James Farrior, Hines Ward Return to Practice for Steelers Wednesday
by Michael Bean on Nov 9, 2011 6:44 PM EST
in Steelers Injury News
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PrintJust a quick report on the Pittsburgh Steelers first practice of Week 10 in preparation for their Sunday afternoon matchup with the Cincinnati Bengals. The Steelers (6-3) are coming off their first loss since early October, a 23-20 defeat to the Baltimore Ravens that cost Pittsburgh its spot atop the AFC standings.
Out of Sunday's game were James Farrior (calf) and Emmanuel Sanders (knee). Knocked out of the game were Hines Ward (head), Arnaz Battle (hamstring) and Stevenson Sylvester (knee). Of the three, only Ward practiced on Wednesday afternoon. Let's take a look at the complete practice report:
Did Not Participate: WR Arnaz Battle (hamstring), WR Jerricho Cotchery (knee), S Troy Polamalu (rib), WR Emmanuel Sanders (knee), LB Stevenson Sylvester (knee), LB LaMarr Woodley (hamstring)
Full Participation in Practice: LB James Farrior (calf), G Doug Legursky (toe), WR Hines Ward (head)
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The injury situation at wide receiver is certainly a concern. With Sanders out at least a few weeks, the Steelers can ill afford to have both Jerrico Cotchery and Arnaz Battle be unavailable this Sunday against Cincinnati's formidable defense. We'll see how serious either of their two injuries are as the week progresses.
The good news, however, is that Hines Ward returned to practice and appears to be just fine after being leveled (illegally) by Ray Lewis and Bernard Pollard early on in Sunday's loss to Baltimore. Ward, I'm sure, is looking forward to playing against a Bengals team he has feasted on over the years.
Also encouraging is the recovery of Farrior. I don't think anyone was anything short of pleased with the play of Larry Foote, but I truly believe the Steelers missed Farrior on Sunday for the simple fact that it's he who calls the play out to his teammates and communicates changes pre-snap based on what the offense is showing. Farrior may lack the physical attributes he once had, but I don't think it can be underestimated how important he is as the 'quarterback' of the defense from his inside linebacker position.
The Steelers play the Bengals in Cincinnati at 1 pm est Sunday afternoon. For comprehensive Bengals coverage and discussion, stop on by Cincy Jungle at some point this week.
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Farrior
Certainly could be the diffeerence in the game he should be a facto rear ding the intangibles.I do believe that the lack of splash plays on the d side may be simply teams playing away from the defenses strengths. That seems obvious. There are certainly kinks in the armor but I think we can win if ward, farrior and Troy make plays.
Impose your will.
Now descending to Auto Correct hell...
he should be a facto rear ding
Isn’t it annoying when inanimate objects get the best of us?
And agree with the sentiment. I saw an interview with Ryan Clark about the last play of the Ravens game, and he indicated that he misunderstood the defensive call, and should have been providing the deep safety help for William Gay.
"If you're not getting better, I don't care what business you're in, you're a dead man. I try to look critically at the mistakes that I make and try to learn from them, like our team does." - Mike Tomlin
by Rebecca Rollett on Nov 9, 2011 10:59 PM EST up reply actions
Tomlin
didn’t even mention him on the report earlier today, I believe. And I don’t think that Troy usually practices on Wednesdays. That said, amen to the sentiment!
"If you're not getting better, I don't care what business you're in, you're a dead man. I try to look critically at the mistakes that I make and try to learn from them, like our team does." - Mike Tomlin
by Rebecca Rollett on Nov 9, 2011 11:00 PM EST up reply actions
Tyler Grisham
I’m guessing his name will be thrown in the mix this week. I wouldn’t be suprised if we signed him this week of the practice squad.
Getting back
two guys who really don’t matter on this team in terms of production. I’d rather roll with Sylvester at ILB.
so Ward doesn't factor
in production? I’m not sure you understand the role he plays in blocking, 3rd down and red zone? Did you see the Titans game? Farrior is the leader on the field, miscomunicationcan causes all sorts of issues on the field, and you might have missed that Sylvester is out with a knee injury.
People don't ever seem to realize that doing what's right is no guarantee against misfortune.
- William McFee
by stillergorillar on Nov 10, 2011 8:29 AM EST up reply actions
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