Mr. Rooney was a guest on Steelers Nation Radio and had this to say when asked about his quarterback:


How did the process go in terms of signing Ben to a new deal?

“I think it was one of those situations that it was clear from start to finish that both sides wanted to get something done. And so, even though these days signing a top tier quarterback is not easy, and there are a lot of factors that weigh into it from both sides, like I say it was clear from the beginning that both sides wanted to get this done. I felt confident the whole way along that we would get something done. It’s good timing – Ben and I even talked about wanting to get it done and have that behind him as we head into the spring practices and allow him to really focus on getting ready for the 2019 season.”

Does he want Ben to do anything differently this upcoming season?

“No. I think Ben needs to be Ben. I think he had a great year last year in terms of leading the league in passing yardage. I think every player on the roster hopefully comes into the season thinking what I can do to be better this year, and I think Ben looks at it that way as well. In terms of what he brings to the team, I think his track record speaks for itself. Obviously, I don’t think we’ve seen decline in his play. He’s a little different quarterback than he was 15 years ago, but he’s a top tier quarterback. With him on the field, you feel like you can compete with anybody in the league on any given Sunday.”

When asked to elaborate on his “Ben needs to be Ben” statement:

“When you look at his performance over the last few years, we’ve been competitive with the best teams in the league, even last year when we didn’t make the playoffs. We were on the field with the best teams in the league there at the end of the season, and we went toe-to-toe with them. Won a game against the Patriots, barely lost a game against the Saints. That’s why I say we feel we can compete with anybody in the league when Ben’s at the helm.”

You can listen to Mr. […]

From his latest interview with Teresa Varley, Steelers.com:

Football is a game. It’s supposed to be fun. It’s supposed to be enjoyable and entertaining.

And for Ryan Switzer, last year that was finally the case.

“I always knew how to play the receiver position. I think that got lost last year because of a stigma that was they put on me elsewhere as being just a return specialist guy. The Steelers who evaluated me coming out of the draft, they knew the production I had in college. For them to trust that, even though I wasn’t used like that in Dallas, meant a lot.

The first week I was here Coach (Mike) Tomlin made sure I knew that I wasn’t just here to be a return guy. Throughout the year I grew because of the guys that were around me, the guys I was able to watch.

Then I grew because of Ben (Roethlisberger). He took time with me individually to make sure I was on the same page with him. He took the time to make sure we knew about each other, learned about other, made sure I knew what he wanted and he knew how I saw things.”

That relationship with Roethlisberger, one which had Switzer thanking him at the end of the season, led to a lot of the success the second-year receiver had, talking to him whether it was in practice, meetings, or off the field.

“If he wasn’t practicing he would be looking to make sure we are on the same page,” said Switzer. “He reached out a bunch. He didn’t know me from anything. My wife got into a car accident on a Friday and the first person that reached out was Ben. It meant a lot. He was one guy on this team I felt bad when I didn’t get the job done. I didn’t want to let him down because I knew he trusted me and was expecting me to come through for him.

“It took time to earn that trust. You have to earn trust. You do that through experience. You do that through proving people right. Whether that’s proving Ben right when he throws you the ball and you are where you are supposed to be. Whether it’s proving the coaching staff right when they […]

“It’s not everyday you get to play golf with the 2018 NFL leader in passing yards. But when you get asked to play, you don’t pass it up. Blessed to have this opportunity and to work for a great company!” — Logan Larmour, Asst Superintendent at The Landing, Reynolds Lake Oconee.