By Lynn Saternow
Herald Sports Editor
BEN ROETHLISBERGER will have a short career in the NFL the way things are going. Concussions are a serious matter.
Oops, excuse me. I noticed that the NFL doesn’t say players received concussions anymore. When quarterbacks Big Ben and Kurt Warner both took blows to the head last week, their injuries were listed on the TV as “concussion-like symptoms.”
Because of the investigation by Congress into the history of concussions with football players, the league doesn’t want to admit that anything is a concussion. Right. And no players ever used steroids either.
When you take a blow to the head and your brain bounces around inside your skull like a pinball machine — it’s a concussion. However, measuring the extent of the damage is difficult.
And there in lies the problem. When millions of dollars ride on NFL wins and losses, there is a tendency to rush a player back into the game, even after an injury.
According to the latest reports, Roethlisberger will not play today. How many more concussions before he’s done. When do you know if his recurring concussions will leave him drooling in a rocking chair by the time he is 40?
I would hate to see on TV: “Big Ben is suffering from death-like symptoms caused by concussion-like symptoms.”
Meanwhile, whether No. 7 plays today or not, it won’t matter. The Baltimore Ravens will win this game. The Steelers have seen too many key injuries, including Troy Polomalu, to win this one. Look for the Ravens to prevail, 20-13.
Meanwhile, Brady Quinn looked like the quarterback I thought he could be last week, even though the Browns defense forgot to show up in a loss to Detroit. The league should investigate that game’s finish. When to you ever see interference called on a “Hail Mary” pass? People are always pushing each other all over the place.
The Browns will take on Cincinnati today, a team they should have beaten earlier in the year. But the Bengals — who again resembled the Bungles in losing to Oakland last week — will be fired up for this one.
Quinn just doesn’t have enough weapons to win against that Bengals defense. I wish I were wrong, but I see Cincy coming out on top, 34-20.
Last week my picks went 11-4 for a season mark of 88-70.
I’m picking Green Bay over Detroit, Dallas over Oakland and Denver over the NY Giants. (What? They already played those games?)
OK, following are the rest of this week’s predictions (betting line in parentheses just for fun):
Houston (plus 3) over Indy
Minnesota (-91/2) over Chicago
Philly (-9) over Washington
Miami (-3) over Buffalo
Tennessee (no line) at Arizona
St. Louis (plus 21/2) over Seattle
Atlanta (-11) over Tampa
Carolina (plus 3) over NY Jets
Jacksonville (plus 3) over San Fran
San Diego (-131/2) over KC
New England (plus 3) over New Orleans
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