | 23 |
| LT | 68 | Kelvin Beachum | 23 |
| LG | 73 | Ramon Foster | 23 |
| RG | 66 | David DeCastro | 23 |
| RT | 77 | Marcus Gilbert | 23 |
| QB | 7 | Ben Roethlisberger | 23 |
| TE | 83 | Heath Miller | 22 |
| WR | 11 | Markus Wheaton | 22 |
| LG | 72 | Cody Wallace | 21 |
| FB | 45 | Roosevelt Nix | 21 |
| TE | 89 | Matt Spaeth | 20 |
| HB | 49 | Jawon Chisholm | 20 |
| HB | 26 | Le’Veon Bell | 19 |
| WR | 88 | Darrius Heyward-Bey | 15 |
| LG | 54 | Collin Rahrig | 15 |
| HB | 40 | Braylon Heard | 15 |
| HB | 34 | DeAngelo Williams | 14 |
| C | 53 | Maurkice Pouncey | 13 |
| FB | 46 | Will C. Johnson | 13 |
| QB | 5 | Bruce Gradkowski | 10 |
| TE | 80 | Ray Hamilton | 9 |
| HB | 13 | Dri Archer | 8 |
| WR | 82 | Kenzel Doe | 1 |
Defense
| Pos. | No. | Player | Total |
| CB | 41 | Antwon Blake | 40 |
| ILB | 57 | Terence Garvin | 40 |
| OLB | 48 | Bud Dupree | 35 |
| ILB | 51 | Sean Spence | 34 |
| SS | 29 | Shamarko Thomas | 34 |
| OLB | 49 | Shayon Green | 28 |
| CB | 25 | Brandon Boykin | 24 |
| CB | 39 | B.W. Webb | 23 |
| RE | 97 | Cameron Heyward | 22 |
| ILB | 50 | Ryan Shazier | 22 |
| FS | 23 | Michael Mitchell | 22 |
| CB | 28 | Cortez Allen | 22 |
| CB | 22 | William Gay | 22 |
| SS | 38 | Ian Wild | 21 |
| FS | 20 | Will Allen | 21 |
| LE | 91 | Stephon Tuitt | 20 |
| CB | 30 | Kevin Fogg | 19 |
| FS | 21 | Robert Golden | 18 |
| LE | 78 | Leterrius Walton | 17 |
| OLB | 55 | Arthur Moats | 14 |
| OLB | 95 | Jarvis Jones | 14 |
| CB | 24 | Doran Grant | 14 |
| RE | 65 | Joe Kruger | 13 |
| RE | 67 | Dominique D. Davis | 13 |
| OLB | 40 | Anthony Chickillo | 13 |
| RE | 62 | Daniel McCullers | 12 |
| OLB | 44 | Howard Jones | 12 |
| FS | 33 | Alden Darby | 12 |
| LE | 93 | Cam Thomas | 11 |
| LE | 69 | Matt Conrath | 10 |
| FS | 37 | Jordan Dangerfield | 10 |
| RE | 79 | Ethan Hemer | 8 |
| OLB | 92 | James Harrison | 8 |
| ILB | 54 | L.J. Fort | 7 |
| FS | 42 | Jordan Sullen | 7 |
| FS | 31 | Gerod Holliman | 7 |
| NT | 64 | Mike Thornton | 6 |
| LE | 61 | Joe Okafor | 4 |
| NT | 90 | Steve McLendon | 3 |
Coach Tomlin addressed the media after today’s win against the Green Bay Packers. He spoke about the injuries in today’s game and talked briefly about how the team played. Here is a transcript.
“It feels good to make the necessary plays, especially at home. The game was not perfect by any stretch. We stopped ourselves on offense early in the game and had a pre-snap penalty at midfield, but we overcame that. We also had an offensive pass interference penalty. Defensively, we warmed up to it, which we can’t afford to do. However, I thought they performed above the line once they settled in.
“Probably a significant element of the game that created adversity for us were those two turnovers, one late in the second quarter and the other early in the third quarter. We can’t have those happen. I think Green Bay got 10 points off of those turnovers and it created an atmosphere we had to overcome. Thankfully, we did. We had good energy and teamwork in the stadium today.
“On the injury front, Maurkice Pouncey has an ankle injury and we’ve evaluated it. It’s probably going to be surgical, but I don’t know the length of time he will be out. We will analyze that after he has the procedure done. Stephon Tuitt has an ankle injury, which appears to be just your classic ankle injury. He will be out a couple of weeks, or so. Also, Bruce Gradkowski had a finger injury. Other than that, we just had the normal bumps and bruises.
“I’m sure the next time we get together, I will be able to get you an update on the status of Pouncey. It’s part of the game and we don’t overanalyze it. It’s as much a part of the game as blocking or tackling. We will make the necessary adjustments and I expect the ball to keep rolling, because that’s the business we are in.”
Here is the audio:
Maurkice Pouncey was injured during today’s win over the Green Bay Packers. He hurt his left ankle late in the first quarter, and ultimately was carted to the lockers after being checked by trainers on the sideline.
https://twitter.com/JFowlerESPN/status/635552769471082496
Coach Tomlin gave an update on his condition in his press conference after the game, referring to his ankle as “surgical”, and saying that he didn’t have an idea of how long it will sideline him.
Tomlin said Tuitt’s ankle is much less severe. He sprained his ankle today, and Tomlin said he will likely be down for a couple of weeks.
Without knowing exactly what the actual injury is and what surgery he’ll have, it’s hard to say exactly how long he might be out. I’d expect the team will use the IR/return designation on Pouncey. I imagine Cody Wallace will fill his shoes until he is able to return.
Update- According to Ed Bouchette, Pouncey has a broken ankle bone. This could mean different things and have different implications depending the nature and location of the break. We’ll have to wait for more info before we can play doctor. Well, you know what I mean.
Not long after Maurkice Pouncey left the game with an apparent ankle injury, DE Stephon Tuitt has been taken to the lockers with a similar looking injury. He will not return to the game.
#Steelers DE Stephon Tuitt suffered a left ankle injury & will not return to today's game.
— Burt Lauten (@SteelersPRBurt) August 23, 2015
Tuitt was the victim of friendly fire when S Shamarko Thomas came in to make a tackle. Pouncey is receiving an MRI according to KDKA.
Maurkice Pouncey left the game late in the 1st quarter after suffering what appeared to be an injury to his left ankle. He was able to get to the sideline, but was later carted to the lockers. The team has ruled him out for the remainder of the game.
#Steelers C Maurkice Pouncey suffered a left ankle injury & will not return to today's game.
— Burt Lauten (@SteelersPRBurt) August 23, 2015
Pouncey was blocking ahead of Le’Veon Bell and had his ankle rolled up on. Hopefully Coach Tomlin will have some more info about his injury after the game. Cody Wallace has taken Pouncey’s place in the game.