Joe Starkey: Juiced for Jaguars

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Joe Starkey
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Wednesday, September 13, 2006

Something wild is going to happen Monday night.

We know this because the Steelers are playing the Jacksonville Jaguars -- and something wild always happens when these former division rivals meet.

In the aftermath of their most recent matchup, you'll recall, Tommy Maddox was picking garbage off his lawn. A year earlier, rookie quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was picking apart the Jaguars on national television.

Roethlisberger moved the Steelers 56 yards in six heart-stopping plays to put them in position for a field goal and a 17-16 lead with 18 seconds left. It wasn't over, though, until the Jaguars narrowly missed a 60-yard field-goal attempt as time expired.

But then, neither of those games could compare to the time Plaxico Burress spiked a live ball; the time Bill Cowher cocked his arm as if ready to punch a Jaguars player rumbling down the sideline for a touchdown; the time Jerome Bettis nearly died from an asthma attack; the time Kordell Stewart won his final start in a Steelers jersey (on a Dewayne Washington defensive play, no less); or the time Greg Lloyd accused Jaguars receiver Keenan McCardell of calling his wife and proceeded to knock McCardell silly.

Away from the play, of course.

Monday night's game at Alltel Stadium has built-in drama, with Roethlisberger's status in question as he recovers from a Sept. 3 emergency appendectomy. Cowher indicated during his weekly news conference Tuesday that even if Roethlisberger is cleared to play, it's not a done deal. The Steelers are going to be extra cautious.

That's understandable, because Roethlisberger is the franchise centerpiece.

"The kid's been through a lot," Cowher said, referring to both the near-fatal motorcycle accident in June and the appendectomy. "That's the thing I want to make sure of, that he is comfortable and feels good about himself. We'll make the decision at that point."

Here's the dilemma: It seems unlikely Roethlisberger will be 100 percent healthy. Do you play him if he's, say, 85 percent and medically cleared? Do you play him if he practices poorly?
Yes and yes.

There's a reason the big boy got that $9 million signing bonus, and it wasn't to wear a backwards ball cap on the sideline. The Steelers survived a game without Roethlisberger. Charlie Batch played great. But this team will need Roethlisberger's mobility and sublime talent in what promises to be a hostile environment against a very good team.

Even if the Jaguars' pass rush is severely hampered by the loss of Reggie Hayward, Roethlisberger gives the Steelers their best chance. He also has a history of performing well when hurting, so a terrible practice or two shouldn't prevent him from getting the call.
Besides, the Steelers can't afford the luxury of waiting around until he's perfectly healthy. The schedule is too harsh. After Jacksonville comes a home game against Cincinnati -- that didn't work out too well on a short week last season -- followed by trips to San Diego and Atlanta sandwiched around a home game with Kansas City.

That's life as the defending Super Bowl champion.

You have to believe Cowher already has a good idea Roethlisberger will play, but it would be no surprise to see the suspense drawn out until kickoff -- at which time the real drama would begin.

Given the history of this series, one can only imagine what the night might bring.

Joe Starkey is a sports writer for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. He can be reached at jstarkey@tribweb.com