Steelers News: Roethlisberger, Gilbert, rushing

The Steelers are coming off of a last minute victory over the Raiders and looking to face the Cleveland Browns at home before their bye week. While they prepare for the Browns we’ll be busy looking for mentions of your Black & Gold so we’ve got you covered. Here’s your Steelers Morning Huddle for Friday, Nov. 13^th.

Back on the field already

Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger went out on the practice field on Thursday to test the healing of his foot, which he sprained in last week’s win over the Raiders. Teresa Varley has Roethlisberger’s thoughts about playing this Sunday and how bad he feared the injury might have been initially.

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"“That’s coach’s call (on playing this Sunday). I can’t give you a percentage, because my percentage is probably different from his percentage. I don’t know. We’ll go out today and see how it feels. I’ll have a better understanding after today.” – Ben Roethlisberger"

On if he was concerned about the severity of his injury at first:

"“Yes. I kind of sat there for a second and I went to get up, got help getting up, and I went to take a step. It felt like the middle of my foot was just broke in half. That’s when the doctor thought it could be, he was convinced it was a Lisfranc and that was kind of scary. But, we were blessed when we got back to the x-rays and saw it wasn’t that.” – Ben Roethlisberger"

Call him Slim Gilbert

The Trib’s Mark Kaboly tells us that Steelers right tackle Marcus Gilbert is having one of his best seasons of his career this season so far. Steelers offensive line coach Mike Munchak can be directly linked to the majority of the improvement on the offensive line since his hire including encouraging the players to play at healthier weights.

Gilbert has dropped 35 pounds and it has him playing faster and better, not to mention he’s the only lineman to not surrender a sack. He’s also moved passed the recurring ankle injuries that had him miss 1,228 snaps over the past three years. Playing at a healthier weight has dramatically improved Gilbert’s game so far.

Ground and pound

With DeAngelo Williams’ performance on Sunday against the Raiders, the Steelers now lead the NFL in rushing yards. They’re fifth in rushing yards per game and are averaging 5-yards per rushing play. Don’t look now but the Steelers are shaping up to be one of the best rushing teams in the league.

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Ray Fittipaldo of the PPG reminds us that it was just two seasons ago in 2013 when the Steelers ranked 27^th in the league in rushing. The biggest reason from the turnaround has to be attributed to Le’Veon Bell, the offensive line play and now the acquisition of Williams.