Steelers Talk

[BuckNutty]

Have to wonder what this signing means for Duce Staley(I'm not referring to his closets).

Davenport putting past behind him


By Mike Prisuta
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Tuesday, September 12, 2006


It's been more than four years, and Najeh Davenport, the Steelers' newest running back, still can't escape from being linked to an incident in college.
A few weeks before he was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in April 2002, Davenport was accused by Miami Shores police of entering a dorm room at Barry University in the early morning hours of April 1, 2002.

Mary McCarthy, asleep in the room, told police she was awakened by a strange sound and saw a man squatting in her closet. The man, later identified as Davenport, had defecated in her laundry basket, police said.

"You're telling me it's a bizarre story?" Davenport said Monday. "You try looking at it from the inside-out. You try sitting there and have me ask you about that.

"The way they concluded it was me, she picked me out of the media guide three months later, after I'd been drafted by the Green Bay Packers," said Davenport, who was added to the Steelers' roster Friday.

In July 2002, Davenport was charged with a second-degree felony count of burglary and a misdemeanor count of criminal mischief. Later that year, he agreed to do community service in exchange for having the charges dropped.

"When it first happened and I got charged with it, I didn't want to come outside," Davenport said. "They didn't label it as defecating in a woman's closet; they said 'burglary of an occupied dwelling.' I'm trying to figure out whose house I broke into."

Davenport maintained his innocence at the time, and he repeated that stance yesterday.

When asked if the incident had actually happened, he replied "no."

"The case is over with," Davenport said.

Davenport said it was settled with a "pre-trial intervention."

"That was something that my lawyer and my agent set up," he said. "They tried to make it disappear and get it out of the way and let me go on and focus on my career.

"If I knew what I know now back then, I'd have gone to trial with it. But they were telling me, under the circumstances, to sweep it under the rug, get it out of the way, go play football, have a blessed career."

Mike Prisuta can be reached at mprisuta@tribweb.com.

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pitt.../s_470060.html

[BuckNutty]

Polamalu's shoulder a concern for Steelers
Questionable for Monday with shoulder injury
Wednesday, September 13, 2006

By Ed Bouchette, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette


Matt Freed, Post-Gazette
James Farrior, right, congratulates teammate Troy Polamalu after he intercepted a Dolphins pass Thursday at Heinz Field.


Disputes abound about which player the Steelers can least afford to lose. No debate is creditable without including strong safety Troy Polamalu in the discussion.

The Steelers have never provided evidence for that one because Polamalu has not missed a game in his three previous seasons. However, coach Bill Cowher yesterday listed his All-Pro safety as questionable for the game Monday night in Jacksonville because of a shoulder injury from Thursday's 28-17 victory against Miami at Heinz Field.

Cowher said yesterday he did not know how Polamalu's shoulder was injured and provided no more details. He said Thursday night that the injury occurred in the first half.

Polamalu could be seen on the sideline having his shoulder looked at -- just before he returned to the field in the fourth quarter and intercepted a pass from Miami quarterback Daunte Culpepper to help sustain the Steelers' lead.

Polamalu has made the past two Pro Bowls and has helped make the Steelers' defense more complicated for opposing quarterbacks because of his versatility. He's in constant movement before and after the snap and can play safety, linebacker, cornerback and rush the passer.

He started every game the past two seasons and played in every game as a rookie in 2003. Polamalu ranked third on the team last year with 100 tackles, tops in the secondary. He also had three fumble recoveries and two interceptions, and his three sacks in one game tied an NFL record for a safety.

Cowher also listed tight end Jerame Tuman as questionable for Monday's game, as well as quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. Tuman missed the opener with a hamstring injury.

"Jerame will work [today] and we will see how he feels Thursday and we will have more of an update on him later in the week," Cowher said.

The coach listed three players as probable this week: Receiver Hines Ward (hamstring), receiver Nate Washington (knee) and tackle Max Starks (knee).

