Thursday's Practice Buzz: Pouncey won't practice today; tomorrow is viewed as cutoff

-- Ben Roethlisberger laughed off the karaoke bar video on TMZ.com. A patron taped Roethlisberger singing "Piano Man" on stage with some of his offensive linemen. The post claims Roetlisberger ran up an 800 dollar tab. But he did tip 200!

So perhaps the upset waitstaff on the Southside who was quoted in Sports Illustrated a few months ago about Big Ben's small tips will be more excited to see Ben this offseason.

The quarterback fielded a number of questions from the media today regarding the story. He claims the post was wrong and that he was back at the hotel before the 1:00 a.m. curfew that night. Roethlisberger claims he has a weekly tradition of taking his linemen out to dinner and didn't want to "break superstition."

-- Maurkice Pouncey didn't practice yesterday and won't practice today. He says Friday is his cutoff day. Pouncey seems to think if he doesn't practice Friday he won't dress Sunday.

A number of Steelers expressed their displeasure with the fact that Pouncey was left off the Rookie of the Year finalist list. Coach Mike Tomlin says Pouncey is on a "running clock."

-- Aaron Smith said the team decided against getting an MRI on his triceps yesterday. He didn't do as much in practice as he wanted too yesterday. And he's not sure how much he'll do today. The chances of him playing appear to be getting smaller.

-- If Smith were to play, defensive line coach John Mitchell says Smith's snap count could be anywhere from 15-25. He says Smith could play in either running or passing situations.

-- Will Allen was full go in practice yesterday. He says his injured knee was fine yesterday and isn't sore today. He'll practice again this afternoon.

-- A number of players said the Cowboy Stadium turf is particularly hard and plays particularly fast. Allen believes part of the turf is new and not quite broken in. He also claims it is shaved very low, heightening the speed of already speedy wide receivers.