Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger took part in a limited role in practice on Wednesday and remains questionable for Sunday's game against the Raiders in Oakland.

Despite the limited activity, Roethlisberger wants to play and is hoping doctors will clear him to do so after he suffered a concussion against the Falcons last week.

"I feel good," said Roethlisberger before practice. "I'm just trying to get ready to get out there and help the team any way I can. I am going to try to play. If I am okay and coach and I talk, hopefully I can convince him."

Head coach Bill Cowher said that he will not entertain the thoughts of letting Roethlisberger play unless he is cleared by the team doctors, including neurosurgeon Dr. Joseph Maroon, who has met with Roethlisberger several times already.

"The first thing I want to do is make sure he is cleared medically," said Cowher. "At that point I will assess where he is at, watch him work, talk to him and make sure there is no apprehension on his part. After talking with him and watching him work, we will make a decision from there.

"I don't want to go to step two or three until we get past the first step. It's all speculation. He seemed good out there today. He seems very positive. We'll go from there."

Roethlisberger is expected to get some work in practice on Thursday as well, but it hasn't been determined yet how much.

"We'll see how he feels," said Cowher. "Hopefully he will be able to do more then. It will be a day-to-day evaluation. By the end of the week we will have a better sense of where he is at as far as his availability."

Roethlisberger suffered the concussion after being hit by three Falcons defenders after a pass attempt in the game.
"The last thing I remember is throwing the ball to Hines (Ward) and seeing those guys coming so I tried to duck out of it," he said. "As I ducked I remember getting hit in the chin and I felt like I busted my whole jaw. One of their players said something to me and that's the last thing I remember."

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Roethlisberger feels like the Steelers can make a run if they get the right combination of strong play and a little bit of luck.
"The funny thing about football is there is a lot of skill involved, but there is quite a bit of luck involved," he said. "It's about the ball getting tipped this wall or bouncing this way. We haven't been getting those breaks right now. We got those the last two years and it hasn't happened this year. We just have to keep playing this level of football and hope the ball will start bouncing are way."

By Teresa Varley
Steelers.com

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