Sunday, January 04, 2015

Ravens upend Steelers 30-17 in AFC wild card


By Will Graves
January 4, 2015
Baltimore Ravens running back Bernard Pierce (30) gets past Pittsburgh Steelers strong safety Troy Polamalu (43) for a touchdown in the second quarter of an NFL wildcard playoff football game against the Baltimore Ravens, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2015, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

PITTSBURGH (AP) -- The Baltimore Ravens survived the tumultuous dismissal of Ray Rice, a sometimes spotty fall and a critical month without their suspended, all-everything nose tackle.

Game Leaders

Winning in Pittsburgh in January hardly seemed too much to ask.
Allowed to hit the reset button in the playoffs, Joe Flacco and the NFL's postseason road warriors are heading to New England with their swagger fully intact.
Rarely flustered in the face of a pass rush that barely laid a hand on him, Flacco tossed two second-half touchdowns as the Ravens pulled away from the Steelers 30-17 in the AFC wild-card game.
''That's playoff football,'' Baltimore coach John Harbaugh said. ''That's Joe Flacco. The best quarterback in football. I'll take him every day of the week and twice on Sunday or Saturday night.''
Once was more than enough.
Flacco hit Torrey Smith for an 11-yard score in the third quarter and found Crockett Gillmore with a 21-yard pass in the fourth one play after Terrell Suggs picked off Ben Roethlisberger. The Ravens won a playoff game in Pittsburgh for the first time in franchise history, avenging postseason losses in 2008 and 2010 by quieting the NFL's second-ranked offense.
Baltimore (11-6) sacked Roethlisberger five times and kept All-Pro wide receiver Antonio Brown largely in check. Roethlisberger passed for 334 yards, but the Steelers (11-6) settled for field goals while the Ravens kept scoring touchdowns.
''I didn't play well enough,'' Roethlisberger said. ''I didn't play well enough to win and guys look at me as the leader and the quarterback to make plays and do what it takes to win the football game, and I don't believe I did that today.''
Flacco had no such problems. Baltimore heads to top-seeded New England next Saturday, a place where it upset Tom Brady and company two years ago on the way to the franchise's second Super Bowl title.
The Ravens turned it over just once, scored on six of nine possessions and had an answer every time it seemed the Steelers were ready to grab momentum.
Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Heath Miller turns b …Play video
Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Heath Miller turns ball …
''The big thing is we have a good team and we didn't hurt ourselves tonight,'' Flacco said. ''We didn't have a lot of possessions early. We made the most of them by getting some kind of points.
''We played a clean football game and kept at it.''
The Ravens won their third wild-card game as the sixth seed. It provided another twist in a season that began with Rice's suspension and eventual release following a domestic dispute with his fiancee (now his wife). When the chaos died down, the Ravens emerged galvanized.
Flacco did what he always seems to do when the calendar flips to January. His seven road playoff wins are the most by a quarterback since the 1970 merger. He completed 18 of 29 passes for 259 yards and the two scores. The Ravens gained a measure of revenge after the archrival Steelers knocked them out of the postseason in 2008 and 2010 at Heinz Field.
Yet Flacco has come of age in the interim. And while Pittsburgh's bounce-back season included its first AFC North title in four years, the Steelers' revamped roster could do little when it mattered.
Pittsburgh Steelers block Baltimore Ravens punt fo …Play video
Pittsburgh Steelers block Baltimore Ravens punt for …
Pittsburgh played without All-Pro running back Le'Veon Bell, out with a hyperextended right knee. Fill-ins Ben Tate, Josh Harris and Dri Archer managed just 43 yards on 15 carries as the Steelers' four-game winning streak came to an abrupt and decisive end.
Pittsburgh fell to 9-1 when facing a team for the third time in the same season, and it was not close. Baltimore's 13-point victory was the fourth-biggest win by a road team in Steelers postseason history.
Flacco escaped pressure from James Harrison to find Smith in the back of the end zone to make it 20-9 in the third quarter. Pittsburgh drew within 20-15 on a 6-yard pass from Roethlisberger to Martavis Bryant with 11:01 to go. But there would be no 2.0-version of the Steelers' rally from 14 points down to Baltimore in the divisional round four years ago.
Justin Tucker drilled a 52-yard field goal to push the lead to 23-15 and Suggs made a juggling interception from his knees on Pittsburgh's ensuing possession. The Ravens did not hesitate to put the Steelers away. Flacco rolled right and flipped to Gillmore. The tight end outraced two defenders to the end zone.
In the end it was Ravens coach John Harbaugh enjoying a rare celebratory moment in a place that has long been a stumbling block. No more. With his brother Jim - the newly minted head coach at Michigan - watching in a Wolverines winter jacket, the elder sibling sprinted off the turf and on to the divisional round for the sixth time since 2008.
NOTES: Roethlisberger surpassed Terry Bradshaw for most playoff completions in franchise history (279). ... Ravens are 10-5 on road in postseason. ... Brown had nine receptions for 117 yards, while Baltimore's Steve Smith had five for 101. ... All-Pro LB Elvis Dumervil had two sacks for the Ravens. ... Pittsburgh had eight penalties for 114 yards.
Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Torrey Smith (82) makes a touchdown catch past Pittsburgh Steelers free safety Mike Mitchell (23) in the third quarter of an NFL wildcard playoff football game, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2015, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Don Wright)
Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Torrey Smith (82) makes a touchdown catch past Pittsburgh Steelers free safety Mike Mitchell (23) in the third quarter of an NFL wildcard playoff football game, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2015, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Don Wright)
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Steelers' late-season performance likely alters LeBeau's future


