Official Ben Injury Thread

Let's keep all news on Ben's injury confined to one thread rather than creating a new thread for each update or blogger speculation. If there's a major development, like they had to cut off Ben's arm, then go ahead and start a new thread.

Quote :

Ben considered questionable

Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is currently questionable for Sunday night’s game against the Baltimore Ravens at Heinz Field after suffering an SC shoulder sprain against the Chiefs.

“That is all of the information I have at this point,” said Coach Mike Tomlin during his Tuesday press conference. “He is being evaluated. Obviously this injury puts his participation in the questionable category for this week. I will have more information as I get it, as the week unfolds.”

Also listed as questionable:

Brown
Clark
Mendenhall
Sylvester
Gilbert

http://blog.steelers.com/2012/11/13/ben-considered-questionable/

I had this injury in 2010. Probably the most pain my arm has ever been in. I was out for one game, although with some "meds" I probably could have played.

bayz101 wrote:

I had this injury in 2010. Probably the most pain my arm has ever been in. I was out for one game, although with some "meds" I probably could have played.

And I'm sure Ben is tougher than you , and more importantly he has access to better medical treatment

So in theory he should be out there kicking ratbird arse come Sunday night.

stlrtruck wrote:

bayz101 wrote:

I had this injury in 2010. Probably the most pain my arm has ever been in. I was out for one game, although with some "meds" I probably could have played.

And I'm sure Ben is tougher than you , and more importantly he has access to better medical treatment

So in theory he should be out there kicking ratbird arse come Sunday night.

I'm sure he's tougher, although I did play with a broken nose.

Answer to your question: Sure, in theory. He IS expecting a baby, though.

bayz101 wrote:

stlrtruck wrote:

bayz101 wrote:

I had this injury in 2010. Probably the most pain my arm has ever been in. I was out for one game, although with some "meds" I probably could have played.

And I'm sure Ben is tougher than you , and more importantly he has access to better medical treatment

So in theory he should be out there kicking ratbird arse come Sunday night.

I'm sure he's tougher, although I did play with a broken nose.

Answer to your question: Sure, in theory. He IS expecting a baby, though.

She better cross her legs if he's good to go

he faked the injury to make sure he will be with his wife and child without grief from the fans and media

Ben's a big drama queen

I think the Steelers could actually do OK without him in the lineup this week. The Ravens defense this year is nothing like it has been in the past, but you know they'll be going after him especially hard if he plays. Not that they give him an easy time or anything, but I say give him a week or two to heal at least.

I'm sure he'll be out there this Sunday if he can though. I just don't want to see something worse happen that could keep him out the rest of the year or anything.

Injury Update - ribs?

Well...that sucks. He will have to remind his wife not to be punching him while she is in labor..

jgm820 wrote:

Injury Update - ribs?

Well...that sucks. He will have to remind his wife not to be punching him while she is in labor..

From that story:

He said his doctor told him that the rib injury could kill him by pressing against his aorta and that it is so rare that the last time the doctor saw a similar injury was in a rugby player in 1998.

Yoi!!

Wallace108 wrote:

jgm820 wrote:

Injury Update - ribs?

Well...that sucks. He will have to remind his wife not to be punching him while she is in labor..

From that story:

He said his doctor told him that the rib injury could kill him by pressing against his aorta and that it is so rare that the last time the doctor saw a similar injury was in a rugby player in 1998.

Yoi!!

Lets hope Byron shows flashes of his young-self and lights it up!

The timing of this sucks. Any team but the raturds and I'd be OK with it.

However, it brings up a point I've had issue with for the last couple of years now. The Steelers need to develop a young quality QB. Leftwich is injury prone and Charlie's beard is awfully gray. I'm not saying they aren't capable but fragile at QB is not the best scenario IMHO. Just as I'm not going to live forever, Ben won't stay healthy forever.

This could last for a number of weeks. 5 of the 7 remaining games are divisional. Sigh!!!

exncite wrote:

The timing of this sucks. Any team but the raturds and I'd be OK with it.

However, it brings up a point I've had issue with for the last couple of years now. The Steelers need to develop a young quality QB. Leftwich is injury prone and Charlie's beard is awfully gray. I'm not saying they aren't capable but fragile at QB is not the best scenario IMHO. Just as I'm not going to live forever, Ben won't stay healthy forever.

This could last for a number of weeks. 5 of the 7 remaining games are divisional. Sigh!!!

I understand what you're saying, exncite. A lot of fans feel the same way. The problem is that it's almost impossible to develop a good backup QB. No young, talented QB is going to want to ride the pine. He wants his shot. And if he can't get it with the team he's on, he'll leave at the first opportunity. And a team isn't going to pay a lot of money to a keep a QB only as a backup. So here are the 3 options:

1. Develop a good, young QB who you know you'll have for only a few years. With this method, there will be constant turnover as teams keep grabbing your backup QBs (if you're able to keep successfully finding good ones).

2. Get by with a mediocre young QB who no other teams will want as a potential starter, and cross your fingers and hope he never has to play much.

3. Get an older veteran QB who has been successful but is no longer in high demand, preferably one who has been on bad teams and is happy to be a backup on a winning team.

The Steelers have gone with option 3 in recent memory. And I think it has worked out pretty well. Whenever Batch or Leftwich have played, we still win. Not only do they have a lot of game experience, but because no other teams want them, they stick around for a long time and we don't have to keep trying to find new guys. And they have a good grasp of the offense and it doesn't have to be completely dummied down for them just so they can survive. If you look at how a lot of other teams have completely fallen apart when their starting QBs go down, I'd say that the Steelers' way is preferable.

With that said, it's probably time to find a younger older QB. Batch can't play forever (at least I don't think so).

