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Pittsburgh Steelers (official thread)

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ABJ

Roethlisberger's latest head injury another worry for Steelers

ALAN ROBINSON

Associated Press

PITTSBURGH - The Pittsburgh Steelers aren't saying if quarterback Ben Roethlisberger sustained his second concussion in slightly more than four months.
Roethlisberger was fit enough to fly home with the Steelers following their 41-38 overtime loss Sunday in Atlanta, and to drive his SUV to a team meeting Monday, despite being briefly knocked unconscious during a helmet-to-helmet hit with the Falcons' Chauncey Davis.
By definition, a concussion is a disruption of the brain's activities caused by a sudden blow to the head - much like the hit Roethlisberger absorbed while being sacked by multiple defenders. Doctors who have studied concussion patients have said some act and look fine within hours or even minutes of being injured, while others take longer to look normal.
The Steelers' biggest concern is if this is Roethlisberger's second concussion in slightly more than four months. He sustained a concussion, and needed seven hours of surgery mostly to repair facial injuries, when his motorcycle collided with a car June 12 in Pittsburgh.
A football player receiving a second concussion in a relatively brief time can be susceptible to succeeding concussions, according to various concussion-related studies by doctors who have studied the issue for the NFL. Also, a player receiving multiple concussions in a brief time span may need a longer recovery time before playing again than one coming off his initial concussion.
This time, Roethlisberger lay on the turf for about five minutes, then was unsteady while being led off the field. He also looked dazed while riding to the locker room on a motorized cart. But he was back on the sideline later in the game and looked normal afterward.
"I was just hoping and praying they didn't have to bring out the stretcher," said backup Charlie Batch, who had flashbacks to Chiefs quarterback Trent Green's head injury earlier this season when he saw Roethlisberger go down. "You never want to see anybody hit like that."
The Steelers did not provide an update Monday on Roethlisberger. Unlike most NFL coaches, Bill Cowher doesn't hold news conferences on Mondays or allow anyone else in the organization to speak about injuries. He will talk to reporters on Tuesday.
The Steelers have been among the NFL teams most proactive in concussion-related studies, research and testing. Several doctors who undertake such work for the NFL and NHL are associated with the Steelers or have offices in the complex where the Steelers' practice facility is located.
Roethlisberger was not wearing a helmet during the motorcycle crash and decided against wearing the recently designed football helmet that affords more protection against head injuries.
Cowher may say Tuesday if Roethlisberger has any chance to play Sunday for the Steelers (2-4), losers of four of five, against the Oakland Raiders (1-5). The Steelers are 0-3 on the road. If not, Batch would replace him, as he did Sunday and in the Sept. 7 season opener against Miami when Roethlisberger was out with appendicitis.
Batch might be the NFL's most dependable backup, going 3-0 as a starter the last two seasons. He is 24-of-39 for 410 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions this season and threw for two touchdowns and 195 yards after replacing Roethlisberger on Sunday.
"I started to get in a groove and I got more comfortable out there," Batch said.
Roethlisberger's injury came during his second strong performance in as many weeks. After throwing seven interceptions and no touchdown passes in his first three post-crash starts, all losses, he was 32-of-41 for 476 yards, five TDs and no interceptions against the Chiefs and Falcons.
A week after seemingly righting their season by beating Kansas City 45-7, the Super Bowl champion Steelers again trail Baltimore (4-2) and Cincinnati (4-2) by two games in the AFC North.
"I still think we're a great football team," defensive end Brett Keisel said. "I still think we have the players in here to do exactly what we did last year. But it's going to be tough with (Sunday's) loss."
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ABJ

Cowher: Steelers season 'challenging'

