Read More: Troy Polamalu (SS – PIT), Arnaz Battle (WR – PIT), LaMarr Woodley (LB – PIT), Emmanuel Sanders (WR – PIT), Pittsburgh Steelers, Cincinnati Bengals

The Pittsburgh Steelers have ruled linebacker LaMarr Woodley out for Sunday’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals, according to the team’s injury report. Woodley did not participate in Friday’s practice, nor did wideouts Arnaz Battle and Emmanuel Sanders or safety Troy Polamalu. Woodley, Battle, and Sanders will miss Sunday’s game, but the team lists Polamalu as probable.

Woodley has 36 tackles (24 solo) for the Steelers this season, as well as an AFC-leading nine sacks. His absence means Pittsburgh will have a diminished pass rush to disrupt Bengals rookie quarterback Andy Dalton. As Neal Coolong of Behind the Steel Curtain writes, the return of James Harrison to the lineup against the Baltimore Ravens last Sunday helped mask Woodley’s absence somewhat.

Elsewhere on the injury report, Harrison did not practice in full Friday due to a toe injury, but the team lists him as probable. Wide receiver Jerricho Cotchery, linebacker James Farrior, guard Doug Legursky, linebacker Stevenson Sylvester, and wide receiver Hines Ward all practiced in full and appear listed as probable.

PITTSBURGH (AP)—Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker LaMarr Woodley(notes) will not
play Sunday night in the AFC North showdown against the Baltimore Ravens due to
a hamstring injury sustained in last week’s win over New England.

Pittsburgh’s other former Pro Bowl outside linebacker, though, is expected
to play for the first time in a month. James Harrison(notes) has missed the past four
games with a broken orbital bone, but is probable and will play barring a
setback in a doctor’s examination Saturday.

Also ruled out for Pittsburgh was wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders(notes), who had a
knee injury and has not been with the team since learning of the death of his
mother on Tuesday. Guard Doug Legursky(notes) will miss his third game in a row due to
a foot injury.

Linebacker James Farrior(notes) (calf) and wide receiver Hines Ward(notes) (ankle) are
both questionable after sitting out Sunday’s game. Punter Daniel Sepulveda(notes)
(knee) was a Friday addition to the injury report and is questionable.

Named the AFC defensive player of the month for October on Thursday, Woodley
did not practice on Friday after being limited in participation earlier in the
week.

Jason Worilds(notes) is expected to start for Woodley, with Lawrence Timmons(notes) moving
back to inside linebacker due to Harrison’s return. Larry Foote(notes) would start in
place of Farrior.

The winner between Pittsburgh (6-2) and Baltimore (5-2) will have a leg up
in the AFC North race, although both still have two games remaining against
Cincinnati (5-2).

Despite enduring almost 40 years of anticipation, the Pittsburgh Steelers never looked back once they finally gained traction. Since the 1970s no franchise in the history of the National Football League has experienced the successes that Pittsburgh has over the last 40 years.

For a long time, Pittsburgh fans have been through the ringer with embarrassing moments like no other team, such as the Ernie Holmes and Justin Strzelczyk episodes. But, just as the team and fans have seen bad days, there were many highs as well. Each fan of the NFL has their favorite moments and biggest disappointments and I do as well. In my opinion, these are five of the best memories in Pittsburgh Steelers history:

5. The Antwaan Randle El(notes) TD Pass to Hines Ward(notes). Super Bowl XL, Detroit, Michigan, Feb. 5, 2006. As seen on this YouTube video, Randle El, a former QB, tossed a perfect 43-yard pass to a streaking Hines Ward to put the nail in Seattle’s coffin. Steelers won 21-10.

4. Chuck Noll. After 20-plus years, and 209 victories, Chuck Noll was arguably one of the best things to ever happen to the Steelers organization. Enshrined into the Hall of Fame as the only Head Coach to win four Super Bowls, Noll humbly mentioned that he did not deserve to be inducted any more than the guys on the field that won the games. The man was a class act both on and off the field.

3. Franchise’s first championship. Super Bowl IX. Sunday, January 12, 1975. Tulane Stadium, New Orleans, Louisiana. Coach Noll lead the Steelers to the first of six NFL Championships after 40-plus years of anticipation. Minnesota’s ‘Purple People Eaters’ couldn’t get it done and Pittsburgh won 16-6.

2. The Immaculate Reception. Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The video from the original broadcast says it all. Franco Harris’ amazing catch against the Oakland Raiders on December 23, 1972. NFL Films has chosen it as the greatest play ever. It was the turning point for the franchise, but it’s not my No. 1 favorite highlight in team history.

1. Being top dog! Super Bowl XLIII, 2009, Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida. Two great plays against the Cardinals: James Harrison’s(notes) Super Bowl record 100-yard interception for a touchdown and Santonio Holmes’(notes) tip-toe touchdown catch against Cardinals safety Aaron Francisco(notes) to seal the victory. Sixth Super Bowl Victory. The most in the history of the NFL. Enough said!

Giovanni Badalamenti lives in Pittsburgh and has been a Steelers fan since the ’70s.