By Andrew Chiappazzi chiappazzia@timesonline.com
http://www.timesonline.com/sports/steelers/
January 3, 2015

Steelers defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau and Troy Polamalu leave the field after the Steelers lose to the Ravens 30-17 in last night's AFC playoff game.

PITTSBURGH — In the NFL, as in everyday life, perception is often reality. 
For much of the early part of the 2014 season, the perception of the Steelers’ defense wasn’t kind. Viewed as old and inconsistent, the decisions to bring Brett Keisel and James Harrison back when injuries and poor performance hit the front seven were often mocked. The stats weren’t kind either, as evidenced by the Steelers ranking 18th in points allowed per game, 18th in yards allowed, and a dreadful 27th in passing yards allowed per game.
It was a startling trend. After a string of elite defensive performances from 2007 through 2011 led to two Super Bowl appearances, the Steelers slipped some in 2012 and more in 2013, when the Steelers allowed 23.1 points per game, a full touchdown more than the average total of the previous six seasons.

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Even now, the stats aren’t kind, especially on the advanced analytics side. Advanced stats gurus FootballOutsiders.com lambasted the Steelers’ defense in their preview of the AFC Wild Card game Saturday night, calling defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau a dinosaur and watching the Steelers’ defense in person “like taking a tour through Jurassic Park.”
It’s the type of performance and perception that has led to increased speculation that the 77-year-old LeBeau might be done after 56 consecutive seasons in the NFL. And if so, it might not entirely be his choice. 
That was five weeks ago. Now, the perception is changing, even if the stats are slow to adjust. The Steelers may be giving up 23 points per game, but heading into Saturday's playoff game, they allowed 17.5 points per game in the last month of the regular season. That one touchdown is the difference between 18th in the NFL and second.
The make-up of the opposition helped. Atlanta, Cincinnati and Kansas City are firmly entrenched as middle-of-the-pack offenses in today’s NFL, and only the Falcons could be considered explosive at 284.6 passing yards per game.
But having a good match-up is only part of the equation. The Steelers took advantage of the situation, ringing up 12 sacks in those four games, a sharp increase from their previous average of 1.75 per game. Three sacks per game all season long would have placed the Steelers’ fourth in the NFL.
The added pressure also led to an increase in turnovers in the last four weeks and fewer third down conversions by opposing offenses. It was present again at times Saturday night. Even if it didn't always result in a sack of Joe Flacco, pressure - and the lack thereof, at times - often dictated the success or failure of Baltimore drives.
Whether the Steelers' won or lost Saturday night likely had little impact on Dick LeBeau's future. But their performance leading up to their first playoff appearance since 2012 surely did. The last month has likely altered more than just the perception surrounding the Steelers’ defense. It’s also altered the reality surrounding LeBeau's choice.
It will certainly now be his decision to retire or stay, not a forced personnel change masquerading as retirement. 
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Steelers lack pieces to finish off Ravens