We can win without Ben temporarily, but I believe if he's isn't back by at least week 13, we'll come damn close to missing the playoffs. Damn close. Lord knows we can't win IN the playoffs without him, and I wouldn't WANT to win without him in the playoffs. We'll need him back with a few weeks to spare in the regular season to have a reasonable chance of making a run. A rusty, sore starting QB in December isn't a good thing. It isn't good at ALL. Hopefully he'll miss a couple weeks and come back in time for the Ravens game in Baltimore. If not, I think we start losing.

We have a chance to beat Baltimore this week, and Cleveland next week, but we'll need Ben after that. Get well soon!

Wallace108 wrote:

3. Get an older veteran QB who has been successful but is no longer in high demand, preferably one who has been on bad teams and is happy to be a backup on a winning team.

Maybe we can give Steve DeBerg or Rich Gannon a call.

[quote="Buddha Bus"]

Wallace108 wrote:

3. Get an older veteran QB who has been successful but is no longer in high demand, preferably one who has been on bad teams and is happy to be a backup on a winning team.

Garrard puts out word that he is available?

"If there are any NFL teams in need of a veteran quarterback, David Garrard wants them to know he’s available."

OK, It's a little colder than Miami, but he might have picked a good week to let everyone know this tidbit of information.

[quote="jgm820"]

Buddha Bus wrote:

Wallace108 wrote:

3. Get an older veteran QB who has been successful but is no longer in high demand, preferably one who has been on bad teams and is happy to be a backup on a winning team.

Garrard puts out word that he is available?

"If there are any NFL teams in need of a veteran quarterback, David Garrard wants them to know he’s available."

OK, It's a little colder than Miami, but he might have picked a good week to let everyone know this tidbit of information.

Then we can corner the market on mediocre former Jacksonville Jaguar quarterbacks!

[quote="Buddha Bus"]

jgm820 wrote:

Buddha Bus wrote:

Wallace108 wrote:

3. Get an older veteran QB who has been successful but is no longer in high demand, preferably one who has been on bad teams and is happy to be a backup on a winning team.

Garrard puts out word that he is available?

"If there are any NFL teams in need of a veteran quarterback, David Garrard wants them to know he’s available."

OK, It's a little colder than Miami, but he might have picked a good week to let everyone know this tidbit of information.

Then we can corner the market on mediocre former Jacksonville Jaguar quarterbacks!

we could be jacksonville north

Buddha Bus wrote:

Then we can corner the market on mediocre former Jacksonville Jaguar quarterbacks!

If we're going that route, why not just bring in the original mediocre former Jacksonville Jaguar quarterback?

Wallace108 wrote:

Buddha Bus wrote:

Then we can corner the market on mediocre former Jacksonville Jaguar quarterbacks!

If we're going that route, why not just bring in the original mediocre former Jacksonville Jaguar quarterback?

Isn't he still with the jets or something?

[quote="vasteeler"]

Buddha Bus wrote:

jgm820 wrote:

Buddha Bus wrote:

Wallace108 wrote:

3. Get an older veteran QB who has been successful but is no longer in high demand, preferably one who has been on bad teams and is happy to be a backup on a winning team.

Garrard puts out word that he is available?

"If there are any NFL teams in need of a veteran quarterback, David Garrard wants them to know he’s available."

OK, It's a little colder than Miami, but he might have picked a good week to let everyone know this tidbit of information.

Then we can corner the market on mediocre former Jacksonville Jaguar quarterbacks!

we could be jacksonville north

But at least Gerrard can run out of the pocket instead of getting sacked for 10 yard lost, it'll only be 5

stlrtruck wrote:

Isn't he still with the jets or something?

Holy heck. I was being sarcastic. I thought he retired years ago. But after 19 years, he's still not retired (although not currently on a roster). This is from April, but I don't see anything saying he's retired:

Quote :

Quarterback Mark Brunell is planning to retire, the Florida Times-Union reported Monday.

Though Brunell has yet to officially file his retirement papers, the newspaper reported that the 41-year-old is going to step away from the game unless a team shows unexpected interest.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d8288c038/article/former-jaguars-jets-redskins-qb-mark-brunell-plans-to-retire

I tend to be the perennial optimist around here, but this is sounding pretty bad. I don't know if he sees the field again this year right now.

Steelers QB Roethlisberger out indefinitely with shoulder and rib injuries (read more)

Quote :

As the story around Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger’s injury continues to flesh itself out, the tale it tells becomes even more disturbing and worrying.

It was originally reported that the ninth year veteran suffered a sprained shoulder when he was sacked by Kansas City Chiefs outside linebackers Tamba Hali and Justin Houston.

However, the aftermath of the battery of tests conducted also revealed a significant rib injury that is even more serious than the shoulder, and as it stands now, there are no guarantees that he will play again this season.

The play during which the injuries occurred, to be clear, was clean, and in no way violated any of the leagues many roughing the passer rules that take special precautions to protect quarterbacks.

However, the bulk of the injury, Roethlisberger believes, was sustained as he came to the ground. Big Ben spoke to the media today for the first time since the game and discussed the nature of the injuries.

As head coach Mike Tomlin said yesterday, Roethlisberger sustained an SC (sternoclavicular joint) shoulder sprain in his right (throwing) shoulder, though the severity of that particular injury has yet to be publicly fleshed out by the quarterback or the organization.

Roethlisberger made official the early reports by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, however, that he also sustained a rib injury—which Tomlin did not mention—that the organization believed to be more serious.

As Roethlisberger explained to the media today, the injury is essentially a dislocation of the first rib. He said that if the rib moves in the wrong direction, it could be fatal, as it risks puncturing the aorta.

My question is how the hell did Ben's agent know right away that it was a "non-traditional" injury before he even got to the hospital and had any tests? Unless I'm mistaken, they didn't know about the rib injury right away.