Read more from this contributor:

“Three of the Greatest Pittsburgh Steelers of All-time”

“The Most Memorable NFL Quaterbacks of the 1980s”

Sources:

Lew Freedman, “Pittsburgh Steelers, The complete illustrated history.” (2009)

Chad Millman and Shawn Coyne, “NFL: Former Pittsburgh Steelers defensive lineman Ernie Holmes had an intense approach to life”; ESPN

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, “Strzelczyk killed in fiery crash”

Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content.

Posted: 2:03 pm EDT October 13, 2011Updated: 2:26 pm EDT October 13, 2011

A few film notes from the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 38-14 Week 5 win over the Tennessee Titans…

Tennessee Titans

– Tennessee’s offensive line did an outstanding job of blocking the Steelers’ front seven and providing an escort for running back Chris Johnson, who rushed for 51 yards on just 14 carries. The Titans couldn’t keep the ground attack going because they fell behind, but that doesn’t negate the efforts of their line. They used slide protection to get the Steelers’ line going one way, and Johnson would then either hit the gap to that side or read the cutback and go opposite. Left guard Leroy Harris(notes) and center Eugene Amano(notes) are dynamic upfield blockers who know how to tag a linebacker and create extra space in the running game. Harris is also very good at pulling right and sealing the edge for Johnson and the Titans’ other running backs — he stoned LaMarr Woodley(notes) with one outstanding first-quarter pull-block, and that’s no small achievement.

The Titans’ line is best at establishing power at the point of attack, and then spreading its force to create other opportunities. You can definitely see the influence of head coach Mike Munchak, the team’s former O-line coach and a Hall of Fame offensive lineman himself.

– The Titans’ defensive linemen really seemed to struggle with certain assignments. When ends Derrick Morgan(notes) and Dave Ball(notes) were asked to flare out in coverage on zone blitzes, they weren’t able to do much but provide stationary targets for Ben Roethlisberger(notes) to avoid. And on Heath Miller’s(notes) first-quarter touchdown, tackle Karl Klug(notes) had Miller in his vicinity, but stayed home while Miller advanced to the goal line. Sending a bunch of zone blitzes at Roethlisberger might not be the best idea — Big Ben’s defensive coordinator is Dick LeBeau, who pretty much invented the concept. You imagine that he might see zone blitzes at a pretty high level through the week.

The Titans’ D-linemen didn’t do much better staying at home at times, either; Jonathan Dwyer’s(notes) long second-quarter run was a beautifully executed example of (take it away, Vince Lombardi): “A seal here, a seal here, and we run it IN THE ALLEY!” Left guard Doug Legursky(notes) (pulling right) and right tackle Marcus Gilbert(notes) did an incredible job of blocking out the lane for Dwyer’s first run of the season.

Pittsburgh Steelers

– Generally speaking, the Titans present an interesting set of defensive problems in that they’re multiple in their schemes, but they disguise their diversity very well by looking pretty vanilla (a lot of 4-3 or 4-2 nickel) and then, spreading out into different coverages after the snap. Steelers offensive coordinator Bruce Arians put together a brilliant gameplan to counter this — he used a lot of pre-snap motion by receivers from side to side, sweeps and end-arounds to force the defense to pull one way, and quick throws in spread-style formations to get under what Tennessee was doing. The zone blitzes previously discussed aside, Roethlisberger also read Tennessee’s standard blitzes very well — it also helps that he’s conditioned himself to be unafraid of the blitz because his offensive lines have been so poor for so long.

The Steelers also used a lot of influence motion in their running plays — little half-motion sets by Hines Ward(notes) to draw a linebacker in and out. And as they generally are, the Steelers were very successful when they ran out of bunch formations — the formation/play they run more consistently than any other team. It’s important to note that with injuries on both sides of the ball, and facing a very good defense, Arians helped his team win as much as any player on the field.

– There were certain points where outside linebacker LaMarr Woodley absolutely took over this game — he certainly seemed to recognize the importance of his play with battery-mate James Harrison(notes) out with a fractured orbital bone (yikes). One play that really stood out was his sack of Titans quarterback Matt Hasselbeck(notes) with 9:39 left in the first quarter. The Titans had second-and-goal from the Pittsburgh 7-yard line, and Woodley rushed in from the defensive left side as tight end Daniel Graham(notes) released into the end zone. Fullback Ahmard Hall(notes) stayed in to block Woodley, but it didn’t matter, because Woodley just pushed Hall a good 2 yards back with his initial attack, and when Hall regained his footing, Woodley pushed Hall back into Hasselbeck and got the sack.

Woodley can do a number of things — tackle the run very well, cover in space as well as any 3-4 outside linebacker, and speed-rush around the edge — but his sheer power is the extra element that makes him a true force.

Related: , Doug Legursky, LaMarr Woodley, Ben Roethlisberger, James Harrison, Matt Hasselbeck, Hines Ward, Marcus Gilbert, Jonathan Dwyer, Derrick Morgan, Pittsburgh Steelers, Tennessee Titans, What The Tape Saw