Thread: Roethlisberger to Miss Season Opener

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Roethlisberger to Miss Season Opener
Monday, September 4, 2006 4:42 AM EDT
The Associated Press
By ALAN ROBINSON

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PITTSBURGH (AP) — Ben Roethlisberger missed no playing or practice time despite nearly dying during a June motorcycle accident. A case of appendicitis will keep him out of the Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers' season opener.

Roethlisberger will sit out the NFL's showcase Thursday night game against Miami after having an appendectomy Sunday, not long after reporting for practice with stomach pains and nausea.

"The surgery went well," coach Bill Cowher said. "He is obviously going to be out this week and we will go week to week from there."

The operation was the third in less than a year for the 24-year-old Roethlisberger, who is off to one of the best career starts of any quarterback in NFL history. He was in the operating room for seven hours following his scary motorcycle accident on June 12, mostly to repair facial damage, and had arthroscopic knee surgery midway through last season.

Charlie Batch, a former Lions starter who was 2-0 as a fill-in for Roethlisberger last season, will start against the Dolphins.

"It's a situation that can happen to any football team. You can go out there and have a starter go down, whether it's an ankle or something else of that nature," Cowher said. "That's the nature of the business."

Roethlisberger's latest medical setback followed an uneventful training camp that began with questions about whether he was fully recovered from the crash and ended with him playing better in the preseason than he did a year ago.

It was not immediately known if the motorcycle accident might have caused any internal damage that subsequently resulted in the appendicitis. All of Roethlisberger's known injuries from the crash — a broken nose, orbital bones and upper and lower jaw, damaged teeth and a concussion — were to his head.

According to various medical journals, one cause of appendicitis can be a perforation in the appendix. But, unless there is severe bleeding, an otherwise healthy patient such as Roethlisberger often is released within 24 hours of an appendectomy and has a relatively short recovery time.

Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward also had an appendectomy in 2002 and missed the final two exhibition games, but returned to make eight catches in the season opener against New England.

Thursday's game will be the fifth that Roethlisberger has missed since the middle of last season, when he sat out four games — three in a row — with two knee injuries. He also injured his right thumb Nov. 28 against the Colts — he has since said he broke it — but did not miss any playing time because of it.

The Steelers made the playoffs last season even with Roethlisberger sitting out one-quarter of their schedule, and Cowher said they will overcome this latest setback.

"Adversity is not what knocks you down, it is how you handle it and how you respond to it," he said. "This football team with its veterans has been down this road before, facing challenges and adversity."

The Steelers planned to begin the season with only two quarterbacks, Roethlisberger and Batch, plus rookie Omar Jacobs on their practice squad. But Cowher said they would bring in another quarterback immediately.

"We will assess the backup (situation) as the week goes on. This is the situation we are being dealt and we are not asking for any pity nor are we going to make any excuses," Cowher said. "We are going to get ready for Miami accordingly."

Roethlisberger is the youngest quarterback to win a Super Bowl, doing so at age 23 as the Steelers beat Seattle 21-10 on Feb. 5. He has a 27-4 record while leading the Steelers to two AFC championship games and one Super Bowl in two seasons.

Now that Roethlisberger is out, the Steelers may be without their two top skill position players against Miami.

Ward, a four-time Pro Bowl selection and the Super Bowl MVP, didn't have a full training camp practice after Aug. 3 because of a sore hamstring and is listed as questionable. He did not play in the preseason.

Between Bob O'Connor passing and this, the city of Pittsburgh will need a giant prozac pill to cope.

Nope, the people of Pittsburg are tough and have coping skills, they don’t need no little pill. They will brush themselves off, weep if they need to and then do what they need to do go on with life.

So true I can honestly say that the mood here is one of sadness Bob O'Connor was a one in a million kind of guy and mayor. Everyone has been so bummed and then news of Big Ben. We will survive but we will shed some tears along the way.

That was sad news. But the Steelers will carry on. So will Pittsburgh.