ALAN ROBINSON

Associated Press

PITTSBURGH - Coach Bill Cowher declined Tuesday to criticize the officials for several calls that went against the Pittsburgh Steelers in a 41-38 overtime loss in Atlanta that left them with a 2-4 record.
After a fourth loss in five games, Cowher had reason enough to fault his own players as they continued a season-long pattern: Namely, play well in the first half and then self-destruct in the second.
All but three of the Steelers' 14 turnovers have come in the second half, a key reason why the Super Bowl champions trail Baltimore (4-2) and Cincinnati (4-2) by two games in the AFC North.
"Those are very hard to overcome," Cowher said. "There's a lot of things that lead to that; it's the attention to detail and being able to close a close game out."
The mistakes, penalties and misplays have repeated themselves, something that rarely occurred with Cowher's better teams. For example, he promised after his team was flagged for an excessive celebration penalty Sept. 24 against Cincinnati that it wouldn't happen again, only to have it occur again Sunday.
"I guess you should never say never," Cowher said.
The Steelers already have four losses - or only two fewer than they had in 2005 (11-5) and 2004 (15-1) combined. And after going 4-0 away from Pittsburgh in the postseason while winning the Super Bowl, they are 0-3 on the road this season.
Still, Cowher wouldn't label the season as frustrating.
"Frustration is an emotion you can control," he said. "This is challenging."
Cowher can't do anything about the injuries, such as quarterback Ben Roethlisberger's concussion that forced him out of the Atlanta game. Cowher is certain something can be done about the wave of errors, including the three lost fumbles and 65 penalty yards on Sunday.
"As we sit here at 2-4, obviously it's not where we wanted to be or envisioned ourselves being," Cowher said. "It's important that we do a better job of coaches as stressing the detail and the little things, and do a better job of players sustaining that focus throughout the game."
Some other mistakes seemed to mystify Cowher - a fumbled center exchange between Roethlisberger and Jeff Hartings, a missed block on a Willie Parker fumble that led to right guard Kendall Simmons being benched for second-year lineman Chris Kemoeatu.
"We're just doing things where we're having to overcome ourselves," Cowher said. "It's hard enough to beat teams that are good football teams."
The Steelers' schedule hasn't proven easy, either. Since beating Miami (1-6), the Steelers have played three teams that currently have four victories and two teams that have three.
Despite his reluctance to analyze the officiating - and possibly draw a fine for doing so - Cowher was unhappy with an offsides penalty on wide receiver Nate Washington that prevented a possible game-winning field goal attempt in the closing seconds of regulation Sunday.
Team owner Dan Rooney said it was the kind of call - flinching - that shouldn't have been made as both teams were rushing to get set along the line of scrimmage.
"I'd rather not get into that," Cowher said. "It was made. We should have never put them in that situation, but they made the call and we'll leave it as that."
The last time the Steelers were 2-4, in 2003, they didn't bounce back and would go 6-10, the only time in the last five seasons they didn't win at least 10 games.
"The worst thing you could do right now is to try to do some kind of overhaul or try to overanalyze the facts," Cowher said. "We've got to keep getting back up. I'm not going to allow them to change how we approach these games or alter the mindset going into these games. We've just got to finish these games."
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ABJ

Roethlisberger has regular practice, looks ready to go

ALAN ROBINSON

Associated Press

PITTSBURGH - This is what Ben Roethlisberger and coach Bill Cowher were looking for: a normal day of practice for the quarterback.
Roethlisberger, four days removed from a concussion caused by a painful helmet-to-helmet hit in Atlanta, took most of the snaps with the Pittsburgh Steelers' starting offense Thursday and looked ready to play Sunday in Oakland.
"I'm very encouraged by how he feels," Cowher said.
Roethlisberger, jolted by the jaw-jamming hit he received from the Falcons defensive end Chauncey Davis, was knocked out for a few minutes during the third quarter and forced to leave the Steelers' 41-38 overtime loss.
But Roethlisberger looked comfortable and relaxed in practice, much like he did Wednesday night while slapping high fives with LeBron James following a dunk by the Cavaliers star during an exhibition game in Pittsburgh.
Cowher said a final decision on the QB's status won't be made until game time Sunday, mostly because Roethlisberger still must pass more of the post-concussion tests he takes daily. He has passed all tests so far, but any recurring symptoms or setbacks would cause him to sit out.
Thursday is one of the Steelers' two major practice days of the week, and any injured player who practices as usual almost always plays on Sunday barring a later setback.
"He took all his reps, he felt very good, and we'll see how he feels tomorrow (Friday)," Cowher said. "We'll see how he feels after he flies across the country."
Playing the 24-year-old Roethlisberger only a week after he received his second concussion since June might seem to be a risky move by the Steelers, given his importance to them. Roethlisberger is viewed within the organization as their most prized quarterback since Terry Bradshaw in the 1970s.
But the Steelers (2-4) place considerable value in the post-concussion tests that are widely used in the NFL and were developed by two doctors, Joseph Maroon and Mark Lovell, and their research teams at the University of Pittsburgh.
"I feel very comfortable with the fact our doctor here, Dr. Maroon, is one of the experts that a lot of people have come to in regards to this injury, so I'm very comfortable," Cowher said. "To me, this is not my decision, it's the doctor's decision."
A player is tested initially when he is healthy, and the results are compared later to those after a player has received a concussion. The tests measure memory, motor skills and speed of response, and any recurring post-concussion symptoms normally show up immediately. Any player who has such symptoms is told he should not play.
"From talking to Dr. Maroon I think that people always speculate that after you have one concussion, you're susceptible to more and then more on top of that," Roethlisberger said. "But from what we've researched and understood is that as time passes, that susceptibility goes away."
However, Roethlisberger's symptoms - being unconscious on the field, memory loss and headaches - are commonly defined by some prominent neurosurgeons as being consistent with a severe concussion.
Some doctors and researchers in the field believe NFL players are allowed to return too quickly from concussions. Among the recent stars who retired because of concussion-related problems were quarterbacks Steve Young and Troy Aikman.
Since June, Roethlisberger sustained facial injuries and a concussion while being tossed off his motorcycle at nearly 40 miles per hour and thrown onto a car; had his appendix removed; and received a second concussion from the on-field hit.
"It's been a bad few months," he said. "Hopefully, it will get better."
Meanwhile, Pro Bowl linebacker Joey Porter (hamstring) also looks ready to go against Oakland (1-5) after being upgraded from questionable to probable. He has missed two games.
Clark Haggans (ankle), the other outside linebacker, and nose tackle Casey Hampton (hamstring) did not practice and remain questionable.
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Steelers super slide continues as Big Ben throws 4 interceptions
Monday, October 30, 2006

