Sweed to be in uniform Sunday

[SteelerNation1]

[url]http://www.timesonline.com/sports/sports_details/article/1424/2009/october/09/notebook-tomlin-now-soured-on-sweed.html[/url]

[SteelerNation1]

Re: Sweed to be in uniform Sunday

Here's the article. Sorry.

Notebook: Tomlin not sour on Sweed
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By: Mike Bires -
Beaver County Times

Friday October 9, 2009 12:13 AM

SWEED NOT SOUR

It didn’t take long for coach Mike Tomlin to give Limas Sweed a second chance.

Sweed, a wide receiver who didn’t suit up in last week’s win over San Diego, will be in uniform this Sunday when the Steelers play in Detroit.

“I’m ready to get back in the mix and have some fun,” Sweed said after Thursday’s practice.

Sweed, a second-round pick last year, lost his spot as the No. 4 wideout after dropping what would have been a 34-yard touchdown pass in a Sept. 27 loss in Cincinnati.

Infuriated by Sweed’s tendency to drop passes, Tomlin made him practice with the scout team last week.

Shaun McDonald dressed as the fourth receiver in the win over the Chargers. McDonald, who played the past two years with the Lions, will not play Sunday.

INJURY UPDATE

Running back Willie Parker definitely won’t play against the Lions. And it’s 99.9 percent certain that strong safety Troy Polamalu will sit out as well.

Parker, who’s limping around with a turf toe injury, missed practice again Thursday. He has not practiced since hurting his toe in Cincinnati.

That means Rashard Mendenhall, who rushed for 165 yards against the Chargers, will make his second straight start.

“I’m a competitor and I want to compete and show the world what I’ve got. But right now, I’m not where I need to be,” Parker said.

Neither is Polamalu, who suffered a sprained knee in the Sept. 10 season opener. Polamalu practiced for the second straight day, but only on a limited basis. He did not take part in any team drills.

Tomlin will announce his official injury report today.

From all indications, Tyrone Carter will make his fourth straight start at strong safety. Also on the injury front, tight end David Johnson (ankle) missed practice. But starting guard Chris Kemoeatu (ankle) and linebacker Andre Frazier (shoulder) returned even tough it was on a limited basis.
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Kemoeatu said he will definitely start against the Lions.

FORD FIELD MEMORIES

The Steelers’ roster has changed quite a bit since they last played in Detroit. Only eight starters remain from the Steelers’ win over Seattle in Super Bowl XL at Ford Field.

They are QB Ben Roethlisberger, WR Hines Ward, TE Heath Miller, T Max Starks, DE Aaron Smith, NT Casey Hampton, LB James Farrior and CB Ike Taylor.

“The circumstances for Sunday’s game are a little different than the last time we were in Detroit,” Ward said. “That was definitely a great experience, one I’ll never forget.”

When asked what image first comes to mind when he thinks of SB40, Ward said, “The catch.”

That was the 43-yard TD pass he caught from wide receiver Antwaan Randle El in the fourth quarter that clinched the win.

“That picture says it all,” Ward said of a photo that appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated. “You can definitely see the elation on my face when I jumped into the end zone. I have a big picture of that hanging in my house. That will go with me for the rest of my life.”

WOUNDED LIONS

If the Lions (1-3) are to pull off a major upset Sunday, they may have to do so without several key players. They could be without four starters, including star WR Calvin Johnson.

Johnson (thigh), rookie QB Matthew Stafford (knee), DE Dewayne White (hamstring) and DT Sammie Lee Hill (ankle) didn’t practice Wednesday or Thursday. Also, back-up safeties Kalvin Pearson (quadricep) and Ko Simpson (hamstring) also missed practice the past two days.

If Stafford, the No. 1 overall pick of this year’s NFL Draft, can’t play, 11th-year pro Daunte Culpepper will start.

[proudpittsburgher]

Re: Sweed to be in uniform Sunday

Wow, I didn't know about Calvin Johnson being injured. I don't think it would have mattered though.


As for Sweed, I would go to him early and often. I would normally think that this game means very little since we should win it handily, but confidence seems to be his only problem. I have to think Sweed could be there for some big plays given Detroit's bad defense and their likelihood of keying on people like Ward, Tone and Miller. Is this one of those games where he HAS to step up. Kind of like a must-win game for him?