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06256/721343-66.stm

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

ABJ

Roethlisberger ponders 'black cloud'

ALAN ROBINSON

Associated Press

<!-- begin body-content -->PITTSBURGH - Ben Roethlisberger is beginning to wonder about what he calls "that black cloud over my head."
The knee injury that kept him out of three games last season. The motorcycle crash in June that shattered his face and caused so much bleeding paramedics feared he might die. The appendectomy that forced him to miss the Pittsburgh Steelers' first game, just when it seemed he had made a remarkably fast recovery from the crash.
"I've been through a little bit the last couple of months, but it's just another thing," Roethlisberger said Wednesday, when he practiced for the first time since his latest operation. "Things happen for a reason, and I'm taking that approach. That's why I'm going to get back as soon as I can."
In his mind, that means Monday's game in Jacksonville - two weeks and a day after his third operation in 10 months. Listed as questionable, he sounds like someone who's convinced he's ready to return.
"It feels normal," Roethlisberger said. "It feels like nothing's wrong."
His midsection remains a little sore, he said, but the discomfort is not expected to be a problem by Monday.
Wide receiver Hines Ward played two weeks after having an appendectomy during training camp in 2002 and made eight catches in a season-opening game against New England. He expects Roethlisberger to play but said there is bound to be some physical discomfort.
"There's no question you feel it. I mean, you just went under the knife," Ward said. "You're going to feel the pain a little bit. One play I got hit right in the stomach, right in the abdomen. It hurt a little bit, but it was more mental than anything else, because I saw I was going to get hit there. Once I got over the mental thing, I felt fine."
Roethlisberger, talking to reporters for the first time since his appendix attack, said he had no warning that he had a problem. He and backup quarterback Charlie Batch attended the Virginia-Pitt game the night before Roethlisberger woke up Sept. 3 with a bad stomachache.
"I didn't know what it was, so I just came in here," Roethlisberger said, referring to the Steelers' practice complex. "I passed coach (Bill Cowher) along the way. He told me to suck it up, it's just one of those things. You think it's a stomachache, and it turns out to be a lot worse than you think."
To try to keep the quarterback healthy, defensive end Brett Keisel put a partly empty bottle of water in Roethlisberger's locker for good luck. Apparently, playing off the adage that it should be viewed as half full rather than half empty.
Roethlisberger wants to get back as quickly as he can, even though backup Batch threw three touchdown passes in the 28-17 victory over Miami on Sept. 7. Although the Steelers did not practice Monday and Tuesday, Roethlisberger did some light throwing with his receivers both days.
Last season, Roethlisberger had to sit out a 23-17 overtime loss to Jacksonville in Pittsburgh because of a knee injury unrelated to the one that required surgery several weeks later. Tommy Maddox replaced him in that game, turning the ball over four times, twice in overtime.
"It's always a battle with them," Roethlisberger said. "Their front seven on defense is unbelievable, and they've got some hard hitters in the secondary that are really smart. It's going to be a challenge for us offensively."
<!-- end body-content -->

[BuckNutty]

Big Ben feels fine, frets about ex-coach
Thursday, September 14, 2006

By Ed Bouchette, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Yes, Ben Roethlisberger practiced yesterday, perhaps with a heavy heart, and that has nothing to do with another emergency medical procedure performed on him.

Roethlisberger came through his Sept. 3 appendectomy fine, as he did his June 12 motorcycle accident, and is likely to start at quarterback Monday night in Jacksonville for the Steelers.

He can only hope his former coach at Miami University, Terry Hoeppner, comes through in equally fine fashion. Hoeppner, with whom Roethlisberger remains close, underwent brain surgery yesterday in a Bloomington, Ind., hospital for the second time in less than nine months after a scan showed evidence of a possible recurrent tumor.

Hoeppner, now at Indiana, came through the surgery well and was resting comfortably, Hoosiers athletic director Rick Greenspan said.

Roethlisberger and Hoeppner talked Tuesday morning.

