Ben: ‘Linemen are more important than any skill position player’
From Teresa Varley at Steelers.com:
On Sunday afternoon Ben Roethlisberger will embark on his 15th season in the NFL, and it doesn’t matter how many snaps he has taken in his career, he still feels the nerves.
“I ask these young guys if they are nervous and they tell me no and I call them a liar because if I am 15 years in and nervous you should be nervous too. That is natural. You should be nervous. You should be excited. This is football. This is what we have grown up doing, this is what we love doing. We are out here in camps, minicamp, training camp, sweating and bleeding, putting so much on the line for Sunday. To be out there with each other. I think we are all excited and I am no different.”
Who will be out there on Sunday on the field with Roethlisberger still is somewhat of a gray area as Le’Veon Bell has yet to report and sign his franchise tender. While Roethlisberger would like to have all of his weapons at his disposal, he also knows it’s more than one player that makes the offense tick.
“He is one of the best in the business. Any time you have a guy like that, you want him on the field with you,” said Roethlisberger. “I think we are a very good offense. Football is the ultimate team sport. One person doesn’t make or break you. I’d like to say the linemen are more important than any skill position player, including myself, on this team. This offense is more than one guy.”
A guy that will likely be called upon Sunday will be second-year back James Conner. Conner carried the majority of the load for the ground game in the preseason, and the progress he made since his rookie season is readily noticed.
“James is a year better than he was last year at this time,” said Roethlisberger. “I think we are all kind of excited for what he can bring to this offense, this team. We’ve got a lot of weapons. We’d like to have him out there, but we’ve got guys who can make plays for us.”
Roethlisberger even called out Conner as being his ‘security blanket’ in the offense, the guy he can go to when […]
‘Big Ben’ carves his own path in Steelers history
From Dave Hannaman at The (Findlay) Courier:
By the time Ben Roethlisberger joined the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2004, men with Hall of Fame names like Bradshaw and Harris and Swann and Lambert and “Mean Joe” had carved out an impressive history for the organization.
As the new kid out of Findlay High School and the Mid-American Conference, Roethlisberger was determined to not only add to the legacy, but put his own stamp on it as well.
“When I got to Pittsburgh, it was Terry Bradshaw. Everybody said, ‘This is what you have to live up to,’” Roethlisberger said.
“I said, ‘No, I don’t need to be Terry Bradshaw. I need to be the best Ben Roethlisberger I can be.’
“Terry Bradshaw was a great quarterback and had a great career. But the message I always wanted to make was, ‘Don’t try to fill someone else’s shoes; believe in yourself and make your own path.’”
Fourteen years later, Roethlisberger’s size 13 cleats have churned out a Hall of Fame-caliber career highlighted by two Super Bowl championships (2006, 2009) in three Super Bowl appearances. His 148 career wins are the seventh-most of any quarterback in NFL history and his .676 winning percentage (148-71) is fourth-highest of any NFL quarterback with at least 100 career wins.
Not bad for a guy who was the starting quarterback just one year in high school, and in college didn’t attend an FBS power school that played in front of a national prime-time audience every Saturday.
Truth be told, Roethlisberger credits that small-market, Midwest background for much of his success.
“It’s the work ethic. It’s blue collar. It’s what this area is all about. That’s why Pittsburgh worked so well for me. It has that same kind of work ethic,” Roethlisberger said in June during a celebrity softball game he set up in Findlay to raise funds to benefit Findlay High athletics and the Ben Roethlisberger Foundation. Over the years the foundation has contributed around $2 million to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, as well as K-9 and service dog units for police and fire departments throughout the U.S.
“I’m from Findlay, Ohio. I’m not knocking Findlay, Ohio, but it’s not the biggest city in the world,” he said. “I went to Miami of Ohio. I’m not knocking Miami of Ohio, but it’s not the biggest (college) […]
Two special gifts for two special people
After airing a story on ABC 6 News of a Mayo Clinic surgeon giving his signed Ben Roethlisberger football to a teenager with a rare, degenerative condition, Ben Roethlisberger reached out to tell us the signature was fake. What came next was remarkable!! — Hannah Tiede, ABC News- Rochester, Minnesota.
