Despite injury, Ben will do what he does best

By Ron Cook, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/
January 8, 2012

PITTSBURGH, PA - DECEMBER 08: Ben Roethlisberger #7 of the Pittsburgh Steelers throws a pass against the Cleveland Browns during second half of the game on December 8, 2011 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images)

Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger says offensive coordinator Bruce Arians is like "a grandfather." Arians prefers "crazy uncle." The two are extremely close. Know that going in.

"He's a first-ballot Hall of Famer in my mind," Arians said of Roethlisberger. "He's won two Super Bowls and been to a third. He's not done with Super Bowls, I believe. Even if he stopped right now, he'd be a first-ballot guy."

The man gets no argument here.

Roethlisberger will play in more Super Bowls, win more Super Bowls and ultimately be remembered as the greatest quarterback in Steelers history.

That leads to today's question:

Is Roethlisberger healthy enough to get the Steelers to the Super Bowl this season?

"I think so," he said late last week. "I know I'm going to take some hits. I know that. But I plan on being like Cool Hand Luke. I'm going to keep getting up ...

"I think I can make it all the way."

Are you willing to bet against Roethlisberger?

I'm not.

I know Roethlisberger will be considerably less than full-go today in Denver when the Steelers play the Broncos in an AFC wild-card playoff game. It's hard to imagine him being full-go at any point during this postseason because of his famously sprained left ankle. Roethlisberger said he's OK with that. Unlike the many second-guessers out there who think they are medical experts -- you know who you are -- he said he has no regrets about how he and the team handled his injury after he first went down in the second quarter against Cleveland on Dec. 8. He came back to play that night in the second half -- basically on one leg -- and led the Steelers to a 14-3 win. He played against San Francisco on Dec. 19 and threw three interceptions in a 20-3 loss. He sat out against St. Louis on Dec. 24 and watched backup Charlie Batch perform well in a 27-0 win. He played against Cleveland a week ago in a 13-9 win and looked relatively mobile before tweaking the ankle in the third quarter.

"I don't even know when it happened," Roethlisberger said. "The doctors basically told me there would be at least two or three times during the game when I'd feel like I re-injured it, but that the pain would only last for a minute or so and then be gone. When it still was hurting two series later, I figured they either were lying to me or I did something else to it. I probably set it back a week."

I can just hear the screams if Roethlisberger plays poorly today and the Steelers somehow lose to a mediocre Denver team with a really awful quarterback, Tim Tebow.

Many people already are yelling that coach Mike Tomlin shouldn't have played Roethlisberger -- not to mention center Maurkice Pouncey, who is out today with his own high-ankle sprain -- against Cleveland last week even though the game could have meant a No. 1 or No. 2 playoff seed.

Many others are yelling that Tomlin blew it by allowing Roethlisberger to play against San Francisco even though the Steelers could have taken control of the AFC North Division with a win.

The second-guessers are dead wrong.

The only mistake Tomlin made was allowing Roethlisberger to play the final nine minutes against the 49ers after the fight was over. That was ridiculous.

"I don't regret anything," Roethlisberger said. "I always want to play.

"The only time I had any doubts was going into the San Francisco game. I battled the [decision] to play or not play, almost to the point of tears. Guys were coming up to me and telling me I had to play. I didn't want to let them down. At the same time, I didn't want to play bad and not give them a chance to win. Battling that feeling was hard for me."

Roethlisberger answered the obvious follow-up questions even before they were asked.

"Would we have been better off with Charlie in there? Maybe. Did I hurt the team? I threw three picks. I guess you have to say that."

The Steelers offense with Roethlisberger has not been functional since his injury in the first Cleveland game. He hasn't thrown a touchdown pass since his 79-yarder to wide receiver Antonio Brown late in that game sealed the win. He led only one touchdown drive in his past two starts.

Here's my problem:

I'm not smart enough to say how much Roethlisberger's ankle contributed to his ineffectiveness. Tomlin said he didn't think it had any impact on his performance. That's silly. But was it 50 percent of Roethlisberger's problems? 75 percent? What part did the "brutal [wind] conditions" -- Roethlisberger's words -- play in Cleveland last week? And isn't it possible Roethlisberger just happened to have two bad games?

"I'm always going to lean that way," he said. "I left a lot of plays out there. I have to be better."

I'm thinking today will be the day.

Roethlisberger is 10-3 in the postseason.

"I can't really explain why," he said. "It's not like I've always had my best games. I guess it's just doing what you have to do to find a way to win."

Arians said Roethlisberger has done it enough to merit his Hall of Fame endorsement.

"What do you expect your grandfather to say?" Roethlisberger asked, grinning.

Or your crazy uncle, for that matter?

"Seriously, it means a lot coming from a guy like that," Roethlisberger said. "He's coached some of the best. He coached Peyton Manning. It's awesome to hear even if it is premature."

Roethlisberger agreed with Arians that there are more Super Bowls in his future. It's hard to imagine it happening this season, not necessarily because of his ankle but because these Steelers have not been a good road team. But Roethlisberger believes. This season. Next season. The season after that ...

"We've got something special here," he said. "We've got a lot of great young players. As long as they don't get crazy and change the offense -- that can really set you back -- the sky is the limit for this team."

Translation for Steelers management:

"Please don't even think about bringing in a new offensive coordinator. B.A. is just fine."

Talk about hearing screams.

Roethlisberger is in position today to shut up a lot of the Arians critics and the Tomlin critics, as well.

I'll write it again: I'm not betting against him. Bad ankle? So what?

"I love this time of year," Roethlisberger said. "I love playing in these games."

I don't know about you.

I love watching him.

Ron Cook: rcook@post-gazette.com. Ron Cook can be heard on the "Vinnie and Cook" show weekdays from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. on 93.7 The Fan. More articles by this author

Limited by his 'awesome' ankle, Ben Roethlisberger content with passing grade in Pittsburgh's victory

By Jodie Valade, The Plain Dealer
http://www.cleveland.com/sports/
January 2, 2012

CLEVELAND, OH - JANUARY 01: Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger #7 of the Pittsburgh Steelers throws to a receiver as Ramon Foster #73 blocks defensive lineman Phil Taylor #98 of the Cleveland Browns at Cleveland Browns Stadium on January 1, 2012 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Matt Sullivan/Getty Images)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Ben Roethlisberger didn't limp his way to his locker. The quarterback's tender left ankle wasn't too swollen to slip into his slick, leather boots, and it wasn't too sore for him to stand as he spoke following Sunday's 13-9 triumph over the Browns.

The high ankle sprain that the Steelers QB suffered the last time he faced Cleveland on Dec. 8, which forced him out of last week's game against St. Louis, wasn't so painful that he couldn't be on the field Sunday. It could, in fact, be summed up with one word.

"Awesome," said Roethlisberger, flashing his toothy grin.

It was sarcasm from a tough competitor. Pittsburgh had to hope Cincinnati could topple Baltimore to capture the AFC North title Sunday, which didn't happen. But although the Steelers' fate wasn't entirely in their own hands, Roethlisberger still played with a brace on his left ankle.

He wasn't spectacular. He wasn't terrible. But Roethlisberger wanted to test his ability before the playoffs, and he delivered the same gritty performance he often has in his Steelers career, completing 23 of 40 passes for 221 yards.

"I didn't really know what to expect," he said, "but I'm still standing here."

His mobility was limited, and he was sacked twice. But he also led Pittsburgh on two decisive scoring drives in the third quarter that meant the difference in the outcome.

