Let's cut to the chase, you sit Ben Roethlisberger vs the Rams

**BlitzburghRockCity** · 12-20-2011, 01:10 PM

Let's be honest here everyone and take off our black n gold sunglasses for a minute. Most of us do that here which one of the things I love about the conversations that go one here at SA.

Big Ben left the game last night beat up but as far as we know not suffering any further damage to that bad ankle. The offensive line didn't block well at all, Ben isn't able to use his mobility to his advantage like he normally does, and it's obvious that his passing was affected last night. When you rely on being a mobile QB in this NFL and that's taken away from you it throws off your entire game. Ben is not a pure pocket passer, he makes some of his biggest plays while on the run, rolling out, or just evading pressure by moving around the pocket. His mechanics suffered due to the injury, that was apparent to anyone that watched the game on Monday night. When you can't plant properly as a passer, it throws everything off.

You are playing a team with exactly 2 wins and has more injuries to deal with than you do. The Rams are struggling now especially on defense in the secondary but also on offense with injuries on the offensive line and at QB. Bradford has been in and out of the lineup all year long. There's no reason you can't beat this team with Charlie Batch at QB. If you can't then you have no business even being a wild card team in the post season. It's not like the Steelers are the Colts here, they have play makers that can step up and help out a backup QB.

If you want to make a run in the post season you need Ben healthy, it's as simple as that. If you keep playing him while he's hobbling around out there it's not going to get any better when you go on the road in January. Sit him down, keep him off that ankle and get him better. You just can't risk any further damage this close to the playoffs. Let's be clear as not to suggest sitting Ben for the rest of the regular season, but sitting for one game is not such a far fetched idea at this point.

**Zachintosh66** · 12-20-2011, 02:03 PM

I believe Ben hurt or not gave us the best chance to win last night, home field was on the line etc

now i firmly believe they should sit Ben the last 2 games... period. home field is gone, and we are already in the playoffs.

We wont win in playoffs w/ Batch or Dixon, get Ben healthy now!

**LatrobePA** · 12-20-2011, 02:05 PM

This is a tough one, the Ravens could very well end up losing in Cinci...

But I almost agree here, sit all the hurt players and play as a #5..

**BlitzburghRockCity** · 12-20-2011, 02:12 PM

Any pipe dream if getting a bye week is basically gone now. Yes if the Steelers win out and the Ravens lose one of their last 2 then the Steelers can still get a home playoff game. I have no problem with that logic at all. Play to win the final 2 games, but not at the expense of your star QB, pass rusher, Safety, or anyone else that plays a key role on your team.

At this point I would be shocked if Ben is in the lineup on Saturday.

**Zachintosh66** · 12-20-2011, 02:29 PM

doesnt Houston have to lose again too now in order for us to get a bye?

**Troyisabeast_43** · 12-20-2011, 03:02 PM

Originally Posted by Zachintosh66

doesnt Houston have to lose again too now in order for us to get a bye?

Yes they do either them or New England has to lose at least one more game. The Texans have the Colts on the road this week and then play the Titans at home to finish up. The Patriots play the Dolphins and Bills at home to finish out. Not totally impossible for either one of those teams to drop at least one game out of those 4 it could happen. After seeing Yates stink it up against Carolina the other day Im not going to pencil in wins for Houston just yet against both Indy and Tennessee. I agree with you though Matt you gotta sit Ben this week against the Rams and at least give him almost a full 2 weeks to sit and maybe if he feels better you can start him in the Browns game if there is still a chance to win the division and get a bye week which there probably will be...

**LatrobePA** · 12-20-2011, 03:04 PM

The pats have a cake walk...

I say sit them and take what spot we can..

**Goodfrom55** · 12-20-2011, 03:16 PM

Was thinking about this last night and I agree that Ben should not play vs the Rams, though I think he should dress. Run the ball 40+ times, throw Charlie or Dix in there are simply manage the game.

#5 seed is a foregone conclusion at this point, so plan for the playoffs and get people healthy. With the opportunity to control the AFC, Steelers had to play their best bet last night (Ben), but once the game was clearly not winnable, he should have been out of there.

**BlitzburghRockCity** · 12-20-2011, 03:53 PM

The flip side of sitting down Ben for this week or the rest of the way is that you risk him getting pretty rusty heading into the post season. Ben is a QB that while he doesn't need practice every day, he does play better when he gets regular reps with the offense during the week.

We've seen it time and time again after bye weeks where he's rusty for the first quarter or most of the first half before he's able to get it in gear in the 2nd half coming off a bye. In the playoffs that rusty play can be a killer if you aren't careful.

Perhaps you play him for a quarter or 2 against the Rams to keep him in game shape and then pull him. That's an option as well. I would say though that you might sit him this week and then let him pay against Cleveland, or atleast start against Cleveland and go from there.