Magicgames II » Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger

PITTSBURGH (AP) — sat out practice on Tuesday to give his broken left index finger a rest but he is expected to play on Thursday night when Carolina visits Heinz Field.Roethlisberger said the finger was “fine” after he threw the ball 47 times in last Sunday’s victory over Baltimore.He did leave the game briefly in the third quarter after getting the wind knocked out of him Stitched Kawann Short Jersey , but he returned after missing just one snap.The 36-year-old is on pace to top 5,000 yards passing for the first time in his career. He came close in 2014 when he tied Drew Brees for the league lead with 4,952. Roethlisberger said reaching the 5,000-yard plateau “is still a pretty big deal” but he is keeping his focus on the team.The Steelers (5-2-1) have ripped off four straight wins to climb into first in the AFC North. The short week means they won’t have much time to prepare for the surging Panthers (6-2), which might not be a bad thing. Roethlisberger expects to rely a little more heavily on the no-huddle offense, a setup in which he thrives.“We’ve been doing it for a while,” Roethlisberger said. “We know it. We know it pretty well. We did it really well in Baltimore, really well, and just being able to pick up the pace and the tempo.”The Steelers often turn to the no-huddle in an effort to snap them out of a funk early in games, but Roethlisberger isn’t using it as a method of trying to get the ball downfield.While he’s on track to set a career high in yards, his production has dipped a bit during Pittsburgh’s winning streak. He’s gone over 300 yards just once in Pittsburgh’s past five games after going over 330 yards in each of the first three weeks.An improved defense has helped. Roethlisberger lit up scoreboards early because the Steelers were trying to keep up with opponents who had little trouble getting to the end zone.That’s not happening much anymore. Now that Roethlisberger isn’t tasked with trying to play catch up Youth Trai Turner Jersey , the Steelers have taken a more balanced approach.Second-year running back James Conner is second in the NFL in yards from scrimmage and Roethlisberger is content to keep throwing the ball underneath to move the chains and keep Pittsburgh’s defense off the field. And just like that, Pittsburgh’s sluggish 1-2-1 start has become a distant memory.“There was no panic in this room early in the season,” Roethlisberger said. “That’s why we got a good chuckle out of (the media) panicking and the outside world panicking, but for us it was just a matter of playing the next week.”NOTES: Right tackle Marcus Gilbert (knee) did not practice and is unlikely to play, meaning Matt Feiler will make his third straight start. … NT Daniel McCullers (ankle) also did not practice. … WR Antonio Brown (coach’s decision) and WR Ryan Switzer (ankle) were limited. … WR James Washington (knee) was a full participant. The Panthers made some solid team-building decisions in the 2019 NFL Draft."WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections Keep Sounding PodcastPanthers 2019 NFL DraftCSR Film RoomPanthers 2019 NFL DraftGrading the Carolina Panthers’ 2019 draft classNew,330commentsThe Panthers made some solid team-building decisions in the 2019 NFL Draft.EDTShareTweetShareShareGrading the Carolina Panthers’ 2019 draft classThe 2019 draft has come and gone, and the Carolina Panthers leave the weekend with seven new players who they hope will be positive contributors in 2019 and beyond. Below are my personal grades for each individual pick with an overall grade at the bottom. I graded on an A-F scale with no plus or minus grades (i.e. - no B+ or A- grades) and took several factors into consideration when making my grades: team needs, positional value and round drafted.With that being said, here are my grades for the Panthers’ 2019 draft class.Brian Burns, EDGE, Florida StateSelected: First round Stitched Trai Turner Jersey , No. 16 overallThe Panthers had a definite need for a pass rusher when the entered the draft on Thursday night, and they addressed that need with their first pick of the weekend. Adding a versatile rusher like Burns allows the Panthers to attack the opposing offense from multiple looks, and gives Ron Rivera a player who can fit both a 4-3 and a 3-4 scheme. Grade: AGreg Little, OT, Ole MissSelected: Second round, No. 37 overall (Carolina traded pick Nos. 47 and 77 to Seattle for pick No. 37.)Offensive tackle was the Panthers’ second biggest need after edge rusher (and arguably their biggest need), so getting one of the top left tackles in this year’s draft class in the second round is certainly a fantastic value in a vacuum. The one issue I have is the price required to acquire Little at No. 37 overall. The Panthers had to trade their second rounder (No. 47) and their first third rounder (No. 77) to move up 10 spots in order to get the player they wanted. While trading up isn’t always the best idea, if Little develops into a franchise left tackle like the Panthers hope, this trade will be well worth it. Grade: BWill Grier, QB, West VirginiaSelected: Third round Youth Ryan Kalil Jersey , No. 100 overallOpinions vary on whether or not the Panthers should have used a draft pick on a backup quarterback, but adding an insurance policy in case Cam Newton has a setback while recovering from offseason shoulder surgery is a solid strategy that shouldn’t hurt the Panthers too much, especially if Grier develops into a solid backup quarterback. It works out even better if Grier develops into a starting caliber player who can either be the future starter for Carolina or an enticing trade option for another team in need of a quarterback. Grade: BChristian Miller, EDGE, AlabamaSelected: Fourth round, No. 115 overallIt’s refreshing to see the Panthers acknowledging a need and attempting to fix it during the draft. Miller is the second pass rusher selected by Carolina, and though he dealt with injuries while at Alabama, he was a solid player who produced whenever he was on the field. There are concerns that he can stay healthy and contribute at the next level (otherwise he would have been drafted sooner), but if he’s able to get consistent playing time the Panthers could end up with one of the draft’s biggest steals. Grade: BJordan Scarlett, RB, FloridaSelected: Fifth round Stitched Ryan Kalil Jersey , No. 154 overallI’m not quite sure I understand this pick. Sure, the Panthers need someone to spell Christian McCaffrey so he’s not on the field for literally every single play, but that was supposedly the reason they brought Cameron Artis-Payne back during free agency. With other players who would have addressed bigger needs still on the board, it was frustrating to see the Panthers take a backup running back. Sure, it’s hard to get too upset about a fifth round pick, but it’s also hard to justify them making this decision. Grade: CDennis Daley, OT, South CarolinaSelected: Sixth round, No. 212 overall (Carolina traded pick No. 187 to Denver for pick Nos. 212 and 237.)The Panthers traded down from their original sixth round pick (No. 187) and picked up an extra pick in the process (No. 237), so that already improves their grade for this selection. Add in the fact that they yet again addressed a major need on the roster (offensive line) and did so with a versatile player who can slide in at both tackle and guard, and it’s very hard to find much to complain about with this selection. Grade: ATerry Godwin Dennis Daley Carolina Panthers Jersey , WR, GeorgiaSelected: Seventh round, No. 237 overallThe Panthers didn’t have a seventh round pick when the draft started, so this is essentially a free pick. They could have taken a gamble on a late round safety here, but taking a wide receiver who can also return kicks isn’t too bad of a decision so I can’t really hate on this pick even if I would have done something different with it. Grade: BFinal thoughtsOverall, I think the Panthers had a good draft. They came into the weekend with the mindset of making both the offensive line and pass rush better, and taking two players at each group helped them reach that goal. They also wanted a backup quarterback to develop, and while I feel like they probably should have taken a safety with one of their first four picks, it’s hard to argue against their decision to build some quality depth behind Cam Newton. The only true negative of this draft is their decision to reach for a running back in the fifth round, but if that’s the only thing I can find truly ‘wrong’ with their draft class then I’d say they did a pretty dang good job. Overall grade: B