By Ed Bouchette, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Those headaches quarterback Ben Roethlisberger felt after his concussion last week spread to the rest of the Steelers as they continued their pratfall through the National Football League less than nine months after winning the Super Bowl.

Roethlisberger, knocked out of the game last week in Atlanta with a concussion, returned to have the worst game of his three-year NFL career yesterday. He threw a career-high four interceptions, two of them returned for Oakland's only touchdowns, as the underdog Raiders stunned the Steelers, 20-13, and left their season in shambles.

Their fifth loss in six games left the reigning NFL champions 2-5 and tied for last in the AFC North Division with the Cleveland Browns, a stunning turnaround from their past two seasons. No more surprising was the play of their quarterback, who refused to use the head injury of last week as an excuse.

"I'm embarrassed by the way I played," Roethlisberger said.

Cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha returned the first interception 24 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter, and corner Chris Carr returned the last one 100 yards for another.

Hines Ward, who led the Steelers' receivers with eight receptions for 81 yards, could not say what was going on with the quarterback who threw seven touchdowns and no interceptions in his preview two games.

"I can't tell you why he threw certain balls," Ward said. "You'll have to ask Ben on that."

For the third time in five losses, the Steelers dominated the opposition but lost the game because of turnovers. They outgained Oakland (2-5) by a whopping 360 yards to 98 and allowed the Raiders just one third-down conversion on 11 tries.

But the interceptions, and failure to score on first down at Oakland's 1 at the end of the game, doomed the Steelers to one of the worst seven-game starts for a defending Super Bowl champion in history.

"It is kind of shocking," defensive end Brett Keisel said. "I never thought we'd be in this position."

"This is frustrating," said receiver Cedrick Wilson.

Coach Bill Cowher did not say much, but said Roethlisberger's interceptions were the difference.

"There's not a whole lot to say," said Cowher, who decided to start Roethlisberger after he received midweek medical clearance and the quarterback told him he was fine. "We had four interceptions, two interceptions for touchdowns. It was hard to overcome, yet we still had some opportunities at the end of the game and we couldn't put it in."

The Steelers of the past few years thrived on having first down at the opponent's 1, and that's just where they found themselves, down by seven and three minutes left. They had just sliced a 14-point gap in half when a hurry-up series ended with Willie Parker's 25-yard touchdown run on a screen pass with 7:41 to go.

But, with the ball on the 1 and a tie score luring them, Parker lost a yard and a second run by Najeh Davenport lost 3 more. Davenport jumped for a false start on the next play, and it was third down at the 10. Ward caught a 7-yard pass to the 3 which brought up fourth down.

Roethlisberger's pass to Santonio Holmes was broken up by linebacker Kirk Morrison with 1:38 left.

It was over, just about: The Steelers' defense, as it did virtually all day, stopped the Raiders, and, with 36 seconds left, their offense came alive again. A 49-yard desperation pass on the final play to Nate Washington ended when he was tackled at Oakland's 4.

Perhaps the Steelers miss the retired Jerome Bettis, who had an uncanny knack for scoring in goal-line situations the past two seasons. It's an area they owned since 2004, but they were shoved back by the Raiders yesterday.

