steelers Appeal denied; penalty remains

Associated Press

NEW YORK

James Harrison is nothing if not exact. On the field and off.

Though he did not address the media on Friday, after the NFL denied his appeal of a one-game suspension for a helmet-to-helmet hit on Cleveland quarterback Colt McCoy, the Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker did respond on his Twitter page.

“17 games, 1000+ snaps, 100+ tackles, 12+sacks and 2 forces fumbles since my last incident and I get a suspension for a football play!”

Indeed he did, and as a result, Harrison will sit out Monday night’s game against San Francisco.

The ruling was made by NFL-NFLPA on-field appeals officer Ted Cottrell after a careful review of the hit that drew the original suspension on Tuesday. McCoy, who returned during the Steelers’ win over the Browns on Dec. 8, suffered a concussion.

But while Harrison was quiet, his teammates — as expected — were anything but.

“I’m not surprised. You’re appealing to the same people who put the suspension in place, so no, I’m not surprised at all,” Steelers safety Ryan Clark said. “I don’t care about the league’s message anymore.

“It’s about us as a football team playing the type of football that’s going to help us win championships, despite who gets suspended, despite who gets fined.

“We’re going to try to play within the rules. We’re going to stop fighting this battle of talking to them. That’s what this is about.”

The NFL cited Harrison’s history of flagrant hits — this was his fifth on a quarterback — in making him the first player suspended under stricter guidelines for player safety that were invoked midway through last season.

“We have to adjust and play within the rules that they make up and the stuff they’re going to call,” Steelers linebacker James Farrior said. “We have to really be careful about how we approach it.

“It’s one of those things we’ll have to deal with as we go, and hopefully it’ll work out.”

Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was limited in practice Friday, while safety Troy Polamalu and center Maurkice Pouncey sat out.

Roethlisberger has been nursing a sprained left ankle he injured last week against Cleveland.

Coach Mike Tomlin and offensive coordinator Bruce Arians both said they’d like Roethlisberger practice at least once before they decide whether he’ll play Monday at San Francisco. He sat out three straight practices before participating Friday.

If Roethlisberger can’t play, 37-year-old Charlie Batch will start. Roethlisberger, who has not missed a start due to injury in more than two years, was not available to the media.

Along with Polamalu (hamstring) and Pouncey (ankle), linebacker Chris Carter (hamstring) and receiver Emmanuel Sanders (foot) also did not practice. Polamalu is expected to play vs. the 49ers.