49ers Vs. Steelers Injury Report: Ben Roethlisberger, Maurkice Pouncey Looking Questionable

by David Fucillo on Dec 16, 2011 9:00 AM PST in 49ers Injury News

Earlier this morning I posted the 49ers injury report and I decided to split out the Steelers report due to some fairly significant issues they face. They are already dealing with the James Harrison suspension. As significant as that is, they face at least three injury issues that raise some question marks.

The most high profile injury is quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. The Steelers QB sprained his ankle last week against the Cleveland Browns and the team is ordering a new ankle brace for him. According to Steelers OC Bruce Arians, Big Ben would not have been able to play had it been a Thursday game. Obviously it is not a Thursday game, but it remains worth noting. He has 3+ days until Monday Night Football, which is a sizable amount of time. The question is how the ankle responds between now and then. I don't imagine he will be practicing at all this week, but that does not mean he won't play Monday.

Center Maurkice Pouncey is also dealing with a high ankle sprain. Late last week it sounded like Pouncey's sprain was less of an issue than Roethlisberger's, but now it sounds like Pouncey's sprain might be worse than Roethlisberger's sprain. If Pouncey can't play, Doug Legursky would move from left guard to center and I believe Trai Essex would take on some guard work. I'm not quite sure of that but there would definitely be some shuffling.

The other injury of note is outside linebacker LaMarr Woodley. He is not on the Steelers injury report, but according to Steelers beat writer Gerry Dulac, Woodley "will be on something of a pitch count." It will be interesting to see how that plays out given what he adds to their pass rush. The Steelers can bring the heat no matter what, but no Harrison and a potentially limited Woodley could make a significant difference.

Steelers
Did Not Participate In Practice
LB Chris Carter (hamstring)
OT Marcus Gilbert (illness)
S Troy Polamalu (hamstring)
C Maurkice Pouncey (ankle)
QB Ben Roethlisberger (ankle)
WR Emmanuel Sanders (foot)

Limited Participation In Practice
WR Arnaz Battle (hamstring)
CB Curtis Brown (knee)

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Comments

Big Ben will play.

He can play on one leg if he had to.

Despite what many of us think of this clown and his “questionable behavior” off the field, he’s a fighter.

by BrockRocks on Dec 16, 2011 9:19 AM PST reply actions

agree

I would be surprised if he sat. 1) He’s a tough S.O.B. and 2) Charlie Batch.

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by David Fucillo on Dec 16, 2011 9:21 AM PST up reply actions

We may see Batch anyway even if Ben starts... if we bring the right type of heat.

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by Drew Kerr on Dec 16, 2011 9:14 PM PST up reply actions

I'd be shocked if...

Big Ben didn’t suit up and play. As much as he is a tool, he is a warrior. I hope Pouncey starts because he is actually one of the lesser starting centers in the NFL contrary to Pro Bowl voting. The key to this game will be containing the big plays from Mike Wallace & Antonio Brown.

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by BaySean on Dec 16, 2011 9:29 AM PST reply actions

Don't believe what you read on PFF about Pouncey

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by John Stephens on Dec 16, 2011 9:34 AM PST up reply actions

This

Plus, if he’s injured and hobbled, he’ll be easier for the Smiths to track down, particularly given how vulnerable the interior of their patchwork offensive line is!

Disagree on Pouncey- rough season, good player.

"Football combines the two worst things about America: It is violence punctuated by committee meetings" -George Will

by lottwasgangsta on Dec 16, 2011 9:35 AM PST up reply actions

Not sure why we are so focused on Big Ben

I think this game comes down to whether Arnaz Battle suits up or not, Carlos has no chance against that guy.

by KGboomer on Dec 16, 2011 9:59 AM PST reply actions

I will bet you a turkey sandwich

that Ben will play. He’ll also limp like he has a peg leg on the sidelines but somehow, miraculously, will look like Carl Lewis once on the field. The announcers will lap it up and call Ben a “gamer” and “tough”.

Personally, I’m hoping Aldon Smith really breaks that ankle.

by Joe Como on Dec 16, 2011 10:11 AM PST reply actions

Pretty much all NFL players are gamers and tough

It helps the NFL to turn them into extra-special toughness. In reality, there’s also an elimination process for players with lower pain tolerances. Roethlisberger both has a very high pain tolerance as well as a body that for whatever reason, is able to to bend and twist and not break. So, while he is most definitely a tough guy, I do question whether he is any tougher than any other player, or whether he is just luckier than many of his fellow NFLers to have a body that is capable of not breaking and a brain that maybe doesn’t register pain as much.

