Regular followers of Ben’s site will remember Zach – he is always out there helping Ben at his ProCamps kids football camp every summer.

“We enjoy coming every year and Zach loves interacting with the kiddos. You all are amazing for giving him so many blessed memories!” — Kelly Mezger, Zach’s mother.

Unfortunately, Zach became ill yesterday with a fever & infection and was admitted to the hospital, and is still there receiving treatment.

Sending prayers to Zachery Mezger…get well quickly, buddy! We’re thinking about you!! — Ben.

If you have a Twitter account, give him a personal shout-out at @coachzman . You can befriend him on Facebook here!


Also…

Hooray for Lila Chapman! She is home from the hospital after a stay over the Christmas holiday!



Lila is Steelers Strong, so we’re not surprised!! But we sure are glad she’s out of the hospital and was able to enjoy Christmas the way it was meant to be enjoyed – at home with family!

Recap from Teresa Varley, Steelers.com:

Coach Mike Tomlin said during his weekly news conference that he would like to give some of his starters a rest this week against the Browns to make sure they go into the postseason healthy.

Among those on the short list is quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.

“It’s about getting older,” said Roethlisberger. “This time of year everybody’s a little banged up and hurting and things. If coach says take the day off, I am not going to argue.”

The last few years the Steelers have missed some of their biggest weapons on offense in the postseason because of injuries, including Le’Veon Bell and Antonio Brown. So while resting those guys might worry some about them getting out of rhythm, Roethlisberger thinks it’s the right move.

“Staying mentally strong is huge this time of year,” said Roethlisberger. “Being mentally ready to go. It’s been a long season. Physically it can be better if you get healthy and rested up. We will still take our time and get stuff ready to go. We will have all next week to get ready for whoever we are playing.

“We hope we can get everybody out of this last game, especially the guys up front. That is most important. If they are healthy and playing their best football, which I think they are doing, that makes everybody’s job easier and all of us play better.”

If Roethlisberger doesn’t play, the offense will likely be in the hands of Landry Jones. Roethlisberger said he will help Jones prepare all week and likes the growth he has seen in him.

“Just his understanding of the offense, growth, play calling,” said Roethlisberger. “We can do no-huddle with him. Him being around here you see a lot of understanding of football, our offense, defense, and things like that.”


More from Ben –

On Jesse James:

“He has continued to grow. Just little steps along the way. Not making the mistakes. Understanding when he is hot, understanding how to run routes. Blocking. I think he has done a great job in the blocking game as well. The little things have added up to his growth and I think from where he was from the beginning of the year to now, is a huge asset to us. It might not show in the stats […]

From Ben’s radio show this morning on 93.7 The Fan:

Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger joined “The Cook and Poni Show” on Sportsradio 93.7 The Fan for the “#1 Cochran Ben Roethlisberger Show,” which airs every Tuesday morning at 11 a.m. during the Steelers’ season.

The Steelers are coming off a 31-27 victory of the rival Baltimore Ravens that clinched the AFC North division on Christmas Day.

Roethlisberger led the team down the field on the final drive to win, while overcoming his mistakes from earlier in the game. He used some interesting motivation to go win the game.

Roethlisberger led the team down the field on the final drive to win, while overcoming his mistakes from earlier in the game. He used some interesting motivation to go win the game.

“I heard a handful of kids behind me just kind of saying, ‘Let’s go Ben, you can do it, we believe in you, you’re our favorite.’ Something like that, you know and you hear a lot of the negative, that just kind of washed all the negative away,” said Roethlisberger. “As I was standing on the sideline, I remember as I was standing there praying and doing some thinking on the sideline, I remember thinking to myself and praying, ‘I want to go do it for those kids.’”

Roethlisberger has not heard if he will play Sunday against the Browns or not. He did not say he didn’t want to play Sunday, but says he will appreciate the rest if he gets it.

“You know, as we all are this time of year, even though the line has played great and they’ve really kept me upright, if you can get a little bit of rest to head into a playoff time I would use the rest. If coach [head coach Mike Tomlin] wanted me to play I would play, too, but if I could rest my old bones, the knees and the shoulders and stuff I would take that rest as well,” he said.

When asked if the Steelers would have been able to get another play off before time expired on the game clock had Brown not made it into the end zone he simply said:

“Does it matter?”

“You can ‘what if?’ every single play of a football game can’t ya? I mean, what if he would have […]

And three storylines to come out of this Christmas night game:


Ben is Digest Player of the Week

From Bob Labriola at Steelers.com:

This is what franchise quarterbacks do. This is why Ben Roethlisberger deserves to be recognized as a franchise quarterback.



Trailing 17-10 when the fourth quarter began and then by 20-10 shortly thereafter, Roethlisberger directed the Steelers on three touchdown drives – of 75 yards, then 90 yards, then 75 yards again – and he capped two of those with touchdown passes to lead the Steelers to a 31-27 victory over the Baltimore Ravens that clinched the AFC North Division championship and guaranteed a playoff game at Heinz Field on the weekend of Jan. 7-8.

For the game, Roethlisberger completed 24-of-33 for 279 yards, with three touchdowns, two interceptions, and a rating of 103.0, but more important than the statistics were the situations in which Roethlisberger delivered for his team. Roethlisberger is the Steelers Digest Player of the Week.



Steelers’ ‘Killer B’s’ fuel epic, emotional win over Ravens to take the AFC North

From Jacob Feldman at Sports Illustrated:

Ben Roethlisberger unbuckled his chinstrap and flung his right hand across his body in self-disgust. After throwing a second interception near his own goal line—this one close to the end of the third quarter as Big Ben’s Steelers trailed by 7—he dropped his head on his way back to the sideline. As if the game was over. As if Baltimore-Pittsburgh matchups don’t always go down to the final whistle. As if this chapter of the NFL’s best rivalry, with the AFC North up for grabs, wasn’t also going to be special. But of course it would be.

About an hour later, Roethlisberger let his chin hit his chest again, this time in exhaustion as much as anything else. He had just led the Steelers to three fourth-quarter touchdown drives. Antonio Brown had just caught a slant on the one-yard line, where three Ravens immediately greeted him. But the 180-lb. receiver had extended himself backwards and twisted far enough to stick his left hand, and the football, across the goal line for a game-winning TD. Pittsburgh had just clinched the AFC North title and a playoff spot with a 31-27 win. A classic.

“I kind of dug ourselves a hole,” Roethlisberger said after the game. “I […]

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Tune your TV to CBS before the game at 4PM ET / 1PM PT to catch Big Ben, Drew Brees, Kyle Busch, EJ Manuel, Chase Utley, Tyrann Mathieu, Michelle Wie, Shawn White, and more sports stars with their Most Valuable Pets! Hosted by Boomer Esiason.