http://www.nfl.com/news/story/9466914
Notebook: Bad news, league; Big Ben's even better
May 25, 2006
By Pete Prisco
CBS SportsLine.com Senior Writer
Here's something any team not named the
Pittsburgh Steelers doesn't want to hear:
Ben Roethlisberger is a much better quarterback now than he was last season.
Ben Roethlisberger has more experience and more speed at receiver. (AP) "I've been very impressed with his offseason," offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt said. "I'm excited by the things I've seen."
Entering his third season, coming off a Super Bowl-winning year, Roethlisberger is primed to move into the elite of the league's quarterback ratings. For his first two seasons playing in the Steelers' run-oriented offense, Roethlisberger was a quarterback learning the position.
He was raw, yet talented. He made up for his mental shortcomings with his physical ability. We saw him make amazing plays, but we also saw him make some bad ones.
Whisenhunt said in Roethlisberger's first year, he would read one route and then take off if it wasn't open or force the ball into that spot. Last year, he would read half the field, but instead of forcing passes he learned to throw to the check down. This year, he's reading the entire field, a sign of growth for any young passer.
"Because of this we've expanded the things we will do with him," Whisenhunt said.
Don't expect the Steelers to become a throw-it-first team. That's not the Bill Cowher way. That's not the Steelers way.
They will still be a ball-control offense, a team that sets up the pass with the run. But if you remember, they made their magical playoff run last season by opening games using the pass and then coming back with the run when they needed to protect a lead.
Roethlisberger's growth made that possible. By the end of 2006, he had become a much more polished player, allowing the game to go more on his right arm and less on the legs of the team's backs.
"In the latter part of the season and on into the playoffs, he started trusting and believing in what we were doing more," Whisenhunt said. "He got more confident and you saw what he did."
In three playoff games and the Super Bowl, Roethlisberger completed 58 of 93 passes for 803 yards, seven touchdowns and three interceptions. His postseason passer rating was an impressive 101.7, which was better than his regular-season rating of 98.6.
Their upset of the Colts is a perfect example of how the Steelers used their quarterback and passing game to dictate tempo early and came back with the run in the second half. Roethlisberger completed 12 of 19 passes for 172 yards and two touchdowns in the first half, but threw only five passes, completing two, in the second.
The Steelers ran it 42 times that day to 24 passes, but it's how they passed that was the key.
Prisco says.......Bad news, league; Big Ben's even better
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