PITTSBURGH -- It has been quite a year for Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. In February, he entered the rarefied ranks of National Football League quarterbacks with two Super Bowl rings. Only a few months later he was accused of rape in a civil lawsuit, and stood before reporters declaring his innocence.
Channel 4 Action News Anchor Sally Wiggin reported the media spotlight has not dimmed his talent this season.
Roethlisberger is piling up passing yardage this year at a pace that will have him break Terry Bradshaw's 1979 team record. He also has just won a new award from the magazine that chose Pittsburgh the best sports city in America this year. The Sporting News recognized Roethlisberger for what he does best -- escape pursuing defenders.
During Super Bowl XLIII, Roethlisberger charged down the field in a final, furious drive that rescued the Lombardi Trophy from the Arizona Cardinals, and returned it for another Pittsburgh parade.
This season, the aerial display continues, as the Steelers' trademark running game transitions into something new. But Roethlisberger wouldn't take credit for changing the culture of the team.
"I think it's 'us.' It is coach Arians (the offensive orrdinator), it is (wide receiver) Hines (Ward), (tight end) Heath Miller, (running back) Mewelde Moore. When I said we are not the team of the 70s, in no way did I disrespect that team, no way, shape or form. Because they are one of the greatest teams, franchises of all time," Roethlisberger told Wiggin.
Roethlisberger's comment about the 70s "Steel Curtain" appeared in Tuesday's USA Today, in reference to the Steelers' current concentration on the passing game. With a photo of former coach Chuck Noll looking over his shoulder, Roethlisberger paid tribute to that era's passing corps of Bradshaw, Lynn Swann and John Stallworth. But he said he's passionate about his own gifted group.
"We have so many weapons that we can't afford to let those guys be decoys every play. We have to throw the ball. We have to put up points and yards. And we are having fun doing it. And I think some of the fans are coming around and I think more fans will come around and enjoy this style of football," Roethlisberger said.
And Ward thinks if you have a weapon like Roethlisberger, use him.
"I think the light switched on and he realized how great he can really be. Early, you don't know if it is you, the team or whatever. I think he has proven to all the naysayers that he can lead this team and do it," Ward said.
And the offensive line, a favorite target of naysayers last year, is appreciably better and growing as teammates.
"Knowing the guy next to them, them having more confidence, confidence in me, me in them. That group has become so close, on and off the field," Roethlisberger said.
Roethlisberger said having offensive linemen like Darnell Stapleton, Willie Colon, Trai Essex, Justin Hartwig, Chris Kemoatu and Max Starks be able to attend events off the field -- like
their recent appearance on "WWE Monday Night Raw" -- has also been good for the team.
"It was a lot of fun. I said I would only do it if they could come with me. And they were more excited than I was to be able to go there," Roethlisberger said.
Right now, Roethlisberger is third in the league in passing yards and second to Indianapolis quarterback Peyton Manning in completion percentage. Yet there are detractors -- national analysts who say he is still not one of the "elite three."
Some fans think it's a good thing, so that chip stays firmly planted on his shoulder, as a source of motivation.
"I don't think you need to, but if it motivates you that much, why not?" Roethlisberger said. "I probably had that little underdog mentality since I was in middle school, when I wasn't the QB of my freshman football team. The only thing I did, when I got in the game, I got to hold extra points, that is all I did. And then I came in as QB, and we won the rest of our games."
The story is well known by now -- the sting of not getting to play quarterback again until his senior year.
"Those little things, going to a small school, being the third QB taken, the guy who has no last name. All those things have added up to me wanting to be the best," Roethlisberger said.
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