Mid-week news and notes
It’s funny to me how differently some people react to things as opposed to others.
It struck me Wednesday when Ben Roethlisberger was talking about the concussion protocol and expressed some “frustration” with the way his injury was handled.
Not from a medical standpoint. No, Roethlisberger was ticked that he went on his radio show on Tuesday, minutes after taking his imPACT test and said he was fine. An hour later, head coach Mike Tomlin held his press conference and said Roethlisberger did have a concussion and would remain in the league-mandated protocol.
Roethlisberger said he wished the team would have kept him more in the loop.
So who was right?
Both. Roethlisberger was right that he was OK. He did have a concussion but obviously, from the fact he practiced Wednesday, his imPACT test was fine. Maybe not perfect, but fine.
That doesn’t mean he didn’t have a concussion. And since he did, he had to clear the league’s protocol, which includes passing the imPACT test.
Once in the protocol your remain in it until you are completely cleared to play again. Roethisberger still has to pass that hurdle.
Maybe the team could have informed him that he was still in the protocol. Maybe it did. He was, after all, concussed recently – an ocular migraine, which is what Roethlisberger’s intitial diagnosis was, can be a sign of a concussion or at least head trauma.
Either way, he’s back at practice and looks fine.
@ Matt Hasselbeck will quarterback Indianapolis on Sunday, 10 years after the now-40-year-old veteran led the Seahawks against the Steelers in Super Bowl 40.
Hasselbeck said he tried to hate the Steelers but a week after the 21-10 loss, he met Troy Polamalu on the beach in Hawaii at the Pro Bowl and found that Polamalu was the “nicest guy in the world.”
Then, he met Alan Faneca and Travis Kirschke and their kids played together.
In the end, he just couldn’t do it.
@ Hasselbeck isn’t Andrew Luck, but the Steelers have plenty of respect for the old guy.
He won’t hold the ball unlike Luck and he’ll make the correct reads. That will likely mean a lot of shorter passes.
That will test a Steelers’ secondary that has been, leaky at best, of late. In particular, it will test their tackling.
@ When Brandon Boykin spoke with the media today, he was asked if he hoped to show something in the final month. And then he asked if he would consider re-signing with the Steelers.
Seriously.
First of all, every player wants to “show something,” when they’re on the field. Otherwise, they’ll quickly find themselves as non-players.
Secondly, what in the world is Boykin supposed to say to the other question? “No, I’m ticked they didn’t play me earlier. I’m getting the heck out of here as quickly as possible.”
Even if he thinks that – and I’m not saying he does – he’s not going to say it when he’s finally on the verge of playing again – he was slated to go in Week 2 and suffered a hamstring injury, opening the door for Ross Cockrell.
@ Isaiah Pead went from being talked about as a backup to DeAngelo Williams one week and gone the next.
What happened?
The team liked how hard running back Fitzgerald Toussaint was practicing and wanted to reward him. And it felt he was better than Pead after seeing them work next to each other for a couple of weeks.