FOX reported that Ben Roethlisberger will meet with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell on Thursday to determine whether or not his suspension will be reduced from six to four games.
Head Coach Mike Tomlin called tonight's game "a big litmus test" for young quarterback Dennis Dixon. He should be coming in following a few series from Roethlisberger, since Byron Leftwich has already seen plenty of time with the first-team offense this preseason.
Daniel Sepulveda continued to attempt kickoffs, but his first went out of bounds, sending the Broncos straight to their own 40. Such mistakes may result in the Steelers reverting to kicker Jeff Reed, who is allergic to making a tackle on kickoff coverage, unlike Sepulveda.
I don't care if he scored a touchdown on the Broncos opening drive, LenDale White is still a fat, mostly useless player. Nine yards on five carries is pretty consistent with White's 3.7 career ypc.
James Farrior gashed his head when his helmet came off in the middle of a scrum. It's unlikely he'll return to action tonight.
Broncos fans (understandably) booed Roethlisberger on the Steelers first play; the quarterback promptly shot a 47-yard laser down the field to Mike Wallace. If this is a sign of Roethlisberger's ability to block out the boos, that's a good thing -- but I can't imagine what we heard in Denver during a preseason game will even come close to the clamor he'll endure during regular season games at Cincinnati and Baltimore.
Rashard Mendenhall looked good on the Steelers opening drive. He was elusive and decisive, keeping the chains moving and gashing the Denver front seven for 19 yards on three carries. Oh yeah -- his arm isn't broken, either.
The Steelers offense sputtered in the red zone -- a familiar sight for fans who suffered through 2009's often agonizing 9-7 season -- settling for a field goal.