"I'd give myself a C-minus," Roethlisberger said. "So would you call that below average? Or is that average? I don't know, I wasn't very good at school."

Whatever the case, it was another victory for the Steelers, who have dominated the old rivalry. Roethlisberger, the Findlay native who attended Miami, is 14-1 against his home-state Browns.

Roethlisberger was at his best just after halftime, when the Steelers faced a 6-3 deficit. He completed three passes on the opening drive of the third quarter, setting up Shaun Suisham for a 29-yard field goal.

One series later, after safety Troy Polamalu's interception put the ball on the Cleveland 43, Roethlisberger's passes to Antonio Brown and Hines Ward preceded Isaac Redman's seven-yard touchdown run that gave the Steelers a 13-6 edge.

"You can't tell [he's hurt]," Brown said. "You have no clue. Everyone's going out there with something wrong with them. We've just got to be able to persevere."

Roethlisberger said his ankle felt better than two weeks ago against San Francisco, when he completed 56.8 percent of his passes in a 20-3 loss. But he would have preferred to have next week off to rest instead of preparing to play at Denver in the first round of the playoffs.

"Of course he's not 100 percent, but there are many guys out there at this time of year who aren't," Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said. "That's the nature of the game, particularly at this time of year."

Cleveland Browns' Scott Paxson's hit on Ben Roethlisberger still being felt

By Tony Grossi, The Plain DealerThe Plain Dealer
http://www.cleveland.com/sports/
December 31, 2011

Browns defensive linemen Scott Paxson, bottom, and Brian Schaefering bring down Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger during their game Dec. 8. Roethlisberger suffered a high ankle sprain on the play and sat out last Saturday's game. (Christopher Horner, AP/Pittsburgh Tribune Review)

Browns highlights against the Pittsburgh Steelers have been scarce in the Ben Roethlisberger era. One of them was produced Dec. 8 by Scott Paxson.

Scott Paxson?

Yes, he was the guy who toppled the towering Pittsburgh quarterback with a low hit while Brian Schaefering hit him high. As Roethlisberger crumpled to the ground, the two backup defensive tackles fell on him.

"They hit him from opposite sides," Browns defensive coordinator Dick Jauron said. "One of them was going down, and he just got twisted underneath them. It was really remarkable that [Roethlisberger] came back."

Roethlisberger was taken inside for X-rays. After halftime, he limped back to the Steelers' bench, hobbled by what later was diagnosed as a Grade I high ankle sprain. He heroically completed that 14-3 victory against the Browns with a bunch of short passes, one of which Antonio Brown turned into a long touchdown.

Roethlisberger hasn't shaken off the injury. After a painful performance in a loss in San Francisco and then a week off, he expects to play Sunday in the season finale at Cleveland Browns Stadium.

"I hope there's much more to come [from me]," Paxson said of his impact on the Steelers' season. "I hope that's just the start."

Paxson doesn't hate the Steelers like the typical Browns fan, though he has good reason to.

As a high school star in Philadelphia, Paxson was recruited by most of the college football powers in the East. Western Pennsylvania wasn't on his radar.

"Pittsburgh didn't exist [in my mind]," he said. "Pittsburgh feels like 'We're real football' and Philly kids are just 'city kids.' "

Paxson signed with Penn State, thinking he'd be the next Kyle Brady, its legendary tight end. He wound up playing defensive end.

"One of our coaches sat me down once and showed me video of Courtney Brown," Paxson said of the 2000 Browns' No. 1 draft pick. "I was like, 'Coach, I'm sorry. I can't do those things.' I mean, Courtney Brown was a freak."

After Penn State, Paxson was signed as an undrafted free agent by, of all teams, the Pittsburgh Steelers. This was in 2006. In four years, the Steelers waived Paxson six times. Six times.

"At that time, they were the No. 1 defense," Paxson said. "One year, they were No. 3. Another year, they were No. 2 or No. 1. I was basically third string, second string, on the No. 1 or No. 2 defense. I played both [end and tackle].

"I filled in for [Casey] Hampton, [Brett] Keisel, played on special teams. Anything to keep my butt there, I was doing. It was a lot of learning.

"Those guys were a little better, and I couldn't find a situation where I could get on the field."

After the sixth release from Pittsburgh, Paxson spent all the 2010 NFL season "on the streets . . . doing odds-and-ends jobs and working out for teams."

The Browns worked him out and sent him home. In January, they called to offer what amounted to a training camp tryout.

He made the final roster but received little playing time until midway through the season. Lately, he's been averaging about 20 snaps a game in relief of No. 1 pick Phil Taylor and mainstay tackle Ahtyba Rubin.

"Pax is great," Jauron said. "He's a great teammate, a very solid player. He plays the one and three technique for us. Plays them well. He's always trying to do it exactly as he's told. He's got a feel for it. A very tough guy. He takes his reps, takes other people's reps, never complains."

Paxson, 28, is hopeful he has finally found a home in the NFL.

"A real good thing about me is just being a good character guy, a smart guy, knowing the defense, a reliable backup," he said.

In parts of four seasons with the Steelers, Paxson appeared in only one game and was never active for a game against the Browns.

"I would say this rivalry means a little more to me now because this is the team I'm with and I'm playing," he said.

Paxson's sack of Roethlisberger could ultimately affect the Steelers' season more than James Harrison's cheap-shot helmet hit on Colt McCoy affected the Browns' season. If Roethlisberger is subpar in the playoffs, the Steelers aren't going anywhere.

Still, Paxson wasn't deluged with Cleveland fan mail after the sack.

"I just got a couple of texts from my buddies in Pittsburgh telling me not to come back anytime soon," Paxson said.

Big Ben makes big stand

By Dejan Kovacevic, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/
Friday, December 9, 2011

PITTSBURGH, PA - DECEMBER 08: Ben Roethlisberger #7 of the Pittsburgh Steelers throws a 79 yard touchdown pass to teammate Antonio Brown #84 against the Cleveland Browns during the game on December 8, 2011 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images)

Ben Roethlisberger stood in the long shadow of the Steelers' goal posts
late Thursday night, not a soul nearby, and simply watched as Antonio
Brown caught his pass and took off.

Then, as Brown ran farther and farther down the right sideline,
Roethlisberger turned to Heinz Field's big scoreboard for a better view
of the end of the play.

Turned gingerly, too.

One foot at a time, to avoid further tweaking to the high left ankle
he'd badly sprained an hour earlier, to the injury he later described as
"the worst pain I've ever felt in my life."

By the time the prodigious Brown was done with his 79-yard touchdown,
the one that drove a stake in the Cleveland Browns with 2:52 left, no
one was celebrating with Roethlisberger, no one congratulating him.
Everyone had run downfield to help Brown.

Not that he minded.

"I'm glad he made it," Roethlisberger said. "I'm not sure if I'd have
been able to get down there if we had to run another play."

Roethlisberger laughed, but his reaction after the play might have told
this story best: He bent forward, put his hands on his knees, looked to
the ground, then glanced back up at the scoreboard one more time.

Steelers 14, Browns 3.

It's a fine line, to borrow the terminology of one William Laird Cowher,
when it comes to playing through injury. It's the line between bravery
and foolishness, between helping the team win and hurting the team in
the long run.

But it's never been a blurry line for the NFL's toughest quarterback:
The only line that matters is the finish line.

"Ben's the toughest guy on this team," defensive end Brett Keisel said.

