Steelers Hopeful Roethlisberger Will Be Ready For Season Opener

Steelers Hopeful Roethlisberger Will Be Ready For Season Opener
By Mike Brody
Posted: 5:00 am PDT 2006-06-15

Ben Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh Steelers may have dodged a huge bullet. The youngest quarterback to win a Super Bowl was upgraded to fair condition Tuesday, a day after a scary motorcycle accident in downtown Pittsburgh left him and the franchise shaken.

In fact, Roethlisberger, who suffered fractures to his upper and lower jaw, a mild concussion, a fractured nose, fractured facial bones, multiple abrasions and contusions, and lost two teeth and chipped several others, may be ready to start the Sept. 7 Thursday night season opener against Miami.

Roethlisberger wasn't wearing a helmet at the time of the accident. Pennsylvania repealed a 35-year-old mandatory helmet law in 2003, but Roethlisberger reportedly does not have a valid Pennsylvania motorcycle license, and his temporary permit expired in March (he does have a valid automobile driver's license). The Pennsylvania Department of Motor Vehicles has declined to comment on the report, and it remains to be seen if the star QB will face legal ramifications.

The bigger question for football fans and gamblers alike is how this will affect the Steelers on the field. The defending champions were not the favorites to win the Super Bowl even prior to the accident. The sportsbook has them at 10-1, behind Indianapolis (13-2) and New England (8-1). Without Roethlisberger, the Steelers would have no chance to repeat.

Doctors and team officials are cautiously optimistic Big Ben will recover in time for the season. The surgeons who operated on Roethlisberger for seven hours Monday said all of his fractures were successfully repaired. Steelers guard Kendall Simmons said he spoke to Ben and that he looked and sounded good.

The Steelers, and all of Pittsburgh, are just happy that their franchise QB is going to recover.

"We've got to stay positive," cornerback Ike Taylor said. "I'm behind him 100 percent, and the rest of team and the fans are, too."

Others around the league are questioning Roethlisberger's judgment to not only ride a motorcycle, but especially without a helmet. His accident comes a year after Cleveland Browns tight end Kellen Winslow II sustained internal injuries and a torn ACL in a May 2005 motorcycle accident that kept him out of last season.

After Winslow's accident, Steelers coach Bill Cowher warned Roethlisberger about safe riding.

"He talked about being a risk-taker and I'm not really a risk-taker. I'm pretty conservative and laid back, but the big thing is to just be careful," Roethlisberger said at the time. "I'll just continue to be careful. I told him we don't ever ride alone, we always ride in a group of people, and I think it makes it even more safe."

Roethlisberger's decision to continue to ride after Winslow's accident also angered Terry Bradshaw, who quarterbacked the Steelers to four Super Bowl victories during the 1970s.

Visiting the Steelers' training camp last summer, Bradshaw remarked, "Ride it when you retire."

So with the entire organization strongly advising Roethlisberger to give up riding, why was he allowed to continue? Many teams include clauses in players' contracts prohibiting them from participating in what the team considers dangerous activities -- the Steelers don't. All NFL contracts contain some variation of the clause, but it usually pertains to extreme activities such as hang gliding or sky diving.

The new collective bargaining agreement limits what teams can try to recoup from a player suffering a non-football injury.

Browns Senior Vice President and General Manager Phil Savage said about the Winslow injuries: "The interesting thing is we could have gone after $10 million, whereas if it was this year -- same contract -- the most we would be able to extract would be about $1.95 million. So it's quite a change in the new agreement in terms of this high-risk clause that's in the contracts."

As the Steelers get ready for training camp, which opens for Pittsburgh on July 28, they must prepare as if Roethlisberger won't be ready to start the season. That scenario could be a big problem for the defending champs.

Backup Charlie Batch and rookie Omar Jacobs, a fifth-round draft choice out of Bowling Green, are the only other QBs on the roster. Former Steeler Tommy Maddox, like a vulture circling over a carcass, contacted the team the same day Roethlisberger was injured to let them know he was available. The thought of Maddox back under center to Steelers fans may be scarier than Roethlisberger being out for the season. Maddox lost both of his starts last season and had a 51.7 QB rating.

Big Ben is an amazing 28-4, including playoffs, as a starter in his first two seasons. Even if he does recover enough to be ready for the season, he most likely won't be in top form as he will miss all or most of the preseason, and, because of the broken jaw, he won't be able to eat, work out and train like he normally does.

If Roethlisberger's recovery isn't as quick as the team hopes, it may try to bring in a veteran to bridge the gap. Eleven-year veteran Kerry Collins is the most prominent name out there. Collins is still holding out for a starting job, however, and his price tag is probably more than Pittsburgh would want to pay for a two- or three-month fill in. Other less attractive options include Jay Fiedler and Jeff Blake. One other intriguing name is former Steeler Kordell Stewart, who hasn't thrown an NFL pass in three years.

With its options limited, Pittsburgh most likely will go with Batch to start the season if Roethlisberger isn't ready. The Steelers get a break in that their bye is scheduled for Week 4, but with games vs. Miami, at Jacksonville and vs. Cincinnati the first three weeks of the season, they may find themselves in an early hole.

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