Pittsburgh Steelers

Steelers News: James Harrison, Zach Mettenberger, Chris Boswell

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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The Steelers head into their bye week coming off of two losses with an injury list about a mile long.

While the team recovers from their injuries and gets some much-needed rest we’ll be busy looking for mentions of your Black & Gold so we’ve got you covered. Here’s your Steelers Morning Huddle for Saturday, Oct. 29th.

I’d hire both for their disposition

There have been iconic players for Pittsburgh in every decade across their rich history. None have been able to fill the void left by the previous iconic player in their same position quite like Steelers linebackers. Just mention Greg Lloyd and James Harrison and you start nodding your head in agreement.

Lloyd sat down with Teresa Varley to talk about what the definition of a linebacker in Black & Gold is. Lloyd describes James Harrison to a tee.

“You have to have smarts, but you have to be tough. If you aren’t willing to hit somebody…you have to play until the whistle blows. That is being a Steelers linebacker. You have to be smart, get in your book and take care of your body. That is what the guys before us did. That is what they do now.” – Greg Lloyd

He goes on to describe Harrison’s workouts, his intimidation, and his use of his body out on the field. He also says how Lawrence Timmons would be comparable to Chad Brown of his day. He explains that the tradition carries on with Ryan Shazier learning from Timmons.

Easy now

There were actual people who suggested last week that we go with Zach Mettenberger instead of Landry Jones to start against the Patriots. Those people were just discarding Mettenberger’s 0-10 record as a starter and the fact that he’s been in Pittsburgh for roughly seven weeks.

That’s how little faith Steeler Nation had in Landry Jones. True, the team has neglected the backup QB position but it’s pretty rare that a team devotes a lot of time in that area unless they don’t have a clear starter.

I don’t think they thought that Bruce Gradkowski had already completely morphed into Byron Leftwich and would get injured when hit with a strong breeze. Still, everyone can calm the crap down now. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports that Mettenberger practiced this week. So there’s that.

Lonesome kicker

Kicking in the NFL ain’t as easy as it looks. It actually doesn’t look easy but that’s the saying. Nineteen teams have collectively given their kickers the side eye because they’ve missed at least one extra point so far through seven weeks of games.

Chris Boswell was super accurate since coming to Pittsburgh last season during the debacle of kickers, reminds the Trib’s Ralph N. Paulk. He missed two field goals in last weeks’ loss to New England and he’s beating himself up about them.

Should’ve really only missed one kick because the 54-yarder was a dumb idea but whatevs. That’s what the bye week is for. Put it all behind us.