Dhe old man with the graying beard makes a powerful impression. If you ask around among the experts of the National Football League (NFL), you will hear these words again and again. Sometimes exactly like that, sometimes something like that. But every time there is a touch of astonishment about this old man who creates something special with his team in a special season.
The Pittsburgh Steelers have won all eleven games of the strictly hygienic NFL round so far. This is unique in a league in which even the Super Bowl winner and top favorite for the next title, the Kansas City Chiefs, suffered a defeat. Which, by the way, is completely normal: The last time a franchise was able to win all 16 games of the “regular season”, ie before possible play-offs, was almost 14 years ago. And because many experts didn’t have the Steelers on their many lists at all before the season with the expected candidates for the American football throne, the astonishment is now even greater. No matter how the next few weeks go, Pittsburgh is already the discovery of the NFL season.
$ 253 million in 17 years
The old man that these praises arias are almost always about is called Ben Roethlisberger and is actually not that old. At 38 years of age, he is at least not yet Methuselah of the league, a title that superstar Tom Brady (43) has usurped like so many others after 47-year-old kicker Adam Vinitieri has not received a new contract this year. Somehow, however, Roethlisberger can’t get rid of this ascription, probably also because, with his now almost 17 years of service, he is part of the inventory of the NFL for many. On average, a professional career there lasts between two and a half and three and a half years, then it’s over. Because of injuries, mostly. But Roethlisberger, continuously under contract with the Steelers since 2004 and with a total salary of 253.2 million dollars (208.5 million euros) during this time, won’t give up anytime soon. Despite injuries.
Always everything in view: Ben Roethlisberger
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Bild: AP
The list of all his injuries recorded a total of 19 entries, ranging from concussions and a meniscus tear to a dislocated shoulder and broken ribs. The almost two meter tall and 108 kilogram heavy giant, who is called “Big Ben” because of his stature, missed almost the entire past season due to persistent pain in his elbow. What exactly was broken was never publicly communicated, but in the end Pittsburgh’s playmaker was on the operating table after two games. Quite a few thought at the time that it could actually have been with his career, in which he won the Super Bowl twice (2006 as the youngest quarterback in NFL history and in 2009) and six times for the prestigious space, despite the sometimes very static game -Star game “Pro Bowl” was nominated. And almost everyone said that even if they returned, they would hardly be enough for many successes. After all, he was already an old man.
But Roethlisberger didn’t want to give up so quickly, he never did anyway, and so he fought his way back this time as well. Laborious. Bit by bit. At first he was troubled by his lack of fitness and speed, which have never been the best, then for some time he lacked security in the limb. But a stable offensive line that protects the quarterback in football, an even more stable defensive and, this season, young pass recipients such as JuJu Smith-Schuster, Diontae Johnson, James Washington (all 24) and Chase Claypool (22) put it The foundation stone for an impressive comeback – and the impressive series of eleven victories in a row. The Steelers have never had a better start to an NFL season since they were founded in 1933.
“Coming back with such a performance at his age after such an injury says a lot about him,” said Alex Smith, quarterback for the Washington Football Team and an opponent from Pittsburgh this Monday (23:00 CET / live on Pro7 MAXX) and Roethlisberger, full of praise. “Not just about him as a player, but also about his work ethic and mentality.” 36-year-old Smith knows what he’s talking about: In a collision with two opposing players a year ago, he sustained an open fracture of his tibia and fibula . In the hospital, the wound became infected, and Smith had to fight for his nearly amputated leg and even for his life. It’s no less astonishing that he’s back on the field again this season.
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