By Ed Bouchette, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/?m=1
Peter Diana/Post-Gazette
Cleveland wide receiver Joshua Cribbs lies still after taking hit from Steelers linebacker James Harrison in the first half of Sunday's game at Heinz Field.
With all due respect to Mike Tomlin, the final verdict on whether one of James Harrison's hits was legal or not Sunday will be rendered by the NFL this week.
Neither of Harrison's hits that knocked the Cleveland Browns' Joshua Cribbs and Mohamed Massaquoi from the game drew a penalty, at least not on Sunday. The league already has determined that the Cribbs hit was legal but is reviewing Harrison's high hit on Massaquoi.
"The first hit [on Cribbs, who was a runner] was legal," NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said in an e-mail to the Post-Gazette. "The second will be reviewed."
The two were among a handful of vicious hits to the head around the NFL Sunday that have drawn the attention of the league office and ultimately could draw punishment including a fine and/or suspension.
Ray Anderson, the league's vice president of football operations whose office doles out such punishment, reacted swiftly to the head hits on Monday.
"We are going to take a very proactive look at our enforcement," Anderson said in an interview transcribed by the league and made available to the media. "It may be that this office in particular needs to take the responsibility of just making sure that the penalty -- the discipline and the enforcement of the rules currently on the books -- is very proactively enforced. We may do that much sooner than later."
Anderson said suspensions are possible.
"You have to consider [suspensions] in flagrant-foul cases and egregious cases. Suspensions are not off the table, even for first-time offenders."
The first of Harrison's hits was deemed legal, even though his helmet hit Cribbs' helmet on a running play. It seemed unavoidable, two players flying through the air with no apparent intent by Harrison to lower his helmet into Cribbs' helmet. The rules allow for such an inadvertent hit.
The second hit by Harrison is the one that has come into question. Harrison hit Massaquoi high, not necessarily helmet to helmet, but it does not need to be a collision of helmets to be ruled illegal.
In the past -- such as Ryan Clark's big hit on receiver Wes Welker a few years ago in New England -- the hit would have been legal. But the new rule, changed at the NFL meetings in March, now says that a defender must give the receiver time to protect himself after catching the ball before he is hit high. Did Harrison do that?
Tomlin was quick to note Sunday that they were "legal hits, not fineable hits. He played good football."
Unfortunately for Harrison and the Steelers, Tomlin is not the final judge on such things. The NFL will let him know their ruling, usually no later than Wednesday.
For his part, Harrison said he will not change the way he plays based on worries about whether he will be punished for it.
"You start worrying about things, you're not going to do things you were able to do before," Harrison said. "You start worrying about 'well, if I hit this guy like this, hit this guy like that,' you just have to go in and if it happens you hit somebody wrong or you tackle somebody wrong, so be it. But you can't let it control your game. They have enough rules on tackling quarterbacks that you have to worry about, you don't need to be worrying about tackling a receiver or a running back."
After his hit knocked Cribbs out, Harrison said he received support from Browns fullback Lawrence Vickers.
"Vickers, he was like, 'Hey, man, that's football, that happens.' The flag wasn't on it. I was just happy it wasn't what they'd call an illegal hit."
Not yet, anyway.
Rough road ahead
The Steelers are delighted to have the whole Ben Roethlisberger ordeal behind them, from sin to punishment to redemption to comeback. What he and they have ahead of them is daunting, but at least only in a football sense.
For the first time in 16 years, the Steelers will play three consecutive games on the road in the regular season. They previously did it in 1994. They famously did it in the playoffs in 2005, but those weren't scheduled. They also played three consecutive weekends on the road in 1991. This will be only the third time in 29 seasons they've been scheduled for it (they played three consecutive away in '92 but with an off weekend tossed into the middle).
These aren't just any three games either. They play at Miami (3-2), at reigning Super Bowl champion New Orleans (4-2) and at reigning AFC North champion Cincinnati (2-3). They get no break when they return home to play New England, like the Steelers 4-1 and among only three NFL teams that has one loss.
"I don't know that I've ever had it before, three games on the road, against tough teams," said Aaron Smith, playing in his 12th season. "I mean, we have to go out there and win as many as possible, come back and see where we're at."
Four other NFL teams play three in a row on the road, all into December: Cleveland, Denver, Atlanta and St. Louis.
"They're making it tough for us," linebacker James Farrior said. "It's definitely going to be a big challenge for us. To win games on the road is important for a championship team. You definitely have to do that. It's going to be a tough road but I think we're ready for it."
Mendenhall on record pace
Rashard Mendenhall is on pace to become among the top three workhorse running backs for one season in Steelers history.
Mendenhall has 116 carries or 23.2 per game. That pace through 16 games would give him 371 carries. Only Barry Foster with 390 in 1992, and Jerome Bettis with 375 in '97 had more.
The Steelers have dressed only three backs for each game, although they also list tight end David Johnson as their starting fullback.
Mendenhall also has eight receptions, putting him on pace for 397 touches this season. Only Barry Foster had more with 399.
Isaac Redman has 21 carries and three receptions (107 total yards) while Mewelde Moore has five runs and five receptions (for a total of 12 yards).
The coaches apparently are not worried about such a workload for Mendenhall because he was still in the game Sunday running the ball with just 1:36 left and the Steelers holding a 21-10 lead, just as he was still in the game late in their 38-13 romp at Tampa Bay.
One concession they have made is taking him out on third downs and inserting Redman or Moore, even though they consider Mendenhall to be their best at that, too.
"We have some pretty good guys in Mewelde and Red," Mendenhall said. "With all the work on first and second down, it helps to get a blow out there sometimes."
For more on the Steelers, read the blog, Ed Bouchette on the Steelers at www.post-gazette.com/plus. Ed Bouchette: ebouchette@post-gazette.com.
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