Don Pierson

Kids will be kids. Ben Roethlisberger reminded us in an ugly way he’s the youngest quarterback to win a Super Bowl. His unfortunate motorcycle accident revealed a sense of priorities that should alarm Pittsburgh Steelers fans. But should it surprise them?

By all accounts, the accident was not his fault. But not wearing a helmet was definitely his fault. He would be much safer playing football without a helmet.

Any athlete could get hurt in the offseason playing basketball or walking across a street. You can’t expect athletes to spend idle hours in a bubble. But somehow, it would have been much more surprising had the victim been Peyton Manning or Tom Brady.

You never hear about Brett Favre wrecking his lawnmower in Mississippi.

Any good quarterback knows the most important thing about the job is availability. Roethlisberger has played only two years, not long enough to grasp the big picture, but maybe long enough to be satisfied.

After winning a Super Bowl at such a young age, what is there left for Ben Roethlisberger to prove? What challenges him? What excites him? What thrills him?

Apparently, the feel of the wind whistling through his hair is more appealing at the moment than the feel of another Super Bowl ring. Where would he put a second one anyway?

Roethlisberger already goes down in history ahead of Dan Marino on the list of Super Bowls won.

Athletes thrive on challenges. They often need an element of risk in their lives. That’s why Michael Jordan nearly lost his career by gambling. Jordan, by the way, also got into racing motorcycles after retirement, although more as sponsor of a racing team than driver.

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Maybe the NFL has come so easy to Roethlisberger that he takes it for granted. The day he got hurt, the statistical service STATS revealed that he has averaged 8.9 yards per pass attempt in each of his first two seasons in the NFL.

His yards per attempt led all NFL quarterbacks in 2005, and his two marks are the best ever posted in a single season by a Steelers QB who has averaged 14 attempts per team game.

Roethlisberger’s passer ratings of 98.6 in 2005 and 98.1 in 2004 rank as the top two single-season marks in Pittsburgh history, among quarterbacks who have averaged 14 attempts per team game.

The Steelers are 26-6 over the last two regular seasons, but just 4-2 without Roethlisberger at the helm.

Take away all punters and kickers, and Roethlisberger is the only other NFL player with a punt in 2005. He punted twice for a respectable 36-yard average.

What is there left to do but to climb onto a motorcycle and ride?

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This is in contrast to Kellen Winslow Jr., who got seriously hurt in a motorcycle accident two years ago after he was drafted by the Cleveland Browns before he ever played a game. At least Roethlisberger has the excuse of seeking new thrills.

NFL Players Association president Troy Vincent of the Buffalo Bills cautions against implementing any sort of league-wide ban on dangerous activity. Certainly, it will never become part of a labor agreement.

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“You don’t want to tell a guy what he can’t do and what he can do,” Vincent said. “All you can say is, ‘Take advantage of this window of opportunity. Be smart.’”

Individual teams can write such clauses into individual contracts if they think it is necessary. You wouldn’t think it would be necessary, but NFL teams also pay players extra to work out in the offseason.

Maybe Ben wouldn’t be Ben without taking such risk. Maybe if he wore a motorcycle helmet, he would be afraid to step up in the pocket and throw a pass when he knows he is going to get clobbered.