"We were going backward instead of forward," guard Alan Faneca said. "That's not what you want down there."

It reflected a daylong malaise in their ground game, which has been inconsistent through the first half of the season. Parker managed only 83 yards on 22 carries, and the Steelers finished with 89 yards rushing and a 3.2-yard average against the NFL's 26th-ranked run defense.

"We take pride as an offensive line being able to get that yard, being in that root-hog situation, and today we didn't get it," tackle Max Starks said.

Even with its running game grounded, the Steelers easily would have won without the four interceptions.

Two of the Steelers' first three drives ended when Roethlisberger threw an interception. The second was intended for Wilson from the Steelers' 10. Linebacker Thomas Howard tipped it, and Asomugha picked it off. He returned it untouched 24 yards for a touchdown that put Oakland ahead, 7-0, with 6:12 left in the first quarter.

Jeff Reed kicked field goals of 29 and 39 yards in the second quarter to cut into the lead. But, after his second kick, the coverage teams collapsed again when Chris Carr returned the kickoff 50 yards.

That helped the Raiders set up Sebastian Janikowski for a 19-yard field goal with four seconds left in the half that extended their lead to four points.

Oakland went up, 13-6, when Janikowski kicked a 41-yard field goal in the third quarter. The Raiders were aided on that drive by 30 yards in penalties on consecutive plays. Linebacker Larry Foote was flagged for a personal foul, and the defense was called for another unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty.

Roethlisberger's third interception on the first play of the fourth quarter killed a Steelers drive in Oakland territory.

On fourth-and-1 at the Raiders' 37, Roethlisberger dropped back into the shotgun formation, threw toward Ward, and Morrison intercepted it.

"I was throwing to Hines, and the guy jumps out of nowhere and picks it off," Roethlisberger said.

That was nothing compared to Roethlisberger's fourth interception.

Parker had just run 39 yards off right tackle on third-and-1 to give the Steelers a first down at Oakland's 10. But Roethlisberger's high, hard throw glanced off the outstretched hands of Heath Miller in the end zone on second down.

On third down, Roethlisberger threw into triple coverage for Nate Washington. Carr intercepted on the goal line and sprinted 100 yards for a touchdown that put the Raiders in front, 20-6, with 9:32 left.

That they surged at the end to nearly tie it was of little comfort to a team bewildered by where it stands today.

"We know we're a good football team," Keisel said. "But the bottom line is we've lost five games. Close games or not close games, we still lost. We're sitting here at 2-5. We have to do something about it."
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http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06303/734145-66.stm
 
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Steelers' running game goes in reverse, fails to convert in critical situations
Monday, October 30, 2006

By Gerry Dulac, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Willie Parker was standing at his locker, getting dressed with his back to the rest of room, trying to hide the disappointment of a loss to a team he said the Steelers should beat. He was still wet from a postgame shower, but it wasn't the moisture he was trying to wipe away with a towel.

After a game in which the Steelers already have matched the number of defeats they had in 2005, Parker was trying to come clean with the realization that even the Oakland Raiders, the worst team in the NFL, can find a way to beat the defending Super Bowl champion.

Of course, it wasn't helping matters that Parker and the running game couldn't gain a yard when the Steelers still had a chance to salvage overtime. Especially against a team that is not exactly known for throttling the run.

"We're just not matching teams' intensity right now," Parker said, shaking his head with disgust. "We play a team that's 1-5, we're gonna play like we're 1-5. If they were a team that's 8-3 or 6-1 or 7-1 or 4-2, we're going to play like that caliber team. And we can't do that. We got to win this game."

When all was said and done yesterday in the Black Hole known as McAfee Coliseum, after the final one of Ben Roethlisberger's four interceptions was returned 100 yards for a touchdown, after Parker had 11 runs of 1 yard or less against a defense that ranked near the bottom of the NFL, the Steelers still had a chance to force overtime against a team that managed just 98 yards of offense.

But, in the end, in perhaps what will become a microcosm of a season that has taken another step closer to extinction, the failure to convert from first-and-goal at the Raiders' 1 in the final two minutes will ultimately serve as this team's epitaph.

The team that prides itself on being able to run the ball went backward, instead of forward, a moment that will only add insult to what was an embarrassing 20-13 loss to the Raiders.

"Huge, man," Parker said. "Really huge."

"We were going backward instead of going forward," guard Alan Faneca said.

"That's everything right there," left tackle Marvel Smith said. "When we get down on the 1, that's something where it shouldn't even be a question [if] we're going to get it in there. That's a situation where everyone has to knuckle up and do their job."

