Bernard Pollard Reportedly Re-Broke 6 Ribs in Super Bowl Win

Whoever thinks the game of football is becoming "soft" probably shouldn't tell that to Baltimore Ravens safety Bernard Pollard, who played nearly the entire Super Bowl with six broken ribs.

The news comes from Ryan Mink of BaltimoreRavens.com:

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Bernard Pollard played all but one play of the Super Bowl with six broken ribs.

The Ravens safety broke six ribs over the course of the season. After sitting out the final three games of the regular season and having two weeks of rest before the Super Bowl, they were feeling pretty good.

That was until 250-pound 49ers tight end Vernon Davis landed squarely on Pollard’s ribs on the first play from scrimmage of Super Bowl XLVII.

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Pollard, who broke three ribs in Week 2 against the Philadelphia Eagles, another two in practice in November and the last on an accidental hit by teammate Ed Reed in Week 14, is the epitome of tough.

For those who haven't had a broken rib, just imagine everything being unbelievably painful: walking, breathing, picking up a glass of milk, sitting, staring, everything. 

Now, go ahead and multiply that by six and put yourself in the middle of hard-hitting gridiron battle with the highest of stakes.  That's more or less what Pollard has been experiencing over the majority of the past four-and-a-half months.

Yet he was still able to compete in 13 regular-season games, every postseason contest and the entire Super Bowl with the injury back at its peak. 

Pollard's play suffered slightly because of the injuries. According to Pro Football Focus (via Bleacher Report's Andrea Hangst), the polarizing safety ranked in the top 30 at his position this year after ranking in the top 10 last year.

In the Super Bowl, he finished with just two tackles and bounced off Michael Crabtree on his touchdown catch, the San Francisco 49ers' first touchdown.

But again, he was a major focal point of the Super Bowl-winning secondary despite having an injury that would render most of us to the couch.

Fortunately for the 28-year-old Pollard, he now gets plenty of time to heal up those ribs before getting in front of any large, barreling tight ends.

And I'm sure the thought of that Super Bowl ring will probably make the pain easier to bear. 

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