Ben Cleared To Practice!

PITTSBURGH -- Talk about a hustle play.

Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is ready to participate in practice 17 days after suffering a sprained left MCL and bone bruise, widely believed to be a four- to six-week injury.

Roethlisberger said Wednesday morning from the Steelers' locker room he planned to participate in 7-on-7 work, which would be about 12 to 15 plays max, no contact. He still has hurdles to clear, such as regaining lateral movements, to be fully cleared.

But his presence at practice will deepen the intrigue for Sunday's game against Arizona.

"Just being smart, knowing when I'm able to protect myself, I'll be back out there," Roethlisberger said before undergoing treatment and workouts for the day. "I can walk around just fine and step and throw. It's being able to avoid a pass rush, being able to make subtle movements in the pocket and out of the pocket."

Roethlisberger has a habit of wanting to play as soon as possible. When asked a few days after the injury when he wants to return, he deadpanned, "Yeah, Thursday." But he cautioned this is a one-day-at-a-time process. Coach Mike Tomlin and team doctors will heavily influence a timetable for return.

"That's why I'm going to go work out now and then we'll do some stuff in practice," Roethlisberger said. "I'm of the same approach that [Tomlin] is, one day at a time. It's hard to speculate until we do something today. Once we do something today, we'll know more."

Roethlisberger ditched the crutches after a few days and started jogging last week. He's been informed by team doctors he'll likely have to play with a knee brace.

Roethlisberger has watched from the sideline as the Steelers have gone 1-1 with Mike Vick at quarterback. Vick orchestrated a 12-play, 80-yard drive in the final minutes to beat the Chargers 24-20 on Monday night, but he's averaged 163.5 passing yards per game the past two weeks, compared to 330-plus under Roethlisberger.

In other Steelers news, wide receiver Martavis Bryant said he's feeling healthy and plans to fully participate in practices this week. Bryant missed four games for suspension and the team had not activated him.

"I'm ready to go," Bryant said. "We'll have a great week of practice and we'll see what happens on Sunday."

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/13884987/pittsburgh-steelers-quarterback-ben-roethlisberger-ready-limited-practice

Ben at practice will be a moral booster for the week, and getting Bryant back should take some additional pressure off Antonio Brown as well as Vick during the game against Steelers West.

Great news, but I hope he's smart about not coming back too soon.

Fire Arians wrote:

Great news, but I hope he's smart about not coming back too soon.

Bring him back in the 4th quarter.

At worst, Ben comes back to a .500 team and plays a beaten down and demoralized Chiefs squad.

I've said it before, but I don't believe there is a better team in the AFC than a fully healthy Steelers team able to fire on all cylinders. Ben, Bryant, Bell and Brown is a nightmare for any opposing defense to stop.

Oh, and Pouncey is back soon-ish.

Fire Arians wrote:

Great news, but I hope he's smart about not coming back too soon.

Agreed.

But this line was interesting: "But his presence at practice will deepen the intrigue for Sunday's game against Arizona."

It got me thinking that if there is such a thing as an "ideal" situation in which Ben could test his readiness, it might be against Arizona.
His relationship and history with Arians might cause Arians to ease off a bit.
That doesn't mean there wouldn't be pressure, but I could definitely envision Arians telling his players that anything below the waist against Ben is off limits.

I think Arians wants to see Ben out there just as much as we do because he wants a true test along with the fun of playing against his buddy and I think Ben would jump at the chance for the same reasons if he can.

Naturally, if Ben isn't ready to go then that's that.
But if he is close to being ready, I think Arians would be more likely to accommodate him than not.
And let's face it, Arizona's "D" is pretty good and I'm not sure that Vick at 100% would be able to handle it as well as Ben could even at 70% or 80%.


