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Big Ben Isn’t Dead (Yet)

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The good news:  [intlink id=”14″ type=”category”]Ben Roethlisberger[/intlink]’s foot isn’t broken.

The bad news:  If he continues playing behind the [intlink id=”166″ type=”category”]Pittsburgh Steelers[/intlink] offensive line, it soon will be. Along with his arms, legs, back and neck.

The Post-Gazette is reporting the MRI on Big Ben’s foot revealed no broken bones. The ultra-secretive Steelers aren’t revealing the exact nature of the damage, though. ESPN’s Chris Mortenson is saying it’s a sprain which really doesn’t tell us much. A Grade I sprain is fairly minor. Ben mummified his foot and played with such a sprain for most of last season. However, a misleadingly named Grade III sprain is actually torn ligaments which could sideline Ben for several weeks.

Ben has said he will do whatever he can to play on Sunday. I hope his sham wife is smart enough to hide all sharp objects and lock the medicine cabinet at the Roethlisberger estate. This man clearly has a deathwish.

A fully healthy Ben has been running for his life all season and he’s still taken a beating. Last Sunday was the most vicious pounding I’ve seen since that one Sasha Grey movie. I don’t even want to contemplate what kind of abuse a hobbled Ben would endure. The Titans are mediocre this year, exactly the kind of team [intlink id=”99″ type=”category”]Charlie Batch[/intlink] is still capable of beating. I would rather Ben sit  out a week or two until his mobility is at least partially restored rather than heroically take the field and possibly suffer a season-ending injury by acting as a sitting duck.

I’d also encourage Ben to sit out in silent protest. I know it’s not his style to whine and complain like Tom Brady or Michael Vick but I have no such morals. [intlink id=”23″ type=”category”]Kevin Colbert[/intlink] should be brought up on charges for what he’s allowed to happen. It is absolutely criminal that the Steelers are blessed with a top five NFL quarterback and they just throw him to the wolves behind a patchwork offensive line. Why would you bring in an offensive coordinator who runs a Flying Circus, assemble a fine young receiving corps  and invest $100 million in a franchise quarterback to run the whole shebang, then wreck it all by cutting corners along the [intlink id=”85″ type=”category”]offensive line[/intlink]?

It’s like buying a Porsche then pulling out the engine and replacing it with one from a Volvo.