Posts tagged Ben Roethlisberger at FanHouse

With one game to go until the season starts, which Steelers fan out there feels comfortable with the offensive line?

There may have been a lot of discussion during the offseason about whether Ben Roethlisberger holds on to the ball too long. The Steelers offensive line cleverly figured out a way to difuse that controversy Saturday night. It's hard to worry about that when Roethlisberger never has more than a second or two before he starts dodging pass rushers.

The Vikings have arguably the best front four in football, with three potential Pro Bowlers among the four starters. The Steelers offensive line has one player (Marvel Smith) who has ever gone to the Pro Bowl, and if yesterday is any indication, no one who will challenge for a Pro Bowl spot this year.

The Steelers' first team offense gave up two sacks. By my count, Roethlisberger was also hurried four times in two quarters of action. That's six pass plays busted by the pass rush in 19 attempts (32 percent). And that barely explains how under the gun Roethlisberger was. Throw in some three step drops and the lack of holes for Willie Parker and it's clear that the Steelers offensive line was in over their heads.

The Falcons unofficially began their descent into awfulness when they fired Jim Mora Jr. following the 2006 season. At the time, it seemed like a perfectly rational move -- Mora had underachieved for two years after making it to the NFC Championship game in 2004 -- but in retrospect, it was the first crack in the proverbial dike.

Puppy murder and Bobby Petrino would follow, and next thing you know the Falcons are 4-12 and have the third-overall pick in the '08 draft. Atlanta would use the pick on Boston College's Matt Ryan, and most of us just assumed he would sit and learn for a year before the new coaching staff threw him to the wolves.

Most us would assume wrong, apparently.

Rookie Matt Ryan will open the regular season as the Falcons' starting quarterback. The decision was made over the weekend and will be announced by coach Mike Smith after today's practice. ...

Clarity arrived after three preseason games in which Ryan, who took the majority of snaps, completed 32-of-52 passes for 277 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. He made his first start Friday against Tennessee and completed 15-of-21 passes for 102 yards and a touchdown.

Ryan has been praised by teammates for his leadership, diligence and huddle presence as well as his ability to make plays.

I applaud Daunte Culpepper's rosy disposition, even if it's a tad misguided. Unfortunately, his plan to not take any ol' job that comes along, but instead hold out for a starting gig will, barring a catastrophic run on NFL quarterback injuries, result in him watching football this fall from the same vantage point as many of us: the comfort of the couch.

The Steelers, after losing backup Charlie Batch to a broken collarbone for the next two months, were looking for a capable arm behind Ben Roethlisberger. According to ESPN's John Clayton, they had settled on two guys, but ultimately settled on the one not named Daunte:

The reason the Steelers picked Leftwich over Culpepper is because Leftwich felt more comfortable with the role the Steelers were offering. Ben Roethlisberger is the starter and Batch is expected to be the backup when he gets healthy again. Culpepper was hoping for a chance to compete for a starting job.

You know, Culpepper's agent should explain to his client that he's really in no position to be making demands about playing time. Oh, wait...

On the other hand, if Culpepper isn't interested enough to return to football as a clipboard toter, I can respect that. I just hope he's willing to accept that he's effectively retired as a result of his stance.

Hat tip: PFT

As they try to explain away last year's 47 regular season sacks (and it was 53 if you count the playoff game), you're going to hear a lot over the next weeks about how Ben Roethlisberger is working on getting rid of the ball quicker.

But if you listen to the Steelers offensive line coach, it's already apparent that Roethlisberger isn't the big problem.

Offensive line coach Larry Zierlein told several reporters that he estimates that the offensive line was responsible for 29 or 30 of the Steelers regular season sacks last season. He blames the running backs for another six sacks, tight ends for five and Roethlisberger was responsible for the rest--which comes up to six or seven sacks.

I went back this offseason and rewatched every sack of the 2008 season. By my count, I said that Roethlisberger could have been blamed for 10 sacks (counting the postseason) if you were being hard on Roethlisberger, so the numbers are pretty similar--obviously Zierlein is much more in the know and has much better film to grade the line than I do, so I'm glad to see the numbers pretty well match up.

I'll admit it: in the weeks and months leading up to the NFL draft, I hated the idea of the Steelers drafting a running back with their first-round pick. There were much bigger needs along the offensive and defensive lines, and running backs, in general, are pretty easy to scare up and for relatively little cost (hi, Willie Parker!).

On draft day, however, that's exactly what happened: Pittsburgh used the 23rd overall pick on Rashard Mendenhall, running back. Thing is, given how events unfolded during the first 22 picks, it was hard to fault the Steelers; they did what diehard draft nerds are always preaching: took the best player available.

And now, two days before training camp begins, the club has signed Mendenhall to a five-year deal. Obviously, Parker is the feature back (or, at the very least, is listed atop the depth chart), but head coach Mike Tomlin has plans for the revamped rushing attack.

"Our initial plan is he's going to be a supplemental runner," Tomlin said. "The growth of his role will be determined on his ability to execute from an assignment standpoint, how he deals with being a professional athlete.