Not that the Steelers were doing their job for most of the sun-splashed afternoon. Certainly not on offense, not when Roethlisberger was sacked five times and had interceptions returned 24 and 100 yards for touchdowns. Not when the running game managed just 89 yards on 28 rushes against a defense that was allowing an average of 132.5 yards per game, 26th in the NFL. And that included a 39-yard run by Parker that set up a field goal, the only run longer than 7 yards.

But, despite the inefficiency and ineptitude, despite giving the Raiders their only two touchdowns, the Steelers had a chance to lean on their running game when it mattered most. And, just like their season, they came up short.

Even headed backward.

"We took two running plays and we had minus-3 yards," coach Bill Cowher said. "I was disappointed."

Actually, it was minus-4 yards, but who's counting.

Parker lost 1 on first down from the Raiders' 1 when he was hit by linebacker Robert Thomas. Then, after replacing Parker with 255-pound Najeh Davenport on second down, Thomas knifed through again and dropped Davenport for a 3-yard loss, hitting him almost as soon as he took the handoff from Roethlisberger.

If that wasn't enough, Davenport committed a false-start penalty on third down, pushing the Steelers back to the Raiders' 10. Roethlisberger got 7 yards back with a third-down pass to Hines Ward, but, on fourth down, after rolling to his left, Roethlisberger's pass for Santonio Holmes in the end zone was broken up by linebacker Kirk Morrison, who also had a game-high nine tackles and an interception.

"We got stuffed," Faneca said.

Indeed.

Anyone remember Jerome Bettis? It was his December 2005 touchdown run against the Chicago Bears, in which he steam-rolled linebacker Brian Urlacher, that crystallized the Steelers' determined run to the playoffs and Super Bowl.

Now, less than a year later, the Steelers are reminded how much they miss their 255-pound running back.

"There are certain plays you're going to hit it, and those plays we got to take advantage of," Smith said. "They're going to make some plays, but we got to make the plays that are there for us, and we didn't. We didn't get anything established till late, when we had to do it. But we have to do it for four quarters."

Parker helped the late charge with a 25-yard touchdown on a screen pass from Roethlisberger with 7:18 remaining. But that didn't erase the disappointment of not being able to convert from 36 inches when it mattered most.

"We got to do a better job," Parker said.

Even the towel couldn't soak up the disappointment.
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http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06303/734143-66.stm
 
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Canton

Cowher taking blame
Wednesday, November 1, 2006
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

PITTSBURGH Bill Cowher isn't blaming Ben Roethlisberger's frequent interceptions for the Pittsburgh Steelers' terrible record. Or a major falloff by the special teams. Or a surprisingly inconsistent offensive line. Cowher is faulting the boss.
"Obviously, there's a lot of disappointment to be sitting here at 2-5. I accept full responsibility for that," Cowher said Tuesday. "It starts with me. There's been a lot of frustration ... in the different ways we have found to lose. The bottom line is we have lost."
Cowher dismissed his own uncertain future as a reason for the Super Bowl champions' stumbling - he hasn't said if he will return in 2007 - and that topic is almost never mentioned by his players.
What has become worrisome is that the Steelers already trail Baltimore (5-2) by three games in the AFC North with the season not yet half over.
"Each of us is going to have to do more and that starts with me," Cowher said of a team that has as many losses in seven games as it did in 20 games a season ago. "The focus right now is to win a football game and get out of this funk we're in."
After losing to one of the NFL's weakest teams, Oakland (2-5) by 20-13, the Steelers meet Denver (5-2) in a rematch of the AFC Championship game Sunday in Pittsburgh. Cowher's biggest concern might be his team's fading confidence, a quality that was not a problem as the Steelers won 31 games, counting the playoffs, the last two seasons.
"Confidence is a fragile thing," Cowher said. "We have no reason to be a confident team at this point. We haven't done the things it takes to win games."
The Steelers appeared to be coming together after beating Kansas City 45-7 on Oct. 15, but that is their only victory in their last six games. They lost to Atlanta 41-38 in overtime a week later after Roethlisberger, who had thrown five TD passes in less than two full games, left with a concussion during the third quarter.
That concussion wasn't a problem in Oakland, Cowher said, yet the third-year quarterback looked like a different player than the week before. He appeared to be anticipating getting sacked several times, ducking under before the pass rushers arrived. Two of his four interceptions were returned for touchdowns.
Roethlisberger won 27 of his first 31 NFL starts, yet is 1-5 this season.
Still, Cowher didn't hesitate to start Roethlisberger against the Raiders despite the concussion, and never considered replacing him with backup Charlie Batch. Cowher suggested Roethlisberger's biggest problem was trying to do too much after the Steelers fell behind 7-0 and 20-7.
"With three of them (interceptions), he's got to use better judgment," Cowher said. "He would admit to that. To get the ball at the 1-yard line (late in the game) and not score with that - the inconsistencies, we've got to eliminate them. And we are not doing that."
Cowher wouldn't speculate if Roethlisberger's repeated health issues have factored into his falloff in play.
"That's a hard question to answer," he said. "It's all speculation."
 
