Steelers Appear To Be Taking Cautious Route By Putting Roethlisberger on a Snap Count

by Neal Coolong on Dec 29, 2011 7:14 AM EST in Steelers Injury News

Word around the Steelers' practice facility is QB Ben Roethlisberger would play in Pittsburgh's Week 17 game at Cleveland.

While speculation has fired up around whether he should or shouldn't play, the Steelers are doing the smart thing and suggesting he may do both.

Post-Gazette reporter Ed Bouchette suggested in his "On The Steelers" column coaches want to use him 25-30 snaps so he's not idle between Dec. 19 (his last game) and whenever their first playoff game will be.

Putting Roethlisberger on a limited number of snaps (25-30 is probably about half of a game) is perhaps the best of both worlds. He'll get a chance to use his damaged ankle a little bit, allowing a test of its durability and to help bring back some of its flexibility, which has no doubt been compromised due to the sprain he suffered in Week 14.

This wasn't said in Bouchette's report, but it also gives the Steelers something of an out when it comes to scoreboard watching. The validity of Pittsburgh's Week 17 game depends solely on Baltimore's game at Cincinnati. If the Ravens win, the Steelers have nothing to play for. If they look up at the scoreboard and see a 34-0 Ravens lead in the third quarter, it wouldn't be smart to risk Roethlisberger further damaging his ankle - or having several other players risk further injury. The Steelers will be the 5-seed in the upcoming playoffs if Baltimore wins.

Along with Roethlisberger, C Maurkice Pouncey looks to return Sunday from a high ankle sprain of his own. He's missed the last two games with the injury.

OLB LaMarr Woodley, though, didn't seem as optimistic. He's come back to the field twice since the initial hamstring injury, but has been unable to finish either game.

Freshly added to the injury report and did not practice Wednesday are SS Troy Polamalu (knee) and OLB James Harrison (neck), neither of them practiced. LG Doug Legursky and RB Mewelde Moore did not practice either and both are expected to miss the game. WR Mike Wallace (ankle), and Woodley were limited. Roethlisberger, Pouncey, WR Emmanuel Sanders and OLB Chris Carter are on the injury report, but participated fully in practice.

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I can understand...

Ben getting some play time to help keep him in game time rythm with his offense but Pouncey…..I think he should stay off the ankle till playoff time. IMO

by Bradhaw's index finger on Dec 29, 2011 7:57 AM EST reply actions

34-0 Ravens lead?

See…I think it’s VERY doubtful that the Cinci-Baltimore game will be so lopsided in Baltimore’s favor to enable the Steelers to comfortably take their foot off the gas vs. the Browns. I’d be surprised if Ben’s not in until the issue is settled in Cleveland. Best home for early exit for Ben would be STEELERS off to a big lead, similar to both late-season games in Cleveland near the close of ‘08 season and last year’s finale where Ben was out after the 1st series of 2nd half

by swissvale72 on Dec 29, 2011 8:38 AM EST reply actions

any way

we can arrange for the lights to go out in Cleveland? Since it’s a 4 oclock game…maybe around halftime we can have a good hour delay.

"I think the beard will decide when the time is right to come back. It will know when the time is right and all of a sudden appear." -The Deisel

by count'em_six on Dec 29, 2011 9:18 AM EST up reply actions

We've got our best guy on it

"It’s easy to lie with statistics, but it’s easier to lie without them." -Fred Mosteller
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by John Stephens on Dec 29, 2011 9:23 AM EST up reply actions

damn red 'X'

Is it the buffalo wild wings guy?

"I think the beard will decide when the time is right to come back. It will know when the time is right and all of a sudden appear." -The Deisel

by count'em_six on Dec 29, 2011 9:34 AM EST up reply actions 1 recs

no, it's the picture of Harrison that Ward put on his FB

It’s that ass from Steelersdepot acting like he created it. Try this

"It’s easy to lie with statistics, but it’s easier to lie without them." -Fred Mosteller
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by John Stephens on Dec 29, 2011 9:35 AM EST up reply actions 2 recs

lol

I see it now. That’s awesome.

"I think the beard will decide when the time is right to come back. It will know when the time is right and all of a sudden appear." -The Deisel

by count'em_six on Dec 29, 2011 9:44 AM EST up reply actions

Rec'd

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by Neal Coolong on Dec 29, 2011 9:50 AM EST up reply actions

John, how do we post pics?

I was in a bar and saw a woman wearing a Ray Lewis Jersey, which made me cringe, but she then turned around and I saw she put tape across it and wrote something that I’d like to share with BTSC. I’ve been trying to post it, but every time I try to put in the pic, it doesn’t show up.

