PITTSBURGH Joey Porter is questionable, but linebacker ready for action

The Steelers made a roster move to help their struggling running game.
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Steelers outside linebacker Joey Porter is listed as questionable for Sunday's game at Cincinnati, and coach Bill Cowher hinted Porter's chances may be even better than the 50 percent chance of playing that the term implies.
"He's not real happy he's questionable," Cowher said. "In his mind it's not even a question."
Porter was shot in the upper right thigh by an unknown assailant in Denver in the early hours of Labor Day. He missed the first two games of the regular season, but had been given hope last week when Cowher listed him as doubtful, a step below questionable in league-mandated injury descriptions. Porter didn't play against the Kansas City Chiefs, but worked out during the week and felt no residual effects from the wound.
Medical report
"He's had some tests done and everything looks good at this point," Cowher said. "It's just a matter of watching him work, watching him hit, watching him run and accelerate, and move when he has to not think about it. He has to react. So I'm sure he'll be upgraded at some point."
Porter has been replaced in the lineup by Clark Haggans, and in the dime defense by James Farrior.
Farrior leads the Steelers with 25 tackles and Haggans is second with 19. In comparison, two-time Pro Bowl linebacker Jason Gildon has four tackles.
Cowher would not commit to starting Porter if he is healthy enough to play.
"I want to see where he's at by the end of the week," Cowher said. "He probably would start. How much he plays at that point? I don't know. Clark's played pretty well in his place. A lot of it might be more from a conditioning standpoint. He's been out a couple weeks now. A lot will have to do with how he feels."
Porter would certainly help a defense that allowed 41 points to the Chiefs last Sunday, but the Steelers made a roster move designed to help a running game that ranks 27th in the league. They added Dante Brown off the practice squad and released linebacker Erik Flowers.
Brown joined the Steelers last April as an undrafted free agent out of the University of Memphis and led the team in preseason rushing with 106 yards on 24 carries.
Insurance move
He's been added to the roster as insurance in case third-down back Verron Haynes can't play. Haynes is listed as questionable this week with a knee injury. The only other healthy halfbacks are Amos Zereoue and Jerome Bettis on a Steelers team that gained only 50 yards on 17 carries against the Chiefs.
After two games, the Steelers are averaging 74 yards per game, or nearly 100 below their league-leading average of 173.4 in 2001.
"We're striving for balance, just like when we were running the ball and everybody wanted us to throw the ball more," Cowher said. "Yes, we recognize we need to be more effective running the ball."
Cowher warned that it's too early "to suddenly try to make changes." And he was careful not to blame the offensive line or Zereoue, the starter who's gained 104 yards on 26 carries so far.
"Sometimes you have to make your own holes. Sometimes they are there. Sometimes he does a great job of making something out of nothing," Cowher said. "Again, I think it's got to be our persistence in staying with it. As with anything else, the more you do something the better you become."