Saturday, Jan. 3, 2015, 11:24 p.m.

Chaz Palla | Trib Total Media
The Steelers' Brice McCain, Mike Mitchell, B.W. Webb and Antwon Blake sit on the bench at the end of the AFC wild-card game Saturday, Jan. 3, 2015, at Heinz Field.

Maddening until the very end. That's what these Steelers were. They could look unstoppable, but lesser opponents tripped them once too often.
That is important to remember in the wake of a disappointing playoff loss Saturday night. Unforgivable regular-season losses to Tampa Bay and New Orleans at home and on the road against the New York Jets forced the Steelers into a wild-card game against the Baltimore Ravens.
Win those games — and the Buccaneers, Saints and Jets combined for only two more victories than the Steelers' 11 — and stud running back Le'Veon Bell would have had a bye week to rest his hyper-extended knee.
Bell's injury might have doomed these Steelers, but his rise to ranks of NFL elite was the catalyst for their return to the playoffs after an absence of two seasons.
He's coming back. So are his fellow All-Pro teammates, wide receiver Antonio Brown and center Maurkice Pouncey. And Ben Roethlisberger, the franchise quarterback who found his peak powers in his 11th season, will have an even better offense to play around with next season.
The future for coach Mike Tomlin, who like Roethlisberger should get a new contract this offseason (throw in one for general manager Kevin Colbert, too), looks bright.
Still, the loss Saturday night will sting for days — likely weeks — and maybe a month or two. The opponent will have something to do with that, because Baltimore makes for a rival unlike any the Steelers have known over the past three decades.
More than any NFL franchise, the Ravens have stolen from the Steelers' blueprint for success. And right now, anyway, they are better in the critical areas of defense, toughness and knowing how to win the important games.
It is no coincidence that the Steelers had to go through the Ravens to reach their last two Super Bowls. But the Steelers are 0-2 in the playoffs since they last played for the Lombardi Trophy. The Ravens have won one Super Bowl, lost in the AFC title game and missed the postseason only once over that span.
Aside from New England, there is no more consistent AFC franchise than the one in Baltimore.
Whatever mental edge the Steelers had over the Ravens is gone for good after Saturday night. The Ravens had lost three previous playoff games at Heinz Field.
Coach John Harbaugh and quarterback Joe Flacco had been around for two of those.
With this victory in the biggest game contested between these teams in four years, Harbaugh and Flacco have won six of the past nine against the Steelers, including three of five on the road.
Bell might have made a difference Saturday night, especially in the first half.
There, the Steelers ran 17 more plays and held a possession advantage of almost 12 minutes. But the Steelers settled for three field goals. The Ravens scored a touchdown, and it came after a most disappointing series for the Steelers' defense.
That Ravens' scoring drive started at their 20-yard line, but a stupid unnecessary roughness penalty by safety Mike Mitchell set a tone for what would become Baltimore's pivotal drive.
Mitchell didn't have to go high on a double-covered Jacoby Jones. He did. He paid, and the Steelers will have a long offseason to wonder if their investment in Mitchell was wise.
He was not very good this season.
He'll need to be much better over the final four years of his contract because he is likely the best among a weak supporting cast in the secondary.
Troy Polamalu probably played his last game on Saturday night. If so, he was in many ways unlike any defensive back this franchise has known, and it has known many good ones and a couple of Hall of Famers in Mel Blount and Rod Woodson.
Polamalu will follow those all-time Steelers into Canton. In his prime, he was a whirling, unpredictable menace, a freakish combination of athleticism and instinct, a game-changing performer who elevated Dick LeBeau's 3-4 zone-blitz defense into a scheme for the ages.
Finding his replacement will not prove easy, if possible at all.
Still, the Steelers must find a couple of playmakers for their defense. Maybe two promising linebackers, Jarvis Jones and Ryan Shazier, will become this generation's version of Greg Lloyd and James Farrior.
Nobody knows.
Neither played much because of injuries, and their early career growth has at least been stunted.
There is no next Casey Hampton on the current roster, and finding that kind of blocker-eating, run-stuffing nose tackle should be priority No. 1 for Colbert.
LeBeau's scheme needs an immovable object to make it an irresistible force.
Find that guy, and a lot of defensive problem areas will be masked. Lesser opponents will be beaten.
And rubber matches in the playoffs against the Ravens may be avoided.
Rob Rossi is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. Reach him at rrossi@tribweb.com or via Twitter @RobRossi_Trib.


