| Newsbreakers |
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| Steelers wide receiver Nate Washington scored a touchdown and added 94 yards in the Steelers win on Sunday night football. |
Our View: The touchdown was the receivers first score of the year. With Washington's 94 yards receiving it was 20 more than he had all year. |
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| Hines Ward caught seven passes for 90 yards and a touchdown in the Steelers' 26-21 win over the Jaguars. |
Our View: The touchdown reception was Ward's fourth of 2008 season and continues to be one of the best receivers in the league. |
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| Ben Roethlisberger came into Sunday night's game versus the Jaguars questionable to even play but he did play and he tore up the Jacksonville defense. Big Ben completed 26 passes for 309 yards and a score in the Steelers victory. |
Our View: Roethlisberger was hit and beat up all night but continued to battle. With the Steelers trailing late in the fourth quarter, Big Ben was hit hard and aggravated his shoulder injury. Two plays later he throw the game-winning touchdown. |
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| In his first start of the 2008 season, Mewelde Moore rushed for 99 yards on 17 carries in place of starter Willie Parker on Sunday night at Jacksonville. |
Our View: The word is that Parker will be back after the Steelers' Week 6 bye, but Moore gives them two options in the backfield and should continue to see action in third-down and obvious passing situations. |
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| Marvel Smith was being carted to the Steelers locker room with cramps. |
Our View: The Steelers are calling Smith's return questionable. |
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| Head coach Mike Tomlin told NBC that Najeh Davenport will be the Steelers emergency short yardage back against the Jaguars. |
Our View: Davenport has not taken a hit in over nine months. To go along with his limited duty on the ground, he will be the kickoff return man. |
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| Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who is listed as questionable for Sunday night’s game in Jacksonville with a shoulder injury, is going to try to play, according to Adam Schefter of the NFL Network.
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Our View: Big Ben didn't practice Wednesday or Thursday and was limited on Friday. Backup quarterback Byron leftwich took a lot of snaps in practice this week, but Roethlisberger wants to try to go and expects to play. |
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| Bryant McFadden will continue to start at left cornerback over veteran Deshea Townsend Sunday at Jacksonville, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Coach Mike Tomlin said, "He is a starter and Deshea is healthy enough to play, we'll say that. It really doesn't matter. He's out there playing. But, right now, Bryant McFadden is the starter at left corner."
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Our View: Townsend will work as the nickel back in the team's substitution packages. McFadden has been productive with 21 tackles (19 solo), one fumble recovery and two interceptions over the first quarter of the season, and is worth fantasy consideration for IDP leagues while he remains a starter over Townsend. |
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| The Steelers added Scott Paxson from their practice squad to their active roster Saturday. He replaces Patrick Bailey, who was cut. |
Our View: Paxon is irrelevant for fantasy purposes. |
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| Sean McHugh will start at fullback Sunday with Carey Davis out, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. |
Our View: McHugh had to play the position last week after Davis went down and did a fine job. |
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| Willie Parker lobbied to play Sunday against the Jaguars, but he understands that the coaches wanted to hold him out one more week as a precaution, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Barring a setback, Parker said he will play against the Bengals on Oct. 19 following the team's bye week. "I know I could play this week," said Parker. "(The coaches) know I could play this week. I think it's best that I do sit out and relax and then come back (after the bye)." |
Our View: It's good to hear that Fast Willie is nearly back to 100 percent, as the Steelers are very thin at running back now with Rashard Mendenhall out for the year. |
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| Willie Parker told television station KDKA in Pittsburgh recently that offensive coordinator Bruce Arians told him that the team's gameplan this week is to give the Jaguars a healthy dose of the no-huddle offense, according to the Florida Times-Union. "Honestly, this week in the game plan, that's all we're going to be doing," Parker told the station. "I talked with offensive coordinator [Arians], and [he said], 'Let's stick with the no-huddle this week.' Even though I'm not playing, he still kind of comes to me and tells me what the game plan is going to be, and we're going to do a lot of no huddle this week." |
Our View: Is this a bit of gamesmanship on Parker's part, or do the Steelers really plan to air it out? On one hand it seems like a good idea because the team is starting Mewelde Moore at tailback, but on the other hand Ben Roethlisberger is dealing with a sore shoulder. The team employed the no-huddle to success last week in the comeback win over Baltimore. |
