James Connor? Injured?

even conner heard a bell ringing.

 

Has anyone heard anything about Conner? I'm guessing no news is probably good news in this regard. The long break definitely helps.

 

I'm not sure they missed any obvious signs or he skimmed by the evaluation but if you watch his last carry of the game you can easily see he wasn't right...

 

I think Tomlin has a noon press conference today. Should hear something then. He came to the Pitt game Saturday and was a honorary captain. He looked totally fine to me.

 

He is still in the protocol per Tomlin''s press conference today.

 

Takes a little while, you got to pass all the impact tests I believe. Hopefully he's OK. But even if he has to miss a week, I'm OK with that as long as he stays healthy long term is the key.

 

He's expected to practice tomorrow although he is still in the protocol.

 

unfortunately he is still under concussion protocol. If he does not practice tomorrow it's unlikely he will play

 

When did you graduate Medical School?

 

good point.

 

According to Tomlin being able to practice is part of the protocol and since we haven't practiced until we do tomorrow,he remains in protocol. Probably along the lines of what your saying but practicing is specifically part of it so he can't be cleaned until he does....

 

Yeah I was going to say since they had 5 days off with no team related things going on leaving him in the protocol hurts nothing. However it does add to the gamesmanship with the Jags. Have to prepare in case he is or isnt.

 

Question is do we have enough with our current stable of RBs? We really need to decrease Conners workload. Can Samuels and Ridley step up? I like Samuels but I still think he's a year away and has to get his body in NFL shape this offseason. I like Ridley as well. He runs hard but there seems to be a drop off in blocking when he enters the game or it could be just a matter of the D knowing he's probably gonna get the ball when he's in the game.
I think now that they know Bell for brains is completely out of the picture we will start to see even more creativity from Fichtner. He now knows he needs to keep Conner strong down the stretch by lessening his workload. I think we see more of Nix and personally I would love to see more 3 TE looks with McDonald playing a H back role. I'm salivating from the thought of the creative things we can do with that. I think Grimbles abilities are being under used and he can become a weapon in the passing game with all 3 TEs on the field. The lack of production from the 3 rd WR spot can be overcome by using the TEs.
Whatever it is we have to do to preserve Conner needs to be done....

 

Well they had no choice but to leave him in the protocol because he can't pass protocol without returning to practice. Which like you said we haven't done yet....

 

Read an article today that was saying they should bring in CJ Anderson... I honestly don't know if he's an upgrade over Ridley at this point in his career. He's been decent especially early in his career but I don't know if he be worth a Ridley roster cut. Kind of a toss up. I'm also not convinced the Steelers are willing to think outside of their one horse box. Forget the creativity of introducing a 2 back system which in my opinion could've been crazy with Bell and D will... I just don't see them being cautious or creative with multi back scenarios even in a preservation/keep the others involved type scenario(s).

 

If JC isn't a go for this Jag game, I would like to see what Ridley can do when he gets the bulk of the carries. He just seems like an "in the groove" type RB, as opposed to the come in every so often type. Most RBs are like that anyway. But it seems like the coaching staff is favoring Samuels right now so I guess we'll see come Sunday.

 

If they are thinking of adding more depth in a just in case type of scenario I would hope that there is something other than CJ Anderson or Fitz in contention. Some one who at least at one time was a game changer or who was hard to play against. Not sure there is really anyone out there like that but I hope they turn over some rocks and don't settle

 

You've got an opponent that thrives on turnovers and a back with a history of not taking care of the football. That is not a good combination. I'm guessing he would split the role with Samuels. Either way, it's not a good situation.

 

Ridley's had ZERO fumbles as a RB in the last five years. One this year on a reception. And I would trust a veteran RB over a rookie at this point. I think Samuels is improving but still think Ridley is the better back right now jmo. Probably a moot point, if JC clears. Conner is the one who needs to protect the ball, he has 3 fumbles already this year. But as its usually the case, the young RBs tend to fumble more their early years it seems. Then the NFL coaching kicks in.

 

I didn't need to, I learned how to read in the first grade.

"Conner was evaluated in the sideline medical tent during the third quarter of Thursday's blowout win over the Panthers and returned briefly before exiting the game early in the fourth quarter with a head injury."

"Conner suffered the injury in the team’s blowout win over the Carolina Panthers last Thursday. It wasn’t clear how injured Conner was as he left the game, headed to the tent but then returned to the game.
However, after only a play or two, Conner left the game again and you could see Tomlin on the sidelines instructing Conner to head to the lockers."

 

Conner definitely needs to do a better job protecting the ball, but he's producing enough to be worth the risk.

Ridley has only 83 carries and 104 total touches since the start of the 2015 season, so it is a bit misleading to say he hasn't fumbled in that time. Also, whether it happens as a runner or receiver, the fumble this season counts.

The last time he had 100 touches in a season, 2014, he fumbled four times.

 

Didn’t Ridley fumble once this season and we recovered it? Or am I remembering that wrong?

 

Was that from a missed diagnosis or another hit when he came back in the game?

 

I don't think anyone knows the answer to your question, because......
They need a more thorough process.