Take a Deep Breath

Aaron Smith is done for the season. Inhale...exhale. To be sure, this is a major blow to our defense which has already shown signs of mediocrity this season. Anyone that remembers the last time Smith was out for an extended period should be freaking out; our run D totally fell apart. One piece of uplifting news is that Troy should be back for this week's game and hopefully the rest of the season.

The Steelers re-signed their 6th round draft pick, Sonny Harris from Carolina's practice sqaud, to fill the roster spot created by Smith being placed on IR. Harris showed alot of promise in the pre-season and was one of the final cuts made. He would have been on our practice squad if Carlina hadn't signed him. Out of the bad some good must come.

I believe it will come in getting more experience for our young guys, especially 1st round draft pick, Ziggy Hood. Between Hood, Sonny Harris, Nick Eason and Travis Kirshke, we should have a decent rotation filling in for Smith. I would love to see LeBeau get creative. Chris Hoke has filled in more than admirably for Casey Hampton when he was injured. Why not move Hampton to left end and put Hoke in at the nose. Casey will take up two blockers and normally gets good push into the backfield. This should open up some space for Woodley on that side.

Expect a heavy dose of running to the right side from now on from opposing offenses. Like I said, this is a major loss for our D. Let's rely on the depth this team has and hope for the best. We have Cleveland this week which should get the new starters some decent reps without having to worry to much about a crucial game and making mistakes. Even thought the D-line is awesome, it is getting old. Smith's injury should benefit us in the long run by getting the young guys in the rotation that much quicker.