Steelers Team Report
Hines Ward's ailing right knee "feels better" and he hopes to practice with the Steelers when they resume preparations Wednesday for the Super Bowl.
"It feels better," Ward said Monday after the Steelers' charter touched down in Tampa. "I don't have a brace on, I walk around fine. It's not going to be 100 percent, I'm not going to trick anybody, but I think I'm going to be good, to be able to go out and perform like I want to."
Ward has been going through extra rehabilitation on his right knee, injured in the first quarter of the AFC Championship Game. He has a slight MCL sprain, and he's breathing pure oxygen in a chamber to aid the healing process. He had the chamber shipped to Tampa.
After a strenuous weekend of rehab that included waking every three hours to ice down his knee, Ward took somewhat of a break on Monday.
"I've been rehabbing all weekend long. Off today. I did a little rehab this morning before we came down here."
He will resume Tuesday morning before he attends Media Day at Raymond James Stadium.
"I really can't say because I haven't run or cut or done anything," said Ward. "I was just constantly getting treatment, 24 hours around the clock."
Ward led the Steelers with 81 receptions for 1,043 yards, his best season statistically since 2003. He is the Steelers' career leader in receptions, yards and touchdowns.
Notes and Quotes -- The last time the Steelers arrived in a Super Bowl, they wore Jerome Bettis replica Notre Dame jerseys when they got off the plane in Detroit three years ago.
On Monday, the offensive linemen wanted to wear Dermontti Dawson replica jerseys in honor of the former Steelers center who is among the finalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame this week. Dawson retired after the 2000 season. However, the jerseys that were shipped were too small and would not fit them. They hope to have a new shipment sometime this week.
Dan Rooney, 76, says this has been the best professional year of his life. Why? He and his son Art II fought off an outside bid to purchase the Steelers, and convinced four of Dan's brothers to sell their shares to him and new partners he lined up. He also endorsed Barack Obama, campaigned for him and has become a friend of the new president. And his team is in the Super Bowl.
"It's been tremendous," Rooney said.
-- The Steelers expect a huge crowd of Steelers fans at Raymond James Stadium Sunday, something akin to what occurred in Detroit three years ago.
"It's awesome," quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said. "Every time we go to an away city, in a way it feels like a home game because there are so many fans. We expect them to be out there and having fun."
Strategy and Personnel PLAYER NOTES
--QB Ben Roethlisberger was not nearly as effective running the ball the past season. He had 34 runs for 101 yards in 2008, but had 204 yards on 35 runs in 2007.
-- WR Nate Washington was the most likely of the receivers to have a run from scrimmage last season with five, but Santonio Holmes has had two in two playoff games.
-- SS Troy Polamalu's seven interceptions during the regular season have not been topped among Steelers since Rod Woodson's eight in 1993. Polamalu added an eighth with his 40-yard touchdown return against Baltimore in the AFC title game.
-- OT Max Starks, like Hines Ward, also has a sprained knee from the AFC title game but he practiced some last week using a brace.
-- CB Ike Taylor, who could draw Larry Fitzgerald as his assignment Sunday, leads the Steelers with four passes defensed and he also has a quarterback pressure.
PLAYOFF REPORT CARD
PASSING OFFENSE: B -- The stats are not overwhelming, but they rarely are for Pittsburgh's passing game when things are going well. Ben Roethlisberger has a 90.8 rating in two games and it would have been higher if not for two dropped touchdowns passes. He has two touchdowns and no interceptions, and he lost his favorite receiver, Hines Ward, for three quarters of the AFC title game with an injury.
RUSHING OFFENSE: B -- Willie Parker, who has 51 of the 70 postseason carries, had a great game against San Diego, not so great against the Ravens. But few back do have good games against Baltimore's defense. Parker has 193 yards, a 3.8-yard average and two touchdowns. Gary Russell also has one touchdown rushing.
PASS DEFENSE: A-minus -- Pittsburgh's defense, No. 1 against the pass all season, held Philip Rivers and Joe Flacco to a combined 64.2 rating with four interceptions and seven sacks. Troy Polamalu virtually put the AFC championship away when he intercepted Flacco with 4:24 left and returned it 40 yards for a touchdown. Two pass interference penalties, though, helped the Ravens score twice.
RUSH DEFENSE: A -- Two games, 88 yards, a 2.4-yard average. The Steelers did allow two rushing touchdowns of 1 and 3 yards to Baltimore's Willis McGahee, but those came after two pass interference penalties either in or near the end zone gave the Ravens first downs.
SPECIAL TEAMS: B -- Santonio Holmes' 67-yard touchdown return against San Diego tied the game 7-7 and electrified the home crowd after the Chargers jumped out to a quick lead. The Steelers have allowed a punt return of 45 yards and a kickoff return of 63 after showing improvement in both those areas this season. Their punter, Mitch Berger, has continued to do poorly. But kicker Jeff Reed made all three of his field-goal tries, all against Baltimore.
COACHING: C -- Mike Tomlin has made some questionable calls, from fake field goals and punts, going for it on fourth-and-one rather than kicking a field goal and even throwing deep with an 18-point lead and three-minutes left against San Diego rather than running down the clock. It almost seems that they've won in spite of those calls that Tomlin says are merely "aggressive."