Harrison has had some “intense workouts” in past week, Tomlin calls Mendenhall “lead dog” at RB

Some have complained about the early bye week for the Steelers but head coach Mike Tomlin saw it as coming at a good time for his football team from an injury standpoint.

Troy Polamalu, James Harrison, Rashard Mendenhall, and Stevenson Sylvester were all full participants in Monday’s practice and Tomlin today called it a “safe assessment” that all four players will be participants for Sunday’s game vs Philadelphia.

Of the four, the biggest questionmark is James Harrison on how he will respond as the week progresses but Tomlin is optimistic at this point. “He had some intense workouts, ” Tomlin said of Harrison during the bye week. The plan right now seems to be for Harrison to practice on Wednesday.

With a sluggish running game, Tomlin and the Steelers are looking forward to the return of Rashard Mendenhall and Tomlin today called Mendenhall the Steelers “lead dog” at running back.

“He’s a first round pedigree guy, multiple 1,000 yard guy…..he’s our lead dog,” Tomlin said of Mendenhall.