I'm your huckleberry

by CLK47 on Dec 29, 2011 11:10 AM EST up reply actions

Did you upload it to the interwebs? If not, you’ll need a host (I use photobucket). Or you can email it to me and I will put it up on my photobucket. Then you just need to hit that little tree button under the title bar for the reply window and paste the URL into the pop up window.

"It’s easy to lie with statistics, but it’s easier to lie without them." -Fred Mosteller
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by John Stephens on Dec 29, 2011 11:32 AM EST up reply actions

just sent you the pic

not sure what the “interwebs” are, but I’ll set up a photobucket account and try that. Sorry, I’m not the most tech-savvy guy in the world. Thanks for the advice and response.

I'm your huckleberry

by CLK47 on Dec 29, 2011 4:30 PM EST up reply actions

Picture

He did not act like he created it. He indicated that the picture was being spread around but did not attribute the picture to anyone.

by Kevin78 on Dec 29, 2011 12:15 PM EST up reply actions

He did not act like he created it. He indicated that the picture was being spread around but did not attribute the picture to anyone.

Without attribution, any reasonably-minded person will assume he created it.

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by Neal Coolong on Dec 29, 2011 12:48 PM EST up reply actions

disagree

I think that he should have attributed it to someone. I don’t know if he did not know who created it or not. But a reading of the language of his blog post indicates that the picture was being passed around the internet. A reasonable reading of that post would be that he did not create it but discovered it being shared on the internet by multiple parties.

by Kevin78 on Dec 29, 2011 10:19 PM EST up reply actions

He didn’t say anything about it. He just put it in his article. That to me is basically saying he created it.

"It’s easy to lie with statistics, but it’s easier to lie without them." -Fred Mosteller
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by John Stephens on Dec 29, 2011 1:09 PM EST up reply actions

Not true.

Reread the article. It states that it is making its rounds around the internet. He should have attributed to wherever he got it. If you want to criticize him for that, it is probably a fair criticism. But the most logical inference is that he found it on the internet.

by Kevin78 on Dec 29, 2011 10:22 PM EST up reply actions

LMAO!!!!

by Bradhaw's index finger on Dec 29, 2011 10:00 AM EST up reply actions

LOL

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by Neal Coolong on Dec 29, 2011 9:50 AM EST up reply actions

That knee injury to Troy has me anxious

"It’s easy to lie with statistics, but it’s easier to lie without them." -Fred Mosteller
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by John Stephens on Dec 29, 2011 8:41 AM EST reply actions

Yea, and a bum ankle on "One Trick"...

…doesn’t bode well either. Maybe Sanders can get back out on the field, allowing One Trick to rest.

United we Stand, melded like Steel
To Roger Goodell, We'll never Yield.

by PaVaSteeler on Dec 29, 2011 8:53 AM EST up reply actions

on the bright side of this...

Mundy can fill in for Troy and gain even more reps and both Cotchery and Battle get more offensive reps also.

by Bradhaw's index finger on Dec 29, 2011 9:00 AM EST up reply actions

May as well get Mundy out there anyway

I’d say the most likely scenario is Steelers at Denver next week. Just my prediction…hopefully it doesn’t come true.

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by Neal Coolong on Dec 29, 2011 9:51 AM EST up reply actions

Man this has me thinking

Either gamesmanship by Tomlin or we will rest the bulk of our guys after the first few series no matter what. We’re in the playoffs so why even bother risking any injury? Glad I’m not making the call.

"My baby...my mechanical masterpiece. So nearly complete. So nearly perfect. If I only had a living brain."--Evil Scientist, Looney Toones, circa 1952
"Well you're better than any player I ever had. And you're the best God damn hitter I ever saw. Suit up."--Pop Fisher, THE NATURAL

by SaratogaSteelerFan on Dec 29, 2011 9:19 AM EST via mobile reply actions

Don't worry

I got this all in control.

"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty." - Winston Churchill

by PixburghArn on Dec 29, 2011 9:32 AM EST up reply actions

While we all suffer from paralysis by analysis...

…Tomlin makes a decision and lives with it. I think there’s a level of cat-and-mouse he’s playing, but the thing with him we should remember is Tomlin never makes a decision earlier than he has to. He doesn’t need to rule anyone out until game time, so he’ll keep everyone at “questionable” until he’s forced to rule them out.

My feeling is he’ll stick with “questionable” past Friday more often than anything else, but if he knows they won’t at least dress Sunday, he won’t hide it. But I really think he waits until basically game time to determine if someone’s gonna play.

I really don’t think he’s putting much thought into the Ravens game. Because of that, the smart move is simply to play this game to win it. If guys aren’t going to be as good injured as their back-ups are healthy, then they shouldn’t play.