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Steelers can't overcome Ravens, themselves in wild-card loss


By Scott Brown | ESPN.com
http://espn.go.com/blog/pittsburgh-steelers
January 4, 2015

 Ravens vs. Steelers: Final Score, Highlights from 2015 AFC Wild Card Game

 Joe Flacco threw for 259 yards, 2 TDs and 0 interceptions (Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

 PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Steelers dominated time of possession in the first two quarters of their AFC wild-card playoff game Saturday night against the Baltimore Ravens. Yet they trailed 10-9 at halftime, and their inability to finish conjured up memories of their most recent loss, a 35-32 defeat the visiting New Orleans Saints laid on the Steelers three days after Thanksgiving. 

Sure enough, the Steelers are home for the rest of the playoffs, in part because they relied too much on Shaun Suisham's right leg, accurate as it is, early in the game. 

Suisham booted three field goals before the Steelers found the end zone on a damp night at Heinz Field, and that proved to be costly in a 30-17 loss to the Ravens. After the Ravens advanced to the divisional round, it was fair to wonder if the outcome would have been different, had star running back Le'Veon Bell been able to play in the third meeting between the AFC North rivals this season. 

[+] EnlargeBen Roethlisberger
AP Photo/Gene J. PuskarThe inability of Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers to find the end zone early proved costly against their AFC North rival.
Bell, who led the AFC with 1,361 rushing yards, did not play against the Ravens because of a hyperextended right knee. 

Not that coach Mike Tomlin would be party to anything that went near that notion, even though a player as dynamic as Bell could have been the difference between the Steelers' scoring touchdowns and settling for field goals. 

"We're not going to let that be the story of the game," Tomlin said after the Steelers' first loss in four playoff games against the Ravens. "Somebody goes down, the next man steps up. You move on, and there will be no excuses. We're not going to allow you to push us in that direction. We're not going to lean on that." 

Nor should they because the reality is this: The Steelers lost their third consecutive postseason game dating to the 2010 Super Bowl because they beat themselves as much as the Ravens beat them. 

Reliable tight end Heath Miller dropped a pass on the Steelers' opening possession that forced a punt when a field goal could've been attempted. 

Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger put a little too much air under a pass to a wide-openAntonio Brown early in the second quarter. That gave free safety Darian Stewart just enough time to push Brown out of bounds before he could get both feet down in the end zone, and the Steelers eventually settled for a short field goal. 

Then there were the penalties. 

The Steelers had eight of them for 114 yards. To give those figures the kind of context that won't go down well with Steelers fans' Sunday breakfast, consider Pittsburgh had seven penalties for 104 yards in their previous four games combined. 

The penalties Saturday ranged from untimely to flat-out stupid. 

