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.
The team announced that LaMarr Woodley has been placed on injured reserve. LB Jamaal Westerman has been signed to fill the vacancy on the roster. Woodley injured his right calf during the Bengals game Sunday night. This will make 14 games in the past three seasons the linebacker has missed due to leg injuries.
Westerman, 6’3″ 260 lbs, was signed by the Jets in 2009 as an UDFA out of Rutgers. He spent time with three different teams last year, but was most recently with the Bills before being released last week. He has 6 career sacks over the course of the 57 games he’s been active in.
Coach Tomlin told media earlier today that LaMarr Woodley’s injured right calf will likely keep him out of availability this week. “With injuries to both calves, one being further along than the other, makes his availability pretty bleak.”, said Tomlin.
Woodley could very likely be placed on IR today due to his calf injury.
On a good note, Brett Keisel is expected to return to practice this week, and the team is expecting he returns to action. “His arrow is pointed up”, said Tomlin. Steve McLendon is also expected to return to practice and to play on Sunday.
“Good AFC north win for us at home. Really, kind of a team victory. I thought we rode the wave that the special teams provided there early on in the first half of the game with a short field on the botched punt and then obviously the punt return. But just largely a really good effort by a lot of people in all three phases, and really what was required tonight, obviously, versus a very good team. We appreciate the opportunity, and it’s good to get a win.”
Everything seemed to work in all three phases. Special teams really seemed to be there. Any idea where that team has been?
I wouldn’t necessarily say everything worked. That was far from perfect. We have yet to play a perfect game, obviously. Tonight will be included in that. But obviously we did do enough to win, and had some splash plays.
Re an injury update:
LaMarr Woodley had a calf. Ike Taylor had a rib injury. The rest are bumps and bruises along the way. Both guys obviously will be evaluated. I’ll have more for you on Tuesday.
Did he re-aggravate his previous injury?
It’s the other leg. It’s the other calf. You’re talking about Woodley? It’s the other leg.
When you see Antonio Brown make a return like that, are you tempted to use him more in punting situations?
He’s our punt returner.
Any thoughts about using him as a kickoff returner?
He hasn’t returned a kick in years.
How did the offensive line do?
I thought they did a nice job. I thought we got hats on hats. I thought they waged the battle at the line of scrimmage. Obviously, I wouldn’t call it complete domination, but it was efficient. I appreciate their efforts, particularly in terms of how we had to prepare this week with the number of guys missing work and so forth. They did a nice job.
Re: Defensive line’s ability to stop the run this week after having a tough time doing it last week:
We were ahead, so they were throwing the ball a lot. I wouldn’t necessarily say we solved any run issues if we have them. It’s just the nature of the game. They had to throw the ball a lot in the second half. They were down by multiple scores.
Do you think you left some scoring opportunities on the field?
Certainly we did. We kicked three field goals. I’m glad we’ve got Shaun Suisham. We don’t want to utilize him that much unless it’s extra points.
Without looking at the tape, did Al Woods’ performance stand out to you?
I’d have to look at the tape. Obviously, I appreciate his effort. Obviously, he’s stepping outside his normal role in terms of the number of snaps that he’s playing and that’s appreciated. But we know that he’s capable. I’m sure he’s excited about the opportunity that he’s being given.
The hit on the punter, does that fall under the “Hines Ward” rule?
I did not see it. Obviously, it did not because I’m sure the guy that hit him was facing the end zone to which we working. That other rule does not apply to those circumstances.
There were questions about how your guys would come out with the playoffs seemingly out of reach. Do they hear that? Is that something that motivated them at all?
You’d have to ask them. I’m sure they’re better equipped to answer that than I am.
The Steelers kept their slim playoff hopes alive in an upset over the Cincinnati Bengals. Cincinnati continued their long drive from the 3rd quarter, which ultimately ended in a short touchdown pass to Eifert, making the score 30-14.
Seven plays later, the Steelers were forced to punt, and the Bengals got the ball back on their own 25. Dalton led the Bengals on a long sustained drive, mostly using the no-huddle, which ended with a touchdown pass to Jones. The Bengals attempted the two point conversion, but Jarvis Jones shut down Tyler Eifert, keeping the score at 20.
After gaining a first down, and running to eat up the clock, the Steelers were forced to punt again, giving the Bengals the ball on their 25 yard line with just over 3 minutes left in the game. After gaining a first down on the first pass attempt, the Bengals were shut down by the Steelers defense, and the Steelers took over on downs with 2:36 to go. The Steelers ran the ball and ate the remainder of the clock to finish the game. Final score Steelers 30, Bengals 20.
Ben Roethlisberger reached 339 completions this year, a new record for most completions in a single season by a Steelers player. Le’Veon Bell became the 3rd rookie back in Steelers history to have 1000 total yards from scrimmage.
The third quarter was a battle of turnovers. The Steelers D forced a fumble that they recovered, and shortly after Adam Jones intercepted a pass intended for Emmanuel Sanders on the Bengals two yard line. The only score in the quarter would come off of Shaun Suisham’s foot in the way of a 26 yard field goal.
The Steelers continued to move the chains well in the beginning of the 2nd quarter, but ultimately had to settle for a 25 yd field goal. The Bengals scored their first touchdown of the game on the next drive, making the score 24-7.
Jonathan Dwyer and Felix Jones ran the ball well against the Bengals defense and moved the ball down the field. The offense sputtered though, and Shaun Suisham nailed a 45 yard field goal through the wind whirled uprights, taking the lead to 27-7. Bengals open the 2nd half with the ball.