We won’t get a real good idea of that until Friday anyway. It’s not rare Polamalu sits on Wednesday anyway. Ward used to do that every week. Two days of practice is enough.

Start worrying if they don’t practice today.

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by Neal Coolong on Dec 29, 2011 9:55 AM EST up reply actions

None of us really know

But I think Tomlin is playing it like they are the 5th seed. It’s the prudent thing to do.

It doesn’t matter f Baltimore wins or loses. The issue is Ben’s health and rhythm for the game, not whether he plays the following week.

by IronJake on Dec 29, 2011 10:23 AM EST up reply actions

I think MT hides it.

Last week there was talk that Roethlisberger would be a ‘game time’ decision. After the game, MT was quotes saying they had decided early in the week that he wouldn’t play.

I don’t think he gives any information he isn’t required to give.

by stylepoints on Dec 29, 2011 12:03 PM EST up reply actions

Funny bones

Hi ankle sprain are a funny thing. The Only real cure is staying off of it so that the ligaments can heal. Running in place and stretching them are not advised.

If the are healed they should Play.

Likely though the 2 should sit.
Play to win with what you got.

Senaca does worry me, more accurate than colt and more velocity.

Impose your will.

by ALDOG on Dec 29, 2011 10:25 AM EST via mobile reply actions

I really don’t want Woodley on the field. We need him healthy for the playoffs and that damned hamstring of his refuses to get better. I’d also rather see Pouncey sit. Those two make me the most nervous at this point.

by since'75 on Dec 29, 2011 11:03 AM EST reply actions

Ben, Pouncey and Woodley

It has been a long, grueling season. The Steelers’ chances in the playoffs won’t be significantly improved by getting the #2 seed. Our chances of getting the #1 seed are very remote.

So I hope we don’t see any of these guys on the field in Cleveland. Ideally, we’ll have all three of them rested and at close to full speed when the playoffs start. That’s the real key.

by Billy52 on Dec 29, 2011 12:04 PM EST reply actions

The Steelers’ chances in the playoffs won’t be significantly improved by getting the #2 seed

You’re joking, right?

by worldtrip on Dec 29, 2011 12:32 PM EST up reply actions

I see what you’re saying, ‘Trip, but a wild card has advanced to the AFC Championship each year since 07, and 1 hasn’t played 2 in the championship game since 04 (Pats at Steelers).

I think he just means it’s not the death sentence many think it is.

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by Neal Coolong on Dec 29, 2011 12:54 PM EST up reply actions

Not a death sentence, no. But to think playing only two games with at least one of them at home vs. having to play three probably on the road to get to the super bowl doesn’t significantly improve your chances?

by worldtrip on Dec 29, 2011 1:24 PM EST up reply actions

I agree..just because it has happened before a couple times don’t mean it’s still not way better to get the week off and a home game.

Boy, I'm three generations deep, in gangstadom

by FrankWyt on Dec 29, 2011 1:43 PM EST up reply actions

It's the bye

It doesn’t take rocket science to figure out that it’s easier to get to the Super Bowl if you only have to win two games to get there instead of three. But if you want to see the math, check out Brian Burke.

by DG Lewis on Dec 30, 2011 6:54 PM EST up reply actions

agree

This Steelers team is much more effective at home. They gave up 78 points at home this year. That is helped by 2 shutouts of NFC West teams. Their offense is also more effective at home. Their home points are 24, 38, 17, 25, 20, 35, 14, 27.

by Kevin78 on Dec 29, 2011 10:27 PM EST up reply actions

I remember when

I was 14, just a simple sunday fan. But with internet and BTSC man all this inside injury info is enuff to STESS ME OUT!!

by SixBurghRoethlamalu on Dec 29, 2011 9:27 PM EST via mobile reply actions

Ben

has been fitted with a brand new Snap Count Monitor. Ben broke the last one because he didn’t agree with the settings. I know….random. I have 2 1/2 hours until the weekend begins. soooooooooo yeah

"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty." - Winston Churchill

by PixburghArn on Dec 30, 2011 11:02 AM EST reply actions

Batch should start and Ben play the 2nd half

If Batch does well, we can either put Ben in for the second half to get some reps or leave him out completely to heal. If Batch does poorly, we look at the scoreboard, and if the Ravens are ahead by a lot we leave him in.

Plus, who do you want in the game if the defense starts to relax a little to early and the Browns begin to threaten? I’d rather have Ben come in for the second half and turn a close game into a solid victory than have Ben hand the Steelers a solid lead going into the half, which turns into a nail-biter with Batch at the helm.

by Steelgator on Dec 30, 2011 6:29 PM EST reply actions