On The Steelers: Hoke's career might be over
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Chris Hoke is makes tackle on the Titans Chris Johnson in an Oct. 9 game. Hoke will undergo neck surgery and be out for the year. It may also end his career.
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It is against their nature that defensive linemen will discuss holes because their job is to prevent them. As much as they wanted to, they could neither prevent the hole in their line and meeting room Tuesday nor stop talking about the reason for it, teammate Chris Hoke.
"It's going to be different," defensive end Brett Keisel said after learning Hoke's season -- and perhaps his career -- was suddenly over. "Today, I looked over, and usually him and Aaron sit together in our defensive line meeting room. It was just strange not seeing him there."
The popular Hoke learned Tuesday that he needs surgery, scheduled for next Wednesday, to repair a problem in his neck, surgery similar to one that ended defensive end Aaron Smith's season earlier. His long and distinguished career as Casey Hampton's backup at nose tackle might be over, just as it likely is for Smith. Both players will turn 36 in April.
In a text, Hoke implied he wants to play again, writing "it ain't over til the fat lady sings!"
PG VIDEO"It's going to be tough -- especially when you have an injury like that -- to risk it," Keisel said. "Football is a great sport to play, but there's a lot of life after football, and those two guys will have to make that decision themselves."
Hoke was more than a backup, one reason his teammates responded with such emotion when learning about the news. He was as popular as they come in their locker room and proudly noted his record as a starter with them was 17-1 in the regular season. The Steelers went 10-0 with him at nose tackle in 2004 after a knee injury ended Hampton's season.
"Best job you can do," Hampton described his play that season. "His win-loss record speaks for itself."
Hoke and Hampton came into the league the same season, 2001, Hampton as their No. 1 pick and Hoke an afterthought from Brigham Young who went undrafted. After spending some time on the practice squad, Hoke earned a permanent roster spot in '02. He has started 18 games and played in 114 with the Steelers, his only NFL team. He started two consecutive games this season for an injured Hampton in Heinz Field against Tennessee and Jacksonville, when he left with what was described as a "stinger." He had not played since.
"That's kind of unheard of for a guy to play that long other than a quarterback," Hampton said. "He was a really good player. He showed his worth when he got in there and played well. That's the reason he was able to stay that long."
- Game: Steelers vs. Browns.
- When: 8:20 p.m. Thursday.
- Where: Heinz Field.
- TV, radio: NFL Network/KDKA; WDVE-FM (102.5)/WBGG-AM (970).
Young Steve McLendon, who moved up to No. 2 behind Hampton after Hoke's injury, became emotional talking about someone he called a big brother who showed him the ropes.
"It was really tough for me today in our meetings. Usually, I have Hoke in my ear every day at the meeting telling me how this guy is, how the guard is, how the center is, how this quarterback is, what they like to run, all their tendencies, how aggressive and everything. It was kind of different today, it was quiet. Coach told us ... we don't know when we're getting him back, that this might be it, but you never know."
It prompted Keisel, who joined the Steelers in '02, and Hampton to reflect on 10 seasons together with Hoke and Smith and the transition the Steelers defensive line is making to the future with Ziggy Hood and Cameron Heyward.
"You're forced to think about the end," Keisel said. "It gets set back a little bit when we're still winning games ...
"There's definitely a prideful feeling I get when I think about us. We've been so lucky, we've been together for a decade now. We've had the same defensive line coach the whole time [John Mitchell], basically the same defense the whole time.
"That doesn't happen in this league too much. We've been really fortunate. We all really respect each other, we enjoy being around each other, we're close friends, not just in the locker room but outside the locker room."
Bruce Arians sounded Tuesday as if he wanted Hines Ward to reach 1,000 receptions almost as much as Ward does.
"We've been together for so long, it's hugely important to me personally," said the Steelers offensive coordinator, who came to the team as receivers coach in '04. "But it's all about the team winning. Hopefully, we can get that done in the midst of the team winning."
Ward needs 10 receptions to become the eighth receiver in NFL history to reach 1,000. He caught five in a 35-7 blowout of Cincinnati Sunday. Arians said they tried to get him more receptions, but the Bengals double-teamed Ward in the fourth quarter when he did not have a catch.
"Me, personally, I want to see him get it," Arians said. "It's not something that we can force, it's not like you can hand it to him and they count. We all want to see that happen, but it's not something we will force to happen."
Coach Mike Tomlin went easy on his players two days after one game and two days before another as they returned to practice for the first time this week.
Practice resembled more of a walk-through with no pads, no helmets, plays run at half-speed using nerf balls. The Steelers will practice again today.
It appears outside linebacker LaMarr Woodley will not play Thursday. He did not practice Tuesday after leaving the game Sunday in the first quarter because of the hamstring injury that caused him to miss the previous three games. Also not practicing were Emmanuel Sanders (foot), Chris Carter (hamstring) and Jonathan Dwyer (foot).
The Browns reported safety T.J. Ward (foot) did not practice and halfback Peyton Hillis (hip), safety Mike Adams (shoulder) and offensive right tackle Tony Pashos (ankle) were limited. All are starters.
First Published December 7, 2011 12:00 am
