The Steelers have announced that OLB Jarvis Jones is now questionable for today’s game. Jones came down with an unspecified illness last night in Green Bay. If Jones can’t go today, expect to see Chris Carter take his place.
Everyone practiced fully today for the Steelers. Kelvin Beachum, Jerricho Cotchery, Marcus Gilbert, Brett Keisel, Steve McLendon, Heath Miller, Troy Polamalu and Emmanuel Sanders are all probable for Sunday against the Packers.
For the Packers:
Most notably- Aaron Rodgers is out. Matt Flynn will start again at quarterback. Also out is DT Johnny Jolly.
DL Ryan Pickett (knee), DE CJ Wilson (ankle), TE Brandon Bostick (foot), LB Brad Jones (ankle), RB Eddie Lacy (ankle), LB Mike Neal (abdomen), LB Nick Perry (foot), are all probable.
Brett Keisel was the only player who was limited for the Steelers in practice today. Marcus Gilbert (ankle) participated fully, as did Heath Miller, Troy Polamalu, Kelvin Beachum (knee), Emmanuel Sanders (foot), Steve McLendon (ankle) and Jerricho Cotchery (shoulder). While Keisel was limited, he did do more in practice today. Regarding Keisel, Dick LeBeau said, “I really think he feels he’s got a real legitimate shot. We’ll just have to see.”
For the Packers:
Limited: Aaron Rodgers (collarbone), DE C.J. Wilson (ankle), and DT Ryan Pickett (knee).
Did not practice: TE Brandon Bostick (foot), DT Johnny Jolly (neck/shoulder, ruled out), LB Brad Jones (ankle), RB Eddie Lacy (ankle), OLB Mike Neal (abdomen), OLB Nick Perry (foot), and DT Ryan Pickett (knee).
Aaron Rodgers took most of his reps with the second team today, while Matt Flynn prepared with the starters. About Rodgers, Packers coach McCarthy said, “I would state him ready to play…but once again we’re going through the process to make sure we’re getting Matt ready to play. Matt took the majority of [today’s] reps.”
We’ll have to wait until tomorrow to find out if Rodgers will be active for the game on Sunday, but all signs are pointing to the Packers sitting him.
The weather forecast for Green Bay has taken a snowy turn. Earlier forecasts were calling for low temperatures, but no precipitation. Today’s updated forecast is calling for temps in the mid 20’s, and 3-6 inches of snow accumulation from Saturday night throughout Sunday.
Wind speeds will also be a factor. Accuweather is predicting winds of 12 mph, with gusts of up to 20 mph. You can expect to hear lots of comparisons between Le’veon Bell and Eddie Lacy on Sunday.
The Steelers visit the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field on Sunday. The game airs on CBS, and kickoff is at 4:25 pm est. Solomon Wilcots and Kevin Harlan are the commentators. Most of the country will see the Patriots/Ravens game, but you can check your area on the map below.
Red- Patriots @ Ravens
Blue- Steelers @ Packers
Green- Raiders @ Chargers
Grey- No Game
There were no real suprises out of practice today. Troy Polamalu and Heath Miller were given maintenance days and did not practice. Jerricho Cotchery also did not participate due to his shoulder. Brett Keisel (foot) and Marcus Gilbert (ankle) were limited. Steve McLendon was a full participant.
For the Packers:
TE Brandon Bostick (foot), DL Johnny Jolly (shoulder/neck), LB Brad Jones (ankle), RB Eddie Lacy (ankle), LB Mike Neal (abdomen), LB Nick Perry (foot), all did not practice.
DL Ryan Pickett (knee), QB Aaron Rodgers (collarbone), and DL CJ Wilson (ankle) were limited.
Rodgers has not been medically cleared to play yet. Matt Flynn is taking the starting snaps, and a couple Packers beat reporters were saying that today’s practice played out the same as it has the past few weeks in terms of preparation. We’ll have to wait until Friday to know for sure what Rodgers’ availability will be for Sunday.
The Steelers announce that they have signed former Ohio State offensive lineman Bryant Browning to their practice squad today. The 6’4″, 313 lb OG was originally undrafted and signed by the Panthers in 2011. He was active for one snap with them, and hasn’t seen a regular season snap since. Most recently, he was on the Bills practice squad before being released 3 weeks ago.
The Chicago Bears have signed OT Joe Long from off the Steelers practice squad. The deal is for 2 years.
https://twitter.com/ChicagoBears/status/413439263661760512
Long was on the practice squad briefly last year, and was with the Steelers in training camp. He has been on the practice squad since the beginning of this season.
Terence Garvin is appealing the $25,000 fine he received from the league today. Reporter Alan Robinson of the Tribune writes that “Under the NFL’s labor agreement, a player can be fined only as much as one-quarter of his weekly pay”. Some Steelers bloggers are writing the same thing, though, this isn’t true. The collective bargaining agreement states in Article 46, Section 1, subsection d that-
“On appeal, a player may assert, among other defenses, that any fine should be reduced because it is excessive when compared to the player’s expected earnings for the season in question. However, a fine may be reduced on this basis only if it exceeds 25 percent of one week of a player’s salary for a first offense, and 50 percent of one week of a player’s salary for a second offense. A player may also argue on appeal that the circumstances do not warrant his receiving a fine above the amount stated in the schedule of fines.”
As you can see, it only states that a player can list this as a reason for appeal, not that the league has to limit the fine to that amount.
The listed minimum fine for a hit on a defense player is $21,000 for the first offense, and double that for the second. While Garvin is likely to list the fine to salary ratio as reason for appeal, the league doesn’t have to reduce it, and I would be surprised if they did.
Reports are surfacing that indicate the league has fined LB Terence Garvin $25,000 for his block during a punt return versus the Bengals on Sunday. Huber suffered a broken jaw from the hit and was subsequently placed on season ending injured reserve. Shortly after the game, there were reports that Huber also suffered a cracked vertebra, but those were not correct, as the Bengals organization stated that it was a pre-existing condition.
The NFL considers punters to be defenseless throughout the entire punt return, so Garvin’s helmet contacting Huber’s head or neck is against the rules. Garvin is appealing the fine.
Here’s a gif of the hit.
