Steelers Talk

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

ABJ

Roethlisberger's latest head injury another worry for Steelers

ALAN ROBINSON

Associated Press

PITTSBURGH - The Pittsburgh Steelers aren't saying if quarterback Ben Roethlisberger sustained his second concussion in slightly more than four months.
Roethlisberger was fit enough to fly home with the Steelers following their 41-38 overtime loss Sunday in Atlanta, and to drive his SUV to a team meeting Monday, despite being briefly knocked unconscious during a helmet-to-helmet hit with the Falcons' Chauncey Davis.
By definition, a concussion is a disruption of the brain's activities caused by a sudden blow to the head - much like the hit Roethlisberger absorbed while being sacked by multiple defenders. Doctors who have studied concussion patients have said some act and look fine within hours or even minutes of being injured, while others take longer to look normal.
The Steelers' biggest concern is if this is Roethlisberger's second concussion in slightly more than four months. He sustained a concussion, and needed seven hours of surgery mostly to repair facial injuries, when his motorcycle collided with a car June 12 in Pittsburgh.
A football player receiving a second concussion in a relatively brief time can be susceptible to succeeding concussions, according to various concussion-related studies by doctors who have studied the issue for the NFL. Also, a player receiving multiple concussions in a brief time span may need a longer recovery time before playing again than one coming off his initial concussion.
This time, Roethlisberger lay on the turf for about five minutes, then was unsteady while being led off the field. He also looked dazed while riding to the locker room on a motorized cart. But he was back on the sideline later in the game and looked normal afterward.
"I was just hoping and praying they didn't have to bring out the stretcher," said backup Charlie Batch, who had flashbacks to Chiefs quarterback Trent Green's head injury earlier this season when he saw Roethlisberger go down. "You never want to see anybody hit like that."
The Steelers did not provide an update Monday on Roethlisberger. Unlike most NFL coaches, Bill Cowher doesn't hold news conferences on Mondays or allow anyone else in the organization to speak about injuries. He will talk to reporters on Tuesday.
The Steelers have been among the NFL teams most proactive in concussion-related studies, research and testing. Several doctors who undertake such work for the NFL and NHL are associated with the Steelers or have offices in the complex where the Steelers' practice facility is located.
Roethlisberger was not wearing a helmet during the motorcycle crash and decided against wearing the recently designed football helmet that affords more protection against head injuries.
Cowher may say Tuesday if Roethlisberger has any chance to play Sunday for the Steelers (2-4), losers of four of five, against the Oakland Raiders (1-5). The Steelers are 0-3 on the road. If not, Batch would replace him, as he did Sunday and in the Sept. 7 season opener against Miami when Roethlisberger was out with appendicitis.
Batch might be the NFL's most dependable backup, going 3-0 as a starter the last two seasons. He is 24-of-39 for 410 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions this season and threw for two touchdowns and 195 yards after replacing Roethlisberger on Sunday.
"I started to get in a groove and I got more comfortable out there," Batch said.
Roethlisberger's injury came during his second strong performance in as many weeks. After throwing seven interceptions and no touchdown passes in his first three post-crash starts, all losses, he was 32-of-41 for 476 yards, five TDs and no interceptions against the Chiefs and Falcons.
A week after seemingly righting their season by beating Kansas City 45-7, the Super Bowl champion Steelers again trail Baltimore (4-2) and Cincinnati (4-2) by two games in the AFC North.
"I still think we're a great football team," defensive end Brett Keisel said. "I still think we have the players in here to do exactly what we did last year. But it's going to be tough with (Sunday's) loss."

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

ABJ

Cowher: Steelers season 'challenging'

ALAN ROBINSON

Associated Press

PITTSBURGH - Coach Bill Cowher declined Tuesday to criticize the officials for several calls that went against the Pittsburgh Steelers in a 41-38 overtime loss in Atlanta that left them with a 2-4 record.
After a fourth loss in five games, Cowher had reason enough to fault his own players as they continued a season-long pattern: Namely, play well in the first half and then self-destruct in the second.
All but three of the Steelers' 14 turnovers have come in the second half, a key reason why the Super Bowl champions trail Baltimore (4-2) and Cincinnati (4-2) by two games in the AFC North.
"Those are very hard to overcome," Cowher said. "There's a lot of things that lead to that; it's the attention to detail and being able to close a close game out."
The mistakes, penalties and misplays have repeated themselves, something that rarely occurred with Cowher's better teams. For example, he promised after his team was flagged for an excessive celebration penalty Sept. 24 against Cincinnati that it wouldn't happen again, only to have it occur again Sunday.
"I guess you should never say never," Cowher said.
The Steelers already have four losses - or only two fewer than they had in 2005 (11-5) and 2004 (15-1) combined. And after going 4-0 away from Pittsburgh in the postseason while winning the Super Bowl, they are 0-3 on the road this season.
Still, Cowher wouldn't label the season as frustrating.
"Frustration is an emotion you can control," he said. "This is challenging."
Cowher can't do anything about the injuries, such as quarterback Ben Roethlisberger's concussion that forced him out of the Atlanta game. Cowher is certain something can be done about the wave of errors, including the three lost fumbles and 65 penalty yards on Sunday.
"As we sit here at 2-4, obviously it's not where we wanted to be or envisioned ourselves being," Cowher said. "It's important that we do a better job of coaches as stressing the detail and the little things, and do a better job of players sustaining that focus throughout the game."
Some other mistakes seemed to mystify Cowher - a fumbled center exchange between Roethlisberger and Jeff Hartings, a missed block on a Willie Parker fumble that led to right guard Kendall Simmons being benched for second-year lineman Chris Kemoeatu.
"We're just doing things where we're having to overcome ourselves," Cowher said. "It's hard enough to beat teams that are good football teams."
The Steelers' schedule hasn't proven easy, either. Since beating Miami (1-6), the Steelers have played three teams that currently have four victories and two teams that have three.
Despite his reluctance to analyze the officiating - and possibly draw a fine for doing so - Cowher was unhappy with an offsides penalty on wide receiver Nate Washington that prevented a possible game-winning field goal attempt in the closing seconds of regulation Sunday.
Team owner Dan Rooney said it was the kind of call - flinching - that shouldn't have been made as both teams were rushing to get set along the line of scrimmage.
"I'd rather not get into that," Cowher said. "It was made. We should have never put them in that situation, but they made the call and we'll leave it as that."
The last time the Steelers were 2-4, in 2003, they didn't bounce back and would go 6-10, the only time in the last five seasons they didn't win at least 10 games.
"The worst thing you could do right now is to try to do some kind of overhaul or try to overanalyze the facts," Cowher said. "We've got to keep getting back up. I'm not going to allow them to change how we approach these games or alter the mindset going into these games. We've just got to finish these games."

