Ben Roethlisberger looks refreshed in 2020 return to action

 

by Bo Marchionte 

 

Ben Roethlisberger possesses a resume of football achievements that I would hope earns him a bust in Canton, Ohio at the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

This afternoon he visited with the media via Zoom to discuss what the last 10 months have been like for the two-time Super Bowl winning quarterback.

He expressed a nervousness and asked for forgiveness if he took a few seconds to reflect on how he may respond to the questions that were about to be asked. His mannerisms were engaging, his smile embracing as he looked into the camera and joked with the Pittsburgh media, he has become accustomed to speaking with over his illustrious 17-year NFL career.

The injury and his play before the injury left a lot of questions surrounding the future of Roethlisberger especially if either of the other quarterback replacements would have manifested into a possible franchise candidate for the future.  

Mason Rudolph and Devlin Hodges did little to inspire an uprising of support to lead the team. Their play actually elevated the value Roethlisberger brings to the franchise even in the twilight years of his career.

 

Roethlisberger did not look up to par in the six quarters of action he played in last year. In those six quarters of football his completion percentage was 55.3 and his passer rating 66.4. The last time he finished with back-to-back passer ratings below 70% was in 2016. His all-time completion percentage average is 64.3 which was nearly 10 points off the regular execution we have been used to seeing out of the six-time Pro Bowl quarterback.

There is one vendor that I talk briefly to in passing as I walk to Heinz Field on gameday. Distinctively I remember his frustration of Roethlisberger’s play against New England in Week 1 and mentioned he would not mind seeing Mason Rudolph get an opportunity.

 

I also distinctively remember seeing him hours after the game had ended as he was packing up the unsold Steelers memorabilia for the day and asking him – Are you happy your wish came true?

He looked at me like he had seen a ghost. Maybe in that moment reality set for him that No. 7 would not be available for a team that had serious and legit Super Bowl aspirations.

“I think knowing that I am little bit older, it’s important to make sure you’re in shape,” Roethlisberger told Brooke Pryor, of ESPN during the 20-minute group interview. “I’ve had a whole (year) basically – usually it’s just an offseason of training. Even at that I don’t usually start right away because your body’s usually worn out from the season and things like that.”

I usually start the training process later. Having no football last year, I actually trained all during the season. I didn’t really have an offseason, so I’m actually lighter than I’ve been in 13 or 14 years. I feel really good. I feel strong. I feel healthy.”

Those words ‘I feel healthy’ are a wonderful symphony to those who cheer for and depend on Roethlisberger being the best he can be especially over the long-haul of a grueling 16-game season.

In 2018, Roethlisberger led the league in pass completions (452), passing attempts (675), and passing yards (5,129). An incredible season that had him in the mix for MVP honors. One year later he completed the fewest attempts (62) of his career.

Looking back at his sensational season, in 2018, the idea emerged if there was any correlation between his excess in throws and his age that led to his elbow injury. The study went to depths that only a unmedically educated adult could fathom and even the use of adult is somewhat sketchy.

Age + Throws = ____

Roethlisberger was 36-years when he posted the fourth most attempts in NFL history.

Did age doom his 2019 campaign?

The top-20 all-time single season leaders in passing attempts proved that theory to be untrue. There are 12 quarterbacks who rank in the top-20 and in 14 of those 20 seasons, the quarterbacks were beyond 31 years old. Only Matthew Stafford (twice) and Drew Bledsoe have ranked inside the top-20 under the age of 25. Proving that his is an old man’s statistic.

Roethlisberger would reveal he had a lingering issue with his elbow for quite a few years.

“It was never serious enough to do anything with,” Roethlisberger told Will Graves of he Associated Press, who is sporting a much longer hair style in this COVID-19 world we all are not adjusting to.

“Specifically, on that drive against Seattle, it just kind of, the pain wasn’t really going away. I threw one deep one to JuJu (Smith-Schuster) down the right side, and I just really felt a different pain and a different discomfort than I have ever felt. It was kind of shooting down my arm. I knew something was different at that moment.”

Ironically, the final drive of the season for Roethlisberger proved to be one of his most accurate of the game and season. The only incomplete pass he threw on his last drive of 2019 was negated by a defensive hand’s penalty by then Seattle safety Bradley McDougald. He would complete his next six passes for 67 yards that led to a field goal. In the previous five drives against the Seahawks he went two of nine for eight yards.

He was getting hot. He was finding his rhythm and then the injury. He was returning to the Roethlisberger fans are accustomed to seeing play quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

“You know my arm feels really, really good,” Roethlisberger replied to Gerry Dulac of the Post-Gazette when asked about how the arm feels compared to last August.  “I threw a lot of balls yesterday. I was kind of waking up today to see how it was going to feel, and it feels great. That’s kind of what I anticipated because we have been working more than usual in the offseason in terms of throwing. I’ve put together 2-3 days a week of throwing for the last two months, if not longer than that too. I think the plan is still to kind of pitch count, if you will, through training camp.”

Roethlisberger look and appeared refreshed or possibly thankful. He may realize that in fact the end is nearing and sometimes we do not always get the choice on how things are going to end.

The Steelers leader is back, and he appears to have a new zest for all that is associated with being a franchise quarterback in the National Football League.

That residue of positivity should finds it way to the rest of the roster.

 

Photo Credit Pittsburgh Steelers / Karl Roser