[Oviedo]

Re: Sweed to be in uniform Sunday

The Steelers’ roster has changed quite a bit since they last played in Detroit. Only eight starters remain from the Steelers’ win over Seattle in Super Bowl XL at Ford Field.

I found this very interesting especially since you have Tomlin haters who claim that Tomlin's success is all about Bill Cowher and Bill Cowher players.

Given that logic I guess Cowher's success was all about Chuck Noll players right?

[Mister Pittsburgh]

Re: Sweed to be in uniform Sunday

I agree. I would go to him with a lot of mid range patterns like 10 to 15 yds downfield. The only real major drops he has are deep ones. Get him confidence on the short stuff. He needs a regular season game like he had in the preseason games where he was making the tough catches. I would like to see how we look with 4 wides:

Wallace - Hines - Holmes - Sweed
Ben
Mendenhall

[Steeler Shades]

Re: Sweed to be in uniform Sunday

You can throw all the mid-range passes and un-important passes in the world to Sweed and that won't show us anything. It's when he is wide open for a sure TD in a game changing point in the game that Sweed can't handle the pressure and drops the ball. The only way to determine if he can be trusted in those circumstances is wait until it happens again and then see how he handles (or drops) it.

[papillon]

Re: Sweed to be in uniform Sunday

You can throw all the mid-range passes and un-important passes in the world to Sweed and that won't show us anything. It's when he is wide open for a sure TD in a game changing point in the game that Sweed can't handle the pressure and drops the ball. The only way to determine if he can be trusted in those circumstances is wait until it happens again and then see how he handles (or drops) it.

I disagree about the short to medium range throws. It will give him confidence to make a catch, get hit and make a positive play, so that, he it becomes instinctual for him to make catches again. He'll stop thinking about making a catch and just catch the ball. Confidence is his enemy right now, it needs to become his friend.

Pappy

[Steeler Shades]

Re: Sweed to be in uniform Sunday

I disagree about the short to medium range throws. It will give him confidence to make a catch, get hit and make a positive play, so that, he it becomes instinctual for him to make catches again...

Did Sweed catch any short to medium throws between last years AFC championship game and this years Bungles game?

[papillon]

Re: Sweed to be in uniform Sunday

I disagree about the short to medium range throws. It will give him confidence to make a catch, get hit and make a positive play, so that, he it becomes instinctual for him to make catches again...

Did Sweed catch any short to medium throws between last years AFC championship game and this years Bungles game?

No, but he was making some tough catches during the pre-season. It looked like he was going to be very good this year. He made a few catches in traffic and got rocked and held on. He needs some confidence to get back in the game. I want him to succeed and the only way they'll know if he's worth keeping around is to give him maximum opportunity to succeed.

If they sat him now and didn't give him a chance, they may as well cut him and keep McDonald. Since, he's under contract and not at a hefty price, they should give the remainder of this year to get his head right and be the receiver that they believe he can be.

Pappy

[Steeler Shades]

Re: Sweed to be in uniform Sunday

No, but he was making some tough catches during the pre-season. It looked like he was going to be very good this year. He made a few catches in traffic and got rocked and held on. He needs some confidence to get back in the game. I want him to succeed and the only way they'll know if he's worth keeping around is to give him maximum opportunity to succeed.

If they sat him now and didn't give him a chance, they may as well cut him and keep McDonald. Since, he's under contract and not at a hefty price, they should give the remainder of this year to get his head right and be the receiver that they believe he can be.

I agree that the Steelers can't give up on him completely. My disagreement is whether short to medium passes are going to make him successful in "clutch" situations. Clearly his success in the pre-season didn't translate to confidence and the ability to make the BIG catch when he needed it in the Bungles game.

"You can throw all the mid-range passes and un-important passes in the world to Sweed and that won't show us anything. It's when he is wide open for a sure TD in a game changing point in the game that Sweed can't handle the pressure and drops the ball. The only way to determine if he can be trusted in those circumstances is wait until it happens again and then see how he handles (or drops) it."

[stlrz d]

Re: Sweed to be in uniform Sunday

I disagree about the short to medium range throws. It will give him confidence to make a catch, get hit and make a positive play, so that, he it becomes instinctual for him to make catches again...

Did Sweed catch any short to medium throws between last years AFC championship game and this years Bungles game?

He had one catch for 5 yards against the Bengals...and got hit pretty good when he caught the ball. Later he dropped the TD pass.

Other that that he hasn't had many opportunities since he's only been active for 2 games.