First Call: 'Optimism' for Najee Harris vs. Patriots; Micah Parsons on T.J. Watt's holding complaints

Thursday’s “First Call” has a hopeful health update for Pittsburgh Steelers running back Najee Harris. T.J. Watt is getting lots of Pro Bowl votes and support from a fellow pass-rushing star in their battle against holding calls.

We also recap a busy night of college basketball action, and Robert Morris’ hockey team has a Thursday night date on the ice.

Progress toward Patriots

Four Steelers starters were listed as questionable on the final injury report of the week in advance of Thursday night’s game against the New England Patriots.

Running back Najee Harris (knee), center Mason Cole (neck), left guard Isaac Seumalo (shoulder) and inside linebacker Elandon Roberts all received the “questionable” designation on Wednesday. That’s when the team went through its only full practice of the short work week leading up to “Thursday Night Football.” It was closed to the media.

However, the NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero and Mike Garafolo are both reporting that there is “optimism” on the South Side that Harris will be able to suit up against the Patriots.

#Steelers list RB Najee Harris as questionable for tomorrow vs. #Patriots after being listed as not practicing for the second straight day. Hearing same as @TomPelissero gave on The Insiders earlier today: There's optimism he'll be able to go. We’ll give you final word tomorrow.

— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) December 6, 2023

After Jaylen Warren had a run of games where he led the Steelers in rushing for four straight weeks between Nov. 2-19, Harris has been the squad’s leading rusher for the past two games. He totaled 162 yards in contests against the Cincinnati Bengals and Arizona Cardinals.

Watt’s the count?

Despite all the holding and false starts from opposing tackles he’s facing, Steelers outside linebacker T.J. Watt has 14 sacks. That’s the second most in the NFL behind Los Angeles Chargers veteran Khalil Mack’s 15.

As a result, Watt is leading the AFC in Pro Bowl votes among outside linebackers. Watt is the only Steeler to be a leading vote-getter at his position.

Penn State product Micah Parsons holds that honor among NFC players at the position. He has 11 sacks, tied for sixth in the NFL. Cleveland Browns Defensive Player of the Year candidate Myles Garret is the AFC leader among defensive ends. He’s got 13 sacks. Miami quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, with 59,680 votes, leads all players in balloting.

The Pro Bowlers will compete in a multi-day AFC versus NFC competition, featuring a skills competition and a flag football game. The events will culminate Feb. 4 at Camping World Stadium in Orlando.

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I second that emotion

After the Steelers lost to the Cardinals, Watt suggested that the NFL had an agenda against him, and that’s why teams were getting away with holding him on pass rush attempts so much.

Steelers defensive coordinator Teryl Austin augmented that conversation Tuesday when he compared the legalized holding of Watt to the NBA’s Hack-A-Shaq trend against now-retired star Shaquille O’Neal in the 1990s.

For his part, Parsons echoed Watt’s complaint on the Dallas Cowboys’ YouTube channel. But he insists it’s not an anti-Watt agenda. He made it sound like the league just has an overall pro-offense agenda.

“It’s comical,” Parsons said. “They want teams to score a lot of points. They want the fans to get excited. That’s what fans like. They like offense. They like touchdowns. They don’t really like sacks. … That’s the clickbait. The quarterbacks sell. We’ve just got to learn and adapt in the world. We’ve got to get off blocks better.”

Parsons suggested that complaining about it only makes things worse.

“It’s not something that we should call out anymore. We all see what is going on. The fans, the media, the reporters, they all see it. It’s just something they’re not making an emphasis on,” Parsons said.

To be fair, the Steelers have drawn 16 offensive holds (via NFLPenalties.com). That’s tied for sixth in the NFL. The Atlanta Falcons lead the way with 21.

Down the dial

If the Steelers and Patriots live down to the offensive expectations Thursday night, you can always check out some college hockey to see if there’s more scoring there.

I’m kidding, of course. I think.

But there is a college hockey game taking place on Neville Island while the Pats visit Acrisure Stadium. Robert Morris’ men’s team (2-11-3) is hosting Niagara (6-8-1) for a rare Thursday night home game at 7 p.m.

In all seriousness, the Colonials would love to start generating some more offense themselves. In their first year back from a two-year absence, RMU is averaging just 1.75 goals per game in 16 contests. That’s the fewest in Atlantic Hockey.

The Purple Eagles swept a home-and-home series between the teams last month 6-1 and 4-2. The return game of this set for upstate New York on Saturday. The game can be seen on SportsNet Pittsburgh.

Two out of three ain’t bad

On a busy night for Western Pa. college hoops teams, Pitt and Duquesne both walked away with victories.

The Panthers won this year’s edition of the basketball Backyard Brawl. They beat West Virginia 80-63. Blake Hinson led the way with 29 points, hitting a school-record nine three-pointers on the night.

HIMson.

Blake up to 7⃣ threes tonight.

???? ESPN2 pic.twitter.com/MGYuhW46ub

— Pitt Basketball (@Pitt_MBB) December 7, 2023

As for the Dukes, they grabbed an 85-72 victory on the road over Marshall. Jimmy “Tre” Clark III posted 24 points.

Offense. Defense.#GoDukes pic.twitter.com/TSpov3Dkjw

— Duquesne Basketball (@DuqMBB) December 7, 2023

Robert Morris was unable to make it a clean sweep for the three men’s teams. The Colonials fell 87-80 at Canisius. T.J. Wainwright led the way with 19 in the loss.