Injured Joe Haden wants to play against the Patriots
One of the main things to watch as the teams continue to get ready for the Patriots-Steelers showdown on Sunday is player statuses. Chief among them on the Pittsburgh side is the health of cornerback Joe Haden, who hasn’t played since Nov. 12.
To keep you up to speed on the latest storylines from the Pittsburgh side, we’ve partnered with our colleagues at the Post-Gazette to bring you excerpts of their coverage with links to the full versions. (Note: A limited number of free article views are available on the Post-Gazette website, and a four-week subscription is $12).
Here’s Thursday’s installment:
Injured Joe Haden wants to play against the Patriots
By Ray Fittipaldo
Steelers cornerback Joe Haden lined up with the first-team defense during practice Wednesday afternoon, but he and the team won’t know until later in the week if he can play Sunday against the Patriots.
Haden, who has missed the past four games with a fractured fibula, is going to test his leg in a more rigorous manner Thursday and Friday. The practice Wednesday was a walk-through. “It feels sore, but we’ll figure it out,’’ Haden said. “It’s getting there. I was limited today a little bit in practice. It was more of a walk-through. I’ll be able to tell a bit more tomorrow.’’
Haden had been running in the pool and doing light exercises before this week. Starting Monday and into Tuesday he ran on the indoor field at the Steelers’ practice facility. He also did some back pedaling and some cutting.
“Tomorrow I will be able to tell more going through individual and team drills, see how my leg holds up,’’ he said. “I think it was good I went out there on Monday and Tuesday, doing those things. It was a little bit of a mental thing. I think I got that out of the way the first two days. Now I just want to be able to cover someone, stop, react and see how my leg feels.’’
Ben Roethlisberger has a chance to stamp his legacy
By Ed Bouchette
Ben Roethlisberger fooled no one Wednesday when he took the anti-Mike Tomlin view of Patriots-Steelers and said it is merely the biggest game of the year because it is the next game on the schedule.
As if the New Year’s Eve game against the Cleveland Browns at Heinz Field will be its equal.
No, Sunday is as big a stage as they come in the regular season for the Steelers and for Roethlisberger, who can take the first step of sealing the legacy of his Hall of Fame career that might not reach beyond this season.
And the Steelers quarterback knows it. He has heard the recitation of his record against Tom Brady (2-6), knows the critics who say the Steelers never went through New England on their way to three Super Bowls over the past 12 seasons, lost both AFC championships in which he has played against Brady and the Patriots.
Now he has a chance to put the ultimate stamp on his legacy — beat Tom Brady twice on the way to winning his third Super Bowl. It has been done.
How well do you know the Steelers-Patriots rivalry?
By Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Staff
The Steelers and Patriots series history is tied, 15-15. Given the date of the game, can you guess if it was a Steelers win or loss?
Steelers cornerback Artie Burns says he ‘definitely’ has CTE
By Adam Bittner
Artie Burns hasn’t been playing in the NFL for very long, but he thinks football has already taken its toll on his health.
The Steelers’ second-year cornerback was among a group of NFL players who talked to Sports Illustrated about whether he’d take a test for CTE, the concussion-related degenerative brain disease that can’t currently be tested in living patients. Burns was pretty blunt in his response.
“I definitely know I have it,’’ Burns said. “I’m going to [test positive for] CTE. I don’t need a test. Is it going to tell me how much I have? We play a physical sport, man. Humans are not made to run into each other.’’
Burns has not been diagnosed with a concussion so far in his NFL career. He’s played in every game in two seasons with the Steelers. And he had a similar clean bill of health at Miami, where he played in at least 11 games for each of his three seasons as a Hurricane.
Still, Burns seems to recognize that the many hits he’s taken and dealt over the years can add up, even if he wasn’t very obviously concussed on one play or another.