"Takes a lot to get that man out of the game," backup quarterback
Charlie Batch said. "You need a stretcher."

Roethlisberger's ability to overcome injury is, depending on the
viewpoint, the stuff of legend, the object of ridicule or somewhere in
between.

Sorry, not this one.

With 6:08 left in the second quarter, Cleveland defensive tackle Scott
Paxson drove hard -- but cleanly -- into Roethlisberger's left thigh.
That caused the leg to contort hideously and the ankle, in particular,
to buckle in a way that silenced even the vendors. Those who could see
TV replays gasped.

But no one, from the sound of it, was more horrified than
Roethlisberger.

"I thought my leg was broken, to be honest," he said. "I thought I'd
look down and see my foot coming out or something. I didn't know what to
think."

Roethlisberger stayed down for about three minutes, then was escorted to
the locker room.

No way was he coming back.

Even Roethlisberger's most ardent critics, those who call him "drama
queen" and other insults related to milking his various injuries, even
they had to be sure this was Batch's game - maybe his season - to win or
lose.

Batch sure thought so.

"Grabbed my helmet right away," he said.

At halftime, though, X-rays showed no break. There was no MRI, which
would show a far more detailed image of the ligaments. Those will come
today, and, given Roethlisberger's agonizing-just-to-watch limp
afterward and declaration that his ankle "feels like it's going to
explode," the news might worsen.

As it was at halftime, the Steelers' doctors gave their blessing,
according to coach Mike Tomlin, and that was enough. With less than a
minute before kickoff, Roethlisberger emerged from the tunnel and
hastily zipped through warmup snaps and tosses.

"I had a lot of doubts if I'd get back out there," he said. "But I
didn't want to let the team down."

When he took the field, the crowd stood and roared. But he could barely
move, and a few throws were off target. On one play, he nearly fell on
his face in executing a simple handoff to Rashard Mendenhall. But he
adjusted, as he has before, staying in the pocket and working out of the
shotgun. And he connected with Brown when it counted most, lifting the
Steelers to a key victory that has them at an AFC-best 10-3.

His final tally was 16 of 21 completions for 280 yards and two
touchdowns.

After Roethlisberger's reaction to the Brown touchdown, at least one
person in the stadium noticed he was alone. That's when left tackle and
longtime friend Max Starks trotted out to the field, where the two
embraced.

"I saw everybody else was down there with Antonio," Starks said, "and I
knew Ben would want to be down there, too. That play started with him."

Everything the Steelers do starts there.

PITTSBURGH, PA - DECEMBER 08: William Gay #22 of the Pittsburgh Steelers intercepts a pass by in front of Mohamed Massaquoi #11 of the Cleveland Browns during the game on December 8, 2011 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images)

Game balls

Ben Roethlisberger, Steelers QB: Forget the 16 of 21 for 280 yards and two TDs. There’s no one in the NFL tougher at his position.

William Gay, Steelers CBL: His late interception was only part of another sterling coverage performance that included three passes defensed.

Antonio Brown, Steelers WR: His 79-yard TD with 2:52 left sealed it up, and he finished with five catches for 151 yards. And the guy didn’t start.

Facing Roethlisberger offers opportunity for Bengals

Young team can prove its mettle by defeating Big Ben

by Paul Daugherty
The Cincinnati Enquirer
http://news.cincinnati.com/
December 4, 2011

KANSAS CITY, MO - NOVEMBER 27: Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger(notes) #7 of the Pittsburgh Steelers passes during the game against the Kansas City Chiefs on November 27, 2011 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

As they approach Sunday's game at Pittsburgh, the Bengals are a team on the cusp. This isn't a "statement" game or a "manhood" game. As much as we hype it as a key to their playoff hopes, it's not that, either. The 7-4 Bengals can lose to Pittsburgh and still finish 10-6, which should be good enough for the postseason.

It will be revealing, though. One team is young and improving, exceeding expectations in a way that foretells a shiny future. The other is aging and proud and living as much on its wits as its ability. The Bengals and Steelers are two teams passing on a staircase. The Bengals are heading up.

At some point, the Bengals should surpass Pittsburgh, at least for a few seasons. The wonder is when. It could be as soon as Sunday. Probably not, though. The Bengals don't have Ben.

Ben Roethlisberger has a quarterback's arm on a tight end's body, complete with Fred Astaire's feet. He has the fearlessness of a wideout running across the middle. Roethlisberger isn't Aaron Rodgers, who throws passes you could hang on a wall. He's not a classic like Peyton Manning. He's more like who Tim Tebow could be, if Tebow ever learned to play the NFL way.

He has a trophy case of How'd-he-do-that moments. In a quarterbacks league, Roethlisberger is in the perfect situation, on the perfect team for his talents. A team with a weak-link offensive line, whose running game isn't as good as its reputation, paired with a quarterback who slides in the pocket like a puck on ice and who's OK with contact. Most NFL QBs, working behind Pittsburgh's offensive line, would look like a peace of rotten fruit by now.

If Roethlisberger had time to throw, he wouldn't know what to do with it. He'd probably run around, anyway.

"(Brett) Favre could do these things," Bengals defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer is saying. But Favre wasn't 6-foot-5. "Ben doesn't mind getting hit, His ability to extend plays is remarkable."

There was a play in Pittsburgh's too-close 13-9 win at Kansas City Sunday night that said all that needed saying. It was the only touchdown of the game. From the Chiefs 2-yard line, Roethlisberger dropped back, scanned everything and saw nothing he liked. At that point, some three seconds into the play, most QBs start looking for an exit and a row of seats where they can aim an uncatchable pass.

Not Roethlisberger. He waits and waits. He has a rusher bearing down on him. He waits some more. "We've had guys come at him from the blind side," Zimmer says. "He just kind of felt it and spun around it." Just like he did Sunday night. Roethlisberger made the smallest of moves, the slightest reconfiguration of steps, matadore'd a bull rusher and was free for another half-second. It was all he needed.

"The ability to feel the rusher come clean on the hug, sidestep him, keep his vision downfield, knowing he was going to have to wait for that guy to come open" was how Marvin Lewis defined the play.

The pass went to a rookie tight end named Weslye Saunders. Roethlsberger put it the only place it could be. "The coverage was good," Lewis noted. Thread, meet needle.

It's not just the tiny dancing, though, that makes Roethlisberger unique. He is a big man who doesn't mind getting hit. All this week, Zimmer has preached to his troops, "Run through him!" Meaning, anything less than full-frontal dedication will not work. "You're not going to arm-tackle him," Zimmer explains.

"You grab his jersey, it starts to slip. You not only have to be careful how you rush him, you have to be careful how you tackle him. If you leave your feet, bad things are going to happen."

Zimmer calls it "streetball mode." Roethlisberger eludes the first wave of rushers, leaves the pocket, then makes it up as a he goes along. "When the protection breaks down and he breaks out, you never really know where the ball is going.

"There's a big difference between feeling the rush and eluding it," says Zimmer. "The bad quarterbacks feel it and take off. Ben feels it and eludes it, or takes the hit."

Compared to Roethlisberger, Joe Flacco is an inanimate object. "There's no clock with him. It's not like you get to three or four seconds (after the snap) and stop rushing," Zimmer says.

The Bengals are in Pittsburgh Sunday, with an eye toward validating who they believe they've become, in this most surprising and satisfying of seasons. Their hopes will hinge on a rookie quarterback who has been very good, but who is not yet Ben. Roethlisberger is the only clear edge the Steelers have Sunday. It's a huge edge.

