By Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Monday, August 30, 2010
Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger will meet, as expected, with commissioner Roger Goodell some time after the Steelers’ final preseason game Thursday, NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said.
Goodell will decide whether Roethlisberger serves the maximum of the six-game suspension he handed down in late April or reduce it to four games.
All indications are that Roethlisberger will only have to sit out the first month of the season. Goodell, while visiting training camp at St. Vincent College earlier this month, said Roethlisberger has done everything and more that the commissioner had asked of him.
Roethlisberger started Sunday night’s game against the Broncos. He completed four of six passes for 58 yards at Invesco Field.
He heard a smattering of boos when he trotted onto the field with the rest of the Steelers’ starters on offense.
Pouncey a tough act to follow
Going from college to the NFL isn’t the only adjustment center Maurkice Pouncey has made since the Steelers took him 18th overall in the 2010 NFL draft.
Since Pouncey, who started Sunday night in Denver, joined the Steelers, he has been away from his identical twin brother, Mike, for the first time in their lives.
The were teammates at Lakeland (Fla.) High School and the University of Florida before Maurkice left a year early for the NFL while Mike opted to stay in Gainesville for his senior season.
“We talk a lot, but we kind of understand we’ve got to go our own paths,” Maurkice Pouncey said recently.
The two, in fact, talk every day. And Maurkice doesn’t miss an opportunity to remind Mike, who is moving from right guard to center for Florida, that he won’t be an easy act to follow.
Maurkice, after all, won the Rimington Trophy last season, which is given to the top center in college football.
He since has set his sights on an even bigger prize: opening the regular season as the Steelers’ starter at center.
The 6-4, 304-pound Pouncey has the look of a future star, but he said he has not allowed himself to look ahead to Sept. 12 when the Steelers host the Falcons.
“I don’t want to think about it,” Pouncey said.
Beat-up Broncos
The preseason has not been a good one for the Broncos, and it goes beyond the 0-2 record they took into last night’s game.
The Broncos had 11 players who didn’t dress against the Steelers because of injuries.
Among them were outside linebacker Elvis Dumervil (shoulder), who led the NFL with 17 sacks last season; cornerback Champ Bailey (shoulder); left tackle Ryan Clady (knee); running back Knowshon Moreno (hamstring); and wide receiver Demaryius Thomas (foot), a first-round pick in the 2010 draft.
As expected, the Steelers held cornerback Bryant McFadden (arm) and free safety Ryan Clark (medical precaution) out of the game. Defensive tackle Steve McLendon (knee) and offensive lineman Chris Scott (foot) also didn’t play.
Roster trim coming
The Steelers have to cut at least five players by Tuesday.
That is the day in which all teams have to trim their rosters from 80 to 75.
Final cuts have to be turned in to the league by late Saturday afternoon.
The day after finalizing their 53-man rosters, teams are allowed to sign up to eight players to their practice squads.
Him again
The Steelers renewed acquaintances with LenDale White last night. White, who stomped on the Terrible Towel near the end of a 31-14 Titans win over the Steelers in 2008, is now with the Broncos.
With Moreno and Correll Buckhalter sidelined by injuries last night, White started at running back and scored a touchdown on a 2-yard run less than four minutes into the game.
Extra points
Starting inside linebacker James Farrior left the game early in the first quarter with a head laceration and didn’t return as a precaution. Farrior sustained the injury while making a tackle. … Hines Ward made his first catch of the preseason last night near the end of the first quarter. Ward will enter the season with a streak of at least one reception in 178 consecutive regular-season games.
About the Author Jim McMillen
The Editor & Chief, the brains so to say, behind Pittsburgh Blitz. Jim is a rabid sports fan who just loves his Stillers, Pens and Buccos. Feel free to contact us at steelerguy26[@]yahoo.com if you have any questions or comments or would like to join our staff and write for Pittsburgh Blitz.
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