Troy Polamalu reinjured his knee during Wednesday's practice, and has missed the past two days of practice. He's listed as unlikely for Sunday's game at New England.
Obviously it would be nice to have Polamalu available to make plays in the secondary for Pittsburgh, but I was a bit concerned about him not being at full strength even if he hadn't reaggravated his injury earlier in the week.
Anthony Smith and Tyrone Carter now get their chance to back up the smack-talk they've been spitting all week. Allthough all the discussion seems to be on the Patriots' passing attack, and rightfully so, I wouldn't be surprised if they run the ball more than might be expected. And I also wouldn't be surprised to see them call a number of screens to both their WRs and RBs - Donte Stallworth and Faulk/Maroney in particular. As I mentioned in a previous post, the Steelers will probably not be able to overcome poor tackling, so Polamalu's absence may have an impact in that regard. Smith and Carter have yet to get confused in their coverage assignments, so here's hoping they continue their solid play. If they don't well, we're screwed, because they're all we got back there.
Thoughts on whether we would have been better off with Polamalu at 80% or with the healthy Smith and Carter exclusively?