If you thought Steelers fans were panicking when they lost to the Bengals in Week 3, that has nothing on the news that Aaron Smith is done for the season. Jim Wexell over at the Steel City Insider is reporting that Smith will have surgery on his rotator cuff, and the Steelers announced Wednesday that Smith has been placed on injured reserve.Even though Smith is not a household name around the NFL, he is the Steelers' best defensive end, and arguably the best 3-4 end in the game. When he missed the end of the 2007 season the, Steelers defense fell apart without him. The Steelers are better equipped to handle Smith's absence this time with first-round pick Ziggy Hood, as well as experienced veterans Travis Kirschke and Nick Eason, but none of them can come close to being the run stuffer or the pass rusher that Smith is.
Putting Smith on injured reserve gave Pittsburgh a chance to bring back Sonny Harris -- the Steelers' sixth-round pick this year, who had been stashed on Carolina's practice squad. Reclaiming Harris should help out next year's club's depth at defensive end.
Pittsburgh had the option of keeping Smith on the active roster -- if Smith's injury has a three-month recovery, as Wexell is reporting, he wouldn't be back until mid-January at the earliest. Had the Steelers left him off injured reserve, there was a slim chance that he could have returned for the AFC Championship (which will be played on the weekend of Jan. 24, 2010) and the Super Bowl. Placing him on I.R. eliminates that possibility.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
10-14-2009 @ 3:07PM
MARK MOORE said...
Steeler nation it looks like we will experience a lot of distress with the steel curtain defense this year. the loses of McFadden and Larry Foote to other teams has proven too much of a loss in needed experience in the 3 - 4 scheme . then the team loses troy to injury and is not playing up to the intimidating standards of the past.
Now Aaron smith: how much more can our defense endure? So expect more end game doubt of wondering if our defense can stop other teams offense in the 4 th qtr during this season.
The days of being certain the Steelers defense can stop other teams offense is over for this season.
Not to worry the Steelers offense is one of the most skilled in the league.
LETS GO STEELERS
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10-17-2009 @ 12:54PM
killerkowalski70 said...
I agree with you to a point Mark, the Steeler D is not looking as dominating this year as it was in previous years. However, the loss if Troy, which is a temporary set back, can't be understated. Opposing offenses simply cannot game plan for a player like Troy and when he is on the field in creates problems for other teams. I suspect he'll be out until the Minnisota game on the 25th. Pittsburgh has been caught on their heels with Troy gone as Tyrone Carter is not the best cover D back and Ike has simply been playing soft coverage without Troy in middle.
Aaron Smith has been great, but there is a reason why Pittsburgh took Ziggy Hood in the first round, we will be fine at end position once Hood gets some reps and sets into a groove. It takes time to adjust to LeBaeus schemes. You don't go from being number one in defense in the league in almost every catagory and slip to average in less than a season.
We will be fine on the defensive side of the ball. As you mentioned the offense is hot and scoring points and with the apparent running game getting "back on its feet" it'd be hard to imagine Pittsburgh not playing for another division title and looking at January playoff football.
Go Pittsburgh!!
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