My Inside Sources Say Burfict Back Against the Texans

[jwil007]

They do not plan to roll him out against Pitt and Cleveland... He did a workout for Marv and Mike and wowed them but the trainer is very conservative and of course so is Marv. If Im wrong I will be back to own it..No Worries... But I hate we wont have him against Pitt OR Cleveland.... We got to win these 2 games...

 

[cincygrad]

Was your source Jerome Simpson's barber?

I think it's pretty clear he isn't coming back this week.... And I certainly don't expect him back on a short week. Houston makes sense.

For the record, I'm not expecting much of him this year. My major concern is that he'll be playing at about 85% of his capability (much like Geno last year) and won't be able to handle that mentally. That's a recipe for personal fouls...... I can see the dude getting frustrated with himself and taking it out on someone's knee.

 

[kramer1]

Was your source Jerome Simpson's barber?

I think it's pretty clear he isn't coming back this week.... And I certainly don't expect him back on a short week. Houston makes sense.

For the record, I'm not expecting much of him this year. My major concern is that he'll be playing at about 85% of his capability (much like Geno last year) and won't be able to handle that mentally. That's a recipe for personal fouls...... I can see the dude getting frustrated with himself and taking it out on someone's knee.

When is the Arizona game?

 

[alf8478]

When is the Arizona game?

11/22

 

[alf8478]

Cleared to practice today

 

[Cincyfan78]

Cleared to practice today

Still doubt he plays, though.

You have to figure that after missing most to all of last year, and only getting 1 or 2 practices under his feet, then a 4 day turnaround for the Thursday Night game doesn't bode well.

Unless he can come out and completely blow them away. You don't want to cut a healthy guy off the team unless you know for a fact that he can give you, I would think, at least 30+ snaps. Not sure I see that happening this week.

 

[alf8478]

Still doubt he plays, though.

You have to figure that after missing most to all of last year, and only getting 1 or 2 practices under his feet, then a 4 day turnaround for the Thursday Night game doesn't bode well.

Unless he can come out and completely blow them away. You don't want to cut a healthy guy off the team unless you know for a fact that he can give you, I would think, at least 30+ snaps. Not sure I see that happening this week.

If they activate him and he plays Sunday, he doesn't have to play Thursday.

 

[Cincyfan78]

If they activate him and he plays Sunday, he doesn't have to play Thursday.

That's true, but then you run the risk of cutting a healthy player now, for a guy who won't play in 4 days? It doesn't make sense from a roster standpoint.

Also, there's no rush. Hopefully, he blows them all away, shows he's healthy, and is able to rebound as quick as can possibly be imagined.

But, if he doesn't play Sunday, I won't be shocked at all.

Main thing is...glad to see he's back (somewhat) and healthy (Hopefully).

 

[alf8478]

That's true, but then you run the risk of cutting a healthy player now, for a guy who won't play in 4 days? It doesn't make sense from a roster standpoint.

Also, there's no rush. Hopefully, he blows them all away, shows he's healthy, and is able to rebound as quick as can possibly be imagined.

But, if he doesn't play Sunday, I won't be shocked at all.

Main thing is...glad to see he's back (somewhat) and healthy (Hopefully).

I agree with you, its nice to get him back and I dont think he will play until Houston.

But they can cut Little or Alford who are useless and haven't played at all anyways. Its not like if they activate him they have to cut an LB.

 

[Cincyfan78]

I agree with you, its nice to get him back and I dont think he will play until Houston.

But they can cut Little or Alford who are useless and haven't played at all anyways. Its not like if they activate him they have to cut an LB.

OH, I agree. The first place I'd look is Little. You can cut him, and I doubt he's going to get picked up. I'm not cutting a draft pick, and I think we could, at some point, see him on special teams as a returner. I mean, we can't use Jones every play, and Tate just is clearly not getting it done. It's just a matter of Alford getting the offense down enough to play snaps at WR if he's needed, IMO.

Let's just hope he's healthy, and can contribute sooner rather than later...

 

[mrschaney]

He needs to tone down his play. He plays so hard he hurts himself. Seems like last year, he sacked a QB so hard and was immediately taken out of the game with a concussion.

 

[ckhokie]

Tez activated today.

Bengals release Greg Little (tear)

 

[Tubbs1518]

If Burfict is activated it makes sense to assume he will play. Otherwise there is no incentive to activate him.

 

[cincygrad]

If Burfict is activated it makes sense to assume he will play. Otherwise there is no incentive to activate him.

To be fair, Little wasn't going to be active on gamely anyway..... So, making him active doesn't really change anything. It could be one of those things where Marvin wants the Steelers to prepare for Burfict. That said, I think he plays. 15-20 plays maybe?

 

[Tubbs1518]

To be fair, Little wasn't going to be active on gamely anyway..... So, making him active doesn't really change anything. It could be one of those things where Marvin wants the Steelers to prepare for Burfict. That said, I think he plays. 15-20 plays maybe?

Probably 20 plays. Theres no real incentive to activate him unless they are going to play him. I doubt Pitts gameplan changes much for his first game back from injury.

 

[CrashDavisSports]

Defense looks like swiss cheese for the most part this year with some positives. Then Burfict is activated, they only allow a somewhat healthy Pittsburgh offense to score 10 points in Pitt with 3 INT's and like 4 sacks? Can you say difference maker even if it is mostly just an emotional leader today?

 

[Tubbs1518]

I honestly don't think the D played all that well today. Pittsburgh just played terrible football. Brown was dropping open passes, Ben was throwing terrible terrible picks, Bell gets hurt. The defense wasn't great today, despite only giving up 10 points.

 

[cincygrad]

I honestly don't think the D played all that well today. Pittsburgh just played terrible football. Brown was dropping open passes, Ben was throwing terrible terrible picks, Bell gets hurt. The defense wasn't great today, despite only giving up 10 points.

Pittsburgh definitely shot themselves in the foot a little. The counter plays and cutback runs have killed us this season and that continues. Their passing game really hurt us in the middle of the field. Pressure was decent at times. They bent a lot, but made Ben go the whole field without making mistakes.... Something he couldn't do consistently.

 

[kramer1]

Our secondary played lights out. Antonio Brown was held in check after the 1st quarter. Heath Miller had his best game of the year. Our line and backers played like absolute shit. Ben had all day to throw. The Steelers abandoned the run and that probably cost them the game.

 

[Cincyfan78]

Secondary played well, but Gunther didn't seem to blitz often deciding to drop 6 or 7 into coverage. The DL did make Ben move around, and it was clear that his knee affected his mobility and scared him off a few times from taking a few yards on the run. Rather, he sat back and forced balls, including a big one to Williams when he clearly could have ran (if healthy) for a 4-5 yard gain without any contact.

I was shocked at how conservative the offense was throughout the day. That one is on Hue. Just didn't see the normal attack mode in the game plan. Not sure why.

Awesome to see Burfict in there, making plays in the run game. Even as he's not 100%, his presence on the field lifts up that group.