Shamarko Thomas belted kickoff returner Jacoby Jones, who was going out of bounds early in the fourth quarter after the Steelers had cut the Ravens' lead to five. The unnecessary roughness penalty gave Baltimore the ball at its own 37 instead of its 22-yard line. 

ESPN.COM PLAYOFF COVERAGE

A holding penalty against left tackle Kelvin Beachum later in the quarter nullified a 19-yard catch-and-run for a touchdown by Dri Archer. 

The fans at Heinz Field howled when Steelers cornerback Antwon Blake got called for pass interference after tight coverage in the second quarter -- and when officials did not throw a flag later in the quarter when Lardarius Webb tripped Martavis Bryant. 

Officials ruled the two had gotten their legs tangled, even though Bryant had gotten a step on Webb in the middle of the field. 

But just like Tomlin on the Steelers not having Bell, All-Pro center Maurkice Pouncey did not want to hear anything about the discrepancy in penalties, even though the Ravens were penalized just twice for 14 yards. 

"Officiating happens. We're not blaming officials," Pouncey said. "We just didn't execute. You've got to give [the Ravens] credit, but it sucks, man." 

What magnified that feeling even more is the Steelers thought they had the kind of team that could make a run at the Super Bowl, after they won their final four regular-season games to capture the AFC North title. 

"This team's not going to be the same next year," Steelers defensive end Cameron Heyward said, "and it breaks my heart."
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Saturday, January 03, 2015

Ravens know the pain Antonio Brown can inflict

The Baltimore Sunhttp://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/ravensJanuary 2, 2015
(Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images)

The play lasted just a few seconds, a blur of moves and fallen defenders. It was more than long
enough, though, for Pittsburgh Steelers star Antonio Brown to display how he's become one of the
most dangerous wide receivers in the game.

The last time he played the Ravens, Brown left behind flailing cornerback Chykie Brown on a quick out
pattern. He stiff-armed free safety Will Hill to the ground. And then Antonio Brown reversed field and
accelerated away from diving cornerbacks Dominique Franks and Lardarius Webb for a 54-yard
touchdown catch during a 43-23 blowout win Nov. 2 at Heinz Field.

It was a snapshot of how Brown is capable of embarrassing defensive backs and it came at the Ravens'
expense. The Ravens cut Chykie Brown and Franks day s after that debacle. They hope to do a better job of shadowing Antonio Brown during an AFC wild-card playoff game Saturday night at Heinz Field that marks the third meeting between the AFC North rivals this season.

Brown has become a pivotal matchup after catching 18 passes for 234 yards and one touchdown in two
regular-season games against the Ravens this season.

“He's up there with the best,” Webb said. “A lot of guy s when they go with who's the best receiver in the
game, they want to look at the big guy s, the big, dominant tall guy s like [the Detroit Lions'] Calvin
[Johnson] and [the Dallas Cowboy s'] Dez [Bryant], but with Antonio, he can do it all.

“He's not the biggest guy , so a lot of guys might not want to say , ‘OK, he's the best in the game' because of his size. He does a lot of things on that field that make you say , ‘Man, why not be the best receiver in the
game?'”

Brown led the NFL with 129 catches and 1,698 yards for 13 touchdowns. He set Steelers single-season
records and caught the second-most passes in a season in NFL history .

Brown has been a major threat against the Ravens for y ears, catching 45 passes against them in nine
games for 556 yards and a touchdown.

Webb labeled Brown as an underrated play er y ears ago when Brown was working in tandem with former
Steelers wide receiver Mike Wallace. The Steelers wound up signing Brown to a new contract and let
Wallace leave in free agency and sign with the Miami Dolphins.

During Brown's rookie season in 2010 in an AFC divisional-round win, he beat Webb on a 58-yard fly
route that set up the game-winning touchdown.

“All I said was, ‘Y'all talk about Mike Wallace, give Antonio some love,'” Webb said. “I just said give him
some credit, too. I love playing the best. I'm happy to be in the playoffs. Whoever lines up in front of me
can get it."