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| Because Mewelde Moore will be starting this weekend, Najeh Davenport will assume the kickoff return duties, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. |
Our View: Davenport usually returned kicks during the last two years with Pittsburgh, so he shouldn't have any problems on Sunday. |
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| James Harrison missed the first two days of practice this week due to a deep thigh bruise, but he returned on Friday and is expected to start this weekend, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. |
Our View: Harrison has been the most productive fantasy linebacker in the league so far, so be sure he's in your lineup this weekend. |
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| Ben Roethlisberger returned to practice Friday and is expected to start Sunday against the Jaguars, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Big Ben received an injection in his sore right shoulder on Thursday. |
Our View: Byron Lefwitch will be around just in case Roethlisberger has a setback, but it appears that Big Ben is good to go for this weekend, though his matchup is less than ideal. |
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| Ben Roethlisberger is listed as questionable according to the injury report. He missed multiple practices this week because of his lingering shoulder issues. |
Our View: If he is unable to go, expect Byron Leftwich to start under center on Sunday. We will keep you updated on Big Ben's status. |
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| Mewelde Moore will be the starting running back for the Pittsburgh Steelers when the team faces the Jaguars on Sunday, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. |
Our View: Willie Parker, Rashard Mendenhall and Carey Davis are each out with injury, opening the door for Moore, Gary Russell and Najeh Davenport to share the load. |
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| Steelers linebacker Andre Frazier was practicing with the team, just days after he was taken off the field on a stretcher during the team's Week 4 game Baltimore, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "It might have been like a slight concussion. They were more worried about my spine and neck. I felt tingling, and that's something related to when you have a spinal concussion," Frazier said. |
Our View: Frazier was injured on the opening kickoff, and he still must undergo more tests to determine whether or not he will be allowed to play. |
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| Santonio Holmes is dealing with a knee injury but was able to fully practice Thursday without a problem, according to the Steelers' official website. |
Our View: He should be fine to start Sunday's game at Jacksonville. He was held to four receptions for 34 yards in his previous meeting with the Jaguars in 2007. |
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| Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger sat out practice for the second consecutive day, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. |
Our View: Roethlisberger got an injection in his shoulder, which was the reason for his absence. He is still expected to start for Pittsburgh in their contest against Jacksonville. |
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| Jeff Reed was named the AFC special teams player of the week for Week 4 after the Steelers overtime win over the Ravens, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Reed was 3-for-3 on field goal attempts on Monday night. |
Our View: Reed has been perfect kicking this year. He has made all seven of his field goal attempts and all of his extra points. |
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| Grant Mason was released by the Steelers on Wednesday, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. |
Our View: Mason had yet to play in a game in 2008. |
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| Ben Roethlisberger has been nursing a shoulder injury for most of the year and sat out practice on Wednesday, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. |
Our View: The number of sacks that Big Ben has been taking is definitely taking a toll on the quarterback. In four games he has been sacked 13 times. Even though he has spent a lot of time on the turf, Roethlisberger has thrown four touchdowns and only two interceptions. |
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| As expected, Gary Russell has been promoted from the practice squad to the Steelers' 53-man roster, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. |
Our View: Davis could be in the mix at running back Sunday, but has a tough match-up against Jacksonville and is not likely to make an impact. |
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| Carey Davis is progressing in his recovery from a sprained ankle, but coach Mike Tomlin said it is too early to determine if he can play Sunday at Jacksonville, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. |
Our View: Davis is currently the only fullback on the Steelers' roster. Najeh Davenport has experience working at fullback while with Green Bay, and could be employed at the position if Davis is unable to go. That would leave most of the workload at running back to Mewelde Moore, with Willie Parker and Rashard Mendenhall out. H-Back Sean McHugh is also an option at fullback. |
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