Roethlisberger playing with a purpose
There were so many big games produced by quarterbacks in Week 1 that it was easy to undervalue what Pittsburgh's Ben Roethlisberger did in Cleveland.
He didn't need 300 yards or 40 passing attempts to earn praise in that 34-7 win, either. He only had to show that the bad habits that plagued him last season are finally vanishing from his game. So far, he's got me convinced that he's grown up plenty in one short year.
The truth is that I was a little concerned when the Steelers started talking about using more multiple-receiver formations and placing more of the offense on Roethlisberger's shoulders this season. But after Sunday's victory -- when he completed 12 of 23 passes for 161 yards and four touchdowns and no interceptions -- I realized what the Steelers had planned for their fourth-year signal-caller.
New offensive coordinator Bruce Arians is going to open up the system just enough to make Roethlisberger comfortable. And Roethlisberger apparently realizes that he doesn't have to force plays like he did last season, when he threw a career-high 23 interceptions.
What's also apparent is that Roethlisberger has dedicated himself to reminding people that he's more like the quarterback who helped Pittsburgh win Super Bowl XL than the one who declined in 2006.
"You can see that he has a huge chip on his shoulder," says one team source. "Ben is at his best when he thinks people are doubting him, and that's how he's felt going into this year. He probably felt the same way when schools didn't recruit him out of college and when he wound up being the third quarterback taken in the [2004] draft. He's really out to prove something this year."
We'll have to see if Roethlisberger can maintain some consistency, but the odds are in his favor. Arians is a talented coordinator, and Pittsburgh's young skill players -- like second-year wide receiver Santonio Holmes and third-year tight end Heath Miller -- continue to mature.
So while some skeptics might say that Roethlisberger didn't show much by beating a weak Cleveland Browns team, I say think again. With one modest performance, he showed me he's really ready to start putting his problems behind him.
*Thank you to Andrea Poloni for sending me the article!