In five seasons, Brown has 390 receptions for 5,259 yards and 28 touchdowns. Once an unheralded sixth round draft pick from Central Michigan, he has emerged as one of the top receivers in the league.

“The fact that he does so many things so well truly is the thing that jumps out at you,” Ravens coach John
Harbaugh said. “Antonio Brown is gifted. He runs all the routes. He's not just a deep threat. He's a route
runner. He's a multidimensional guy that can score at any point in time.”

Brown helped propel the Steelers to an AFC North title last week when he ran back a punt 71 yards for a
touchdown in a 27 -17 win over the Cincinnati Bengals. He also caught a 63-yard touchdown as the
Steelers won their first division crown since 2010.

“I think the same thing that makes him dangerous as a receiver makes him dangerous as a returner,”
Ravens special teams coordinator Jerry Rosburg said. “He's very aggressive. He's highly talented. He has a
competitive spirit about him. He wants to make play s, and he has done it. He's a very good player. We
have to be at our best.”

During the teams' last meeting, the Ravens' pride was stung as quarterback Ben Roethlisberger threw six
touchdown passes and set an NFL record with a dozen touchdown passes during a two-game span. The
Ravens haven't forgotten how Brown and the Steelers embarrassed them then.

“Yeah, we think about it because [Roethlisberger] set records on us,” Webb said. “It should have an
impact on all the guys who were on that field to not want it to happen again and be more focused and
study a little harder because he did break records on us.”

Brown caught 11 passes for 144 yards in the last meeting. He has the Ravens' full attention while they also
prepare for tight end Heath Miller and wide receivers Martavis Bryant and Markus Wheaton.

“You can't not focus on a guy that has caught 129 passes,” defensive coordinator Dean Pees said with a
laugh. “He's certainly a big cog in the wheel there that you have to take care of, but you can't ignore
everybody else.”

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In best statistical season, Steelers' Roethlisberger could cement his legacy


Friday, Jan. 2, 2015, 10:48 p.m.
Baltimore Ravens vs. Pittsburgh Steelers: Live Score, Highlights and Analysis
Photo: Charles LeClaire/USA Today

