October 22, 2018 12:12 PM EEST
PITTSBURGH -- Ramon Foster knows the drill, even if its one the Pittsburgh Steelers have been largely able to avoid most of the last four-plus decades. Yoenis Cespedes Jersey .When a team that began September with realistic Super Bowl expectations finds itself listing as Thanksgiving nears like the Steelers (4-5) are following a late defensive meltdown cost them against Dallas on Sunday, drama -- either real or imagined -- is sure to follow.Its why Foster found himself at his locker on Monday answering questions about everything from the teams confidence in coach Mike Tomlin to quarterback Ben Roethlisbergers grousing about accountability.When you have that type of hype and you dont live up to it in the middle of the season, you kind of lose a lot people, Foster said. Im OK with that. Well be fine.Eventually perhaps, but not at the moment. While Foster remains resolute that theres time for Pittsburgh to get it together -- starting with a trip on Sunday to winless Cleveland (0-10) -- he understands the angst. The Steelers were supposed to challenge Denver and New England for AFC supremacy. Instead theyre under .500 and behind underwhelming Baltimore in the blah AFC North.The thing we cant do is bury ourselves, Foster said. At this point it seems everybody is against us.Yet Foster stressed the Steelers are not against themselves. Asked if hes aware of a sense of growing dissatisfaction from the outside about Tomlin, Foster just shrugged his shoulders.Its easy to do that, Foster said. You go for the head. If (anything) goes wrong, it rolls from the top down.Foster thinks the blame is better resting elsewhere, namely on the 53 men who are in the middle of a four-game slide thats removed all of the good vibes surrounding a 4-1 start. He has little issue with Tomlins decision to attempt four 2-point conversions, even if all of them failed.Id do it again though, Foster said. We practice it. Whos to say, maybe itll work for us in the Super Bowl?Foster punctuated the response with a smile. Considering the state of the division, the Steelers are hardly out of it. Yet they hardly look like a team capable of making any sort of postseason noise should they even manage to make it.They did at times against the Cowboys, taking an early nine-point lead and twice scoring touchdowns to go in front in the fourth quarter. If either of those touchdowns hold up -- LeVeon Bells lunging 1-yard dive or Roethlisbergers fake spike that turned into a 15-yard lob to Antonio Brown -- Pittsburgh is back above .500 after knocking off the hottest team in the NFL.Its a razor thin margin between narratives and it doesnt take someone whos been around like Foster to figure it out. Its why rookie safety Sean Davis couldnt stop replaying the 15-yard facemask penalty on Cowboys tight end Jason Witten that set the stage for Ezekiel Elliotts clinching 32-yard sprint with 9 seconds to go.Yeah, it ate me up a little bit last night, Davis said. But its over. Cant do anything about it right now. You shouldnt see any more facemask penalties for me for a very long time.Thats Davis trying to hold himself accountable, an issue Roethlisberger hinted at in frustration in the middle of a quiet Pittsburgh locker room Sunday afternoon. Roethlisberger called his team undisciplined and not accountable but declined to get into specifics, simply calling it a feeling.Foster described Roethlisbergers message as simply take on your own battles first, meaning handle your business before worrying about someone elses. Of course the tenor changes completely if Dallas doesnt score last.Thats the NFL, linebacker Arthur Moats said. Theres no moral victories. Its pass/fail. We understand that coming in ... we know the type of team that we have. We know the potential we have.Theyre running out of time to show it. Four of Pittsburghs next five games are on the road and even the luckless Browns hardly seem like a pushover for a team that hasnt won away from Heinz Field since Week 1.At this point wed be very idiotic to think Cleveland is not going to play us as hard as they can, Foster said. Theyre 0-8 or 0-9 and were freaking 0-4 in our last four games. Theyre going to be chomping at the bit.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL href="http://www.metsrookiestore.com/Mets-Travis-Darnaud-Kids-Jersey/" target="_blank">Travis dArnaud Jersey . -- Jonathan Drouin gave Halifax the boost it needed to edge host Sherbrooke Phoenix 3-2 in a shootout in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action. Lenny Dykstra Jersey . -- Eastern Kentucky thrives off creating havoc for others. http://www.metsrookiestore.com/Mets-Jay-Bruce-Kids-Jersey/ ;. -- Damian Lillard and LaMarcus Alrdridge were again the go-to duo for the Trail Blazers against the Kings. Florida State coach Jimbo Fishers week started with some good news.Both defensive end DeMarcus Walker and quarterback Deondre Francois are expected to be in action when the Seminoles play at Syracuse on Saturday. Kickoff is at 3:30 p.m. ET at the Carrier Dome with the game featured in a split telecast between ABC and ESPN2.Walker leads the No. 17 Seminoles (7-3, 4-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) with 11 sacks, an average of 1.1 per game that ranks in a tie for third in the country. He was seen wearing a protective boot near the end of last weeks win over Boston College, but he is expected to play against the unranked Orange (4-6, 2-4 ACC).Francois, who is passing for 267.5 yards a game, sat out the fourth quarter to protect a shoulder injury, but Fisher said the redshirt freshman could have played if needed. Obviously, he wasnt needed over the final 15 minutes of the 45-7 rout of the Eagles.But tempering the good news: Defensive back Derwin James has finally been ruled out for the rest of the season. He hasnt played since injuring his knee in the second game of the season.Fisher also noted one other lineup change for this week. Junior Rich Leonard, who started the first four games, will be back at right tackle after sophomore Brock Ruble, who started the past six outings, sustained a groin injury against Boston College.Once he got going in the game, he picked up two or three really nice twists, Fisher said of Leonard. Played physical. Did a nice job.The injury report on the other side isnt as optimistic.Orange quarterback Eric Dungey, who sat out last weeks loss to North Carolina State after sustaining an injury to his head or upper body against Clemson a week earlier, is considered doubtful. Coach Dino Babers seems to be taking things in stride.As a football coach and as a football player, that stuff happens all the time, Babers said. Guys get hurt. Thats what makes our game so unpredictable, and its also the thing that makes our game so cool. ... You do get aan opportunity to hit a star. Keith Hernandez Jersey. .He compared that to basketball with untouchable superstars such as Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson.In basketball, you dont get to touch Michael Jordan or you get in trouble, he said. You get in trouble if you touch Magic. In football, you get to touch them as long as you play within the rules.As a football player, guys get hurt and guys come back, and we embrace the ideal of finding a way to find the next man to step up.In this instance, that would be Zack Mahoney. The junior didnt put up big numbers last week against N.C. State -- he completed 14 of 25 passes for 190 yards, a little over 100 yards fewer than Dungey is averaging a game -- but he wasnt helped by an anemic running game that produced just 28 yards.Its not Zacks job to play like Eric, although if he wants to, Im all for it, Babers said. What we expect is for the other 21 guys to elevate their game so that Zack can play under control and we still have an opportunity to win.Mahoney did show the ability to throw the ball down the field but will have to rely on the offensive line to give him time to do so if he does start. That is no easy task. The Seminoles have 33 sacks for the year.We would all love to have Eric, but the next guy has to step up, and thats exactly what Zack did (Saturday), Syracuse running back Dontae Strickland said. He did what he had to do, and offensively we didnt put up the numbers we usually do, but its different with a different team captain on the field. But well come back next week, so we just have to improve.One thing to watch for: Florida State running back Dalvin Cook goes into the game needing just 19 yards to become the programs all-time leading rusher. The junior has run for 1,242 yards this year, giving him 1,941 for his career. Warrick Dunn is the all-time leader with 1,959 yards from 1993-96. 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