At this point in the season, no one is feeling well. If so, it just means you didn’t play a lick. For a 39-year-old quarterback who has been beaten at times this season, it’s no shock to know that Ben Roethlisberger isn’t 100 percent. Speaking to the media on Tuesday, he spoke about the specific ailments he faces, noting that his shoulder was hurting much more than his surgically repaired elbow.
“It’s just a different place in my arm,” he told reporters via Steelers.com. “It’s my shoulder that hurts more than my elbow. My elbow feels good thanks to the doctors. I’ve thrown, wish someone could call, a million throws in my life. So at some point your shoulder starts to wear down a bit. Like any quarterback, your arm always hurts a bit. “
To add some math, Roethlisberger attempted 8,253 career regular-season passes, sixth all-time, and he will soon pass Dan Marino for fifth place. It’s still only a fraction of his career passes, excluding the playoffs (744 other throws), preseason, practice, training camp, college and of everything else in the life of a quarterback. It’s fair to say that his actual throw count is well north of 15,000, maybe even closer to 20,000.
Since his surgery and recovery in 2019, the focus has been on his elbow which has been causing him trouble for years, a pain he dealt with along the way until he couldn’t anymore. But according to him, this is no longer a concern. Roethlisberger has been criticized more this season than last year, sacked 25 times in eleven starts. That almost doubles the number of times he was abandoned a year ago, thirteen times in fifteen starts.
Especially at the start of the season, he suffered some serious blows, which makes it questionable whether his body would hold up to this point.
Ben Roethlisberger has not played well this season. But I winced as I watched him take some of the hits he absorbed in the first four games. Painful to watch.
Some of the most notable big hits he’s taken. I don’t know if his body will last the year. #Steels pic.twitter.com/6K1muMF6on
– Alex Kozora (@Alex_Kozora) October 5, 2021
Although the hits have been a bit less aggressive, Roethlisberger has been sacked at least once in every game this season. Much of this is the result of playing behind an almost brand new offensive line. Two rookies from left tackle Dan Moore Jr. and center Kendrick Green, second-year left guard Kevin Dotson and new Steelers player right guard Trai Turner.
The Vikings come in second in the league in sacks with 36, just one behind the Steelers. Minnesota lack a dominant passer after losing Danielle Hunter for the season, still leading the team with six sacks in just seven games. Everson Griffin is out of the roster due to mental health issues, leaving LB Eric Kendricks and DT Armon Watts as their active sack leaders.
Roethlisberger noted that while the Vikings don’t do a lot of blitzing, under the guidance of head coach Mike Zimmer they show aggressive “double barrel” looks (meaning the LBs are squeezing the A-holes) all over the place. like the Bengals did when Zimmer served as the defensive coordinator. That’s one of the reasons a linebacker like Kendricks has four sacks going for them.
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