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Cincy

Steelers' line changing, results aren't
Who's in, who's out?
BY ALAN ROBINSON | THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

PITTSBURGH - For two seasons, the Pittsburgh Steelers' offensive line was so good almost nobody paid any attention to it.
When an offensive line gets noticed, it's almost always for the wrong reasons - sacks, running-play breakdowns, holding penalties, holes that don't get opened, short-yardage plays that don't get converted.
The Steelers' line has had all of the above during a discouragingly bad season for what usually is one of the NFL's most solid units.
Coach Bill Cowher has noticed, and he singled out his offensive line by saying it has to perform better, and now. The Steelers (2-5) play the Broncos (5-2) at home Sunday in a rematch of last season's AFC championship, won by Pittsburgh 34-17 in Denver.
The Broncos might be able to do to the Steelers what Pittsburgh did to them in January: end their season. If the Steelers fall to 2-6, their only chance to make the playoffs might be to win their final eight games.
"We're disappointed in our play," right tackle Max Starks said. "We're not proud of the way we're playing. You look at film and see how we dominated last year, then to get to a situation where you're on edge about things ..."
Perhaps the prime example of the offensive line's falloff came in Sunday's 20-13 loss in Oakland, when the Steelers couldn't score to tie it after having a first-and-goal at the Raiders' 1 in the closing minutes.
"There have been a lot of inconsistencies with our team," Cowher said. "There's a lot of work to be done."
The Steelers had continuity on their offensive line in 2004 and 2005, but have been juggling players lately. Three weeks ago, former first-round draft pick Kendall Simmons was benched at right guard for Chris Kemoeatu, a sixth-rounder last year, but Simmons might return Sunday.
Center Jeff Hartings is out this week with a knee injury, with Chukky Okobi making his first start since starting five times in 2002. Starks would also be a candidate for benching if a backup were pushing him, as he was constantly beaten off the edge last week by the Raiders' Derrick Burgess (2? sacks) and Tommy Kelly (1? sacks).
There's more. Steelers quarterbacks have been sacked 22 times, an average of more than three per game. The constant pressure also has helped create 18 turnovers, five fewer than the Steelers had all last season.
A running game that was in the top five in yardage the last two seasons is 16th overall, with Willie Parker averaging nearly a yard per carry less than last season (3.8 to 4.7).
"That's the good thing about having a game this week," Starks said. "You can put last week behind you."
How many more weeks can the Steelers keep putting losses behind them? The Steelers dominated Denver in the AFC championship in January, yet Broncos defensive lineman Ebenezer Ekuban can't wait to get at Ben Roethlisberger.
The way Ekuban is talking, he plans to do exactly that.
Ekuban was happy to hear that Cowher won't go to backup Charlie Batch, saying he fears Batch more. Roethlisberger threw four interceptions against Oakland, two for touchdowns, while Batch has five TD passes and no interceptions this season.
"I just pray that Ben plays another game before they sit him down," Ekuban said. "Come on, one more game."
Ekuban suggested that Batch's mobility is more worrisome than Roethlisberger's, especially since the Steelers prefer to keep their Super Bowl QB in the pocket.
"The videotape doesn't lie," Ekuban said. "When they played against Atlanta, (Batch) did some great things. ... Nothing against Ben, he's a Super Bowl quarterback. But, you know what, the tape doesn't lie."
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My father in-law has been giving me all kinds of shit about how poorly the Steelers are playing - funny since he is a browns fan - I tried explaining to him yesterday that this is a once in a few years thing for the steelers not an every year thing like cleveland
 
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iambrutus;654253; said:
My father in-law has been giving me all kinds of shit about how poorly the Steelers are playing - funny since he is a browns fan - I tried explaining to him yesterday that this is a once in a few years thing for the steelers not an every year thing like cleveland
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Yes, but there is something to be said for becoming numb to losing.
 
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