Ben shines under the lights
LATROBE, Pa. – Once upon a time, a night practice at Latrobe Stadium ended with a couple of sets of the goal-line drill, a lively and often entertaining exercise to be sure, but also one that relegated the quarterback to the bit part of simply handing off the ball.
That was Bill Cowher's version. Mike Tomlin handled night practice a little differently, in that nothing done under the lights hadn't been done on just any other afternoon at St. Vincent College.
It was a two-hour regular practice that provided very dry viewing for the fans through more than the opening 60 minutes, but then things got a little interesting when Tomlin's practice script put the football in Ben Roethlisberger's hands.
It was a red zone drill, first-team offense vs. first-team defense, and this is in keeping with Tomlin's wont of scheduling periods of situational football within the context of a complete practice. And it doesn't always necessarily have to happen at the end.
The first situation was second-and-7 at the 16-yard line. Roethlisberger dropped back and drilled a perfect pass over the middle to Hines Ward, who caught the ball in front of Anthony Smith at the goal line and got into the end zone for a touchdown.
The second situation was a first-and-10 from the 19-yard line. This time the formation had two tight ends on the field, and Roethlisberger threw a similar pass to a similar spot over the middle. But this time it was incomplete, with one of the reasons being the simple fact intended receiver Jerame Tuman isn't as slick a route-runner as Ward.
The third snap was a third-and-6 at the 11-yard line. Roethlisberger went to his left this time and fired a bullet between Tyrone Carter and Bryant McFadden that stuck between the 8 and the 0 on Cedrick Wilson's jersey. Don't underestimate the job Wilson did to hold onto that throw, either. Touchdown No. 2.
Next play, first-and-goal from the 10-yard line. Again, with the multiple tight ends, and Roethlisberger goes back to the right side of the field with a perfect fade pattern to Heath Miller in the back corner of the end zone. Ricardo Colclough had pretty decent coverage, but he also had no chance because of the execution of the throw and the catch. Touchdown No. 3.
Last play for Roethlisberger, a third-and-goal at the 7-yard line. Back to the left side, and back to Ward, but on this route the timing was a bit off. Either Ward got out of his break a little too slowly, or Roethlisberger led him a little too much, but the pass was just beyond the receiver's reach.
To summarize, Roethlisberger was 3-of-5 for 37 yards and three touchdowns in a drill that had to be exciting to the Steelers coaches for the way their quarterback performed in it.