Just an observation.

last night arians said they are gameplanning for both ben and vick, and that he hopes ben does what is best for ben longterm.

he said regardless, they will still have to prepare for blitzburgh and a slobberknocker at heinz field.

tony hipchest wrote:

last night arians said they are gameplanning for both ben and vick, and that he hopes ben does what is best for ben longterm.

he said regardless, they will still have to prepare for blitzburgh and a slobberknocker at heinz field.

I just want to check...is a slobberknocker more intense or less intense than a brouhaha?

FanSince72 wrote:

tony hipchest wrote:

last night arians said they are gameplanning for both ben and vick, and that he hopes ben does what is best for ben longterm.

he said regardless, they will still have to prepare for blitzburgh and a slobberknocker at heinz field.

I just want to check...is a slobberknocker more intense or less intense than a brouhaha?  

way more intense.

a brouhaha would last maybe a quarter. a slobberknocker is a full 60 min.

tony hipchest wrote:

FanSince72 wrote:

tony hipchest wrote:

last night arians said they are gameplanning for both ben and vick, and that he hopes ben does what is best for ben longterm.

he said regardless, they will still have to prepare for blitzburgh and a slobberknocker at heinz field.

I just want to check...is a slobberknocker more intense or less intense than a brouhaha?  

way more intense.

a brouhaha would last maybe a quarter.  a slobberknocker is a full 60 min.

Agreed, a "gathering of the clan" precedes a "brouhaha", then a "slobberknocker" which can escalate to a "knockdown, dragout war".

Hey, why is nobody talking about Woodley's return to Heinz? The guy is still on both payrolls.

El-Gonzo Jackson wrote:

tony hipchest wrote:

FanSince72 wrote:

tony hipchest wrote:

last night arians said they are gameplanning for both ben and vick, and that he hopes ben does what is best for ben longterm.

he said regardless, they will still have to prepare for blitzburgh and a slobberknocker at heinz field.

I just want to check...is a slobberknocker more intense or less intense than a brouhaha?  

way more intense.

a brouhaha would last maybe a quarter.  a slobberknocker is a full 60 min.

Agreed, a "gathering of the clan" precedes a "brouhaha", then a "slobberknocker" which can escalate to a "knockdown, dragout war".  

Hey, why is nobody talking about Woodley's return to Heinz?  The guy is still on both payrolls.

I caught a glimpse of him last game and totally forgot he was on Arizona.

El-Gonzo Jackson wrote:

Hey, why is nobody talking about Woodley's return to Heinz?  The guy is still on both payrolls.

Lol! Well, this is embarrassing.... .

That's encouraging though I hope Ben doesn't rush back like he did a couple years ago. That said, I am just relieved that he's not going to miss too much time and maybe we can still get first place though it will be tough since Cincy is undefeated but I think they're peaking too early as always. This team is up there with NE if Ben's healthy and I think maybe even better since our D has come together.

Looks like he will be back for sure in 2 weeks.

Now I'm just waiting for Shazier to come back and play for more than 1 game

Fire Arians wrote:

Now I'm just waiting for Shazier to come back and play for more than 1 game

He was limited in practice smh. He is injury proned and seems to be a very slow healer.

QB Ben Roethlisberger returns to practice on a limited basis

By JOHN PERROTTO (Associated Press)

PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Ben Roethlisberger took a small step toward returning to action and that left his Pittsburgh Steelers' teammates feeling good.

The veteran quarterback was a limited participant in practice Wednesday for the first time since spraining the medial collateral ligament in his left knee Sept. 27 during a win over the Rams at St. Louis.

Roethlisberger took part in non-contact seven-on-seven passing drills. While he is not expected to play in Sunday's game against the visiting Arizona Cardinals, Roethlisberger appears to be on course to beat the original timetable of missing six weeks.

''We're just taking it one day a time,'' he said.

However, practice got a bit livelier once Roethlisberger took his 15 snaps.

''It was really good to see that, very encouraging,'' guard Ramon Foster said. ''But until he's ready, we really can't focus on that. We've just got to stick with the plan.''

