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Scott to play with a cast
Jerry DiPaola is the Tribune-Review high school sports editor. He can be reached via e-mail.
He hopes that's the only difference people will notice when he tries to play Saturday with a cast protecting his broken right thumb.
If the Tennessee Titans try to pick on Scott when they meet the Steelers in a divisional-round playoff game at the Coliseum in Nashville, Tenn., he said it won't bother him. After two weeks of inactivity, he appears ready to return to the starting lineup.
"I feel a lot better," he said.
Asked if the Titans will test his ability to tackle and cover, Scott said, "I don't really care. Once I'm out on the field, I'm not going to be thinking of my hand. I think I'm going to be fine, once I get in the game."
Scott, who didn't play Sunday against the Cleveland Browns because the pain in his hand was too intense, took a major step toward returning to the starting lineup when he practiced Wednesday.
"It's been like two weeks (since he broke his thumb against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Dec. 23)," he said. "The bone is starting to mend a little bit. I should be able to play."
Steelers coach Bill Cowher, who wondered earlier in the week if Scott would be able to play, was encouraged.
"He took a few more reps than I thought he was going to," said Cowher, who saw Scott intercept a long sideline pass. "He looked OK.
"At this point, we realize there is no tomorrow. He wanted to be out there last week, so we'll see how the week goes and go from there."
Said Scott: "I know I can help."
Scott didn't believe he could have helped against the Browns. That's why he, the coaches and training staff decided it was best that he sit out the game. But Browns quarterback Kelly Holcomb threw for 429 yards — the second-most ever by a Steelers playoff opponent — reinforcing the notion that Scott's absence should end immediately.
"You are a starter for a reason," Steelers strong safety Lee Flowers said. "Any time you don't have one of your starting guys out there, obviously, it's a weakness."
But Flowers said there was no prodding from teammates to get Scott in the game.
"Chad is a grown man. Chad is a professional. You don't know what kind of pain level he's going through, what kind of pain threshold he has," Flowers said. "You can't persuade a player to go out there and play hurt when it might hurt the team more than it's going to help the team.
"That's the decision that Chad needs to make and I'm sure he's going to make the right decision for him and for this team."
Steelers All-Pro linebacker Joey Porter said some injured players risk playing at playoff time when, perhaps, it's wiser to sit.
"Guys know what time of year it is," he said. "Two games away from the big show. Kendrell (Bell) was in a situation where he shouldn't have played last week, but it's playoff time. If (Scott) can play, I imagine he's going to play."
Bell took a pain-numbing injection and played most of the Browns game at inside linebacker. He aggravated the injury, however, and probably won't practice this week. He expects to play Saturday, but he might need another shot to do it.
Scott, who said he hopes to avoid taking an injection, said it was not easy to miss the Browns game.
"Of course, it was rough," he said. "You play all year and then get to the playoffs and want to make the Super Bowl and I wasn't able to play. I look forward to playing this week.
"Nobody wants to play more than me. It's not like I don't want to play. I wish I could have played in the Cleveland game. But, unfortunately, I wasn't able to. It was just too much pain at that point in time."
