The Steelers will be without 35-year old starting DE Aaron Smith for a while due to a mid-foot sprain.  Smith has played in all 4 games for the Steelers so far this year and he has 8 tackles.  The Steelers will need 24-year old DE Ziggy Hood to step up while Smith is out of action.  Hood has played in all 4 games for the Steelers so far this year and he has a whopping 3 tackles.  Hood has now played in 36 games in his first three years with the Steelers and he has 31 tackles, 4 sacks, 1 fumble recovery, 3 passes defensed and 1 tackle for a loss.  It’s time for Hood to either step up or the Steelers will have to realize that he’s more of a career backup type.

UPDATE:  (10/22/2011) – The Steelers have placed Aaron Smith on Injured Reserve due to a foot injury.

26-year old RB Isaac Redman might be the last man standing at RB for the Steelers this weekend.  Starting RB Rashard Mendenhall has a hamstring injury that will likely cause him to miss this weekend’s game against the Titans.  Mewelde Moore will also miss this game (and likely a few more) with a high ankle sprain.  Mendenhall has played in all 4 games for the Steelers so far this year and he has carried the ball 58 times for 173 yards (3.0 ypc) with 2 TD runs and he has also caught 5 passes for 21 yards (4.2 avg) as he is not playing too well in 2011.  Mewelde Moore has also played in all 4 games for the Steelers so far this year and he has carried the ball 6 times for 43 yards (7.2 ypc) and he has also caught 4 passes for 61 yards (15.3 avg).  These injuries likely mean that 26-year old RB Isaac Redman could get a full workload in the running game against the Titans this Sunday.  He has played in all 4 games for the Steelers so far this year and he has carried the ball 22 times for 107 yards (4.9 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Redman also has caught 2 passes for 18 yards (9.0 avg) so far this season.  The Steelers better hope that Redman can handle a big workload as they need to balance the offense more going forward.

The Steelers will be without 33-year old OLB James Harrison for multiple weeks due to a fractured right eye socket.  Harrison has played in all 4 games for the Steelers so far this year and he has 23 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 forced fumble and 3 tackles for a loss.  25-year old Lawrence Timmons will move to outside linebacker to replace Harrison.  Timmons has played in all 4 games for the Steelers so far this year and he has 25 tackles, 2 passes defensed and 2 tackles for a loss.  Veteran 31-year old Larry Foote will replace Timmons at inside linebacker until Harrison is ready to return to action.  Foote has played in all 4 games for the Steelers so far this year and he has 12 tackles and 1 sack.  Losing Harrison will cause the defense to be much less intimidation as opposing offenses won’t have to worry about taking near  as many cheap shots as usual against the Steelers.

The Steelers have lost 28-year old OT Willie Colon for the season due to a torn triceps muscle.  He started against the Ravens last Sunday.  He has played in 51 games (all starts) in his first six years with the Steelers.  The Steelers are going to have to go outside the organization to try to find some offensive line help or Ben Roethlisberger and Rashard Mendenhall are going to get the crap kicked out of them all year long like they did last Sunday against the Ravens.

#2 QB Byron Leftwich has a broken upper left arm that will cause him to miss most if not all of the 2011 season.  For most teams, losing their #2 QB would really hurt, but the Steelers have a lot of depth.  Charlie Batch and Dennis Dixon filled in for Ben Roethlisberger while he was suspended last year and they should be able to handle the QB spot if the need arises in 2011.  The Steelers have taken Dennis Dixon off the trading block.

21-year old rookie center Maurkice Pouncey has a fracture in his ankle and he’s not likely to play in the Super Bowl.  This could really hurt the Steelers this weekend.  Pouncey made it to the Pro Bowl as a rookie as he started all 16 games for the Steelers and the first two playoff games.  Replacing Pouncey will be 24-year old Doug Legursky.  Legursky played in 16 games (4 starts) for the Steelers this year.  He has played in 24 games (4 starts) in his first two years in the NFL.  The Steelers need Legursky to step up because he’s going to be lined up against the mammoth 6’2″, 337 pound B.J. Raji who is one of the best NTs in the NFL.  If Raji is getting into the backfield a lot in this game, the Steelers are in deep trouble.  They need Legursky to step up this Sunday.

The Steelers will be without 29-year old strong safety Troy Polamalu tomorrow due to a Achilles problem.  They are considering possibly shutting him down until the playoffs start in an effort to get him healthy.  Polamalu has played in 13 games for the Steelers so far this season and he has 62 tackles, 1 sack, 5 tackles for a loss, 10 passes defensed, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery and 6 interceptions (0ne of which he returned for a TD).  This is a huge blow to the Steelers’ D the rest of the regular season because Polamalu is a impact player every single week that he suits up.  Either 25-year old Ryan Mundy or 28-year old Will Allen will replace Polamalu and neither of them inspire much confidence.  Mundy has played in 13 games so far this year and he has 15 tackles an 1 pass defensed.  Allen has played in 11 games for the Steelers this year and he has 9 tackles.

Starting TE Heath Miller suffered a severe concussion last Sunday Night against the Ravens which will cause him to miss at the very least this weekend’s game with the Bengals.  Miller has played in 12 games for the Steelers so far this year and he has caught 33 passes for 384 yards (11.6 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Miller will be replaced in the starting lineup by Matt Spaeth.  Spaeth has played in 3 games for the Steelers so far this year and he has caught 5 passes for 49 yards (9.8 avg).  The Steelers are going to miss Miller.

UPDATE:  (12/18/2010) – Heath Miller is also going to miss this weekend’s game against the Jets.  They hope he will be ready to return to play the Panthers next weekend.

The Steelers have lost 26-year old punter Daniel Sepulveda for the rest of the season due to a torn right ACL.  Sepulveda played in 12 games for the Steelers this season and he punted the ball 56 times for 2,250 yards (45.5 avg).  He also pinned opponents inside their own 20-yard line 16 times (28.6%) and he had 8 touchbacks (14.3%).  The Steelers have signed 26-year old Jeremy Kapinos to replace Sepulveda.  Kapinos played in 1 game earlier this year for the Colts and he punted the ball 4 times for 178 yards (44.5 avg) with 1 touchback and 2 punts downed inside the opposing 20-yard line.  Kapinos has now played in 22 games in his NFL career and he has punted the ball 92 times for 3,944 yards (42.9 avg).  Kapinos has also pinned the opposition inside their own 20-yard line 26 times (28.3%) and he has 13 touchbacks (14.1%).  The Steelers were lucky to find a guy like Kapinos sitting at home on his couch.

The Steelers will be without starting 35-year old RT Flozell Adams for a while due to a high ankle sprain.  Adams has started all 12 games at right tackle for the Steelers so far this year.  28-year old Trai Essex will replace Adams in the starting lineup and this is a big downgrade for the Steelers.  Essex has played in 8 games (5 starts) for the Steelers so far this year and he has now played in 55 games (25 starts) in his first six years with the Steelers.  The Steelers need Adams to get healthy soon or Ben Roethlisberger is really going to be under duress every Sunday.