Ben & Getting Hit: Can He Survive?

by swissvale72 on Sep 15, 2009 7:32 AM EDT

In short..."Hell, yeah!"

One of the arguments, with which I'm personally growing impatient is the one related to Ben's survivability should he continue to be hit whilst attempting to pass.

Some have him as a latter day Mohammed Ali, knocked loose prematurely from his talents and his faculties. I say...get used to it, it's the cost of doing business with Ben. He'll not only survive, but will thrive.

Now, that said, last year, it did seem, in the words of Steve Young, that he was "seeing ghosts" after the jailbreak games of Philly and Baltimore early in the season, sometimes not holding the ball to long, of which he's often accused, but throwing early as though expecting to be hit.

He'll always be sacked alot, it's his game. He'll always take big hits, ala Javon Kearse last week. It's his game, and the cost of turning chicken poop into chicken salad, and sometimes chicken corden bleu.

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Ben's way of playing

has always been sort of a conundrum for me. It pisses me off to no end, but at the same time, no one can play QB like Ben can. He takes those hits because he can. I think he may even enjoy it a little. While he does it when I think he should have thrown, it makes Steelers football exciting to watch — yes, even when they go back 5 yards because Ben held onto the ball too long.

I would say that if it were any other QB in the league, then maybe they should reconsider their plays and start throwing more. But, Ben is an ox, and can take those hits.

"God blessed me with the talent I have." - Deebo

by steelersgrl on Sep 15, 2009 11:26 AM EDT reply actions

There are hits...

… and then there are sacks.

Ben gets sacked an awful lot. He gets dragged to the ground by his uniform, or someone wrapping up his legs. We often see Ben hunched over with a defender on his back as he rolls into the turf.

Ben doesn’t get hit all that often. The shot that Kearse gave him is the sort of bone-jarring slam we should be afraid of. This does not happen to Ben all that often. Sure it happens, but not every sack is a hit. Ben has great awareness and uses it to avoid the big hits.

by Varmint on Sep 15, 2009 1:04 PM EDT reply actions

Agree

It is when he gets sacked before he even has time to set up that drives me crazy and no doubt hurts him the most because they are usually the hardest hits he takes. He does take some needless ones but where do you make the cutoff between throwing it away or having a receiver break open at the last second. I think that depends on where you are on the field. If you’re inside either 30yrd line you throw it away. If your between the 30’s hang on as long as you can because a sack won’t take you out of field goal range or cause a huge set back in field postition.

by DarinS on Sep 15, 2009 4:28 PM EDT up reply actions

Getting hit

does not affect his game. But he only has 6 or 7 good years left & not 10+ because of those hits.

by steelerstyle on Sep 15, 2009 2:49 PM EDT reply actions

seems to me that this would be affecting his game…cutting his ability to play the game by 3 to 4 years sounds like an affect to me.

I'll drink your Milkshake, I'll drink it up!

by Frank Mineo (DYMS) on Sep 15, 2009 3:43 PM EDT up reply actions

How bout if it is worded

his effectiveness in games is not decreased by getting hit. Though he may need to retire nearer Aikman’s age than Favre’s age.

by steelerstyle on Sep 16, 2009 5:14 AM EDT up reply actions

I knew what you meant I was just being a jerk….

although I still think that if it will cut his playing career short it will affect his abilities at some point…I just don’t think in 2012 he will play at pro-bowl level, and then magically before the start of the 2013 season he won’t be able to play again because he is in such bad shape.

I'll drink your Milkshake, I'll drink it up!

by Frank Mineo (DYMS) on Sep 16, 2009 12:36 PM EDT up reply actions

Didn't mean to be a wet blanket

But after being on the clown site a few time this off season I’ve gotten very cautious about raising a ruckus.

Yes typically there is a downward slope at the end of a football carreer. By memory I don’t think Aikman, Montana, or Young decreased much before retiring.

by steelerstyle on Sep 16, 2009 7:56 PM EDT up reply actions

True enough

I'll drink your Milkshake, I'll drink it up!

by Frank Mineo (DYMS) on Sep 17, 2009 9:59 AM EDT up reply actions

Ben is this era's John Elway!

13 years and no playoff wins for the Dallas Cowboys... SWEET!

by idiscgolftexas on Sep 15, 2009 3:34 PM EDT reply actions

Or Favre

Favre has been sacked 473 times in his career, never missed a game. In his first nine years as a starter he got sacked less than 30 times just once. Both will take a hit to make a throw. Both are their own worst enemies.

by steeler.lifer on Sep 15, 2009 6:47 PM EDT up reply actions

you may not know this but ben was accidentally exposed to radiation at an Ohio military lab. at the time, he was a medically documented midget with little hope of growing beyond 3’ 5". something happened that day. he grew and morphed into Ricky Ben Bobby the super natural sloth. not many people know that he hit that car on his bike at over 230MPH. he cannot be hurt people. he cannot be hurt. now my life is in danger for telling you this.

by raven on Sep 16, 2009 1:06 AM EDT reply actions

Like thats a secret. . .

If Ben didn’t take the hits, he’d be Kerry Collins. Decent, playing to old age, with no important wins. Ever.

by Max Powers on Sep 16, 2009 8:42 AM EDT up reply actions

Was it the same lab where Flacco's eyebrow was slimed by nuclear sludge spawning incredible growth?

"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty." - Winston Churchill

by PixburghArn on Sep 16, 2009 8:57 AM EDT up reply actions

Short Career

Steeler fans just need to accept that Ben is going to take a lot of sacks, win a lot of games, win more superbowls and at the same time have a shorter career than a Brady or Manning.

by catesinator on Sep 16, 2009 12:14 PM EDT reply actions

All Time Greats get worse at QB

Why do some of the best QBs of all time start to become average later in their career? Is their arm that much weaker? Did they forget how to read D? Did they un-learn everything from the previous 10 years? No, they just got beat on too much and can’t take it as well. They’re not willing to stand in the pocket until the last second, make a great pass and get crushed. They throw the ball sooner than they did a few years ago, they duck a little quicker, and as a result they are not quite as good. It’s the Earl Cambell syndrome for QB. BB is bigger and tougher than most, but takes more hits also. His style of play will change by age 30, and he’ll be worse than he is now.

by steelerwheeler on Sep 17, 2009 11:19 AM EDT up reply actions