Bengals' Lewis: Roethlisberger playing at MVP-type level

by Kevin Goheen
Cincinnati Enquirer
http://news.cincinnati.com/
December 2, 2011

CINCINNATI, OH - NOVEMBER 13: Ben Roethlisberger(notes) #7 of the Pittsburgh Steelers throws a pass against the Cincinnati Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium on November 13, 2011 in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Steelers won 24-17. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)

The Bengals sacked Ben Roethlisberger five times the last time the teams played three weeks ago. They could have used a couple of more.

While the Bengals got consistent pressure on the Pittsburgh quarterback throughout the game, Roethlisberger escaped enough times and extended enough plays with his feet before finishing them off with his arm to help the Steelers pull out a 24-17 win on Nov. 13 at Paul Brown Stadium.

That’s the Roethlisberger Bengals’ head coach Marvin Lewis has said is playing at an MVP-type level. That’s the Roethlisberger the Bengals (7-4) are going to have to contain if they are to beat the Steelers (8-3) at Heinz Field Sunday.

Roethlisberger has completed 245-of-385 passes for 3,070 yards, 17 touchdowns and 10 interceptions this season and is on pace to better his own franchise records for attempts and yards in a season while adding the single-season completion mark to his resume. It’s not those raw statistics that gains Lewis’ attention, however.

“He is totally the catalyst of their offense and their football team,” said Lewis. “He makes (Kansas City linebacker) Derrick Johnson miss in the pocket last week and throws a perfect pass to a very well-covered tight end. He extends the play enough that the tight end was able to come open late, and he makes a perfect pass where only one guy can catch it. Those are things that maybe go unnoticed at times but are truly fine football plays.”

Roethlisberger has long been one of the NFL’s elite quarterbacks. He’s led the Steelers to two Super Bowl championships and a runner-up finish last season but at this time last year he was rehabilitating a reputation of being an immature, spoiled star athlete.

He was involved in a motorcycle accident in 2006 that resulted in a broken jaw and nose when he wasn’t wearing a helmet. Twice in his career he has been accused of sexual misconduct, although on neither occasion were charges brought against him. The NFL did suspend him for the first four games of last season for violating the league’s personal conduct policy.

He was married this past offseason. Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said too much is made of Roethlisberger’s personal life being a factor in his on-field performance but the fact is the only topic of discussion on Roethlisberger this year is his play.

“You watch the first game and it came down to three or four plays; that was the difference,” said Phil Simms, who will be the analyst for Sunday’s game for CBS. “It’s not all about his scrambling. The thing that goes unnoticed is how he can hang in there and his ability to change speeds on his throws. There were a couple of throws he really fired in there in the first game. He definitely is one of the top five quarterbacks in the league.”

Statistically he’s in the top 10 of most passing categories, including having the third-highest passer rating (107.7) on third downs. Even though he has been sacked 32 times this season – second most in the NFL – his scrambling abilities have proven valuable at those moments.

“(I’m trying) Not to get killed,” said Roethlisberger about his frequent trips out of the pocket. “It’s not planned. I’d much rather not do it but if I can extend a play because it’s so hard for defenders to cover guys during the course of the regular couple of seconds of a play let alone when you extend a play. It’s just really hard to do it. So many times our big plays come from that but it’s never an intended thing.”

The Steelers are throwing the ball on 60 percent of their play calls this season; they threw it 53 percent of the time last season. It is the highest percentage of passing plays the Steelers have called since Roethlisberger became the starter two games into his rookie season of 2004.

Only in 2009 have the Steelers been close to this pass-heavy of an offense; they threw the ball 58 percent of the time that season but finished 9-7 and missed the playoffs. Normally when they have strayed this far away from their traditional running game they have drawn the ire of fans. That hasn’t been the case this season.

“I think people are talking enough in talk radio and the media and the fans and they’re excited about the young receivers and the big-play potential,” said Roethlisberger. “They obviously still want us to be physical and still do those things but, I don’t know. You haven’t heard it nearly as much this year. It’s kind of refreshing, offensively.”

The Bengals game plan won’t change much from the first game. Getting to and bringing down Roethlisberger is a high priority.

“We got him five times but now we need to get him seven times,” said defensive end Frostee Rucker. “You know you have to play consistent against a team like this because they make their plays but you’ve got to put the fire out.”

No. 7 looms as No. 1 in toughness

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

By Ron Cook, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/

CINCINNATI, OH - NOVEMBER 13: Ben Roethlisberger(notes) #7 of the Pittsburgh Steelers throws a pass against the Cincinnati Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium on November 13, 2011 in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Steelers won 24-17. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)

The news out of Houston is not good. Quarterback Matt Schaub has a fractured right foot and will miss the rest of the season. The Texans, who would be the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs if they started today, are left with Matt Leinart -- a first-round draft bust in 2006 -- to guide their team down the stretch.

The news out of Kansas City is not good. Quarterback Matt Cassel could miss the rest of the season with a "significant" right hand injury. The Chiefs, very much alive in the AFC West Division race despite a 4-5 record, must turn to Tyler Palko, who has played sparingly in just four NFL games and thrown 13 passes since leaving Pitt after the '06 season.

The news out of Pittsburgh is not good. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has a broken right thumb and is expected to miss ...

Not one game.

Not one play.

Amazing.

Even Roethlisberger's harshest critics have to admit he is as tough as any NFL player. If you want to call him the toughest, you'll get no argument here. It's hard to say with any certainty that he would keep playing with Schaub's injury or Cassel's. But would you bet against him?

"You know me, if I can be out there, I'll be out there," Roethlisberger often has said. "I'm always going to fight for my guys right up to the time they carry me off on a stretcher."

That happened once. It's surprising it hasn't happened a bunch of times, considering Roethlisberger has been sacked 336 times -- including postseason games -- and hit countless other times in his 7 1/2-year career. In the final regular-season game in '08 against Cleveland, he was carted off with a concussion. You might remember him giving the thumb's up signal with his left arm to the Heinz Field crowd. He played two weeks later in the first playoff game and ended up leading the Steelers to the Super Bowl XLIII title, winning the game in the final seconds with a pretty sweet pass to wide receiver Santonio Holmes at the end of a pretty sweet drive.

Roethlisberger has missed just six of 134 games because of injury or illness. There have been many times when we've wondered how he picked himself up off the ground -- or a hospital bed -- to play:

• In '06, Roethlisberger had an emergency appendectomy and played against the Jacksonville Jaguars 15 days later. Earlier that summer, he was involved in a serious motorcycle accident.

• In '06, Roethlisberger had a concussion against the Atlanta Falcons and played the next week against the Oakland Raiders.

• In '06 -- it was a really tough year -- Roethlisberger was sacked nine times in a game at Baltimore, including once by linebacker Bart Scott, who bragged he could feel the air rushing out of the quarterback's body. Roethlisberger finished that game and still says it was the hardest he has been hit.

• In '10, Roethlisberger broke his right foot in a game at Buffalo and played the next week at Baltimore.

