According to SI.com, Roethlisberger said his fractured ribs did not show up on X-rays taken before he led the Steelers to a 27-23 win over Arizona on Feb. 1, but were revealed only during an MRI test he had last week.
Roethlisberger was on the injury report as having a "back injury" for the whole week prior to the Super Bowl. Who knows - maybe the docs saw minor rib fractures in the MRI near his back. He only said he played with fractured ribs, he didn't really disclose whether or not these were serious fractures.
Lets say your quarterback has ribs that are bothering him - in a huge game like this, you don't want the other team to know that and make him the prime target. I wouldn't doubt for a second that the team played the injury down. Think about it - the man was sacked 46 times in the 2008 season. Hell, he's been sacked an average of 46 times per season, over the last 3 years. He's bound to have some rib problems.
Ben has been known to play up his injuries in the past - there are only two instances that I know of, a broken thumb and broken toes.
So is he playing up his rib injury? Who gives a crap? We won the Super Bowl :)
I find no reason to doubt him, the man was in a serious motorcycle accident without a helmet. The result was a broken upper and lower jaw and other "facial fractures"
According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Roethlisberger flew into the Chrysler's windshield and then hit the ground head first. Blood pooled around him on the pavement, the paper said.
- from an ESPN article
Police sources have indicated that Roethlisberger suffered fractures to the jaw and right sinus cavity, as well as a nine-inch laceration to the back of the head, the loss of two teeth, and several chipped teeth. His facial injuries were severe enough that witnesses on the scene did not immediately recognize him, even after he identified himself as "Ben"....
-Wikipedia
The accident occured in mid-June and he was back to play the first 3 pre-season games that year. He did miss the season opener - due to an emergency appendectomy(removal of the appendix), but was back in to play the following Monday night game. Is that tough enough for you?
I don't care what injuries he plays up, the man is tough as nails and there's plenty of proof to show it. He's a man's man - he has sandwiches named after him, he likes to s**t with the door open, go on riverboat gambling trips, and he makes his own beef jerky.
Okay - I don't know about the first two, but the guy does have his own line of Beef Jerky.
Does that sound like the kind of guy that would lie?