It’s a story you’ll only see on ABC 6 news…one that started with an incredible act of kindness.
“Seth has a very rare autoimmune disease that is killing all of his healthy cells and tissues,” said Julie Bayles. “Basically its progressive degenerative; it is choosing which organ system it wants to attack next.”
For the past 11 years, Julie has been taking her son, Seth Bayles, to Mayo Clinic for specialized treatment. It’s quite the trip, considering they live in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
“It’s worth the 600-mile drive,” said Julie. “We feel like we are the only patient they have at the time.”
Nothing could be truer after a complication with Seth’s feeding tube. It was at an emergency visit on August 8th, where Seth met Patrick Quandt.
“I had an immediate connection as soon as we walked in the room,” said Quandt, a Registered Nurse at Mayo Clinic.
The two found they share something in common.
“Once you’re a Steelers fan, you’re always a Steelers fan,” said Seth.
“I showed him the tattoo on my arm,” said Quandt. “Immediately, knew that my good friend Doctor John Stulak would really appreciate the chance to meet Seth.”
“Steeler Nation is all about family and so when one member of the family is in the hospital, then all of the family members flock,” said Dr. Stulak, a Cardiac Surgeon at Mayo Clinic.
Dr. Stulak knew right away he wouldn’t be visiting Seth empty-handed. He gave Seth what he thought was a signed Ben Roethlisberger (A.K.A. “Big Ben”) football.
“Nine years I have had that football,” said Dr. Stulak. “It was a gift from my brother, George. I gave it to him [Seth] without asking him [George] and by the time I told George I gave away his gift, he had already seen the story on Facebook.”
The story also caught the attention of Roethlisberger’s social media & website manager. She showed our […]
The last pre-season game
Ben to open “Seven” restaurant near Heinz Field
From Joyce Hanz, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review:
Ben Roethlisberger is opening a new restaurant in Pittsburgh, steps away from Heinz Field and PNC Park on the North Shore.
The Steelers quarterback and longtime business partner and friend Scott Kier will open North Shore Seven, scheduled for an April 2019 debut — just in time for the Pirates home opener.
“The guys on the team always refer to him as ‘Seven,’ not Ben, so we wanted to call it Seven,” said Kier, explaining the eatery name choice.
The menu will offer made-from-scratch entrees, salads, appetizers, sandwiches and pour more than 50 taps, including craft beers. Designed for about 250 patrons, diners will choose from indoor/outdoor dining — including two bars and two patios. Kier said they are still in the design phase with an emphasis on maximizing the large space.
Kier, a Greensburg native now living in Charleston, S.C., described the space as “industrial chic.”
“It’s safe to say there won’t be a bad seat in the house to view sports. It’s on the first floor, and we have city views, and actually the best river views of the city from the North Shore — clear and unobstructed. It was a long hard climb to get here. They just don’t hand out spaces like this to just anyone, even if your name is Ben Roethlisberger.” — Scott Kier.
North Shore Seven is the fourth establishment for the business partners, and the first to open in Pittsburgh. The pair operate three additional restaurants together in the south — King Street Grille locations in Myrtle Beach and Kiawah Island in South Carolina, and the Savannah Taphouse in Savannah, Ga.
“Food is very important to both Ben and I,” Kier said. “From the beginning, we knew that great food was the key to being unique and having longevity. Everything we do is made from scratch. We wanted to do different food than typical sports bar (food).”
Signature dishes such as Sweet Tea Fried Chicken marinated 36 hours in sweet tea, Create-Your-Own-Chopped Salads (think homemade salad dressings on custom salads), custom Angus burgers and Asiago Crusted Chicken separate their restaurants from the run-of-the-mill sports bar offerings.
Past King Street Grille culinary awards include “Best Sports Bar” for ten years running by Charleston City Paper and “Best Salads” by WMBF in Myrtle Beach.
Steeler fans […]