Steelers Move Forward With Williams, Roethlisberger
By Christina Rivers
The Pittsburgh Steelers have spent their time this week focused on how to take care of business on the field against the Oakland Raiders on Sunday. With the loss of running back Le'Veon Bell for the season, the Steelers signed free agent Isaiah Pead, formerly with the St. Louis Rams but are throwing their support behind DeAngelo Williams as the starter. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has continued to practice and rehab his injured knee after a disappointing outing last weekend against the Cincinnati Bengals. As the Steelers deal with injuries and inconsistent play week-to-week, head coach Mike Tomlin is concerned about the things the team needs to immediately improve.
During his Tuesday press conference, Tomlin said, "There were some things that we did that were not characteristic of how we desire to play or how we played at times this year." Tomlin pointed out the high number of penalties the team received in Week 8, calling them "disturbing." While Tomlin didn't point to any one player when speaking on infractions on the field, several penalties earned were a result of extra curricular activity once the whistle had blown the play dead. "That's not how we are going to play," Tomlin said.
Williams will be Steelers' feature back
News that Bell has an MCL tear in the same knee, his right, that was injured in 2014 is a crushing blow to Steelers Nation. He will finish the season on the injured-reserved list. The Steelers responded by acquiring free agent rusher Isaiah Pead. With DeAngelo Williams, Dri Archer, Josh Todman, Will Johnson and Roosevelt Nix on the roster, Tomlin made it clear by pointing out the team evaluated Pead prior to the draft, but are not handing him the starting position in the offensive backfield. "He has a skill set that is going to help us at some point," Tomlin said. "And I emphasize at some point, because he has to learn what to do. As we prepare this week, we are going to prepare with the men that have been here and know what to do and can detail assignments."
"He did a great job for us..." Tomlin said of Williams' play at the beginning of the season. "We will get back with him being the feature guy in our backfield, and we will supplement the others around him in what we do in the run and pass game from a running back standpoint." In his 10th season, Williams has 63 carries for 310 yards and an important zero fumble statistic through Week 8. He has added 10 receptions for 67 yards.
"The opportunity presented itself because of the situation," Williams said in regard to Bell being out for the rest of the season. "It's tough for me to say that I like it. Will I embrace it? Yes. This is a team sport and we have to put wins together to get us to that eight man tournament which is the playoffs and get to our ultimate goal and the Super Bowl." Williams added, "My message to everyone is the same as when I got here, just relax and enjoy the show."
Roethlisberger ready to move forward
After three interceptions against the Bengals, Roethlisberger is focusing on the Raiders this week. "It's never easy to put a loss behind you, but you have to," Roethlisberger said. "You have to have a short memory, good and bad. It's easy to do that at the halfway point. Just close the book and move forward." The Steelers are 4-4 with only eight regular season games left in the 2015 season. "We are closing the chapter on the first half of the season, so that is a good thing. We can move on," Roethlisberger said. "We can close it, move forward and be our best selves moving forward." As for playing with a brace, Roethlisberger said, "You get used to it...it's something that is new to me but we will find a way to get used to it as fast as I can."
Christina Rivers has covered the Pittsburgh Steelers and National Football League professionally as a journalist and photographer for over a decade. Rivers studied Exercise Physiology and Sports Psychology at Brigham Young University as a student-athlete. Christina is a freelance writer covering all things NFL as well as a published author. Her work can be found on
Examiner.com.