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

ABJ

Roethlisberger has regular practice, looks ready to go

ALAN ROBINSON

Associated Press

PITTSBURGH - This is what Ben Roethlisberger and coach Bill Cowher were looking for: a normal day of practice for the quarterback.
Roethlisberger, four days removed from a concussion caused by a painful helmet-to-helmet hit in Atlanta, took most of the snaps with the Pittsburgh Steelers' starting offense Thursday and looked ready to play Sunday in Oakland.
"I'm very encouraged by how he feels," Cowher said.
Roethlisberger, jolted by the jaw-jamming hit he received from the Falcons defensive end Chauncey Davis, was knocked out for a few minutes during the third quarter and forced to leave the Steelers' 41-38 overtime loss.
But Roethlisberger looked comfortable and relaxed in practice, much like he did Wednesday night while slapping high fives with LeBron James following a dunk by the Cavaliers star during an exhibition game in Pittsburgh.
Cowher said a final decision on the QB's status won't be made until game time Sunday, mostly because Roethlisberger still must pass more of the post-concussion tests he takes daily. He has passed all tests so far, but any recurring symptoms or setbacks would cause him to sit out.
Thursday is one of the Steelers' two major practice days of the week, and any injured player who practices as usual almost always plays on Sunday barring a later setback.
"He took all his reps, he felt very good, and we'll see how he feels tomorrow (Friday)," Cowher said. "We'll see how he feels after he flies across the country."
Playing the 24-year-old Roethlisberger only a week after he received his second concussion since June might seem to be a risky move by the Steelers, given his importance to them. Roethlisberger is viewed within the organization as their most prized quarterback since Terry Bradshaw in the 1970s.
But the Steelers (2-4) place considerable value in the post-concussion tests that are widely used in the NFL and were developed by two doctors, Joseph Maroon and Mark Lovell, and their research teams at the University of Pittsburgh.
"I feel very comfortable with the fact our doctor here, Dr. Maroon, is one of the experts that a lot of people have come to in regards to this injury, so I'm very comfortable," Cowher said. "To me, this is not my decision, it's the doctor's decision."
A player is tested initially when he is healthy, and the results are compared later to those after a player has received a concussion. The tests measure memory, motor skills and speed of response, and any recurring post-concussion symptoms normally show up immediately. Any player who has such symptoms is told he should not play.
"From talking to Dr. Maroon I think that people always speculate that after you have one concussion, you're susceptible to more and then more on top of that," Roethlisberger said. "But from what we've researched and understood is that as time passes, that susceptibility goes away."
However, Roethlisberger's symptoms - being unconscious on the field, memory loss and headaches - are commonly defined by some prominent neurosurgeons as being consistent with a severe concussion.
Some doctors and researchers in the field believe NFL players are allowed to return too quickly from concussions. Among the recent stars who retired because of concussion-related problems were quarterbacks Steve Young and Troy Aikman.
Since June, Roethlisberger sustained facial injuries and a concussion while being tossed off his motorcycle at nearly 40 miles per hour and thrown onto a car; had his appendix removed; and received a second concussion from the on-field hit.
"It's been a bad few months," he said. "Hopefully, it will get better."
Meanwhile, Pro Bowl linebacker Joey Porter (hamstring) also looks ready to go against Oakland (1-5) after being upgraded from questionable to probable. He has missed two games.
Clark Haggans (ankle), the other outside linebacker, and nose tackle Casey Hampton (hamstring) did not practice and remain questionable.

[jwinslow]

So how long will Batch continue to waste away on the bench?

[buckeye247]

Its pretty bad when the browns beat the raiders and the steelers cant.

[themongoose32]

woooooooooo back to back wins for the raiders!!!

Super Bowl Bound

[BuckeyeMike80]

Originally Posted by themongoose32

woooooooooo back to back wins for the raiders!!!

Super Bowl Bound