Steelers racking up fines, injuries

By Neal Coolong  |   Friday, October 10, 2008  |  Comments( 4 )

Pittsburgh Steelers
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Two victories came for the Steelers in their past two games.

That's two victories to go along with three fines, $32,750 and a strength-flexing league showing its desire to adhere to the rules.

The NFL announced a $20,000 fine on Steelers linebacker James Harrison for comments he made regarding the officiating in Pittsburgh's 26-21 win at Jacksonville in Week 5. The NFL also announced a $5,000 fine on wide receiver Hines Ward for "unnecessary roughness" during the team's 23-20 win over Baltimore in Week 4.

Pro Football Talk reported that Steelers free safety Ryan Clark was smacked with a $7,500 fine for a helmet-to-helmet hit in the Jacksonville game.

Commentary: It's been an expensive week for the 4-1 Steelers. With a bye in Week 6, the Steelers, who are extremely banged up, are left with even more enforcement of that underdog chip that's planted on their shoulders. What helps fuel the everyone-is-against-us mentality is the fact that, while Harrison was penalized for a late hit, neither Ward nor Clark were penalized for the specific incident that drew the fines against them.

A slew of starters and role players have been injured over the past few games, and the fines will only increase the size of that chip. With two contests against improving AFC North rival Cincinnati being the bookends of games with the Giants, Redskins and Colts, the Steelers are going to need all the motivation they can get if they're going to maintain the lead in the division.

Fan Pulse: Steelers fans are generally against the fines, judging by related posts on Pittsburgh Live.

Fantasy Football Impact: The Steelers do not play in Week 6, and travel to Cincinnati for a Week 7 showdown with the Bengals.

Injury Watch: Pittsburgh wrapped up practice for the week, and the players have the weekend off. Running back Willie Parker, who has missed the Steelers' last two games, will be back against Cincinnati.
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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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