"To this point he's shown he's mature and unique for a 21-year-old guy. Hopefully, that translates into him growing and developing as a member of this football team quickly."

With plenty of lingering questions about the state of the offensive line, the skill position players will be responsible for keeping Ben Roethlisberger upright. If the offense can create match-up problems at running back and wide receiver, the o-line deficiencies could be minimized. If that doesn't happen, it could be a long, painful 2008 for Big Ben.

If you caught Ben Roethlisberger's interview on ESPN earlier this week, there were some topics that didn't fit in the limited time on the

Among the subjects that didn't make it on air was Roethlisberger's comments on the massive amount of sacks he's taken in the past two years. Ed Werder asked him how much longer he can survive these kind of beatings. As you would expect, Roethlisberger said that there are no problems with the offensive line

"I feel fine because I didn't taken any big shots last year. A lot of those sacks were my fault. I have every confidence that they'll get the job done."

That's encouraging, not just because Roethlisberger didn't sell out his offensive line, but also because he seems to have some awareness that as he matures, throwing the pass away to avoid a sack isn't always a bad thing.

Here's the complete interview which covers the differences between Mike Tomlin and Bill Cowher, how Bruce Arians offense should be better in year two, and what Roethlisberger thinks about the Brett Favre situation.

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You should avoid drafting Tom Brady, Randy Moss, Tony Romo or Ben Roethlisberger on your fantasy football team this year. That's right. I said "avoid".

If you had those four in 2007, you probably did very well (which would explain why you think I'm crazy right now). Moss was easily the top receiver in all fantasy leagues, Brady was likely the top scorer in your entire league and both Romo and Roethlisberger were top-10 signal-callers across the board.

But you didn't win because you took them in the first or second rounds. You won because you culled maximum value from them later in your draft.

This year, you'll be paying a 3-to-5 round penalty -- compared to last year's draft -- for every one of them. And I'm telling you right now, pulling the trigger on these guys early, and paying for 2007's numbers, will put you in an early hole on draft day.

Hear that? It's the pitter-patter of fantasy football season approaching. Fantasy FanHouse is here to get you ready by previewing every team from a fantasy perspective.

Meet The ...
Most balanced offense in the NFL. With the addition of Rashard Mendenhall the Steelers now have a talented between the tackles runner to go with Fast Willie Parker. This is thunder and lightning to a higher level with the single-back abilities each guy has. They can go deep to Santonio Holmes, or to the reliable possession receiver Hines Ward. Add the extremely athletic 6'4" Limas Sweed to the fray to catch jump balls, and the very solid over-the-middle TE Heath Miller. Oh yeah, and Ben Roethlisberger is coming off easily the most prolific season of his career.

The Breakout
Really tough call here. Did Santonio already have his breakout season last year? (YES) Is Sweed really ready to have a good enough season to call it a breakout? (HMMM ... ) Hasn't Mendenhall received enough hype that he's accurately "rated" (as opposed to underrated or overrated)? I guess if pushed I'll go with Mendenhall. Ward seems a lot less ready to yield his spot outside than Fast Willie is in the backfield to me, plus Nate Washington clouds things at WR. Mendy (yeah, just made that up) will at least vulture the goal-line TDs and has enough speed to fully take over should Parker go down via injury.

Before their abbreviated hibernation prior to training camp, the Dallas Morning News' Cowboys Blog caught up with owner Jerry Jones and unearthed this nugget:

A few weeks ago you said you would be open to getting a backup QB. You still trying to do that? "All the confidence. A lot of confidence in Brad. Had real good camps and real good work."

That's Brad Johnson. All 39 years of him. Blogging the Boys asks if "is anybody else as confident about Brad Johnson as Jerry is?" and the answer, obviously, is hell to da naw.

The Cowboys have two things in their favor, however: first, Tony Romo is resilient (bangs on wood). He's started 26 consecutive games since taking over for Drew Bledsoe midway through the 2006 season. In that time he's been sacked 45 times (or just two times fewer than Ben Roethlisberger ... in 2007), and had to play with various nicks and bruises.

Second, yes, Johnson's a fossil, but that's just a pejorative; the half-glass-full set would call him experienced. Sure, he had a rough go of it in Minnesota in '06, but that had just as much to do with those around him as his inability to complete a pass of more than seven yards.

The Cowboys feature a few more offensive weapons than that Vikings team, so there's that. Still, if Dallas is without Romo for any extended period, their odds of losing in the postseason get substantially longer. That said, given the names currently floating around free agency, I'm not sure the Cowboys could do much better than Johnson.

There are a lot of things that ESPN can be rightfully slammed for--Who's Now will live in our nightmares for years to come. But there is one summer series worthy of praise. Not only is the My Wish series good TV, it's also a great experience for the kids who get to fulfill their dreams..

If you're a Steelers fan and you haven't seen the story of paralyzed teenager Akeem Havens' day as a Steeler, it's well worth checking out. After watching him score a touchdown, maybe Willie Parker should be worried.