Steelers' Ben Roethlisberger 'going to try' to play against Ravens on Sunday

[polamalubeast]

Week 13's a big one for the Steelers: they play the Ravens for the second time in three weeks, with any hope of winning the AFC North on the line. A loss would also send them to .500 and potentially move them out of a very tight playoff race.

Which is why it would be lovely for Pittsburgh to have injured quarterback Ben Roethlisberger back under center. And Ben said he's "going to try" to play.

"I'm going to try," Roethlisberger said, per the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "It's killing me to watch."

Of course, it's one thing to "try to play" and an entirely different one to actually get medically cleared and back on the field. Roethlisberger probably tried to play the last two weeks. But, considering the life-threatening potential for his rib injury, there's no way that Pittsburgh would let him.

In two games without Big Ben, the Steelers have scored all of 24 points -- seven came on a defensive touchdown. Byron Leftwich and Charlie Batch have combined to complete 38 of 73 passes for 400 yards, zero touchdowns and four interceptions. The offense is completely stalled, and there's no real reason to think it'll suddenly turn around, even if the running backs stop fumbling six times a game.

Pittsburgh can keep things close without Ben, as long as their defense is playing at a high level. But the idea that they can get back to the postseason without him for any extended stretch is laughable. And that's exactly why he's so desperate to get back on the field.


http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/blog/ey...ens-in-week-13

[Psycho Ward 86]

Lol which means he's clearly playing.

[tube517]

"It's killing me to watch 2 injury prone dinosaurs try to play QB."

Fixed your quote, Ben.

[Edman]

Lol which means he's clearly playing.

Which means he'll likely re-aggravate his injury and sit out even more, flushing our season down the toilet.

[DarthSpartans20]

How effective could he really be two weeks removed from a fractured rib??

[Craic]

"I'm going to try," Roethlisberger said, per the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "It's killing me to watch."

You know . . . with the type of injury he has, this is the LAST phrase I ever wanted to read. And no, I'm not trying to be funny. I really am worried that it will actually kill him to play, rather than metaphorically kill him not playing.

[salamander]

PLEASE, Steelers... don't let Ben play if he's not fully healed yet. The last thing we need is to have something serious happen to him.

[polamalubeast]

I want that Ben plays vs Baltimore, but of course, Ben must not play if this is dangerous for his life

[Shoes]

Save rat revenge for next year, Ben. Enjoy your wife and new son.

[Craic]

PLEASE, Steelers... don't let Ben play if he's not fully healed yet. The last thing his wife and new child needs is to have something serious happen to him.

Fixed it for you Nepa . . . I figured you'd probably agree with it anyway.

[zulater]

You know . . . with the type of injury he has, this is the LAST phrase I ever wanted to read. And no, I'm not trying to be funny. I really am worried that it will actually kill him to play, rather than metaphorically kill him not playing.

Preach, if there was any real danger of that happening the Rooney's, and the league will prevent him from taking the field. Trust me. With all the lawsuits flying around you can bet the league will want to see the x-rays and have an independent doctor determine if there is any extra risk of a life altering/ ending injury occuring on the field. And the same goes double for the Rooney's. You think the Steelers want to go foward as the team that allowed a player to rush back to the field to save a season only to needlessly lose his life due to an injury that wasn't healed? Those 6 Lombardi's would be forever tarnished. And oh yeah, don't forget Ben's a new father, and still relatively speaking a newlywed. There's no way he personally would take the field this year if he thought his very life would be at risk. ( or at least any more than any other player on the field)

If and when Ben takes the field again this season, I wont guarantee he'll be 100% healthy. There could be some lingering range of motion or soreness issues still in evidence. But he wont be at any risk of losing his life due to a pre existing condition. There's no way the powers that be would allow it!

