Ben Roethlisberger: 'For The First Time I Was Thinking About My Family'
PITTSBURGH (93-7 The Fan) - Pittsburgh Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger says he has played through a lot of injuries, but a brain injury is not something to mess with.
Roehtlisberger joined The Cook and Poni Show on Sportsradio 93.7 The Fan for the #1 Cochran Ben Roethlisberger Show which airs every Tuesday morning at 11 am during the Steelers season.
"I have played through many injuries but the brain is not an injury you want to play with," Roethlisberger said.
Roethlisberger says he was diagnosed with a traumatic ocular migraine. He says he has just finished concussion protocol at the Steelers facility.
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said later Tuesday that he was told Roethlisberger did sustain a concussion and must remain under the league's concussion protocol, which will require Roethlisberger to pass a battery of tests before he can return to play.
"I didn't feel right, it doesn't make you less of a man or a football player to come out of the game," he said.
Ben said that his peripheral vision looked as if he was looking through water.
"It was a big hit, got the wind knocked out of me, and I was on the ground, Roethlisberger said. "I felt okay, just felt like it was a big hit."
Roethlisberger said Dr. Maroon told him "Ben we can't let you go back out there," because vision problems could lead to not protecting himself.
"When you're done you want to be a husband or father, and if I have these brain injuries it's not worth it," Roethlisberger said.
The Steelers are coming off a tough 39-30 loss at Seattle which really puts them in a tight spot for the playoffs.
It was also a tough ending for Ben who took a blow to the head late in the 4th quarter which kept him from finishing the game.
"I switched helmets 7 or 8 years ago, and haven't had a concussion since I switched helmets. I'm so glad I did that."
Ben also talked about Tomlin's decision to kick the field goal in the 4th quarter rather than go for the touchdown, "he's the head coach, he makes the decision, we ride with it."
Ben was asked about the difference between settling for field goals instead of touchdowns in that situation and why it's so important to find the end zone once you reach the red zone.
"It's frustrating," Ben said. "You get down there, you got to put seven points on the board when you're playing a team like that in their place."
Despite taking the loss, the offense remained red hot with point totals of 38, 30 and 30 over the last three games and Ben talked about how happy he is with where the offense is.
"We're doing some good things," Ben told us. "I thought DeAngelo Williams played a great game this past Sunday. I thought there was some key third downs that he converted in the passing game. I though he ran the ball well. I think guys are stepping up and playing well. Markus Wheaton I talked about. I thought the line played good, especially with the noise and that pass rush the Seahawks have. So yeah, we're scoring points, we're doing some good things, but we need to score one more point than the opponent, so moving forward we need to keep growing and keep getting better."
Roethlisberger says he is anticipating that he will be able to play Sunday night against the Indianapolis Colts. You can hear the full interview here.
UPDATE: During his weekly press conference, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin revealed that Roethlisberger did in fact suffer a concussion against the Seahawks.
"Ben also experienced what now is being described as a concussion. He'll be in the concussion protocol. We'll do what we always do with those guys."
Tomlin went on to add that Roethlisberger is in the concussion protocol program and will remain in it even if he feels better as the team does their due diligence.
Like The Fan On Facebook
Follow The Fan On Twitter
The #1 Cochran Ben Roethlisberger Show is heard exclusively every Tuesday at 11 a.m. during the Steelers season on The Cook and Poni Show on Sportsradio 93-7 The Fan.