"He wanted to inform me of everything that was going on before I heard about it from all of you guys," Roethlisberger said. "We talked. He's like a father to me, I love him to death. I know he'll be OK because he's a fighter and he's a competitor. The way he made it out to me, it's not as serious as everyone's making it out to be."

Neither were many of the things about Roethlisberger that led off the 5, 6 and 11 p.m. news shows. He was the big story again yesterday when he returned to practice, 10 days after his laparoscopic appendectomy at UPMC Presbyterian. He has been cleared medically, and there's no reason for him not to play unless he is so uncomfortable that it could affect his performance in Jacksonville.

"It feels normal," Roethlisberger said. "Everything feels like there's nothing wrong.

"Obviously the first priority is discomfort -- what's going to be comfortable? I wear rib pads anyway so we'll see how that feels putting those on."

Wide receiver Hines Ward watched practice in sweats as coach Bill Cowher gave him the day off to allow his sore hamstring more recovery time. He was in good position to assess Roethlisberger's latest comeback attempt, and he gave him two thumbs up.

"He did pretty well," Ward said. "He threw the ball well, he went through it. From what I saw, he felt fine.

"He practiced, so that's the encouraging thing. He went out there and threw the ball around, got in with the first group and did a great job. He threw some great balls and receivers made plays. He's taking steps in the right direction."

He took all those steps in training camp, showing that he had overcome the broken jaw, broken nose, broken orbital bone and broken teeth that occurred when his helmetless head was smacked in the motorcycle accident. On the morning he was to begin practice for the opener against Miami, he reported a stomach ache to Cowher.

"He told me to suck it up," Roethlisberger said. "And then, it's just one of those things, you think it's a stomach ache, and it turns out a lot worse than you think."

Defensive end Brett Keisel, who said last week that Roethlisberger is cursed, tried to remove that curse yesterday by giving Roethlisberger a bottle of "lucky" water. The quarterback called it half full, rather than half empty.

There is that little matter of his first two seasons in the league, in which he has led his team to a Super Bowl victory and an overall 27-4 record with him as their starting quarterback. Dan Marino would take a curse such as that.

"I've got that black cloud over my head," Roethlisberger said.

He has overcome November knee surgery to win a Super Bowl, a near-fatal motorcycle accident to participate in training camp and an appendectomy to likely play in the second game of the season.

"I've been through a little bit in the past couple of months," Roethlisberger said, "but it's just another thing, obviously for a reason. I'm taking that approach, and that's why I'm going to get back as soon as I can."

Ward is confident Roethlisberger will start in Jacksonville Monday night.

"Ben surprises everyone. He has a high tolerance for pain. He's going to fight through whatever."

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06257/721682-66.stm

[BuckNutty]

Steelers RB Staley takes high road on inactivity
Thursday, September 14, 2006

By Ed Bouchette, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Duce Staley does not understand why the Steelers keep signing running backs to try to do a job he feels fully capable of handling.

One week ago, it was undrafted rookie Patrick Cobbs, acquired in a trade with New England. Now, it's veteran Najeh Davenport, signed off the scrap heap Friday after Green Bay released him.

"It's part of the business," Staley said yesterday after practice. "I can't really sit here and say I've never seen it before because I have. It's part of the business, and that's something that's going to be done whether I like it or not."

All he wants, he said, is the chance to show he can still cut it at age 31. It's something, he said, he cannot do in practice. He says he still has the zip in his legs required for a successful running back in the NFL.

"Oh, yeah, I know I do; I know I do. It's all about opportunity, to get in there and prove that. You and I can sit here and talk about it back and forth forever, but, until you get a chance to get out there on the field in real live action with the first team, you won't know.

"In practice, you work on angles, you work on plays that you're trying to put in for that week, but, as far as going against the first team all-out, we're not going to do that. We're not going to have the type of practice we're going to have in camp. Only games can simulate that, therefore you won't be able to prove that in practice."

Staley agreed in March to take a $1 million cut in salary to $1.5 million this season. Once he was on the roster for the first game, he was on their books to make his entire sal