• In that Baltimore game, Roethlisberger broke his nose on a hit by defensive tackle Haloti Ngata early in the first quarter and finished the game, leading the Steelers to a win late in the fourth quarter. "I look like I went 12 rounds with Pacquiao," he said afterward. Much later he said of that night, "What makes me smile about it is I know people from Homestead, McKeesport, places all over the city ... real Steelers fans everywhere were watching and saw the blood all over the place. I hope they said, 'That's our guy. He's one of us. He never came out. He never quit. He's pretty tough.' "

• This season, Roethlisberger was sacked five times -- six if you count a play that was nullified by a penalty -- in the game at Houston. Teammates said they could hear him screaming after a hit on his right knee in the fourth quarter. He hobbled out of the stadium that day on crutches with his left foot in a walking boot. He played the next week against Tennessee and threw five touchdown passes.

It is worth repeating:

Amazing.

Starting with that Tennessee game, Roethlisberger has played the best football of his career. It's no coincidence the Steelers went 5-1 in that stretch to take first place in the AFC North Division. In those six games, he threw for more than 300 yards three times and had 13 touchdown passes with just four interceptions. The loss hardly was his fault; his 25-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Mike Wallace on a fabulous play late in the fourth quarter against Baltimore Nov. 6 gave the Steelers a 20-16 lead. The defense allowed the Ravens to drive 92 yards for the winning score in the final 2 1/2 minutes.

There's no reason to think Roethlisberger won't be just as effective when the Steelers next play Nov. 27 at Kansas City.

A broken thumb on his throwing hand would stop a lot of quarterbacks.

Not this guy.

Ron Cook: rcook@post-gazette.com. Ron Cook can be heard on the "Vinnie and Cook" show weekdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on 93.7 The Fan. More articles by this author

Big Ben vs. Whiz: Ice Bowl II

By Mike Bires
Beaver County Times
http://www.timesonline.com/
mbires@timesonline.com
October 20, 2011

Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and former assistant coach Ken Whisenhunt -- now the Cardinals' head coach -- worked together at a practice the Friday before Super Bowl XL in 2006. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)


PITTSBURGH -- There's a perception that the relationship between Ben Roethlisberger and Ken Whisenhunt is a bit on the cool side.

Apparently, Roethlisberger was never enamored with the way he was handled early in his career when Whisenhunt, now head coach of the Arizona Cardinals, was the Steelers' offensive coordinator.

It was Roethlisberger himself who hinted that there may be some tension between the two when asked about Whisenhunt before Wednesday's practice.

Although Roethlisberger wasn't asked specifically if he has any problems with Whisenhunt, part of his answer was "there are no grudges."

There is a small faction which believes if Roethlisberger would have given Whisenhunt a strong endorsement after Bill Cowher resigned that Whisenhunt may have been named coach before Mike Tomlin got the job.

"Whiz was good," Roethlisberger said. "It took me awhile to realize ... I think he was very good because I was a young quarterback. He really held those reins real tight. He felt that was the way to approach a young quarterback. There are no grudges. That's the way he wanted to do it.

"I mean, as a quarterback you want to go, and you want to do no-huddle stuff and have the opportunity to change plays and do things. But either he didn't feel I was ready for it or that his system was the way to go. That's his prerogative."

Roethlisberger, the 11th overall pick in the 2004 draft, became a starter in Week 3 of his rookie season after Tommy Maddox suffered an elbow injury. Roethlisberger went on to win all 13 of his regular-season starts. He didn't experience a loss until the Steelers lost in the AFC Championship Game to New England.

A year later, Roethlisberger became the youngest quarterback to win a Super Bowl.

In both those seasons, the Steelers had a great defense and ran a run-oriented offense. Roethlisberger threw 295 passes as a rookie and 268 in the 12 games he played in '05.

Since Bruce Arians succeeded Whisenhunt as offensive coordinator in 2007, Roethlisberger has thrown less than 400 passes only once. That was last year when he threw 389 passes after missing the first four games of the season while on suspension.

"Obviously, (Ben) was thrust in the starting role after Tommy got hurt in that second game, and a lot of that was making sure he was ready," Whisenhunt said of the way Roethlisberger was handled as a rookie.

"You always defer to your head coach -- a lot of our staff felt that was the approach we should take with him -- try to do things he was comfortable with and giving him those things. We felt we had a lot of good football players around him and we were able to run the football, and that always helps. But any time you've got a young quarterback and you're trying to bring him along, the biggest thing is assessing what he does well and trying to make sure he's put in the right situation. A lot of that was Coach Cowher. That's what he believed in."

Since Whisenhunt went to Arizona, the Steelers and Cardinals have played twice. The first time was in 2007 when the Cardinals won at home, 21-14. In that game, Roethlisberger didn't play particularly well. He threw for 244 yards and two touchdowns. But he also threw two interceptions and was sacked four times while compiling a 72.9 passer rating.

The next season, the Steelers beat the Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII. In that game, Roethlisberger posted a 93.2 passer rating. He threw an interception and was sacked once. But he threw for 258 yards and the game-winning touchdown, a 6-yard throw to Santonio Holmes with 35 seconds left to play.

"It was fun," Roethlisberger said when asked if that Super Bowl win was the greatest moment of his career. "It ranks up there pretty high."

When asked if he now appreciates how he was handled by Whisenhunt from 2004-2006, Roethlisberger gave the politically correct answer.

"Yeah, probably," he said. "Thankful? Who knows? Maybe I would have liked to have done some stuff. But I appreciate the way he coached me. He was a good coach."

Talk that changed nothing was a great conversation

Monday, October 10, 2011

By Ron Cook, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/

 

PITTSBURGH, PA - OCTOBER 9: Ben Roethlisberger(notes) #7 of the Pittsburgh Steelers celebrates his touchdown pass against the Tennessee Titans during the game on October 9, 2011 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)

Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger went to see offensive coordinator Bruce Arians last Monday, the day after the team took a 17-10 licking in Houston. He didn't like some of the things that happened with the offense. He wasn't comfortable with being sacked five times and hurried eight other times, not because of the significant physical toll the hits took, but because he felt like he was hurting the offense by holding the ball too long.

"We had a very candid conversation," Roethlisberger said.

Later that day, Arians sought out Roethlisberger to make sure the quarterback didn't misunderstand his message. He recalled this second talk Sunday: "Don't change. You're the best there is as young as you are. Why should you change because everyone is saying you're getting sacked too much?"

Turns out even the great ones need reminded occasionally of just how great they really are.

"It meant a lot coming from him," Roethlisberger said.

Maybe the quarterback and the coordinator should talk more often.

Roethlisberger played one of the best games of his career, throwing five touchdown passes in the Steelers' 38-17 win against the Tennessee Titans at Heinz Field. It was hard to believe he was the same guy who limped out of Houston's Reliant Stadium on crutches, wearing a walking boot on his sprained left foot.

"I'm not the only guy playing with an injury. I'm not going to complain about it," Roethlisberger told a media throng. Later, though, in a quiet moment, he acknowledged the pain was pretty bad. "But I can deal with pain. Once I found out there was no structural damage, I knew I would play. I don't want to let my guys down. I'll be out there until they take me off in a cart ... "

Said Arians, "I wouldn't trade him for anyone for that reason. He's always going to show up and give everything he has."

That was especially important in this game. It wasn't just that the Steelers were coming off the Houston loss and were 2-2. They were playing without injured linebacker James Harrison and defensive linemen Casey Hampton and Aaron Smith, three players who have combined for one NFL Defensive Player of the Year award, 10 Pro Bowls and three team MVP awards. Roethlisberger and the offense needed to be on. They were.

Injured offensive tackle Willie Colon might be Roethlisberger's closest friend on the team. He and defensive end Brett Keisel were in Roethlisberger's wedding this summer. He has seen Roethlisberger play hurt in many games.

