The Pittsburgh Steelers came into Monday night’s game against the Baltimore Ravens needing to rebound from a dismal performance in Philadelphia. They were already minus star RB Willie Parker and had some absences on defense, notably Casey Hampton and Brett Keisel. As if that wasn’t enough, the injury bug hit the Steelers hard against the Ravens. Andre Frazier was carted off with a spinal injury on the opening kickoff, but by the end of the night he was walking around the locker room talking with teammates. Luckily for Frazier, the injury was nowhere near as bad as it initially looked. However, quite a few others weren’t so lucky.The rookie RB out of Illinois, Rashard Mendenhall, was tackled by Ray Lewis in the third quarter. The hit from Lewis fractured Mendenhall’s shoulder. Just like that, your top two running backs are out. Mendenhall is now done for the season, and Parker is still out at least for this Sunday night’s game in Jacksonville. Cue Carey Davis to take over the bulk of the carries. But he too left the game with a sprained ankle in the second half. So that left Mewelde Moore, the 4th-string back to carry the load. Davis is expected to miss this week’s game against the Jaguars, which means the Pittsburgh Steelers now only have ONE healthy RB on their roster in Moore.
That means they are in need of two RBs to fill the void in the backfield. One player you should expect to see is Gary Russell, who will most likely be promoted from the practice squad. Another name that keeps getting thrown around is the man who left so much to be desired when Willie Parker got injured late last season, Najeh Davenport. If Najeh is going to return, he better prove himself ASAP, because we’re only a month into the season, and already this team is on life support at the RB position.
That means they are in need of two RBs to fill the void in the backfield. One player you should expect to see is Gary Russell, who will most likely be promoted from the practice squad. Another name that keeps getting thrown around is the man who left so much to be desired when Willie Parker got injured late last season, Najeh Davenport. If Najeh is going to return, he better prove himself ASAP, because we’re only a month into the season, and already this team is on life support at the RB position.
If that’s not enough, Kendall Simmons was carted off the field with an injury and will not play against the Jaguars. Darnell Stapleton came in to replace Simmons against the Ravens, but they’re looking at a couple other possibilities. The first option is to start Trai Essex, who is more experienced, but just as much of a louse as Simmons. The other option they appear to be looking at is moving Willie Colon to guard and, in his spot, starting Max Starks at tackle that lost his starting job for a reason. Neither Essex nor Starks are any good, and for that matter, neither is Kendall Simmons. I’m cringing right now seeing the idea of starting either of these bozos. If you’re a Steelers fan, it’s time to hit the panic button for the offense.
They have one of the toughest schedules in the NFL this year, at least they did before other teams got bit by key injuries, and they desperately need some help. The good news for them is that the AFC North has two dreadful teams in Cleveland and Cincinnati, while the Ravens are starting a rookie quarterback.
But if the Steelers keep getting hit with injuries, their lock on winning the AFC North could change in a hurry. Or, more appropriately, it could make going anywhere in the playoffs absolutely impossible.
They have one of the toughest schedules in the NFL this year, at least they did before other teams got bit by key injuries, and they desperately need some help. The good news for them is that the AFC North has two dreadful teams in Cleveland and Cincinnati, while the Ravens are starting a rookie quarterback.
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