Many individuals have given their take on the play that caused Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers' recent injury. A lot had thought that the hit was illegal, with some saying it was a dirty play. However, for Ben Roethlisberger, another NFL quarterback who has taken his share of hits, stated that the play was not dirty. He added that he has seen dirtier plays than that.
Roethlisberger recently sat down with CBS Sports Radio program "The Fan" and gave his thoughts about the injury. The Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback expressed his sadness to see one of his peers go down with injury.
"I hate to see that happen to Aaron. It's such a shame," said the athlete. "You hate to see a guy, like you said, one of your peers, go down like that. It makes you sick to know how bad he got hurt."
However, the quarterback said he did not think it was a dirty play. "Watching it, I didn't think it was dirty," he said. "I've seen dirtier. I feel I've been hit dirtier and no penalty has been called."
Roethlisberger recounted an incident in Jacksonville where he was hit hard out of the pocket, but the referee just told him that he was not afforded the same rules.
Still, Roethlisberger was sensitive enough to understand how Packers fans may feel about the hit. "If you're a Packers fan and an Aaron Rodgers fan, you're going to think it's dirty. Maybe I need to look at it closer," he said.
Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy, however, called the hit "illegal." "I didn't like the hit," said the coach. He said that Rodgers was "clearly expecting to get hit, but to pin him to the ground like that, I feel that it was an illegal act. I didn't like the hit. It was totally unnecessary in my opinion."
Rodgers suffered a broken right collarbone as a result of the play. In 2013, he also fractured his left clavicle and returned after seven weeks of rest and rehabilitation.