[fansince'76]

Preach, if there was any real danger of that happening the Rooney's, and the league will prevent him from taking the field. Trust me. With all the lawsuits flying around you can bet the league will want to see the x-rays and have an independent doctor determine if there is any extra risk of a life altering/ ending injury occuring on the field. And the same goes double for the Rooney's. You think the Steelers want to go foward as the team that allowed a player to rush back to the field to save a season only to needlessly lose his life due to an injury that wasn't healed? Those 6 Lombardi's would be forever tarnished. And oh yeah, don't forget Ben's a new father, and still relatively speaking a newlywed. There's no way he personally would take the field this year if he thought his very life would be at risk. ( or at least any more than any other player on the field)

If and when Ben takes the field again this season, I wont guarantee he'll be 100% healthy. There could be some lingering range of motion or soreness issues still in evidence. But he wont be at any risk of losing his life due to a pre existing condition. There's no way the powers that be would allow it!

Yep. Just look at the precautions they still take with Ryan Clark when the Steelers come to Denver to play. I think Tomlin would nip it in the bud if it were a real possibility he'd be risking his life by playing - it probably wouldn't even get to the Rooneys or the league.

[Psycho Ward 86]

Chris Mortensen from espn says he talked to the doctors and they said the rib has healed to the point where he isnt at risk for further damage.

[Craic]

Preach, if there was any real danger of that happening the Rooney's, and the league will prevent him from taking the field. Trust me. With all the lawsuits flying around you can bet the league will want to see the x-rays and have an independent doctor determine if there is any extra risk of a life altering/ ending injury occuring on the field. And the same goes double for the Rooney's. You think the Steelers want to go foward as the team that allowed a player to rush back to the field to save a season only to needlessly lose his life due to an injury that wasn't healed? Those 6 Lombardi's would be forever tarnished. And oh yeah, don't forget Ben's a new father, and still relatively speaking a newlywed. There's no way he personally would take the field this year if he thought his very life would be at risk. ( or at least any more than any other player on the field)

If and when Ben takes the field again this season, I wont guarantee he'll be 100% healthy. There could be some lingering range of motion or soreness issues still in evidence. But he wont be at any risk of losing his life due to a pre existing condition. There's no way the powers that be would allow it!

Yeah, but you forget. Ben's a drama queen that got injured on purpose so that the Steelers would lose the last two games. Now, with four left, he's planning on coming back in without a back up QB to speak of (his idea all along), and play with his "life on the line" as people would think, just so that he can then eek the team into the playoffs in the number six position. Then, after the last game, he'll reveal that the ribs were re-injured to up the drama. He might even have a broken thumb or toe by that time.

After all of that, he'll start out in the playoffs slowly, throwing an INT or two just to put us behind, because it's always more dramatic to lead a comeback win. Everything'll be going well through the next few games until the week before the Superbowl, when it's revealed that he broke curfew, taking his lineman out to the Chuck E. Cheeze after-hour all night party where he may or may not have had a beer while sitting with some unknown rodent with an overly large plastic nose.

Of course, it's all staged for another heart-stopping superbowl game with a come from behind victory after he broke 203 bones in his body.

Come on Zu, you have to learn how to interpret these things properly.

[Crow-Magnon]

Serious question: this is the second season in a row where Roethlisberger has missed games due to injury. I know he was having a great year up to the Chiefs game, but do you think his years of sticking in the pocket and taking shot after shot is finally taki.g its toll on his body?

[Count Steeler]

Serious question: this is the second season in a row where Roethlisberger has missed games due to injury. I know he was having a great year up to the Chiefs game, but do you think his years of sticking in the pocket and taking shot after shot is finally taki.g its toll on his body?

Absolutely. There is only so much punishment the body can take, and he set a record (I believe) on number of sacks for his career and he still should be able to play another 5 or 6 seasons (given his age). Some of those hits are attributable to his playing style, but mainly, we have had a poor O Line for most of his playing days with the Steelers.

[zulater]

Serious question: this is the second season in a row where Roethlisberger has missed games due to injury. I know he was having a great year up to the Chiefs game, but do you think his years of sticking in the pocket and taking shot after shot is finally taki.g its toll on his body?

