Game 1: Patriots 28, Steelers 21
Ben’s post-game Q&A:
On overall assessment of week one –
There are no excuses. I think guys stepped up great tonight. I thought [Sammie] Coates did a great job and [Darrius Heyward-Bey] and DeAngelo ran the ball awesome. The Patriots were a better football team.
On moving the ball well, but having to settle for field goal opportunities –
Yeah, you know there were a couple situations [where] we got down to the one [yard line] and we had some… we had a false start on one and one we didn’t get it in, so it is frustrating. We have to go back and figure out why. Is it something they did or is it something we did?
On getting upset about one false start call and ruling –
In my years of playing, a defensive guy can’t bark stuff or move in the middle of a cadence. I agree that the refs said that we didn’t go in the neutral zone and I agree with him. I wasn’t arguing that part. I was arguing the fact that he shifted in the middle of a cadence and I thought that there was a rule against it. Maybe there’s not – maybe it’s a written rule – I don’t really know. So, that’s what I was upset about. They do that. We saw it on film that the Patriots do that. They shift and slide and do stuff on the goal line knowing that it’s an itchy trigger-finger type of down.
On the first drive pass attempt to Antonio Brown –
From when I came off the sideline coach Haley told me was that, they only rushed three guys on that particular play and he had no idea why. It’s not like there was any crazy situation and when they only rush three and drop everybody else it doesn’t leave you many options.
On DeAngelo Williams’ hands –
Awesome. I thought he stepped up and did some great things for his first time out there with a lot of outside question marks, but we believed in him the whole time. We were confident in what he could do.
On what needs to be improved after tonight’s game –
Everything. We need to get better. This is a small step in a long journey. We need to stay together and get […]
Check out this Corn-on-the-Cob cutie!
Yes, Baylee is totally aMAIZEd!! Who knew that vegetables could taste THIS good:
And who said that eating big people food can’t be fun? — Baylee
*You can see more fun family photos here.
Ben’s foundation: Duxbury, MA Police Department receives grant
Today, Ben announced the first grant of the 2015-16 season from The Ben Roethlisberger Foundation at The Giving Back Fund.
The Foundation will be distributing a grant to the Duxbury Police Department just east of Foxborough, MA where the Steelers will play the New England Patriots on Thursday, September 10th.
“On behalf of the Duxbury Police Department, we would like to thank the Ben Roethlisberger Foundation for this generous donation. Like many other departments, we face difficult times with budget cuts, and rely heavily on donations to keep our program running. With this grant, we will be able to purchase a new K-9 to help protect our community and continue the program for years to come.” — Ryan Cavicchi, K-9 Officer for the Duxbury Police Department.
The Duxbury Police Department will apply the grant funds to the purchase and training of a new dog to replace K-9 Zar.. K-9 Zar worked patrol and assisted the SWAT team for nine years.
During the 2015-16 NFL season, The Ben Roethlisberger Foundation will be distributing grants to K-9 units of police and fire departments in the cities and surrounding communities of each regular season away game for the Steelers. The Foundation will also distribute several grants to the Pittsburgh area and will consider a grant to a non-NFL market city in the United States for each playoff game in which the Steelers compete. The Ben Roethlisberger Foundation invited police and fire departments across the country to submit proposals detailing their needs.
This marks the ninth season that Ben’s foundation has distributed grants to K-9 units. His mission is to support K-9 units of police and fire departments throughout the United States, with a particular emphasis on support for service dogs in Pittsburgh, PA. Roethlisberger and the Foundation also support Make-A-Wish.
The Foundation distributed more than $130,000 in grants to K-9 units around the country during the 2014-15 NFL season and has distributed in excess of $1.3 million since 2007.
“We’re very fortunate to be in the position that we are able to help these K-9 units. The work that is performed by the dogs and their handlers as well as the bond that is formed is incredible. We’re just thrilled to do our small part.” — […]
“The Man Behind the Curtain”
“You get caught up when you get so much success so fast, especially in a place like this, where the Steelers are such a big deal. It does go to your head a little bit. I can admit that. You get caught up in the persona — Big Ben. It’s not always a good thing. When you start believing that’s who you are all the time, instead of just on the football field…It’s OK to be that on the football field. I use the analogy, you have to be Clark Kent off the field. You have to be Ben Roethlisberger off the field. I think when that Big Ben starts to get off the field, that’s when you run into issues of losing track of who you really are.” — Ben, from the interview.
From Judy Batista at NFL.com today:
The Pittsburgh Steelers practice had just ended on a temperate August evening, and children were everywhere. It was Family Day for the team, when the wives and kids of players and coaches visit training camp, play a little catch on the expansive green grass and stay for a barbecue. As thousands of fans headed down the hills of the Saint Vincent College campus in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, to the parking lots, one of their heroes sat in a far end zone, his two toddlers bouncing around him.
That bucolic scene didn’t always have Ben Roethlisberger, his son and little girl at its center. And he wasn’t always everyone’s hero, either, even in Steelers-obsessed Pittsburgh. But five years after reaching a personal and professional nadir, Roethlisberger has crafted a successful and peaceful renaissance, formalized in a massive new contract agreed to this March.
As he prepares this season to lead the best offense he’s ever had, maybe the best offense in the NFL, Roethlisberger has also become something more: an unintended and reluctant example of a fruitful second chance, perhaps providing a roadmap even as the NFL and its fans grapple with how many more players deserve one.
“I feel like I let down my family, my teammates, my coaches, the Rooneys, the whole family,” Roethlisberger said one day, a few hours before another training-camp practice. “You feel disappointed, almost ashamed at times. Now that they have rewarded me with the [new […]
Benjamin & Baylee are taking over again!
They wanted to sneak in one more photo post before the Steelers 2015 season started…
And what better photo to start with:
Steeler Nation…
Your 2015 Team Captains:
Big Ben on offense, Cam Heyward & William Gay on defense, and Robert Golden on Special Teams!
Congratulations!!
Also Today:
“Roethlisberger prepares for the challenge ahead”
From Mike Prisuta, at Steelers.com:
Kicking it off on the road against the defending champs in a nationally-televised, much-anticipated, NFL regular-season opener has traditionally been a difficult assignment for the visitors.
What’s taken place in New England and with Tom Brady off the field and in U.S. District Court ever since Super Bowl XLIX might contribute to making Gillette Stadium even more of an emotional powder keg on Thursday night.
“It’ll be hostile,” Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger acknowledged. “It’ll be a great test, a great challenge for our guys. Some young guys, I use that phrase ‘welcome to the NFL,’ it’s going to be a heck of a welcome.
“I think the biggest thing is to go out and control your emotion because there’s going to be a lot of emotion flowing. The nerves will be flying around. Even guys like myself that have done it for a long time will be nervous. It’s how fast can you get rid of the jitters and the nerves and just play football?”
Roethlisberger admitted to having taken more than a peek at the New England defense during the latter stages of the preseason.
“Quite a bit,” he said. “During some off time and then last week especially knowing I’m not going to do much in that last (preseason) game.
“Compared to last year it’s different. Last year you let (cornerback Darrelle) Revis just kind of have that ‘Revis Island’ over there. This year they’ve been doing some different things so we’ve got a lot of film study still to try and prepare and get ready for.”
You can read more here.