Roethlisberger could throw his arm off Sunday

By Neal Coolong  |   Friday, October 03, 2008  |  Comments( 2 )

Pittsburgh Steelers
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With the Steelers' running back corps as thin as coach Mike Tomlin has ever had, conventional logic suggests quarterback Ben Roethlisberger will be throwing the ball plenty Sunday night at Jacksonville.

The problem is, Roethlisberger's also hurt.

Roethlisberger received a second shot to treat a low-grade shoulder separation he suffered in Week 1, and missed practice Thursday - his second straight day without running live reps. What that means for the 3-1 Steelers remains unclear, but the fact is that the team's offense hadn't scored in eight quarters before it went into the no-huddle against Baltimore on Monday night, and Roethlisberger is a big part of that.

Commentary: Roethlisberger is coming off one of the best seasons ever for a Steelers quarterback, and after an interception in each of the past two games, his passer rating has dropped from the top of the league to 10th at 93.3. Obviously any injury to a quarterback's passing shoulder isn't going to help, but considering the Steelers have been forced to stay short and not been able to hit any deep passes in the past two games, Roethlisberger's accuracy hasn't been great.

What isn't going to help is the fact he's going against one of the best defensive units in the league on the road, and he will have veteran Mewelde Moore starting behind him because of injuries to Willie Parker, Rashard Mendenhall and Carey Davis. Considering that, and the success of the no-huddle offense they deployed against the Ravens, it's a good bet the Steelers will give Roethlisberger every opportunity to rest his shoulder and ask him to come out gunning 40 or more times Sunday.

Roethlisberger had a terrible first half against Jacksonville in the playoffs, but rebounded with three second-half touchdown passes and almost brought the Steelers to a victory. They're going to need at the very least a mistake-free game from him -- and probably a few big plays -- if they want to keep in line with Jacksonville's surging offense this week.

Fan Pulse: Fans posting on Steelers Fever are discussing Roethlisberger's injury and Moore's first start as a Steeler.

Fantasy Football Impact: Roethlisberger has feast-or-famine potential this week. The offense ran enough no-huddle against Baltimore to suggest it will be familiar enough with it to use it without a full week's a practice. But if Roethlisberger's shoulder hasn't really improved, the Steelers will continue to be without the deep pass.

Injury Watch: Outside of Roethlisberger and half of their running backs, the Steelers will be without defensive end Brett Keisel and nose tackle Casey Hampton for the second straight week.
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About Neal Coolong

Neal Coolong is a freelance sports writer with contributions to Scout.com, AOL and Steelers Live. He lives with his fiance in St. Paul, Minn., and saves every dime (that she knows about) for their wedding next June. He's already made the prediction that the Steelers 2007 draft class will be one ...
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