"He knows the whole team is on his shoulders," Colon said. "It's going to take a lot to sit him down. He's just so tough. Physically, everyone knows he's an animal. But it's his mental toughness that separates him from other guys."

It helped that Roethlisberger was barely touched by the Titans. By my unofficial count, he was hit as he unloaded a shovel pass to running back Ike Redman in the second quarter and when he was sacked in the third quarter when defensive tackle Jurrell Casey beat right guard Ramon Foster. That's it.

The Steelers offensive line -- ridiculed after the Houston game and all season, really -- bounced back nicely. Left tackle Max Starks, who, as teammate Hines Ward put so eloquently, "was sitting on the couch last week," started and played 62 of 64 snaps. He had to go the distance because backup Jonathan Scott had to take over at right tackle in the second quarter for injured Marcus Gilbert (shoulder). There was more shuffling in the third quarter when center Maurkice Pouncey missed six plays with a minor knee injury. Left guard Doug Legursky jumped in at center with Trai Essex filling in at his guard spot.

"Ben always believes in our unit despite how we're playing," Colon said. "I can't tell you how much that means. He knows every guy in our room would take a bullet for him."

Roethlisberger acknowledged getting rid of the ball quickly, saying he didn't look for the "home run every play." He said he simply took what the Titans defense gave him. "They did a lot of soft zone stuff and that left Heath [Miller] and Hines open underneath. I was able to get them the ball and let them run with it."

Don't be fooled into thinking Roethlisberger has changed. He's still going to go for the home run when he thinks it's there. His final touchdown pass was a 40-yarder to wide receiver Mike Wallace.

"He was very sharp with all his reads," Ward said.

Roethlisberger did throw an interception late in the first half because of a miscommunication with Arians. The original play-call was for Roethlisberger to spike the ball to stop the clock. At the last second, he tried to change to a quick pass to wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders, who was lined up right with Ward and Wallace. None of the receivers heard that call and cornerback Cortland Finnegan wound up with an easy interception.

"Too bad because that play was open and would have gone a long way," Arians said.

You know it was a good day when that was all Arians had to complain about.

"We ran the ball a lot better and we blocked a lot better," he said. "It was a nice outing for everybody."

Especially for the tough-as-they-come quarterback.

Ron Cook: rcook@post-gazette.com. Ron Cook can be heard on the "Vinnie and Cook" show weekdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on 93.7 The Fan. More articles by this author

Big Ben embodies team resolve

By Dejan Kovacevic, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/?_s_icmp=nav_sports
Monday, October 10, 2011

PITTSBURGH, PA - OCTOBER 09: Ben Roethlisberger(notes) #7 of the Pittsburgh Steelers calls out signals at the line of scrimmage against the Tennessee Titans during the game on October 9, 2011 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images)

Through four games, I'd begun to think the Steelers' only viable option to preserve Ben Roethlisberger was to freeze him. You know, cryogenics. Store him away and save him for some other day, when he wouldn't be limping for his life on a sprained foot.

But for this one day, this 38-17 bounce-back body slam of the Tennessee Titans on a pristine Sunday at Heinz Field, a few other less creative options were unearthed.

Like, oh, blocking.

And executing plays quickly.

And having receivers work their routes correctly.

And establishing an honest-to-Franco running game.

And trying just about every reverse, play-action pass and fake punt in offensive coordinator Bruce Arians' playbook.

Funny how this works, but that sudden burst of competence helped Roethlisberger complete 24 of 34 passes for 228 yards and five touchdowns — second time in his career, one more than Terry Bradshaw — despite mobility that ranged somewhere between Kent Graham and the Mister Rogers monument. The sprained left foot had Roethlisberger limping before, during and after the game, but he held the pocket and, to borrow wide receiver Hines Ward's description, "played his tail off for us out there."

No one should dispute it or downplay it. But the hard truth is, neither the Steelers nor Roethlisberger had a choice. Someone needed to erase the stink of Houston, to avoid the amplifying doubts that would follow a 2-3 start. Someone needed to breathe life back into a franchise that surely was asking questions of itself that a lot of us had been asking for weeks.

Only one player on this roster has the singular ability to change that. Roethlisberger needed to step up, even if it was just on one foot.

"I just don't want to let my guys down," he said afterward. "I want to give them my best. I'll be there until they take me off on a cart, which has happened before. I want to put this team and this offense in the best position to win football games."

The best position, as Roethlisberger saw it, was to play without limitation.

I asked Arians if he had adjusted his playcalling in any way to compensate for the foot injury, and Arians swore that "not one thing" was changed. Earlier in the week, Arians went over play after play with his quarterback to check if he could run it, and Roethlisberger nodded with each. Before the game yesterday, recognizing a brick wall when he saw one, Arians told Roethlisberger: "Play football the way you know how. Don't change who you are just because people think you'll get sacked."

So it was that Roethlisberger shrugged off two game-opening incompletions by nailing his next four passes. The last was an 8-yard touchdown to tight end Heath Miller that pierced right between the 8 and the 3.

He was 3 of 4 on the next drive, capped by a 7-yard touchdown to Ward.

On the third drive, he handed off to Isaac Redman and Jonathan Dwyer repeatedly to get to the Tennessee 1. Once there, he and Arians turned to one of those plays that had been a concern to Arians, a rollout to the right. Roethlisberger ran across to fire a touchdown to tight end David Johnson, then slowly limped to the Steelers' sideline, which conveniently was in the same direction. He hunched over in clear agony.

"Ben said he could do it," Arians said. "You saw that he could."

Anyone still think Roethlisberger is faking or milking these things?

The man was sacked 14 times through four games, hit 21 other times, crushed from the blind side at least four times, had his right knee bent sideways by a cheap shot, and still suited up Sunday.

What more does the irrational faction of his critics want?

There was credit to go around: Redman and Dwyer battled far harder for their yards than Rashard Mendenhall had been doing. LaMarr Woodley finally showed up. Nose tackle Chris Hoke was receiving raves for his work as Casey Hampton's substitute. Troy Polamalu was ablaze. And the offensive line, led by Maurkice Pouncey back in Pro Bowl form and Max Starks back in the fold, was stunningly solid. Roethlisberger was sacked once.

Was it all real?

Let's wait and see. For this one day, linebacker Lawrence Timmons summed it up best when asked about all of the injuries: "We are the Pittsburgh Steelers. We're a tough team."

Let me take that to a different level: Ben Roethlisberger is the Pittsburgh Steelers, and he's never been tougher.

Broken beak is Ben's badge of Baltimore courage

Friday, September 09, 2011

By Ron Cook, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/steelers/

http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/

Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is helped off the field after his nose was broken from a punch by the Ravens' Haloti Ngata last season. (Peter Diana/Post-Gazette)

By now, you might have heard Ben Roethlisberger plays pretty well against the Baltimore Ravens. The Steelers have won seven games in a row in the contentious series with Big Ben at quarterback, including postseason wins last season and in 2008. They'll try to make it eight Sunday afternoon in Baltimore.

You probably also know some of Roethlisberger's signature moments against the Ravens. His five first-half touchdown passes and perfect 158.3 passer rating at Heinz Field in 2007. His winning 4-yard touchdown pass to Santonio Holmes with 43 seconds left at M&T Bank Stadium in '08. His 65-yard touchdown pass to Holmes in the AFC championship game at Heinz Field that same season. His winning 9-yard touchdown pass to Isaac Redman with 2:59 left at M&T Bank Stadium last season. The comeback he led from a 21-7 halftime deficit in a divisional playoff game at Heinz Field last season. His 58-yard pass to Antonio Brown to set up the winning touchdown in that game.

