First a disclaimer: I am not, nor will I ever be a fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Cleveland Browns, or any other team that resides in the AFC North Division.
That being said, I would, however, like to praise a certain player for the aforementioned Steelers. His name is, as most of you should’ve already guessed, Ben Roethlisberger.
You all must remember the former Miami Redhawks’ quarterback that torched us in last year’s MAC Championship Game played right here in Bowling Green. We all hated him before that, and even more after that. Many of us hated him at an entirely new level when he was selected with the eleventh pick in the 2004 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers, ahead of our own Josh Harris.
We had no idea at the time that Roethlisberger would be the rookie sensation that he is. His first action came in Week 2 against Baltimore. He replaced former starter Tommy Maddox, then went on to complete 12 of 20 passes for 176 yards and two touchdowns. He has started five of the seven games since then for Pittsburgh, winning all of them including a 34-20 victory over the New England Patriots, snapping a 21-game winning streak (including playoffs) that goes all the way back to early in the 2003 campaign. The game was played in front of a record crowd of 64,737 at Heinz Field.
The Steelers are now contenders for the first time since 2002 when they lost to the Tennessee Titans in the Divisional Playoffs. They went 6-10 the next season, leading to questions of Head Coach Bill Cowher’s employment status. This year was supposed to be his year on the pedistal. However, it just may have been the bad play of Maddox that saved his job, as everything seems to be going right in the Steel City with Ben Roethlisberger at the helm.
What exactly has Roethlisberger done in his short NFL career, you ask? His official stats go like this. He has thrown for 1,133 yards on 96-137 passing (70.1% completion percentage), 9 TDs, and only 4 interceptions in six games. Not many rookie quarterbacks have done better their first seven weeks in the league.
What those statistics have led to is the best start for any Pittsburgh Steelers team since 1978, the year that they won their third Super Bowl. Roethlisberger has not only been proclaimed as the city of Pittsburgh’s new favorite son, but also as the new permanent starter for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