Roethlisberger said the determining factor in being game ready will be when he feels he is mobile enough to protect himself.

''The biggest thing is being able to avoid the pass rush,'' he said. ''I can walk around fine. I can step and throw. But being able to make the subtle moves inside the pocket, and outside the pocket, too, is important. I have to make sure I am able to do that.''

The Steelers (3-2) have split their two games with Mike Vick as the starting quarterback. They lost to the Baltimore Ravens in overtime and then rallied to beat the Chargers 24-20 on Monday night at San Diego when Le'Veon Bell had a 1-yard touchdown run as time expired.

The Steelers have simplified their offense for Vick, who signed as a free agent just before the start of the regular season when backup quarterback Bruce Gradkowski was placed on injured reserve. Vick said he is still not completely comfortable with the offense.

''I'm working extremely hard,'' said Vick, a four-time Pro Bowl selection. ''I'm still a ways away but the confidence is still there. The coaches are doing a good job of helping me understand what we're doing. It's more a matter of getting down the details now. I'm trying to make a play here or there, trying to find some consistency.''

Roethlisberger was off to an outstanding start, completing 75.3 percent of his passes for 912 yards and four touchdowns in a little more than 2 1/2 games. He has missed just 20 games in his 12-year career and admits it is difficult to stand on the sideline.

''It's hard to watch when you really want to be out there,'' Roethlisberger said. ''I'm just trying to be the best on-the-sideline guy I can be. I don't want to be overbearing because Mike's been doing this for a long time and he's a real pro. I'm just here to help him in any way I can.''

Wide receiver Antonio Brown has been affected by the change in quarterbacks. He has just eight catches for 87 yards in Vick's two starts after having 29 receptions for 436 yards in the first three games.

Interestingly enough, Brown ended practice by throwing a long pass to Vick on a reverse flea-flicker play.

to read rest of article:

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/qb-ben-roethlisberger-returns-practice-limited-basis-223926175--nfl.html

El-Gonzo Jackson wrote:

tony hipchest wrote:

FanSince72 wrote:

tony hipchest wrote:

last night arians said they are gameplanning for both ben and vick, and that he hopes ben does what is best for ben longterm.

he said regardless, they will still have to prepare for blitzburgh and a slobberknocker at heinz field.

I just want to check...is a slobberknocker more intense or less intense than a brouhaha?  

way more intense.

a brouhaha would last maybe a quarter.  a slobberknocker is a full 60 min.

Agreed, a "gathering of the clan" precedes a "brouhaha", then a "slobberknocker" which can escalate to a "knockdown, dragout war".  

Hey, why is nobody talking about Woodley's return to Heinz?  The guy is still on both payrolls.

@#$%!!!

no wonder they just signed Dwight freeney for

the pro-rated portion of the vet minimum...

I just hope Cedric humes, Baron batch, or Jonathan Dwyer don't rush for 150 yds against us. Their FB Carey Davis is a BEAST!

Does anyone think the result of the game vs. Arizona will have any impact on when BR7 comes back? If we win, do the coaches encourage him to sit one more week but if we lose they might let him start even if he's not 100% ready?

SteelersYak wrote:

Does anyone think the result of the game vs. Arizona will have any impact on when BR7 comes back?  If we win, do the coaches encourage him to sit one more week but if we lose they might let him start even if he's not 100% ready?

No.
I think they are for once being smart about it. Has he come back sooner than he should of, no question. Will he this time, again probably but I also think it will be based on if he can do what he needs to do to protect himself.

As it stands I think he's back next week. Its smart to see how he does in a full but limited week of practice see how his knee responds before next weeks practices. If all is good with him having 4 days off I would then say he's a full go for the KC game.
If next week they say he's limited just once then he's back Nov 1st. Once you see FULL PARTICIPANT on the NFL Network ticker I'm not going to get too excited. Although I'm glad he's on the right track quicker than we expected.

Is there any media report on how he looked in practice? Link?