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The Steelers have signed running back Jamaal Branch to the practice squad. Branch carried the football 10 times for 29 yards (2.9 ypc) and he also caught 5 passes for 14 yards (2.8 avg) with 1 TD grab for the Saints last season as a rookie. Branch is a talented player who could help the Steelers at some point in 2007.
The Steelers have acquired CB/KR Allen Rossum for a late round 2008 Draft Pick. Rossum has looked good in the pre-season for the Falcons as he made 4 tackles and he returned 4 punts for 28 yards (7.0 avg). He also has returned 3 kickoffs for 110 yards (36.7 avg). Rossum has played in 125 NFL games in his career and he has made 81 tackles, has 2 interceptions, 2 sacks, defensed 6 passes, forced 9 fumbles and recovered 1 fumble. Rossum has returned 244 punts in his career for 2,517 yards (10.3 avg) with 3 TDs and he also has returned 421 kickoffs for 9,635 yards (22.9 avg) with 3 TD returns. This was an excellent move by the Steelers that will allow Santonio Holmes to concentrate on playing WR.
The Steelers have decided to cut veterans Verron Haynes and John Kuhn. Haynes had a decent pre-season as he carried the football 22 times for 85 yards (3.9 ypc) and he also caught 3 passes for 24 yards. John Kuhn didn’t have much of a chance this pre-season due to some emerging rookies. Kuhn only got to carry the ball 3 times for 5 yards (1.7 ypc) and he also caught 2 passes for 12 yards. Undrafted rookies Gary Russell and Carey Davis have both made the Steelers’ roster. Russell led the Steelers in rushing in the pre-season with 191 yards on 49 carries (3.9 ypc) and he also caught 3 passes for 16 yards (5.3 avg). Carey Davis was also impressive in the pre-season as he carried the football 8 times for 71 yards (8.9 ypc) and he has also caught 8 passes for 76 yards (9.5 avg). The Steelers last undrafted free agent running back to make the team was Willie Parker so the sky could be the limit for Russell & Davis.
The Steelers didn’t even try to win this football game and they still beat the Panthers pretty easily. Ben Roethlisberger and Charlie Batch combined to completed 4 of 5 passes for 28 yards in the short time they played on Thursday Night. Brian St. Pierre finished up the game completing 3 of 10 passes for 16 yards. Undrafted rookie RB Gary Russell did most of the heavy lifting in the running game for the Steelers with 62 yards on 21 carries (3.0 ypc) but Verron Haynes also contributed carrying the rock 13 times for 47 yards (3.6 ypc). The Steelers finished up with 118 yards rushing on 39 carries (3.0 ypc) and they completed only 7 of 16 passes for 23 yards.
Safety Tyrone Carter led a good Steelers’ effort on defense as he returned an interception 32 yards for a TD against the Panthers. The Steelers held the Panthers to 87 yards rushing on 27 carries (3.2 ypc) and the Panthers also completed 17 of 29 passes for 202 yards.
