Good Thursday to you Steelers fans.
Yesterday saw a very quick swing of fortunes for the Pittsburgh Steelers. In the morning they announced that Joe Schobert, Devin Bush, Chris Wormley, Arthur Maulet, Anthony McFarland and Zach Banner had all been activated off the Covid-19 list. Soon after however, Joe Haden went on the list and he was quickly followed by Defensive Coordinator Keith Butler. The Steelers are not good when Joe Haden isn’t playing. They lose far more than they win when 23 isn’t on the field. Getting four defenders mentioned above back is huge, especially in terms of stopping the Baltimore running attack. But with Haden out (he missed last year’s season finale for the same reason) the Steelers will have to rely on other defensive backs. Ahkello Witherspoon keeps playing better and better which is good but can he be relied upon without Haden on the field? Mike Tomlin has no choice but to move on for week 18 without a guy who very well may have played his final game in the black and gold. That may be the toughest part of all of this. Haden has been a terrific addition since coming over after being released by Cleveland.
The Podcast
Tonight on the SCB Steelers Podcast presented by DEK Roofing Inc… We will be joined by Ellie Finnerty who helps us break down the win over Cleveland and the tremendous send-off for Ben Roethlisberger. We talk about the great performance by the defense… T.J. Watt nearing the sack record… Why the Browns “need” to re-sign Baker Mayfield… Look ahead to the Ravens and much more!
Tweet of the Day… Agree Coach.
This guy checks all the boxes helping the community, so let’s check the box for @CamHeyward and retweet this. He deserves it. #WPMOYChallenge Heyward#WPMOYChallenge Heyward#WPMOYChallenge
Heyward #WPMOYChallenge
Heyward#WPMOYChallenge
Heyward— Mike Tomlin (@CoachTomlin) January 5, 2022
From the Training Room
STEELERS
LB Buddy Johnson (Foot) – DNP
G Trai Turner (Knee) – DNP
T Dan Moore Jr. (Ankle) – DNP
QB Ben Roethlisberger (Pectoral/Right Shoulder) – Limited
CB Terrell Edmunds (Groin) – Limited
C Kendrick Green (Calf) – Limited
RAVENS
CB Anthony Averett (Ribs/Chest) – DNP
OLB Justin Houston (NIR – Rest) – DNP
QB Lamar Jackson (Ankle) – DNP
T Patrick Mekari (Hand) – DNP
OLB Odafe Oweh (Foot) – DNP
FB Patrick Ricard (Knee) – DNP
CB Jimmy Smith (NIR – Rest) – DNP
CB Tavon Young (NIR – Rest) – DNP
G Kevin Zeitler (NIR – Rest) – DNP
G Ben Powers (Foot) – Limited
C Bradley Bozeman (Illness) – Full
QB Tyler Huntley (Illness) – Full
Injury Notes: There’s little to take from a Wednesday injury report. The focus is certainly on Lamar Jackson who didn’t practice again. I’m curious as to how John Harbaugh handles him this with week with a rivalry game and slim postseason chance still alive… For my money the one to keep an eye on is Dan Moore. If he can’t go does that mean Chuks Okorafor slides over and Zach Banner fills in for him or does Joe Haeg enter the conversation?
The Negative Nellies
If you’ve been a long-time Steelers fan then you know not everyone is a Ben Roethlisberger fan. For some, it has to do with what he does or doesn’t do on the field. For the vast majority however their dislike of Big Ben has to do with his off-field behavior early in his career. Let me be blunt here, Ben was an ass hole at times, there’s no denying that but many of the people who despise him have never done the homework. They’ve never bothered to read past the headlines. They’ve never bothered to actually look into the two major allegations that were levied against him. Essentially, they’ve decided to review a movie without watching it. Can’t people change? Aren’t people allowed some grace? I can only imagine the mistakes I made in my early 20’s being played out in front of the public. For me, that was all part of the beauty of Monday Night, I appreciated how far he’s come as a player and just as importantly as a person.
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