The Sixburgh Steelers March to the Super Bowl Thread

The Game Room
401

Interesting. Hines Ward sounds like a jilted lover!

:slight_smile:

Ward says locker room is “50-50” on whether Ben should have played

Posted by Mike Florio on November 29, 2009 8:21 PM ET
*Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger won’t be starting tonight’s game against the Ravens, due to the lingering effects of a concussion.

Roethlisberger, as widely reported, was not cleared by a neurologist.

But teammate Hines Ward hints at a locker room divided on the question of whether Ben should have played.

“This game is almost like a playoff game,” Ward told NBC’s Bob Costas. "It’s almost a ‘must’ win. So, I can see some players or some teammates kind of questioning like, ‘Well, it’s just a concussion. I’ve played with concussions before. I would go out there and play.’ So, it’s almost like a 50-50 toss-up in the locker room. You know, should he play, shouldn’t he play. It’s really hard to say.

"I’ve been out there dinged up. The following week, * got right back out there. You know, Ben practiced all week. . . . To find out that he’s still having some headaches and not playing and it came down to doctor’s didn’t feel that they was gonna clear him. . . . It’s hard to say, unless you’re the person. . . . I’ve lied to a couple of doctors saying ‘I’m straight, I feel good,’ when I knew I’m really not straight. But I don’t think guys really about the future when they’re playing currently in the NFL. . . .

“Trust me, the players, they wanna go out there because these games, you don’t get back. You’re never gonna get this Baltimore-Pittsburgh game back.”

Wow.

Though Hines never says, “Ben is being soft,” the import is clear. Hines is essentially saying, “Ben is being soft.”

So what does Ward think should Roethlisberger have done? The answer, based on Ward’s words, is clear: Ben should have lied about his status and sucked it up and played.

And we suspect that some of the 50 percent of the players who think Roethlisberger should be playing believe that the quarterback’s reputation for being a drama queen contributed to this situation. Indeed, if he’d merely said nothing about how he was feeling, he’d likely be something other than the emergency quarterback during a game tonight that he’s “never gonna get back.”

But we all know that, when it comes to his various and sundry injuries, Ben can never say nothing.*

402

Ward says he and others have played when they got their bell rung. Every situation is different and the medical knowledge of concussions and long term effects are being taken more seriously now. Ward was off base and may have a bad effect on the team. You don’t question your leaders toughness or desire.

403

You might if your leader is known for sensationalizing his injuries. Otherwise, I agree that Ward should never have said what he did to anyone in the press no matter how he felt about it.

But who am I to discourage dissent in the Steeler locker room?

404

Woo Dixon!!!

That sidearm release looks like doodoo, but those legs look like solid gold. :slight_smile:

405

Reports from Pittsburgh are that Roethlisberger wanted to play but the doctor wouldn’t clear him. Final decision was Tomlin’s. I think Ben’s only wearing a uniform because it was the only way to keep him happy. The team sure could have used Chris Kemoeatu in this game. Such is life in the NFL though.

406

If they win, it’s all good. :slight_smile:

407

Dungy and Rodney Harrison both raised the proverbial eyebrow at Ward’s comments. All I have to say is that there are lots of quarterbacks whose toughness you could question but that guy isn’t one of them.

408

They were not talking about Joey Harrington.
Steelers are going bye bye. Lost 3 in a row. from 6-2 to 6-5. can they make a wild card?

409

This is not the game I was fearing - but a loss is a loss.

410

Exactly right.

Losses always hurt but if the Titans can turn their season around so can the Steelers. The team showed some spark tonight. Santonio Holmes may not look sparkling on the stat sheet in this game but he played a tough, smart game. There will also be a lot of finger-pointing at the defense but they are still the number 1 D in the league. Really, how much can you fault the D when the offense is turning the ball over as much as it has been.

Also, I shit on Bruce Arians a lot but there were some nice play calls in this game. All losses hurt but they aren’t all equal; this was Steeler football, this was the type of football I love. Win or lose.

411

They lose tie breaker with Balt. They are behind Denver. But their schedule is not too strong. The champs get Oakland next week.

412

Incredible. Absolutely incredible.

5 losses, all of which had Pittsburgh in the lead or a tie in the 4th quarter. Why can they not close out a game?

I’m disgusted, frankly. And right now I have nothing else to say.

413

The team has looked flat and is turning the ball over a lot. The Pittsburgh Steelers do not look like a playoff calibre team in two of the three phases of the game. Sad but true. The good news is we have the right ingredients in place to turn things around in my opinion.

414

I was going to say they don’t turn it over that much and then I checked - they’re -5 in turnover margin, or tied for 23rd in the league (with four other teams)!

I didn’t like the play-calling. I know Dixon is wet behind the ears and everything, but I would have liked to see them throw deep off play action once or twice in the early going. It was pretty obvious that Baltimore didn’t respect Dixon’s arm, and while obviously you’re going to run the ball a lot you have to at least make them think about the deep pass.

415

I thought they were trying to set up the deep pass with all the runs and screens but then failed to execute when the opportunity presented itself. The only play-calling sequence that really troubled me was in overtime. If you don’t trust your QB to pass three times in a row in regulation, you probably shouldn’t in overtime either.

416

I know he wasn’t supposed to be mobile, but there were more than a few times that I was shouting “RUN!” at the TV. There was one play, I think 3rd down the series before Ravens tied it for a FG, that he had at least 10 to 15 yards of open space and instead he went with the play as called and fed it to Mendenhall, who ran right into the blitz.

417

Yes. There was something deeply, deeply weird about those draw plays. The handoff seemed to take ten minutes - even when there was a hole, it closed long before Mendenhall had the ball.

I think it was supposed to be a fake to draw one or two defenders to the right with Dixon, so I guess maybe it helped on that long touchdown run.

418

Clearly the one spot to pick on when playing the Steelers is William Gay. Last night, however, a bigger embarrassment was the run defense. I know that Aaron Smith is out, but that can’t account for all of that. Of course, Polamalu’s presence is also key to stopping the run, but nevertheless, this is not the Steelers I know.

I hate Al Michaels, and he hates the Steelers. Has there ever in history been a commentator who compared a running back successfully employing a spin move to get extra yards with Peggy Flemming? Who ever called the spin move a “pirouette” and made it sound unmanly before? What a douchebag.

419

Well, Mendenhall was spinning on every freaking play. I half-expected to see him spin during blitz pickup too. He’s going to have a serious back injury if he doesn’t learn to use that move more sparingly.

Anyway, you only gave up 130-odd yards on the ground. It happens.

420

We’ve been spoiled by success.