RealGM

RB Willie Parker, NT Casey Hampton, and DE Brett Kiesel are expected to miss this Sunday's game against the Ravens due to injuries they received in the 15-6 road loss against the Eagles over the weekend. Expect rookie RB Rashard Mendenhall to see plenty of action on the field this weekend along with NT Chris Hoke and DE Travis Kirschke to fill in for the injured players.

http://news.steelers.com/article/96480/

I saw Hampton get injured in the last game, but I didn't see Willie go down. I wonder what he is sitting out for? It will be a good chance to get a real look at our number 1 pick. I hope he fixed the little fumble problem he had in the final preseason game. If he didn't, the Ravens will pick his pocket. If he has fixed it, he might have a big game.

According to the link, Parker played on his sprained left knee during the game. I guess whenever he hit the sidelines the coaching staff saw signs of discomfort and injury coming from Willie. The article to me makes an indictation that Parker's injury was known by the staff than the public before this link went public.

If the coaching staff had indications of this during the game, why didn't they give Mendenhall some burn earlier in the game. He might have made the corner early in the game when we were trying to establish a ground game.

My guess is that both coaching staff and Parker himself underestimated the severity of his left knee sprain and thought that it was a light issue that it wouldn't bother Parker too much. Apparently it isn't the case now that he's out against the Ravens.