Ben Roethlisberger will talk about winning — it's his favorite subject.
In fact, winning is the only thing that truly interests Roethlisberger.
Tied for the NFL lead in passing yards? Not interested in discussing that.
Throwing for an NFL-record 12 touchdowns in a two-game span? Not interested.
Throwing for 522 yards against the Indianapolis Colts? Not interested.
Having a chance to cement his legacy with a third Super Bowl title during a playoff run that starts Saturday against the Baltimore Ravens? Maybe a little.
“That resonates with him because the ultimate goal for him every year is to win the Super Bowl,” quarterbacks coach Randy Fichtner said. “The only thing he thinks about is the Big One, playing in the Big One and winning the Big One. He's never mentioned statistics or legacy to me ever.”
Roethlisberger never will.
Since the day the Steelers drafted him with the 11th overall pick in 2004, it's always been about winning, not legacy.
“If that drives him in the lonely and quiet times, then great,” Fichtner said. “He never has brought it to anybody's attention. The years I have been around him, it has always been about wins.”
Wins and team first. Never statistics.
Some of that could have been because Roethlisberger never put up the gaudy stats like others. But even in the midst of his best statistical season, it's still team over legacy.
“I want to do everything for the fans, the team, the Rooneys,” Roethlisberger said, the 14th-highest-paid quarterback this season. “It is more about that than any personal legacy.”
But there is no denying what another title would do for Roethlisberger's status.
His statistics this season — tied for the league lead with 4,952 yards passing and a touchdown-to-interception ratio of 32-9 while steering the NFL's second-best offense — have solidified him among the elite. A third Super Bowl title would place him in the same conversation as Tom Brady and Troy Aikman.
“It would put him in that discussion,” former teammate Jerome Bettis said. “He would've earned that spot.”
Roethlisberger has 106 regular-season wins and 10 more in the playoffs. He has two Super Bowl victories, three appearances, three Pro Bowls, 25 fourth-quarter comebacks and 35 game-winning drives — all of which validate him as one of the best.
“I don't think he needs to win this,” said Charlie Batch, who played nine seasons with Roethlisberger. “If he wins another, it validates everything I have already known by sitting in the room with him for all those years.”
Thinking this could be Roethlisberger's last chance to solidify a legacy might seem misguided, but history would disagree.
Ten quarterbacks have won a Super Bowl after age 32, but most of those came decades ago. Only one quarterback older than 32 (Brad Johnson in 2002 with Tampa Bay) has won a Super Bowl since the turn of the century. Roethlisberger turned 32 in March.
“He won his first 16 starts, and that was uncommon,” Batch said. “When you are a rookie quarterback, you lost. He changed that mindset. When you watch Ben, you watch him break down those barriers.”
CHANGE OF STYLE
Roethlisberger was sacked 189 times in a four-year span during his mid-20s. Though he missed only a handful of games, the Steelers believed a change was needed.
Roethlisberger needed to stay upright, or possibly by age 32 his career would be over.
The Steelers invested a pair of first-round and two second-round picks on offensive linemen. Then they hired offensive coordinator Todd Haley with the directive of lessening the hits on Roethlisberger by any means necessary.
It has worked.
Roethlisberger has been sacked fewer times during the past three years than he ever has. And he has missed only seven snaps during the past two years.
“I don't know with the way he played before that he was going to play until he was 40. But with this style, this guy is a horse,” NBC analyst Cris Collinsworth said. “The change of style has really benefited him. The way he is playing now, he is getting the ball out as fast as Brady or (Peyton) Manning or any of those guys.”
Roethlisberger got the rid of the ball, on average, in 2.5 seconds this season, according to Pro Football Focus. Manning led the league at 2.3 seconds, and Brady was second at 2.4 seconds. Last season Roethlisberger was at 2.6 seconds and the year before that 2.8 seconds.
There were more quick throws, but that did not curtail Roethlisberger from throwing the long ball. He led the league with 42 passes of 25 yards or longer.
“I am most proud of him attempting to get the ball out quicker,” Fichtner said. “He knows that if he is on time with decisions, it makes our life and everybody else's life better. Every hit you take is a toll on you.”
Roethlisberger said he believes his game hasn't changed much from three years ago.
“I don't think it was as big as people made it out to be,” he said. “I am not playing any differently than I have before. A lot of it has to do with the guys running right routes, the line protecting and stuff like that.”
HOW MUCH LONGER?
Football might be considered a young man's sport, but the quarterback position sometimes can be the exception.
Manning (38), Brady (37), Drew Brees (35), Tony Romo (34), Eli Manning (34) and Philip Rivers (33) are older than Roethlisberger and still playing at a high level.
Roethlisberger ranked in the top 10 in 10 categories this season: passing yards (tied for first), completions of 25 yards or longer (first), fourth-quarter passer rating (second), 300-yard passing games (second), passing first downs (second), 100.0 passer rating games (second), passer rating (third), completions (third), completion percentage (third) and touchdown passes (seventh).
“Now I think the idea of him playing into his late 30s is realistic,” Collinsworth said. “Before, not so much.”
Roethlisberger will be heading into the final year of his contract after this season. The Steelers said they plan to sign him to another long-term deal, which likely would lock him up for another four or five years — or until he's in his late 30s.
Roethlisberger refused to look past this season, just like he refuses to talk about statistics.
“I am not going to be one of those guys who is going to say that I can play for five, 10, 15 more years,” he said, “because (then) I am cheating myself and everybody else right now.”
Mark Kaboly is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. Reach him at mkaboly@tribweb.com or via Twitter @MarkKaboly_Trib.


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