But you'll never guess the career highlight Roethlisberger most cherishes against the Ravens.

Would you believe it's his broken nose in the game in Baltimore last season?

"That was no fun, I can tell you that," Roethlisberger said during a quiet moment after practice this week. "It's hard enough playing those guys anytime, but it's really hard playing 'em when you can't breathe."

No, it wasn't fun -- Roethlisberger said doctors told him his nose "looked like corn flakes" -- but it surely was significant to him. He was clubbed in the face by Ravens nose tackle Haloti Ngata early in the game. Ngata wasn't penalized on the play -- further proof to a lot of Steelers people that the NFL really isn't as interested in protecting Roethlisberger as it is the Tom Bradys and Peyton Mannings -- although he was fined $15,000 the next day about the same time Roethlisberger was having surgery.

"What makes me smile about that is I know people from Homestead, McKeesport, places all over the city ... real Steelers fans everywhere were watching and saw the blood all over the place," Roethlisberger said. "I hope they said, 'That's our guy. He's one of us. He never came out. He never quit. He's pretty tough.' "

There was another reminder of Roethlisberger's toughness late in that game, two plays before the winning pass to Redman. Ravens Pro Bowl linebacker Terrell Suggs -- "An animal," Roethlisberger called him with the utmost respect -- appeared ready to sack him but couldn't bring him down. Roethlisberger -- playing not just with gauze in his nose but with a broken right foot from the game against Buffalo a week earlier -- fought off Suggs before finally flinging away a shovel pass for an incompletion. It might have been the Steelers' most remarkable play of the season.

"I know people say I hold the ball too long and take too many sacks," Roethlisberger said. "But I'd like to know how many other quarterbacks would have taken a sack there. Time was running down. We were low on timeouts. I'm just going to keep fighting for every yard. I'm always going to fight for everything for my guys."

The Ravens learned Roethlisberger was a tough character long before that game. In 2006, they put two good lickings on the Steelers, sacking him a combined 14 times. Roethlisberger still says a sack by linebacker Bart Scott in the game at Baltimore is the hardest he has been hit. After the game, Scott bragged about feeling the air leave Roethlisberger's body.

Scott probably should have kept his mouth shut. The Ravens haven't beaten the Roethlisberger-led Steelers since those two games. They did beat the Steelers in 2007 when Roethlisberger sat out the last game to get ready for the playoffs, in '09 when he missed the game in Baltimore with a concussion and last season when he missed the home game because he was suspended.

"Luck. It has to be luck," Roethlisberger said of that 7-0 run against the Ravens. "It's just crazy to me because it's against that team and because of how good they are. I have no answer for why it's happened that way. It really is crazy. That's why I don't look at those numbers much. I hear people say I have such-and-such a record against the Ravens and such-and-such a record against [Baltimore quarterback Joe] Flacco. But it's not me. It's the team. That's why we've had success."

Roethlisberger sang a different song after the 31-25 loss to the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl XVL in February. He threw two interceptions, one that was returned for a touchdown. He failed to lead his offense to the winning touchdown in the final two minutes, something he had done to win Super Bowl XLIII against the Arizona Cardinals.

It wasn't about the team for Roethlisberger after that disappointing loss in Dallas.

"I don't blame anyone but myself," he said. "I feel like I let down the city of Pittsburgh, the fans, my coaches, my teammates ..."

OK, so taking blame is what $100 million quarterbacks are supposed to do.

Still, it was admirable.

"Look here," Roethlisberger said, reaching into his locker to pull out his locker nameplate from that Super Bowl. "I have another one under my mirror in my bathroom at home. I don't think about that game a lot now because I'm so focused on what's happening right now. But I still can't believe we didn't win it. A little reminder never hurts. It's motivation for me."

Probably more than you can imagine.

"I want to put on a good show [Sunday]," Roethlisberger said. "I don't want the game to be close. I want us to win big. I don't know if that'll happen, and I'll be really happy if we win, 2-0. But I do want to show I'm back and we're back."

One almost certainly will lead to the other.


Ron Cook: rcook@post-gazette.com. Ron Cook can be heard on the "Vinnie and Cook" show weekdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. More articles by this author

Big Ben's unique talent

By Joe Starkey, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/?_s_icmp=nav_sports
Thursday, August 25, 2011

What's he do on his worst days? That's what I want to know about a quarterback.

Ben Roethlisberger often wins on his worst days. He also has the best definition of quarterback toughness I've heard, one sure to send stats geeks running to their hard drives to see if it fits into one of their unfathomable formulas.

We broach the topic because it's that time of year — time for everybody to rank the quarterbacks. I don't know if Roethlisberger deserves to be ranked first, but I know this: He belongs in the conversation.

He agrees, as he should.

"I think every quarterback should believe they're the best," Roethlisberger said. "Do I think there are better quarterbacks than me? Possibly. But would I take anyone else with the ball in their hands at the end of the game? I don't think so."

This is where somebody fires off an email reminding me that Roethlisberger didn't get it done late in last year's Super Bowl.

OK, so that makes him 1 for 2 in epic Super Bowl-winning drives.

Numbers freaks are flummoxed on how to measure a quarterback because the statistics lie like winos.

Super Bowl titles? If that's your primary measurement, you must believe Mark Rypien was better than Dan Marino.

Passer rating? Tony Romo tops Tom Brady and Joe Montana.

Accuracy? Chad Pennington is the most accurate passer of all-time.

Won-loss record? Getting warmer. Roethlisberger is 69-29 in his career. Which brings us to his definition of toughness. He was sitting at a quarterbacks' round table a few years ago, with Sport Illustrated's Peter King, when he delivered the following gem:

"Toughness is playing the worst game of your life but not backing down. Down 21 points and the defense is getting through, and you throw three interceptions. Staying in that game, keeping your head up, trying to drive your team when everything's going wrong — that's the kind of toughness I want in my quarterback."

I think of last year's game at Baltimore, when Roethlisberger — having a miserable night with a banged-up foot and broken nose — was presented with an opportunity to win and snatched it. His biggest play was fending off Terrell Suggs and shoveling the ball out of bounds to avoid a sack.

Is there a stat for that?

I think of last year's AFC title game, when Roethlisberger rolled away from pressure and drilled a dart on the run, into the arms of Antonio Brown, to keep a hot Jets offense off the field for good.

Yes, the stat junkie will say, but if he'd made more plays earlier, it wouldn't have come to that.

Yes, I respond, but there was another team on the field — one that had humiliated St. Thomas Brady a week earlier — and when it boiled down to Super Bowl or no Super Bowl, Roethlisberger beat that team with a brilliant individual play.

I also think of Super Bowl XL, a game the stat mongers look at and see only Roethlisberger's minuscule passer rating. He wasn't good. But even on his worst day, he made winning plays. He set up the first touchdown with an ad-lib bomb to Hines Ward, threw a key block on the gadget-play TD and turned a busted play into a scramble first down when the Steelers were attempting to kill the clock.

Is there a stat for that?

I'm beginning to loathe the statistical revolution that has engulfed the sports world. When did everybody become Billy Beane?

