INJURY UPDATE: Hampton, Starks, Keisel with significant injuries

[stillers4me]

Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said today at his season-ending news conference that nose tackle Casey Hampton and offensive tackle Max Starks have ACL injuries and defensive lineman Brett Keisel has a severe groin injury. All three are being evaluated today by team doctors and are potential candidates for surgery.

Tomlin also said surgery is a possibility for Pro Bowl center Maurkice Pouncey, who did not play in the final game of the season for the second year in a row because of a high ankle sprain.

Tomlin also provided some more insight into the defensive concept on the final play of the game -- an 80-yard pass from Tim Tebow to Demaryius Thomas for the game-winning touchdown on the first play of the overtime period...........


Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12009/1202407-100.stm#ixzz1iz68BNEm

[zulater]

Geez, sounds like season enders....

[stillers4me]

Geez, sounds like season enders....

Foxboro would NOT have been pretty.

[XxKnightxX]

Well add LT to the list , NT and Keisel, man this team got crumbled into pieces and physically and emotionally in a matter of 20 hours.

[Dino 6 Rings]

Woah. Big time injuries...

[BigNastyDefense]

Holy cow. Sounds like even if we won we would have been without them anyhow for the rest of the playoffs.

We went into this game with no Clark, Mendenhall, and no Pouncey. Plus Ben was on a bum ankle. Then throughout the course of the game we lost Keisel, Hampton, & Woodley went out for a bit.

At halftime we should have changed our name to The Pittsburgh MASH Unit and come out in green & white jerseys.

[smokin3000gt]

Foxboro would NOT have been pretty.

You aren't lying! If we went to NE I was predicting 45-17 or something crazy like that.

[mortgageman]

Well, the most important player for next year out of the 3 is Kiesel and a groin injury will certainly be healed by next year. It was debatable whether Hampton would return next year anyway and if his ACL is torn, he's probably done for or will have to accept a significant decrease in pay.

[Chidi29]

"ACL injuries" usually don't mean anything else but them being torn. Which puts the start of next year in serious jeporady.

[tube517]

Really need a NT now.

[katmandu]

Tomlin also said surgery is a possibility for Pro Bowl center Maurkice Pouncey,What about Pouncey also a good possibility for Surgery as well ?

[El-Gonzo Jackson]

He declined to say what Mundy was supposed to do in that coverage. Probably means that Mundy was supposed to get back in coverage quicker...as he was running back into coverage as soon as the ball was snapped. I think if Clark is there, he makes a play and its not a TD.

Hampton might be done for a long time. The Steve McLendon era could begin.

[ALLD]

Maybe we could get Frank Burns to play LT.

[katmandu]

Hampton might be done for a long time. The Steve McLendon era could begin.Love Casey, but the writing is on the wall. His time has come. Same for Hines, Farrior and Aaron.

The time is now fellas.

[Chidi29]

He declined to say what Mundy was supposed to do in that coverage. Probably means that Mundy was supposed to get back in coverage quicker...as he was running back into coverage as soon as the ball was snapped. I think if Clark is there, he makes a play and its not a TD.

Hampton might be done for a long time. The Steve McLendon era could begin.

Tomlin called it an inverted Cover 2 (props to Matt Bowen at NFP for calliing it). You're solid with the X's and O's Gonzo, maybe you can shed some light.

I do think Mundy got turned around about as quickly as one can expect after reading the fake run. Can't see that being the issue.

[Chidi29]

From what I see, it came down in the team having a lot of confidence in Ike. Too much, perhaps.

On the other side of the formation, Troy is down in the box like Mundy ends up being. Gay is lined up a good 7 yards off the line of scrimmage with inside leverage. Has his deep responsbility protected and inside shading to try to stop how you beat a Cover 2 (seams, middle of the field).

Ike is in "on" coverage (no press) and lined up outside or at the very least, head on with Thomas. Once Thomas gets past him off the line, Ike has no shot.

I'm done suggesting "on" coverage. Rarely did it in the past and gave in this week. Off coverage it is. That's what zone blitzes are for, to take away hot. Corner can read three step game and react on it first before breaking into his backpedal. Won't stop the catch but will minmize YAC, just as we've seen in the past.

[polamalubeast]

It's impossible to win a super bowl with this number of injuries.

[El-Gonzo Jackson]

Tomlin called it an inverted Cover 2 (props to Matt Bowen at NFP for calliing it). You're solid with the X's and O's Gonzo, maybe you can shed some light.

I do think Mundy got turned around about as quickly as one can expect after reading the fake run. Can't see that being the issue.

Sanders touched on it last night on NFL Network. Mundy is back before the snap and comes up to fake the blitz and make it look like a Cover 0 (no safeties back in coverage). Then Mundy starts running back into coverage as the ball is snapped and is late getting back.

If its a Cover 0, the CB's should play "inside technique" and prevent the WR's from the quick slant to where they had no help. They would then be using the sideline as a defender and direct the WR outside.

Ike was playing head up or almost "outside shade". Either Mundy was supposed to disguise the cover 1 and didnt get back in time, or it was a cover 0 and Ike didnt play inside technique to take away the slant.

[7willBheaven]

Wow...if they did win they would have let Woods dress for the first time and probably brought up C Bryant and someone else to be in the rotation. While it would have hurt some...I think the DL could have got through it. As far as LT...I would have recommended putting Gilbert at LT and Scott at RT (his better spot).

