Refocused, hungrier Roethlisberger prepares for return to Steelers

By Peter King > MONDAY MORNING QB - TUESDAY
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/nfl/
Tuesday September 28, 2010

A week from now, one of the big stories in the league -- maybe the biggest story in the league -- will be Ben Roethlisberger returning to the Steelers after his four-week suspension. What kind of mood will Roethlisberger will be in? Will he be humbled, chastened? And in a football sense, will he be ready to return after the Steelers' bye week to resume his starting role on a Super Bowl contender?

George Whitfield, a quarterback coach from San Diego, was hired by Roethlisberger's agent, Ryan Tollner, to work privately with Roethlisberger for his four weeks away from the Steelers. Whitfield commutes from California each week and tries to simulate a regular Wednesday-Thursday-Friday practice week at a high school in Pittsburgh. Sometimes Roethlisberger throws to the likes of former NFLer Devard Darling, who lives in the area, and sometimes he uses high school kids. Whitfield puts Roethlisberger through two-hour workouts, which are taped, and then he and Roethlisberger go over the tape to see how he might make slight improvements.

I mentioned this on NBC's Football Night in America Sunday night, but it's worth retelling here. When Whitfield reported to Pittsburgh for the first time, he went directly to Roethlisberger's home. When he walked in, he saw a report on TV that said the Steelers had voted for captains, and Roethlisberger had not been voted one of them. It was an awkward moment, and Whitfield didn't know how Roethlisberger would react. "Ben just said, 'Hey, I put myself in this position. I've got to handle it, and I'm going to hammer my way through it,' '' Whitfield said.

One thing Roethlisberger is happy about, Whitfield said, is to work on some of the mechanical things a quarterback never has time to do during a normal season. "He likes the fact that this is like a one-month mechanics camp,'' Whitfield said. "He's a very self-aware quarterback. He'll say, 'I pat the ball, I overstride, sometimes I'm sloppy in my drop -- let's work on those things,' '' Whitfield said. "I think he's been very happy to be able to take some time to work on things he believes will make him a better player.''

"It's been very interesting,'' Whitfield added. "It's not like I have Mike Tomlin standing behind me to reinforce what I say. But I might as well have. [Ben's] been very coachable. He's fired up to do this. I was a little intimidated at first, because I didn't know what to expect. But he's excited to come to work every day when I'm with him, and he's putting his time to good use.''

After one practice, Whitfield said Roethlisberger took his cleats off and put on some work boots. Roethlisberger said he was going to chop wood at his father's ranch nearby.

"I think he's going to come back sharper and hungrier,'' Whitfield said. "He's really focused right now.''