Pouncey guarantees he’ll play Sunday
PITTSBURGH 无毛视频� Maurkice Pouncey sat at his locker with a large wrap around his injured right thumb and talked about missing Thursday无毛视频檚 practice.
In the next breath, the Steelers center guaranteed he was playing Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys.
无毛视频淚无毛视频檓 playing, 100 percent,无毛视频� Pouncey said. 无毛视频淣ever any doubt.无毛视频�
Unless the coach says he无毛视频檚 not?
无毛视频淲ho? What?无毛视频� Pouncey asked in an agitated state. 无毛视频淗eck, Coach Tomlin wants me out there. So does Coach Munch. No, I无毛视频檓 good. People are making a bigger deal than what it is. Let无毛视频檚 just go play, man. We无毛视频檝e got a football game. I sat on the couch too long not to be ready to play.无毛视频�
Pouncey, of course, missed all of last season with an ankle injury, and last Sunday dislocated the top joint of his right thumb on the second play of the game. He went to the locker room and 无毛视频渢hey just popped it back in, stitched it up and I went back out.无毛视频�
Pouncey played the final series of the first quarter and through the second quarter before it popped back out and the Steelers shut him down. He underwent surgery the other day and the wrap is to protect the stitches. He expects to practice Friday and play Sunday. Pouncey said he can squeeze the ball and snap either shotgun or traditional style.
Someone asked him if he can hold.
无毛视频淲ant me to grab you?无毛视频� Pouncey asked with a laugh. 无毛视频淣ah, I无毛视频檓 good, man. Believe me, I无毛视频檓 ready to rock.无毛视频�
ROTATION AT SAFETY
Last Sunday, rookie Sean Davis alternated series with starting strong safety Rob Golden. Davis said on Monday it无毛视频檚 an open competition for the starting job.
Defensive coordinator Keith Butler said the competition sprang up because of Golden无毛视频檚 hamstring injury last month that cost him games against the Chiefs and Jets.
无毛视频淩ob G was hurt a little bit, so what we tried to do was cover ourselves, like you无毛视频檝e always got to do in practice,无毛视频� said Butler.
In that time, Davis showed his athleticism and began to improve.
无毛视频淢entally, you rarely see Rob G out of position,无毛视频� Butler said. 无毛视频淭here无毛视频檚 something to be said for that. Plus, he talks a lot. The guy alerts people to a lot of things, so it无毛视频檚 hard to replace that, even though you无毛视频檝e got somebody maybe a little bit better physically. So, you kind of got to be careful in how you transition people in and out.无毛视频�
The rotation will continue through Sunday无毛视频檚 game.
INJURY REPORT
Along with Pouncey, sitting out of Thursday无毛视频檚 practice were WR Darrius Heyward-Bey (foot), RB DeAngelo Williams (knee) and SS Jordan Dangerfield (groin).
Heyward-Bey was again on crutches and in a walking boot at the facility, but said he expects to return in the near future.
Missing practice for the Cowboys on Thursday were two starters on each side of the ball. S Barry Church (forearm) and CB Morris Claiborne (groin) missed last Sunday无毛视频檚 game in Cleveland and are each expected to miss Sunday无毛视频檚 game as well.
Missing consecutive practices on offense were linemen Tyron Smith (back) and Ron Leary (concussion).
Smith, perhaps the best left tackle in football, has struggled all season with a back problem. Leary, who replaced injured starter La无毛视频橢l Collins earlier in the season, left the Browns game in the fourth quarter and has since been in the concussion protocol.
QUICK-HITTERS
n Pouncey on Ladarius Green: 无毛视频淗e looks awesome in practice. Game speed will be a little bit different for him so we无毛视频檒l see how things turn out this week.无毛视频�
n Todd Haley on Green: 无毛视频淗e无毛视频檚 still got to finish up the week and again that无毛视频檒l be one of those that comes down to coach at the end of the week, what he decides to do.无毛视频�
n Pouncey on the practice week: 无毛视频淚 like how Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday went for us. Practice has been great and the guys are really focused and locked in. Everybody无毛视频檚 hungry. Everybody无毛视频檚 pissed off we无毛视频檝e been losing.无毛视频�
n Ryan Shazier on what he knows about Dallas LB Sean Lee: 无毛视频淚n college, Penn State tried to call themselves Linebacker U, or whatever, so when I was at Ohio State and we played them we always tried to prepare ourselves and say 无毛视频榃e无毛视频檙e the real Linebacker U.'无毛视频�
n Shazier on former college teammate and current Dallas RB Ezekial Elliott: 无毛视频淚 knew in his freshman year he was going to be in the running for the Heisman Trophy eventually. I knew he was that good. He had that much talent. He was behind a high draft pick in Carlos Hyde but Zeke is a great player. I knew he was going to be good and you can definitely see it the way everything无毛视频檚 going on right now.无毛视频