Aaron Smith is having such a good season, he registered a sack on a Wednesday.

	Peter Diana, Post-Gazette Steelers defensive end Aaron Smith, right, combines with linebacker Joey Porter to pressure Redskins quarterback Patrick Ramsey. Click photo for larger image.

After the Elias Sports Bureau was asked by Steelers types to take another look at the tape from their 16-7 victory Sunday against Washington, the NFL's official statistician agreed that the forced fumble and sack initially credited to linebacker James Farrior rightfully belonged to Smith. So they corrected the numerical error at midweek.

"Got another one," Smith said proudly yesterday in the locker room. "Every one of them counts."

And this one tied his career high with eight, which he first established in 2001 -- when the Steelers last reached the AFC championship game.

Smith danced after the first-quarter sack of Redskins quarterback Patrick Ramsey, who fumbled on the play, but apparently that wasn't enough to convince Heinz Field statisticians to award it to him.

"I didn't think it was mine, anyway," Farrior said. "I knew [the correction] would happen sooner or later. Aaron deserved it. He made it happen."

Burress sore

Starting receiver Plaxico Burress tried to practice in team drills yesterday but exited early with a sore left hamstring -- the injury that kept him out the past game and a half.

He put ice packs on it and watched the final 45 minutes or so of practice, but he aimed to try to work today in hopes of possibly playing Sunday at Jacksonville.

Burress said he planned to return against the Jaguars even if slightly less than 100 percent healthy: "I think me at 96, 97 percent is better than half the receivers in this league.

"If I can practice, I can always play. That's the barometer, where every player can make that judgement. If you can practice Thursday or Friday, you work through [any pain] Sunday and plan on being sore Monday and Tuesday, and come back the next week."

But, he said, "I don't want to do anything to hurt myself" for the rest of the season.

Injury report

Other notable absentees from yesterday's practice were halfbacks Jerome Bettis and Verron Haynes, both missing their second consecutive day, linebacker Kendrell Bell (groin), cornerback Chad Scott (knee) and backup defensive end Brett Keisel (hamstring). Bell, Scott and Keisel are listed as out for the Jacksonville game.

Bettis is resting an aching knee and is listed as probable. Starting halfback Duce Staley again practiced on a hamstring that caused him to miss the past four games and is listed as probable for Sunday. Haynes, who has a knee injury, is questionable.

Returning to practice yesterday were backup cornerback Chidi Iwuoma (questionable, hamstring), backup linebacker James Harrison (shoulder, probable) and center Jeff Hartings (knee probable).

Dad times two

Backup linebacker and special teams co-captain Clint Kriewaldt missed Wednesday's practice for good reason. Two good reasons.

His wife, Jamie, gave birth to twins -- their first children. They named them Kierstin (7 pounds, 9 ounces) and Carter (7 pounds, 6 ounces) because of the alliteration and the long line of CK initials among the Kriewaldts.

"Instant family," he said yesterday, back at practice. "But Wednesday's always a good day to miss."

Hokey pokey

Some one put up a photograph on the board inside the Steelers' locker room, showing nose tackle Chris Hoke doing what appeared to be the hula, although it was actually his impromptu dance after his first NFL sack Nov. 14 at Cleveland. The scrawled caption: Everybody do the Hoke dance.

"I tell you what, everybody wants to be a joker," Hoke said with a grin. "Everybody's just trying to have a good time."

In demand

The Ben Roethlisberger media blitz continues: ESPN dispatched not only the Magazine's David Fleming to profile the rookie quarterback, but ESPN pregame host Chris Berman came to the Steelers' complex on the South Side yesterday to compile a story to air before the game telecast Sunday.