

Despite Boot, Tomlin Expects Ben to Play

Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is sporting a protective boot on his sprained right foot, but Pittsburgh Head Coach Mike Tomlin expects Big Ben to play at M&T Bank Stadium Sunday.

"There is going to be some pain and discomfort," Tomlin said, via the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "We’ll see where the week takes us."

Tomlin said the injury may limit Roethlisberger’s participation in practice, but he could be a full participant as early as today.

"He might be limited somewhat," Tomlin said of Roethlisberger’s practice status, according to the Associated Press. "I’m going to be optimistic and hopeful that he’ll be a full participant, but there’s a chance he couldn’t be."

Roethlisberger re-injured his foot during the 19-16 overtime win in Buffalo last Sunday, but Tomlin said his quarterback was not close to coming out of the game.

"He was absent from our sideline at the very end of the first half and maybe was late coming back from halftime, but that was simply because we were taking a picture o f his foot," Tomlin said. "I was pretty comfortable that he was going to compete and continue throughout the game."

Roethlisberger has missed two of the Steelers’ last three games against the Ravens, but is 7-2 when he has started vs. the purple and black, winning his last five starts.

"We have our quarterback back and usually we have a lot of success when Ben starts against Baltimore," receiver Hines Ward said after the Steelers beat the Bills last weekend.

Tomlin said if Big Ben can’t play, Byron Leftwich would replace him.



What does McKie Signing Imply About Landry, McClain?

The Ravens announced the signing of fullback Jason McKie and the subsequent release of safety Ken Hamlin yesterday. The signing has many wondering what that means for fullback Le’Ron McClain’s (ankle) and safety Dawan Landry’s (concussion) status.

Adding McKie implies McClain’s chances of playing against the Steelers don’t look good. On his weekly WBAL radio show, however, Head Coach John Harbaugh said McKie simply gives the team more depth and doesn’t necessarily rule out McClain.

"Le’Ron may still be playing," Harbaugh said, via the 1WinningDr Twitter account. "But we’ll get Jason involved. He may be. I hope he is."

As for releasing Ken Hamlin, MASN’s Dan Kolko believes the move indicates Landry will probably play Sunday. Additionally, it could mean safety Tom Zbikowski is ready to return from his foot injury.



Sanders: Polamalu Is Not Ed Reed

Hat tip to bmorebirdsnest, who found this video with former Ravens cornerback Deion Sanders appearing on "The T. Ocho Show" on Versus.

Bengals receiver Terrell Owens asked Sanders to name the best defensive back in the NFL.

"Ed Reed — by far," Sanders said. "I like Troy Polamalu, but he’s no Ed Reed."





Cowherd: Forget Purple Towels – Wave Purple Thongs

Ravens and Verizon Wireless will hand out 71,000 purple towels at M&T Bank Stadium gates Sunday to create a "purple out" effect during the Steelers matchup.

Baltimore Sun’s Kevin Cowherd isn’t high on the idea.

"[Some fans] think it’s lame. And they think it smacks too much of what Steelers fans do with those Terrible Towels.

"And I’m inclined to agree with them."

Instead, Cowherd suggested fans wave purple thongs. Huh? That’s right, he said thongs. But he later took back the idea, saying he’s just trying to make a bigger point.

"OK, maybe I didn’t think the whole thong thing through. … But the point is, the whole towel-waving thing is so associated with the Steelers that the Ravens look like copycats whenever they resort to this stunt."

Fans appear to be active participants when given the opportunity to wave a towel, but what are your thoughts?



Week 12 Power Rankings

ESPN: Ravens are No. 4, down from No. 3 last week. The Ravens dropped in the list despite winning Sunday. The Falcons are No. 1, followed by the Pats and Jets.

USA Today: Ravens are No. 4, down from No. 3 last week. The Ravens dropped here too and the Top 4 is identical to ESPN’s.

FoxSports.com: Ravens are No. 4, same as last week. FOX has the same Top 4 as USA today and ESPN.

CBSsports.com: Ravens are No. 4, up from No. 5 last week. The Falcons are No. 1, followed by the Jets and Pats.

NFL.com’s Jason La Canfora: Ravens are No. 6, down from No. 5 last week. Fullback Le’Ron McClain tweeted La Canfora about his list, "Are these rankings for real??? Cause they need to do it again lol!" La Canfora replied, "I’ve been big on Ravens all year bro. You and Oher and Landry possibly being out would be huge. OL getting thin."

ProFootballTalk.com: Mike Florio ranked the Ravens No. 4, same as last week.

SI.com’s Peter King: Ravens are No. 7, same as last week. This is tied for the Ravens‘ lowest ranking under King this season.



Harrison Fined Another $25,000

Sheesh… Steelers linebacker James Harrison received his fifth fine of the season. This one was $25,000 for his hit on Buffalo Bills quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick last Sunday, according to USA Today.

Harrison defended the hit, saying there was "nothing wrong" with it.

Regardless, the fine total has now reached $125,000. According to National Football Post President Andrew Brandt, that’s 17 percent of his $755,000 salary this year (that doesn’t count his $10 million bonus last year and $2.8 million bonus this year).

It doesn’t sound like Harrison thinks he needs to change his play. PFT.com’s Mike Florio wrote quarterback Joe Flacco should change his number from 5 to $100,000 with Harrison attacking his blindside.

NFL Peers Want Rice with the Ball on 3rd-and-3

In this week’s Sports Illustrated Poll, 287 NFL players were asked, "Who would you want to hand off to on third-and-three?"

Four percent of players would put the ball in running back Ray Rice’s hands. He was fifth on the list behind Vikings’ Adrian Peterson (32%), Titans’ Chris Johnson (21%), Giants’ Brandon Jacobs (10%) and Rams’ Steven Jackson (6%).

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