Halfback Willie Parker has swelling in his left knee and coach Mike Tomlin listed him as questionable to play Sunday for the Steelers at the New England Patriots.

Parker left in the third quarter of the game Thursday against Cincinnati after he pulled up out of bounds after a 15-yard run.

Mewelde Moore will start at halfback if Parker cannot return.

Cornerback Bryant McFadden could return to play; Tomlin also listed him as questionable. McFadden has not played since his right forearm was broken Oct. 19.

Tomlin listed cornerback Deshea Townsend as doubtful with a hamstring injury that has caused him to miss the past two games, and offensive left tackle Marvel Smith is "status quo," not a good sign since Smith has missed the past six games with a back problem.

The coach confirmed that defensive end Brett Keisel will miss the New England game with a sprained MCL in his left knee and may miss two more games after that.

Mitch Berger was not given a ringing endorsement the day Tomlin released him in favor of Paul Ernster, and it was not the case again just because Berger is back in place of Ernster.

Apparently, the tipping point for re-signing Berger is his ability to hold for kicker Jeff Reed.

"Mitch, when we made the decision to go to Paul, I characterized it as not up to snuff," Tomlin said. "Obviously, not up to snuff is relative. We're glad to have Mitch back.

"The reason you go back to him is continuity. Jeff is having an awesome season, has been very consistent for us. When you bring in a guy like Mitch, who's got experience with him in the holding category, it weighs into your decision. Hopefully, it continues to be an effective element of our game. I'm talking about place-kicking, and Mitch will be a big part of that. We'll need Mitch to do a quality job punting as well."

Just when everyone thought Anthony Smith could not top his guaranteed victory call against New England last season, he came close.

Smith was torched for two long touchdown passes as the starting safety in the Steelers' 34-13 loss at New England last season. It came days after he guaranteed a victory.

Oops, he's at it again.

"If they ask me again, I'll say the same thing," he told the Indiana Gazette after the game Thursday night.

"We're the No. 1 defense. If we play like we've been playing, and our offense comes around and has a good game, and we're clicking on all cylinders, we're going to win the game."

Smith no longer is the first safety into the game for injuries. That job belongs to Tyrone Carter. Smith has played in all but one game this season, mostly on special teams.

Tomlin, asked yesterday if that game affected Smith's career, replied:

"You'd have to ask Anthony that. I'm not going to use that game as a turning point or benchmark for anyone or anybody. His career is his career."