Tuesday, September 18, 2007
By Ed Bouchette, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Peter Diana / Post-Gazette
Ben Roethlisberger runs on to the field before the start of the game against the Bills Sunday at Heinz Field.
Memories play tricks when it comes to quarterback Ben Roethlisberger because his 2006 season generally is regarded as one big bust.
Tackle Willie Colon wasn't with the Steelers when Roethlisberger shot through the NFL with the best first two seasons in the league for a quarterback, when he went 13-0 as a rookie and became the youngest starting quarterback to win a Super Bowl in his second year.
All he saw was Roethlisberger's 2006 season, Colon's rookie year, and some of the portions he witnessed were enough to convince him that Roethlisberger was a winner.
One game particularly stands out for Colon, now the Steelers' starting right tackle. It came in the rain Nov. 19 in Cleveland, after the Steelers fell behind the Browns, 13-3, with just 10 minutes left in the game.
"I was amazed last year when we went to Cleveland and it was raining and he just became a pure gunslinger," said Colon, who was inactive that day. "He just started slinging the ball left and right and made plays. He just took over the game. That right there always stays in my mind, that he's our guy."
Roethlisberger, who started poorly in that game and had an interception returned for a touchdown, produced perhaps the best 10 minutes by a quarterback in Steelers history. He led them to three touchdowns in that span, throwing for two. In that fourth quarter, he completed 18 of 29 passes for 224 yards.
It was Roethlisberger's eighth career fourth-quarter comeback victory. He would produce a ninth in the 2006 season finale, a 23-17 overtime victory in Cincinnati. Lost in that 8-8 season is the fact that Roethlisberger threw for 3,513 yards, second in team history only to Terry Bradshaw's 3,724 in 1979.
There have been no fourth-quarter comebacks through two games this season. No need for any. The Steelers jumped on their first two opponents and stayed on them, outscoring Cleveland and Buffalo by a combined 60-10.
And Roethlisberger has been front and center in both. After a season in which he threw a league-high 23 interceptions to go with 18 touchdown passes, Roethlisberger has five touchdown passes and one interception. His 101.7 passer rating is more in line with his first two seasons when he combined for a 98.3.
It's early, but Big Ben appears to be back.
"It does not surprise me when he comes out and plays well," coach Mike Tomlin said.
Roethlisberger has completed passes to nine receivers -- four wide receivers, two tight ends, two running backs and one fullback.
"Ben is doing a great job of spreading the ball around, going to his checkdowns, getting it to his tight ends," said wide receiver Hines Ward, who leads the pack with eight receptions, although his 106 yards are 2 fewer than Santonio Holmes, who has five catches. "We're going to continue to grow, we're balanced, we're only going to get better and better as the year goes on."
Everyone knows how the year 2006 started for Roethlisberger. It started with an incredible playoff run and a Super Bowl victory and then crashed down around him as the summer began. He did not throw a touchdown pass until the fifth game of the 2006 season, the fourth for him, and opened with seven interceptions in his first three games as the Steelers won only two of their first eight.
It's a different quarterback and a different team that have opened the 2007 season.
"My personal opinion, I think after last year going through what he went through on the field, it humbled him so much," Colon said. "I can feel that -- not that he didn't care about his line, but you can tell he has more respect that we're going to protect him with our hearts and he's going to do what he does. I respect him as a man. You can tell he's lowered himself.
"He understands it's not just about him out there. He's becoming a team player. He's starting to really let himself go. You can tell he got rid of everything else on the outside, he's just letting everything fly. He controls the huddle, he commands it and he's having fun."
Roethlisberger said he's not satisfied with his performance yet. He told coordinator Bruce Arians Sunday that "it wasn't our best game, and there were plays where I wasn't as good as I should have been. And there were times when we felt we should have called different things, but it wasn't our best game and we still got the win. It's reassuring to know how much better we feel we can get."
First published on September 18, 2007 at 12:00 am
Ed Bouchette can be reached at ebouchette@post-gazette.com.
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