And for whoever said Woodley going out...that was part of the plan a number of weeks ago...for him to rotate with Worilds so he didnt come out with an injury or anything he came out when it was time to rotate Worilds in.

[7willBheaven]

Sanders touched on it last night on NFL Network. Mundy is back before the snap and comes up to fake the blitz and make it look like a Cover 0 (no safeties back in coverage). Then Mundy starts running back into coverage as the ball is snapped and is late getting back.

If its a Cover 0, the CB's should play "inside technique" and prevent the WR's from the quick slant to where they had no help. They would then be using the sideline as a defender and direct the WR outside.

Ike was playing head up or almost "outside shade". Either Mundy was supposed to disguise the cover 1 and didnt get back in time, or it was a cover 0 and Ike didnt play inside technique to take away the slant.

After reading this and watching the play...I think it might have been a combo of Mundy not getting back in time AND Ike letting the WR go inside.

[The Duke]

Well, the most important player for next year out of the 3 is Kiesel and a groin injury will certainly be healed by next year. It was debatable whether Hampton would return next year anyway and if his ACL is torn, he's probably done for or will have to accept a significant decrease in pay.

agree

I'm sure they were gonna get another NT anyway after Hoke went down (and I hope he does not come back, that neck injury sounds awful). McLendon should be fine but he does need a good backup. Whatever happened to anthony gray? I loved the guy in preseason, though he had obvious conditioning issues

[steelreserve]

Aww, crap. I almost made a thread to ask about this last night, but didn't because everything in the news about it made the injuries sound pretty minor. Torn ACL at this point in the season means we probably can't count on either Hampton or Starks being able to play next year.

And this on top of the Hoke situation, which means our NT position is completely decimated with no easy fix. What a total shitfuck.

[El-Gonzo Jackson]

As far as LT...I would have recommended putting Gilbert at LT and Scott at RT (his better spot).

.

I think Gilbert needs some time to play LT and see if he can handle it in the NFL full time. Next year might be the chance with Starks out. Scott didnt do bad at all subbing in for Max.


After reading this and watching the play...I think it might have been a combo of Mundy not getting back in time AND Ike letting the WR go inside. If Mundy is supposed to be back, then Ike is supposed to play outside technique and funnel the WR to where there is help.

[Steeldude]

Maybe we could get Frank Burns to play LT.

old ferret face?

[SteelGhost]

OOPS ! I hope there are good DE/NT's prospects in the draft :pray:

[Psycho Ward 86]

surgery for a high ankle sprain? Wow that must be bad, ive had 3 and the worst i ever had with any of them was in a boot for a week or two just as a precaution.

[Chidi29]

Sanders touched on it last night on NFL Network. Mundy is back before the snap and comes up to fake the blitz and make it look like a Cover 0 (no safeties back in coverage). Then Mundy starts running back into coverage as the ball is snapped and is late getting back.

If its a Cover 0, the CB's should play "inside technique" and prevent the WR's from the quick slant to where they had no help. They would then be using the sideline as a defender and direct the WR outside.

Ike was playing head up or almost "outside shade". Either Mundy was supposed to disguise the cover 1 and didnt get back in time, or it was a cover 0 and Ike didnt play inside technique to take away the slant.

No, it's a Cover 2 where the corners play the safties typical role in the Cover 2 and have deep responsbility. I'm just not positive what the role of the safety s and how the CB is supposed to be aligned. I agree with you it'd make sense to play with an inside shade because there is no help behind you. I actually hate the idea of on coverage with nothing over the top.

But on the videos I've seen, I haven't seen an inverted Cover 2 with such a stacked box. Usually the corners or off or it's an 8 man front with at least someone deep.

[El-Gonzo Jackson]

No, it's a Cover 2 where the corners play the safties typical role in the Cover 2 and have deep responsbility. I'm just not positive what the role of the safety s and how the CB is supposed to be aligned. I agree with you it'd make sense to play with an inside shade because there is no help behind you. I actually hate the idea of on coverage with nothing over the top.

But on the videos I've seen, I haven't seen an inverted Cover 2 with such a stacked box. Usually the corners or off or it's an 8 man front with at least someone deep.

Coverage is denoted by the number of safeties that are deep. cover 2 is with two deep. If you put 8 in the box it's normally a cover one. Cover zero is the look they showed, which would be a man coverage, but Mundy ran out of it which made me think it was supposed to be a single safety scheme.

[NCSteeler]

One thing is clear, this defense is old and getting much younger(more by need than skill) . The big question is can Heyward and Hood get much better before nest year , can Worlids learn to set an edge on a run play and can the FO find a way to draft a good future MLB and OLB while still getting a guard or tackle early.

These are just a few things, I hope the young D lineman get better and show why we drafted them high.

[HometownGal]

Foxboro would NOT have been pretty.

Agreed. I'm a firm believer that things always happen for a reason.

[Chidi29]

Coverage is denoted by the number of safeties that are deep. cover 2 is with two deep. If you put 8 in the box it's normally a cover one. Cover zero is the look they showed, which would be a man coverage, but Mundy ran out of it which made me think it was supposed to be a single safety scheme.

Tomlin literally called it an inverted Cover 2 in his presser.

[El-Gonzo Jackson]

Tomlin literally called it an inverted Cover 2 in his presser. what I call a sofa, some call a couch. Same thing.

Tebow probably recognized zero coverage pre snap. He wasn't worrying about semantics when he threw the ball.