Ramon Foster had a MRI to determine the extent of the pectoral injury he received during the loss to the Vikings at Wembley Stadium. According to the Tribune-Review, the MRI revealed that Foster only suffered a minor pectoral muscles strain. Initial fears were that Foster tore his pectoral muscle, so this is great news. I know Steelers fans everywhere are breathing a collective sigh of relief. No? You should be considering how snake-bitten this team has been on the injury front this year. With the depth of O-line talent being what it is, any positive injury news should be welcomed with open arms.
Here are the snap counts for the Steelers offense and defense versus the Vikings. Heath Miller was in for almost every offensive snap. Will Johnson only saw 10 snaps, two of which where he was a receiver. David Johnson saw 24 snaps, 11 of those plays he was the run blocker (and did pretty well).
Here’s what Mike Tomlin had to say after the loss to the Vikings yesterday. You can listen to an excerpt of the press conference at the bottom of the page.
Obviously a disappointing loss, but, really, who am I kidding? They all are, regardless of the manner in which they unfold. We came up short today. We did some things better than we have in recent weeks. We did some things worse. We gave up explosion plays. You can’t do that. Obviously we know what’s 28 is capable of. He showed it again today. We didn’t work enough to minimize his impact on the game. They popped a big play early. Greg Jennings, he’s capable of that.
Just coming up short…liked the fight of the guys. I liked their belief in what it is we’re doing and in each other. We’ve just got to do it better. We’re not going to make any excuses. We’re going to chew everything we’ve got coming. More importantly than that we’re going to focus on getting better. That’s what’s going to change the outcome of these football games. Those that don’t, ain’t going to be a part of us. I have great patience. We will continue to work on getting better, as long as I see the belief and effort and continued improvement in detail, because that’s what’s going to change the outcome of these games. If I don’t, they ain’t going to be a part of it, whoever it may be. It’s just that simple. But again, disappointing. We’ll look at the tape. We’ll work to improve, obviously, and do what’s appropriate in that regard.
From an injury standpoint, Ramon Foster has a pec injury of some kind. We need to get that evaluated to update his status. Ben had an index finger on his throwing hand. He was able to come back into the game. Cromartie-Smith has a quad. Kion Wilson has a hamstring. Markus Wheaton I think broke a fifth finger but he was able to get back into the game as well.
Did you have options to replace Mike Adams?
We didn’t after Ramon went down because Kelvin Beachum was playing guard, in terms of the people we intended and prepared to play in this game that we prepped during the week. There are only a certain number of people you can prepare to play. Anybody else we would’ve put in there would’ve had below-the-line preparation, so there are no answers in that regard. He’s got to do a better job. We’ve got to do a better job to help him schematically. Obviously, Jared Allen is Jared Allen.
Did you sense a lack of belief among the players?
I didn’t sense it, because if I did you would know about it.
How disturbing are the explosion plays you allowed?
It’s affecting the outcome of football games so obviously there’s a level of concern regarding it. But it’s fundamental. There’s not anything mystical, OK? We’re missing tackles. You miss a tackle you’re going to have an opportunity for a big play. You’ve got to tackle better. It’s fundamental.
It seemed to be only a matter of a few plays
That’s how all losses are. Whether you’re 0-4 or whatever, usually those losses come down to a certain number of plays. The reality is that you don’t know when those plays are going to occur, so you’ve got to be good fundamentally. You’ve got to be sound from top to bottom and minimize the potential for explosion plays, and doing things with great detail and good fundamentals, you know, lessen that.
On the 0 and 4 start:
We’re week to week. We’re preparing for our next opportunity. Thankfully we’ve got two weeks to do so.
A legend has passed away today. L.C. Greenwood died of kidney failure after a brief stay at a Pittsburgh hospital following surgery. Greenwood played for the Steelers from 1969 to 1981 and was one of the front four Steel Curtain members. He totaled 73 and a half career sacks and earned 4 Super Bowl rings.
The team released the following statement regarding his passing:
“L.C. Greenwood was one of the all-time great Steelers and one of the leaders of the legendary “Steel Curtain” defense in the 1970s. L.C. was one of the most beloved Steelers during the most successful period in team history and he will be missed by the entire organization. He will be forever remembered for what he meant to the Steelers both on and off the field. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his entire family.”
He was a finalist for the hall of fame in 2005 and 2006, but was not elected.
The Steelers are a 3 point favorite for today’s matchup against the Minnesota Vikings in Wembley Stadium. It’s a beautiful day for football in London today. The sun is out and the temperature is right around 64 degrees.
As always, you can listen to the local radio broadcast with Bill Hillgrove, Tunch Ilkin, and Craig Wolfley on iheartradio here: stlrs.co/18jQI6y
The following players are on the inactive list for the Steelers today:
QB Landry Jones, RB Isaac Redman, WR Derek Moye, C Cody Wallace, CB Isaiah Green, CB Antwon Blake, and NT Loni Fangupo.
With Bell returning for the Steelers, Redman seemed like a likely inactive. Moye is inactive again this week, and many will be unhappy about that, but it’s not really surprising.
Jonathan Dwyer has been fined $21,000 for leading with the crown of his helmet during the Bears game Sunday night. The hit came late in the second quarter at the end of a 25 yard run by Dwyer. Dwyer lowered his head at the end of the run while Bears safety Chris Conte made the tackle. Dwyer was not penalized during the game. You can watch the play in question below. What do you think? Should he have been fined and was the amount fair? Let us know in the forum or in the comments below.
The following players are listed as Probable for Sunday’s game:
Le’Veon Bell (foot), Cortez Allen (ankle), Heath Miller (knee), Steve McLendon (hamstring), and Brett Keisel (hamstring).
All participated fully today in practice. Bob Labriola reports that Heath’s limitation during Thursday’s practice was planned. Coach Tomlin limited his participation in an attempt to help prevent any possible setbacks to his knee.
Friday practice participation and Sunday’s injury report for the Vikings:
Matt Asiata, Full, Probable
Chris Cook, DNP, OUT
Rhett Ellison DNP, OUT
Erin Henderson, Full, Probable
A.J. Jefferson, Full, Probable
Cullen Loeffler, Full, Probable
Christian Ponder, DNP, OUT
Jamarca Sanford, DNP, OUT
Kevin Williams Full, Probable
The biggest news on the Vikings injury front is that Matt Cassel will be starting for the injured Christian Ponder. Ponder has a rib fracture and has been ruled out of Sunday’s game as a precaution.
During an interview earlier this week, Big Ben made some comments about Le’Veon Bell that drew a lot of attention from Steelers fans and the media. I thought it would be a good idea to post the audio from that interview for those who haven’t heard it. The first sound bite below is the excerpt from the interview. The second audio file is the entire interview from ‘The Ben Roethlisberger Show’ on Tuesday.
The team had their final practice here in the states before boarding the plane for London this afternoon.
Limited: Heath Miller.
Full Participation: Le’Veon Bell, Steve McLendon, Cortez Allen, and Brett Keisel. Keisel sat out earlier this week due to his hamstring injury, but was a full participant today. Heath was limited today due to his knee.
