When you have a franchise quarterback coming off of a season-ending injury, you already know what the prevailing storyline is going to be about your team until he gets back on the field. From now until September, expect to hear questions and concerns about the Pittsburgh Steelers and all their hopes riding upon the health of quarterback Ben Roethlisberger’s elbow.
Truth be told, we don’t know what we’re in for with Roethlisberger until he gets back on the field. We’re still waiting on an important update about the state of his health toward the end of this month, with the hope that he can begin light throwing relatively soon.
Until we actually know anything, of course, we’re going to get plenty of speculation. People weighing in on whether they are optimistic or pessimistic about Roethlisberger being able to return and play well. The crew at Good Morning Football on the NFL Network discussed that topic recently.
Should the @steelers be comfortable with their current QB situation?
The #GMFB crew weighs in as Ben Roethlisberger is entering his 17th NFL season 👇
📺: @gmfb pic.twitter.com/w6IqTnDwxQ
— NFL Network (@nflnetwork) February 8, 2020
“I think years ago I would have been worried, but now, I’ve seen guys come back from worse and look great, so no, I think they’ll be great next year”, said Pete Schrager. Many Steelers fans have tried to compare his situation to Terry Bradshaw’s nearly 40 years ago, which is, of course, ridiculous.
“I was concerned as well, but then I started thinking about (other) quarterbacks that were injured”, Nate Burleson added. “One guy that comes to mind is of course Andrew Luck. But on the flip side, you think about Aaron Rodgers. Aaron Rodgers was breaking clavicles left and right, and now he’s bounced back and he’s healthier than ever”.
It’s nice to see some optimism about Roethlisberger from the national media for a change. In fact, they both went on to talk about how the Steelers can be the sleeper team of the year, without a lot of focus who will be very good.
Unfortunately, Burleson had to go on to put his foot in his mouth by speaking without having the facts and relying upon outdated stereotypes. “I am a little concerned about Big Ben taking shots in the pocket. In year 17, you can’t be the same type of dude you were in year one”, he said. “Big Ben’s gonna have to work on getting the ball out sooner”.
The problem, of course, is the fact that Roethlisberger has become one of the quarterbacks with the quickest times to throw in the entire NFL over the course of the past several seasons. He has taken fewer sacks than just about anybody else on a per-snap basis. His elbow injury had nothing to do with getting hit too many times.
