Football is a dangerous game. A player may have their season or even their career cut short on any given play. If you’ve ever met an ex-player, you can see the toll the game takes on their body by their gnarly hands or the way they walk. Football players know this and they accept this.

However, nobody expects to die on the football field.

But that almost happened to Pittsburgh Steelers safety Ryan Clark in 2007.  In a sport filled with ankle sprains and turf toes, Clark has one of the most unique medical ailments I’ve ever heard.  Although not official (yet), it’s almost certain he’ll sit out Monday against the Denver Broncos because of concerns over his health.  He’d be insane not to.

Clark has something called sickle cell trait. I’m neither a doctor nor a nurse, in fact even talking about blood makes me a bit queasy, so I’ll do my best to explain what that is.  Sickle cell trait is an abnormality in the blood that primarily affects African-Americans. Basically, their red blood cells, which carry oxygen throughout your body, are irregular. Ordinarily, this condition is not dangerous. However, situations involving extreme fluctuations in oxygen, such as heavy physical exertion or significant changes in altitude have been found to trigger major complications.

Which is exactly what happened to Clark in 2007 when the Steelers played out in Denver.  Playing NFL football in the Mile High City set off a catastrophic body response resulting in him having both his spleen and gall bladder removed. He lost 30 pounds and was lost for the season. In fact, going into 2008, the Steelers thought he may be lost for good. The fact he came back last year to not only play but have his best season as a pro speaks volumes about the man.

The team doctors have cleared Clark to play on Monday. However, it looks as if Mike Tomlin put the kibosh on that by taking the decision out of Clark’s hands. Good for him. Although I’m sure the doctors wouldn’t put him at risk if they had any serious doubts, ten seconds of googling reveals some pretty scary information. Kidney failure and stroke are but two possible complications of sickle cell trait. I can understand asking a player to man up and risk a future hip replacement or gimpy knee but a stroke?  Um, no.

So Monday Night, the Black and Gold will probably be playing their latest “Biggest game of the season” without the services of Ryan Clark. Ordinarily, I’d be bothered by the loss of our awesome starting safety. However, in this case, I’m actually happy. Of course, I’ll be a lot happier if the Steelers can win one for Ryan.

The beleaguered Pittsburgh Steelers defense was dealt a crippling blow yesterday when it was announced DE Aaron Smith is likely gone for the next three months. Head coach Mike Tomlin at his Tuesday cliche-fest press conference said Smith suffered a torn rotator cuff during Sunday’s game against the Lions. No specifics were given on exactly when or how this injury occurred. A torn rotator cuff is an odd injury as outside of quarterbacks and Pittsburgh Pirates #1 draft picks, this is the first time I’ve heard of it in football.

In fact, I neglected to mention anything being awry during my obnoxiously long post-game recap because, well, nobody knew Smith was hurt. Evidently, he was injured sometime in the third quarter but other than missing a handful of snaps here and there, he continued to play. I suffer indescribable pain from a pebble in my shoe so I can’t imagine engaging in trench warfare with a blown out shoulder. Aaron Smith is officially a man’s man.

The loss of Smith comes just as the Steeler D is expecting superstar safety Troy Polamalu back. Although Troy should help solidify what has become a horror show of a secondary, losing Smith creates a brand new set of problems for Dick LeBeau and company. The saying, “If it wasn’t for bad luck…” comes springing to mind.

Smith is universally considered the best 3-4 end in the league. In normal speak, he’s really good at creating gaps for the linebackers to make plays. More importantly, he’s the key to our run defense. Before Smith tore his bicep in 2007, the Steelers were the #1 team against the rush. Shortly thereafter, they gave up over 200 yards to the Jaguars duo of Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew. I’m not so much worried about the running game this week but the week after that the Black and Gold plays this dude up in Minnesota, I forget his name, Adrian whatshisface…

We’re in trouble.

Unless of course somebody steps up in his place. The Steelers invested their 1st round draft pick this year in a defensive end by the name of Ziggy Hood. Unfortunately, in the words of Tomlin, “he’s not quite ready to come out of the oven yet.” Which means Ziggy is either still learning LeBeau’s defense or he’s the Muffin Man. Do you know the Muffin Man?

What made the Steelers defense special last season was the fact none of their key players missed any significant time.  This year, it’s been one catastrophic injury after the other.  Losing Casey Hampton or Willie Parker for a game or two isn’t that big of a deal because the drop-off with their backups isn’t so steep.  When you go from a stud like Smith to a platoon featuring the law firm of Kirschke, Eason, and Hood, that’s the Grand Canyon.

Yep, we’re in trouble.   Big trouble.

Thankfully, we finally have some football related news to announce as it relates to your defending Super Bowl Champion Pittsburgh Steelers.

2009 first round draft pick Evander “Ziggy” Hood has signed with the Black and Gold. He actually signed over the weekend but I was waiting to hear the details of his contract before posting about it. Unfortunately, the crack staff at our local paper(s) seem more preoccupied with the Pittsburgh Pirates annual red tag sale than getting that information to us. All I’ve seen is that the deal is believed to be for five years with $6 million dollars guaranteed.

Ziggy is only the fourth first rounder to sign this year. With training camp for most of the league mere days away, that’s a big ‘ol tub of holdouts.  Sorry, channeling my inner John Madden there.  I’m gonna miss that bitter doofus.

In Ziggy’s case, I’m guessing he signed quickly and rather reasonably because he realized he was a borderline first rounder going to a team with quite a few highly paid superstars. And it’s not like he’ll be worrying about his Giant Eagle Fuel Perks any time soon. Holding out wouldn’t do either party any good as Ziggy’s best bet in this situation is to show up, do his best, and trust the Steelers will take care of him when he proves himself.

I wouldn’t count on knowing what we have in Ziggy for quite a while, though. Defensive Coordinator/Mad Genius Dick Lebeau runs some of the most complicated schemes in the league. Rookies have very little chance of learning it well enough to see significant playing time in their first year. Even a total athletic freak like Pro Bowl S Troy Polamalu barely played his rookie year. So enjoy the ride, Ziggmeister, and we’ll keep an eye on you in 2011.