Roethlisberger has surgery; Batch to start
Ben Roethlisberger is out for the second time in a month with an injured knee. The Pittsburgh Steelers can only hope they play better without the NFL’s top-rated passer than they did during his last absence.
Roethlisberger had arthroscopic surgery Thursday to remove a damaged piece of cartilage from his right knee and will miss Sunday’s game at Green Bay and, possibly, the Nov. 13 game against Cleveland. Coach Bill Cowher said the normal recovery time is 10 to 14 days, and the quarterback’s status will be evaluated next week.
Cowher said Roethlisberger wanted to keep playing, but the Steelers (5-2) – only a half-game out of the AFC North lead – didn’t want to risk losing him for four to six weeks if the injury worsened and developed into a bone bruise. The team then decided to have the operation done immediately, and the procedure took only 15 minutes.
“He wants to play through everything,” Cowher said. “But I feel good that we did what we did and took a proactive approach to it.”
Charlie Batch, a former Detroit starter who has thrown only eight passes in four seasons, has moved ahead of Tommy Maddox on the depth chart and will start Sunday.
Maddox had four turnovers in a 23-17 overtime loss to Jacksonville on Oct. 16.
Fan treatment bothers Saints owner
The Saints say owner Tom Benson has not yet decided whether he will be at Sunday’s game against Chicago in Baton Rouge, La., and frustration caused him to send an e-mail to the NFL saying he would not attend any more games at LSU’s Tiger Stadium this season or next.
Saints spokesman Greg Bensel said that Benson was upset by his treatment from fans after the Saints’ 21-6 loss to Miami on Sunday in Baton Rouge.
Benson, who attended the game with his wife, Gayle, granddaughter and grandson, was involved in an altercation with a WWL-TV cameraman and a fan as the owner and his family left the stadium near the end of the game.
Copies of Benson’s e-mail to NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue, were obtained by the Times-Picayune and WWL-TV in New Orleans.
In the e-mail, Benson called security “inadequate to nonexistent” and claimed that he and his family members “could have all been severely injured or killed.”
Notes
Receiver Terrell Owens returned to practice and was upgraded to questionable, a day after he was listed as doubtful for Philadelphia’s game at Washington on Sunday. Meanwhile, quarterback Donovan McNabb missed his second straight practice with a rib injury and was downgraded to questionable. … Joey Harrington, the Detroit Lions quarterback who sat out the previous two games in favor of Jeff Garcia, will be running the NFL’s 29th-ranked offense on Sunday at Minnesota, coach Steve Mariucci said. Garcia is questionable for Sunday’s game after taking several hard hits in a 19-13 overtime loss to division-leading Chicago. … San Diego’s Mike Scifres agreed to a four-year contract extension through 2011 that his agent said makes him the NFL’s highest-paid punter. … Chicago Bears defensive lineman Terry “Tank” Johnson was placed on probation for 18 months after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor gun charge.