His last 2 injuries had nothing to do with accumulative hits and as little to do with age. The high ankle sprain would have gone down the same at any point in his career giving the torque that was applied to that joint. If anything it's a tribute to Ben's sturdiness that he didn't break the ankle.

And the double whammy shot against the Chiefs that put him out this time was just one of those things in my opinion. Just a perfect storm hit that would result in serious injury to any qb in the league.

Sometimes you just get a spell of bad luck.

[steelpride12]

I understand where the doctors and Ben are coming from in a way, but still disagree. Obviously his rib has healed to the point where it is safe to play, but there is no way in Hell Ben is 100% or even close! Why risk him going down for the season def. when we have a legitimate shot to make the playoffs even if we lose to the Ratbirds?! There has to be some "smart" thoughts going through the coach staffs heads and medical staff. I know they want to win and the Ratbirds game is a huge one, but safety always comes first, def. when it's your $100 million dollar QB.

[stillers4me]

Even if he does play, Ben usually plays like shit coming off an injury. And I say that with all due respect. The guy is tough as nails and I'll take him over anybody but right now it seems to be a pain tolerence issue. And he's going to try way too hard because we are backed into a corner.

How effective could he really be two weeks removed from a fractured rib??

It was dislocated, not fractured.

[BlastFurnace]

You know . . . with the type of injury he has, this is the LAST phrase I ever wanted to read. And no, I'm not trying to be funny. I really am worried that it will actually kill him to play, rather than metaphorically kill him not playing.

I'd rather him sit as well for the same reason. The Aorta is nothing to play with. My brother-in-law suffered a burst Aorta and was dead instantly. If that rib punctures that aorta...I don't even want to think about it.

Baltimore always likes to give him that extra umph on their hits.

[tube517]

Just come back when fully healed and cleared. It's just a football game. After all, the OL is making the annual MASH unit comparisons now

[Dino 6 Rings]

stupid if he plays, if it means he can get re-hurt and ruin our chances at a playoff run. we still have the Bengals head to head so we can fight them off for the last wild card spot later on. Makes more sense to go into Baltimore now, and just try to knock their teeth out of their mouth with hard hits and brutal play, without Ben, and not worry about the score board, soften them up for the playoffs, cause we may see them again.

[steel striker]

Plus we all know the ravens will now be trying to hit him in the ribs. God I hope Ben can't do anymore harm to this injury.

[polamalubeast]

If the steelers waiting for Roethlisberger to be 100% healthy to play Ben, the season will be over

I'm sure Roethlisberger was not 100% healthy in 2005,2008 and 2010 in their super bowl run


In football(and the other sports), you have to play if you can, even when you are injured

[polamalubeast]

Tomlin will judge Big Ben with his own eyes: must prove in practice "he's capable."

https://mobile.twitter.com/CBSSteele...6634893313?p=v

[Dino 6 Rings]

its sad that a broken ribs Ben would even have to play in a game because our depth at back up QB is that pathetic.

[BnG_Hevn]

If the steelers waiting for Roethlisberger to be 100% healthy to play Ben, the season will be over

I'm sure Roethlisberger was not 100% healthy in 2005,2008 and 2010 in their super bowl run


In football(and the other sports), you have to play if you can, even when you are injured

The player has to play "If he can play effectively". Too many times starters will start and ruin the chances to win.

I'm on the train to sit Ben. Unless he is 85% or better, sit him. The first game against Ratbirds was MORE than winnable. The Steelers can beat them without Ben.

I'm putting all 16 confidence points in Yahoo Pick'em league on the Steelers.

[BlastFurnace]

We don't have to win this game to make the playoffs. The division is gone. Congratulations Ravens on another Regular Season Championship.

The playoff run really begins next week for the next 4 games. Win the next 4, the Steelers are in. I'd rather have Ben one more week healthier than get him beaten up against the Ravens this week....and you know they will take their shots at him.

[Steeldude]

Have BR dress, but do not start him.

[polamalubeast]

Steelers Depot: Ben Roethlisberger Still Unlikely To Be Ready To Play Against Ravens


http://www.steelersdepot.com/2012/11...+Depot+Blog%29