Beane is the Oakland A's general manager made famous in the book "Moneyball" for coldly analyzing players on raw numbers alone. He also is the all-time leader in at least one obscure statistical category: Best GM Who Never Got To A World Series But Still Had Brad Pitt Play Him In A Movie.

Don't get me wrong. I love the numbers game. You're talking to a man who, at age 9, invented his own ratings system for offensive linemen and kept track of assists in Nerf basketball games.

The problem is that statistical devotees have forgotten the human element. They disregard the notion that an athlete -- whether it's a quarterback, pitcher or point guard -- can separate himself from his peers by consistently summoning the right stuff at just the right time.

Winning time.

Sports still is about winning, right?

Right?

James Harrison doesn't know how lucky he is

By Ian Roderick

Cold, Hard Football Facts Doctor of Bigbenology

http://www.coldhardfootballfacts.com/index.php

July 18, 2011

Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison caused a firestorm in the football world with an interview for Men's Journal in which he criticized his team’s quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger.

“Stop trying to act like Peyton Manning,” Harrison said, “You ain’t that and you know it, man; you just get paid like he does.”

Beyond the question of whether Harrison was wise to publicly denounce a teammate, there is the question of whether Harrison was correct.

Is Peyton Manning a demonstrably better quarterback, and are the Pittsburgh Steelers overpaying for Ben Roethlisberger’s services?

The answer in both cases is no: Manning is not demonstrably better than Roethlisberger and the Steelers are not overpaying for Big Ben, at least if Manning's contract is the yardstick by which we measure "overpaying."

Let’s begin with salaries. Manning signed a seven year contract with the Indianapolis Colts in 2004 worth $99 million, meaning his average salary over the past seven years has been $14.17 million. Roethlisberger signed an eight year deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2008 worth $102 million, with an annual value of $12.75 million.

The Manning contract is worth approximately 11 percent more per year than the Roethlisberger contract, not counting inflation. So Harrison is correct that Roethlisberger’s salary is in the same ballpark as Manning’s. Both are considered elite quarterbacks, and both are paid as such.

The real question worth answering, though, is whether Harrison’s implication that Manning is significantly more valuable than Roethlisberger lives up to statistical scrutiny.

Manning vs. Roethlisberger: Passer Rating

The most popular statistic that measures quarterback performance in the NFL is passer rating. A lot of fans and analysis dis passer rating because of the complex formula used to create it and because of the seemingly arbitrary numbers it spits out. We understand the complaints.

But the Cold, Hard Football Facts love passer rating because it is a "Quality Stat," that is, it's a stat that has a direct correlation to winning football games.

Let’s compare Manning's and Roethlisberger's passer ratings since 2004, Big Ben's first year in the NFL.

Manning vs. Roethlisberger (passer rating)

Year	Manning	Roethlisberger
2004	121.1	98.1
2005	104.1	98.6
2006	101.1	75.4
2007	98.0	104.4
2008	95.0	80.1
2009	99.9	100.5
2010	91.9	97.0
Totals	101.6	92.5

As a volume passer, Peyton Manning is superior to Ben Roethlisberger. Over the past seven years, Manning has thrown more times for more completions, yards, and touchdowns, with a better rating.

Manning had a historically great season in 2004, when he threw 49 TDs to break Dan Marino’s 20-year-old record (48) and set the mark for best passer rating in a season (121.1). Since 2004, Manning has been exceptionally good. But his performances, as measured by passer rating, have also been on a fairly obvious downward trajectory since that record peak in 2004.

As Manning’s performance has slipped in recent years, Roethlisberger’s passer rating has surpassed Manning’s. Most fans and analysts, not to mention teammates such as James Harrison himself, seem ignorant of the fact that Big Ben has posted higher ratings than Manning in three of the past four seasons, including each of the past two.

The numbers are even more remarkable when you consider that Manning enjoys the benefit of playing his home games in a stat-inflating dome, where the conditions are always conducive to big passing days; Roethlisberger plays in one of the NFL's worst-weather outdoor arenas.

Manning vs. Roethlisberger: Passing YPA

The Cold, Hard Football Facts also like Passing YPA as a way to measure the effectiveness of each quarterback. It's easier to understand than passer rating, it provides for better comparisons across eras (YPA has remained relatively constant over the past 70 years, while passer ratings have soared) and, most importantly, YPA is also a Quality Stat. In other words, like passer rating, it has a direct correlation to winning football games.

Manning vs. Roethlisberger (YPA)

Year	Manning	Roethlisberger
2004	9.17	8.89
2005	8.27	8.90
2006	7.89	7.49
2007	7.85	7.81
2008	7.21	7.04
2009	7.88	8.55
2010	6.92	8.23
Totals	7.88	8.04

By this measure, Roethlisberger has often outperformed Manning, particularly over the past two years. As we wrote earlier this week, Yards Per Attempt is extremely predictive of success in the NFL. Teams that pass the ball most effectively are often the teams that make deep runs into the playoffs and end up bringing home Super Bowl trophies.

In this respect, Roethlisberger is one of the most prolific and underappreciated quarterbacks not just today, but in all of NFL history. Big Ben is No. 5 all time with a career average of 8.04 YPA. Three of the players ahead of him are in the Hall of Fame: Otto Graham (8.63), who parlayed his record average into a record six straight NFL championship games; Sid Luckman (8.42 YPA) and Norm Van Brocklin (8.16 YPA).

(The one oddball in the Top 5 is No. 4 Tony Romo of Dallas, who has yet to parlay his statistical proficiency and slight advantage over Roethlisberger in YPA (8.043 vs. 8.036) into championship-caliber playoff performances.)

The Steelers went undefeated with Roethlisberger starting at QB during his rookie year, before finally falling to the dynastic Patriots in the AFC title game; they won the Super Bowl the following year, with Big Ben the youngest QB in history to lead his team to achievement. He was far more than a caretaker: his incredible 8.9 YPA in 2004 and 2005 represents the most prolific first two years by a quarterback in NFL history, even if everybody but the Cold, Hard Football Facts failed to take notice.

Manning vs. Roethlisberger: running with the ball

A third statistical category that can be used to compare the quarterbacks is rushing. Since 2004:

• Ben Roethlisberger has rushed for 874 yards and 14 touchdowns.
• Peyton Manning has rushed for 140 yards and 8 touchdowns.

While rushing statistics are secondary to passing when measuring a quarterback’s performance, the superior rushing ability of Roethlisberger, who stands 6-5 and weighs 241 pounds, presents a real challenge to opposing defenses.

As noted above, Peyton Manning is a more statistically prolific quarterback than Ben Roethlisberger, at least in terms of meaningless volume indicators (i.e., he passes the ball a lot more).

In terms of the more important Quality Stats that relate to efficiency (passer rating) and effectiveness (YPA), Roethlisberger has been the better passer in recent years. And he remains a better rusher.

Most importantly, Roethlisberger outperforms Manning in the most crucial statistic of all: Super Bowl wins. By that measure, there is no question that Roethlisberger is worth every penny, even if his on-field performance resembles a fuel efficient Honda Accord more than Peyton Manning’s high performance Ford Mustang.

The Steelers have won three AFC titles and two Super Bowls in seven seasons with Roethlisberger at the helm; the Colts have won two AFC titles and one Super Bowl in Manning's 13 years at the helm.

Bearing that in mind, Harrison might want to rethink his opinion of his team's quarterback. Then again, thinking before speaking has never been a strong suit for James Harrison.