James Harrison: Steelers Crumble as Harrison Set for Orbital Bone Surgery

The Pittsburgh Steelers have just been slugged in the gut by news concerning the biggest hitter in the league. 

ESPN reports James Harrison is preparing to have surgery Wednesday for a broken orbital bone around his right eye. The linebacker will miss Sunday's game against the Tennessee Titans. 

The report issues a grave assessment in stating Harrison is out indefinitely and there is no timetable as of yet for his return. 

Head coach Mike Tomlin issued that Lawrence Timmons would take over at outside linebacker for the time being. The good news, if one is so inclined to find some, is that Ben Roethlisberger is increasingly likely to play Sunday. 

Big Ben suffered a foot injury during last Sunday's game. It was feared that he had broken his left foot, but tests now show it is merely sprained.

And so it goes.

The Steelers have fallen on humble times. The big bad Black and Yellow are suffering from a brittle offensive line and a porous run defense that ranks 22nd in the league. The latter will hardly be helped with the loss of one of the best defenders on the ball in the league. 

No team can be the epitome of stoutness forever, but this is getting ridiculous. Their AFC Championship is still fresh in the air. Now they are in danger of falling to 2-3, a mediocre start that will not sit well with supporters. 

The Titans come into Sunday with a ground game that has not yet come out of the gates. Chris Johnson is yet to shake off the rust brought on by a preseason holdout. 

If he was ever going to have a breakout game, this would be it. For the Steelers, they are left to wonder what they did to receive such a karmic blow to their squad. 

Roethlisberger is forever on the run as the offensive line continues to be a liability, and Rashard Mendenhall is nursing a hamstring injury. 

If the Steelers are going to once again make a deep run in the postseason, they are going to earn it. They are currently in the middle of a trial by fire that doesn't seem to be letting up anytime soon.