PITTSBURGH (AP) -Throwing one perfectly timed pass after another during a long scoring drive, Ben Roethlisberger answered any questions about how ready he is to start the season.
He fired a 16-yard strike to Limas Sweed, followed by another perfect throw to Hines Ward. Then he waited for Heath Miller to get open and feathered an 18-yard completion to the tight end.
The 87-yard touchdown drive against Buffalo on Saturday looked routine: Roethlisberger was 5 of 7 for 74 yards.
Roethlisberger, it seems obvious, can’t wait to start playing games that count. Despite a right foot injury that caused him to miss one preseason game, and a civil lawsuit that could have become a major distraction, he has never looked more ready.
If the Pittsburgh Steelers were worried his off-field issues might cause the two-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback to get off his game, Roethlisberger is allaying them with perhaps his best preseason.
He looks loose, he looks confident, he looks in charge.
r.
“Overall, I’m really happy,” Roethlisberger said after going 15 of 19 for 168 yards and leading two scoring drives during the first half of Pittsburgh’s 17-0 victory over the Bills.
To the man who designs his offense, Roethlisberger has the attitude of a player who hasn’t accomplished nearly all he wants to achieve.
“His arm’s really alive,” offensive coordinator Bruce Arians said.
For all Roethlisberger has gone through – the best regular season (13-0) by any NFL rookie quarterback, two Super Bowl victories, a motorcycle crash, an appendectomy and four seasons with 10 or more victories – it’s sometimes difficult for the Steelers to remember he has played only five seasons.
By comparison, Terry Bradshaw had only won the first of his four Super Bowls with Pittsburgh at the same stage of his career during the 1970s.
At first, much like it was with Bradshaw, the Steelers won the Super Bowl with their quarterback along for the ride, relying on their running game, defense and trick plays to beat Seattle 21-10 in February 2006. Then they won a Super Bowl because of Roethlisberger and the clutch drive that ended with his TD throw to Santonio Holmes in the final minute of their 27-23 victory over Arizona nearly seven months ago.
To close friend Charlie Batch, Roethlisberger’s backup, that win-or-else drive signaled the Steelers are truly Big Ben’s team.
wn to Ben growing in the offense and the offense being built around him,” Batch said. “That’s something when Bruce took over a couple of years, he sat down with Ben and said, `What do you like? And based on what you like, I’m going to build an offense around you.’ I think that’s something that’s really paid off. You can see in the ’07 season that Ben kind of blossomed and everybody said, `Hey, we didn’t realize Ben could throw the ball like this.’ He knew he can.”
Roethlisberger set a team record that season with 32 touchdown passes, but the Steelers lost in the opening round of the playoffs. Last season, Roethlisberger threw for only about half as many touchdowns (17), yet the Steelers won the Super Bowl.
“We’re not about statistics on offense,” Arians said. “It’s all about the scoreboard. We don’t need to be No. 1.”
Their schedule was exceedingly tough, resulting in a number of close, low-scoring games that were largely controlled by defenses. Still, the Steelers won 15 of 19 games, counting the postseason – six times after Roethlisberger led fourth-quarter comebacks.
There is one statistic where Roethlisberger is No. 1: times sacked. He’s been dropped 192 times in five seasons, the kind of punishment-absorbing pace that can prematurely end a career. Only two other QBs during that span, Marc Bulger and David Carr, have been sacked more than 140 times.
he Steelers may use a no-huddle offense even more than in the past, partly to alleviate the heavy pressure Roethlisberger often sees.
“The no-huddle has had a lot of success for us and … we want to continue to grow,” Arians said.
Roethlisberger’s excellent August has eased any doubts the Steelers might have had that he would be distracted by the Nevada civil suit accusing him of sexual assault. Even if Batch knew he wouldn’t.
“I knew he’d come in here full speed ahead,” he said.
Roethlisberger hasn’t hinted at what kind of season he expects, but he wants this to be the year the Steelers are known for having more than the NFL’s No. 1 defense.
“We need to improve as a total offense. We’re setting our goals high,” he said. “We need to be better. We just can’t rely on our defense to win every game for us.”
Add A Comment