I’ve joked many times that Ben is an actor. I still think he is, but I don’t think he is acting this time. In the past he has had minor ankle rolls or hits, then looked like he was about to die, then sprinted on the very next play. This injury.. he was lucky to not break his ankle, he has a legitimate sprain, which.. there’s just no way he’ll be able to put 100% pressure on it.. maybe 75%. I mean he won’t be in pain, he’ll get a shot before the game, but he won’t be sprinting. He’ll be hobbling.

I’d rather he just be forced to throw the ball out that .5 second sooner than he would usually expect, get a couple turnovers.

And I REALLY don’t want to see any defenders diving at him only to see him shrug his shoulder and then get 4 more seconds.

by whistlingmountain on Dec 16, 2011 10:24 AM PST up reply actions

it is ridiculous to think

Big Ben is “lucky” he can play hurt and fakes the severity of injuries. He is arguably the toughest QB in the game right now. Didn’t he win the super bowl with broken ribs?

by itsAteamGAME on Dec 16, 2011 11:48 AM PST up reply actions

i take back the "severity of injuries"

Bill Cowher seems to disagree.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3894263

by itsAteamGAME on Dec 16, 2011 11:53 AM PST up reply actions

I think you misunderstood what I said

Have you ever met someone that has an extremely low pain tolerance? Where in something that happens to you, you can’t feel it, and to them, they are in immense pain?

We’re not all built the exact same, there’s a massive variance in pain tolerance. Someone is inherently lucky to have a high pain tolerance, as they are to be 6’6 with a thick bone frame and flexible ligaments ( supposing you want to be a professional athlete, if not, you re decidedly UNlucky ).

After his first super bowl Reothlisberger claimed he had a broken foot, to which Cowher then said, no, no he did not.

After his second super bowl Roethlisberger claimed he had broken ribs, to which the Steelers said nothing, neither confirming nor denying.

Never the the less, Romo had broken ribs against the 49ers. He took an injection and undoubtedly felt little to nothing while the game was going on. The week after I’m sure was filled with unbearable pain at all hours of the day.

Roethilisberger takes a pounding, but he’s tough and he plays. So does just about every player in the NFL. To say he’s tougher because he can play on a sprained ankle is a little unrealistic, either he is capable of playing on it or he is not. His advantage was that for whatever reason, his tendons, bones, and ligaments did not break. That is largely genetic luck. Particularly for someone who, from what’s on the record, doesn’t exactly seem to take great care of himself.

I mean I’ve been hit by cars twice.. I think I was lucky to escape both with nothing but scraped, not tough…

by whistlingmountain on Dec 16, 2011 1:45 PM PST up reply actions

hmm interesting angle.

I would like to believe that pain is as much a mental thing as genetic, if not more. You cannot assume Big Ben has a high pain threshold, because it is subjective, with different types of pain. He can possibly play through enormous amounts of pain with a “low” pain tolerance. We’ll never know but what he says about how much pain he’s feeling. But saying an NFL player is not tougher than any other is your way of marginalizing. I do agree though that athletes present-day have it easier with cortisone shots and other methods of numbing pain to play.

by itsAteamGAME on Dec 17, 2011 2:17 PM PST up reply actions

almost

Pretty much all NFL players are gamers and tough

Except for Cutler, dude wouldn’t play through a torn MCL, claiming he needed all the ligaments in his knee to play pro-football. Pansy.

by reedkrase on Dec 16, 2011 1:33 PM PST up reply actions

I think there's an inherent weeding out process

Everyone that makes it to the NFL is mentally tough when it comes to dealing with injuries.

The second that they lose that, they’re done. No matter how talented they are.

Roethlisberger strikes me more as a kind of genetic outlier to be able to take a beating but never suffer an injury serious enough to prevent him from playing long term. Unlike someone like Peyton Manning who was able to stay healthy for so long by avoiding big hits.

Emmit Smith kind of the same thing, the guy was just super durable and for whatever reason just would never suffer major injuries.

by whistlingmountain on Dec 16, 2011 1:50 PM PST up reply actions