Pro Bowl running back Willie Parker practiced for the first time in nearly 10 days and said his knee is feeling fine, but he will not play in the preseason game against the Green Bay Packers tomorrow night and said he might not play next week in Washington, either.

	Peter Diana, Post-Gazette Running back Willie Parker, in pads for the first time in 10 days, stretches during the Steelers' practice in their facility on the South Side. Stormy weather forced the team to bus from Saint Vincent to the South Side for practice. Click photo for larger image.

Parker participated in light drills yesterday afternoon, his first work since coach Mike Tomlin surprisingly held him out of practice July 31. But Parker said he is in no hurry to get back on the field because he wants to be sure he does not aggravate the injury.

"I'm all right; I'm not concerned," Parker said. "I overworked [the knee] a little bit, went too hard in the offseason, and, when I got here, my body slowed down because I went so hard. I was overdoing it on the practice field and I needed some rest, some preseason time, to get better."

Tomlin said Parker will be replaced as the starter for the second consecutive game by Najeh Davenport. Neither Tomlin nor Parker has described the exact nature of the knee injury.

"I'm in no rush to play the next game, either," said Parker, referring to the Aug. 18 contest against the Redskins in Landover, Md. "I feel real good, but I'm not going to be stupid or re-aggravate it."

Faneca remains out, too

Tomlin said Parker and offensive left guard Alan Faneca (shoulder) are the only starters who will not play against the Packers in the preseason home opener at Heinz Field. He said all the other injured players are a possibility, which would include outside linebacker James Harrison (ribs), who practiced for the second day in a row, and center Chukky Okobi (back), who did not practice yesterday.

Faneca will be replaced at left guard by Chris Kemoeatu. Tomlin said Willie Colon will start at right tackle instead of Max Starks, who will be used mainly as a backup at left tackle against the Packers.

Tomlin said he has not decided if Deshea Townsend or Bryant McFadden will start at right cornerback or if Ryan Clark or Anthony Smith will start at free safety.

"Bryant McFadden is a young guy who's on the rise," Tomlin said. "He's got starter skills. When you've got three guys capable of being starting corners, that's a good problem, and I think we have that."

Making the best of it

Peter Diana,Post-Gazette Steelers players collect their equipment and head to their South Side facility after heavy rain washed out practice at Saint Vincent College. Click photo for larger image.

Because heavy rains flooded the practice field and forced the Steelers to cancel their morning practice at Saint Vincent College, Tomlin decided to move the afternoon practice to the team's indoor training facility on the South Side.

But even that decision backfired a little.

Less than a half hour into practice, a vicious thunderstorm accompanied by high winds knocked out the power in the indoor facility and forced the players to stand around in darkness for nearly 15 minutes. The rain was whipping sideways so hard the doors at each end of the facility had to be closed.

"We have to be light on our feet," Tomlin said, referring to the decision to bus the players -- in full uniform -- to the South Side. "The way we deal with the unforeseen will define us a little bit."

Big Ben just fine

Despite having his foot stepped on in practice Wednesday, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said he was fine and went through practice without a problem.

Tomlin said Roethlisberger and most of the other starters will play about as much as they did Sunday night in the Hall of Fame Game victory against the New Orleans Saints.

"We want to approach this thing the same way," Tomlin said. "This is our first preseason game of the official four, so we're taking the same approach that we really kind of took from that standpoint last week."