From William Perlman at the New Jersey Star-Ledger this morning:

As the players gathered at the 50-yard line after the Giants’ 20-16 win in the preseason game against the Pittsburgh Steelers Saturday night, Giants quarterback Eli Manning met up with Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, and the two spoke at length and exchanged pleasantries.

The two were drafted in 2004.

“Can you believe it’s been 10 years already?” Manning asked Roethlisberger.

The two smiled and wished each other a good season.


You can read the rest here.



The Game:

Ben played only one series, a seven-play, 70-yard drive that ended in a Shaun Suisham field goal to give the Steelers a 3-0 lead. He was 1 for 2, with a 46-yard completion to rookie running back Dri Archer.

“I thought it was a good, solid first series,” Ben said. “Obviously, it helped that we had a huge play to Dri. But we moved the ball down the field and got points on the board.”

Bruce Gradkowski replaced Ben in the first quarter. He went 8 for 12 for 66 yards.

Second-year quarterback Landry Jones was 11-of-21 for 74 yards.

Although the Steelers ultimately lost to the Giants 20-16, Coach Tomlin took some positives away from the game.

“We had an opportunity to grow. We learned some things about some people. We’ll just take this as part of the process and move forward as a team.”


You can see photos from the game here.


*The game will be re-played on NFL Network today at 12 noon.

Ben stopped for an interview with the KDKA Morning News team when they checked in at Latrobe this week…

And the first thing that Larry Richart and John Shumway asked about were the little Roethlisbergers:

“Baylee is doing good, so is Benjamin. He’s being a good big brother – most of the time. Every once in awhile he gets a little jealous, but he’s good…He doesn’t slow down, we’re working on not running so much. Every day is something new – a new word, a new facial expression, whatever it is it’s just a joy to see.”


Ben talked about Steelers great Joe Greene, Coach LeBeau’s stories, their first Ravens game in Week 2, and how he is looking forward to this weekend’s upcoming game against the Giants:

“The guys get tired of hitting each other and it’s always fun to put the pads on and put the jersey on. For a guy like me, that’s been doing it for a while now, it never gets old putting that Steelers uniform on and for some of the young guys, it’s probably a dream come true.”


You can listen to audio of his interview, as well as catch interviews with Ike Taylor and Steelers GM Kevin Colbert all right here.



Tweet of the Week:

Antonio Brown @AntonioBrown84
“@Dukie__Breath: @AntonioBrown84 who’s your best friend on the team?” @_BigBen7



Check out:

Pittsburgh Dad’s latest episode from Steelers Training Camp here!

“Ben Roethlisberger thrives under pressure”

From Scott Brown today at ESPN.com:

I have long thought that Ben Roethlisberger doesn’t quite get his due as an elite quarterback from a national perspective.

One of only three active quarterbacks to win multiple Super Bowls, there is also documented evidence of how good Roethlisberger is under another kind of pressure.

Roethlisberger
Over the past three seasons Roethlisberger has been the best quarterback in the NFL when his pass protection breaks down.

Roethlisberger leads all quarterbacks in completion percentage (51.8), passing yards (1,837) and passing touchdowns (18) when throwing under duress or getting hit since 2011, according to ESPN Stats & Information.


You can read more from Mr. Brown here.

You can also watch video of a different kind of QB competition that took place at camp here.



“Ben likes what he sees from Bryant”

From Teresa Varley, Steelers.com:

Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger likes what he has seen from receiver Martavis Bryant, but knows there still has to be a lot of growth from the rookie before the season starts.

“He’s shown a couple plays recently that are very encouraging, but he’s got a long way to go,” said Roethlisberger. “He’s a young guy but he shows the interest and the desire to want to be great and to learn and so we hope he just keeps doing that.”


You can read more here.



Thank you Ben!


“Huge shout out to Big Ben for taking the time to sign my Big Ben’s jersey – you made his year!” — Tom Richards


“Thanks for signing our stuff!!! We came from Hawaii to see training camp and you were the highlight!!! Mahalo!!” — Michael Foster


You can see all the photos from camp here.

at Steelers training camp, but Big Ben didn’t mind at all!

“It’s fun. You know, it kind of takes you back to a high school kind of feel — obviously the high school field and all that stuff. But it’s fun to be able to come out and do this every year.” — Ben, during night practice on Friday at Latrobe Memorial Stadium.

From WPXI:

The Steelers practiced under the lights Friday night as thousands of fans filled Latrobe Memorial Stadium in Latrobe.

Friday’s night practice allowed more than 7,000 fans from near and far to get an up-close look at the current team.

The annual event also allows fans the opportunity to get autographs from players.

Jay Golnoski came to Latrobe from Baltimore. His son received an autograph from Ben Roethlisberger.

“My little guy here has got his Ben jersey on, and Ben came right to him and signed his shirt,” said Golnoski. “Perfect day. Worth the trip.”


You can read more and see video from Friday’s practice here.




A few more photos from the weekend:


Nicole White @cole413
Got my autograph!! Thanks @_BigBen7 for being awesome!! #SteelersTrainingCamp


“Ben made my 9 year old sons summer when he signed his football Friday night. Thank you Ben for giving so much time and attention to all of the kids.” — Michele Reynolds Rush (via Facebook)


Coach Mason™ ‏@MWerner55
Finally got my pic signed at camp today. You’re the man Ben! @_BigBen7


Julie Gurnick ‏@jgurnick9
Awe dear Jesus, my heart still isn’t beating normally @_BigBen7 #NFLTrainingCamp



You can see more here!

Police & Fire Departments: The Ben Roethlisberger Foundation at The Giving Back Fund is accepting requests for grants for the 2014-2015 grant cycle.

“Welcome SANTO to our department. Ofc Shawn Fritsch picked him up from Denver, Indiana, Von Liche Kennels on Sunday. Thanks to the Ben Roethlisberger Foundation for the funding to help improve our community.” – Posted by the Wausau (MI) Police Department on their official Facebook page, March 26, 2014.

This marks the eighth grant cycle for the Ben Roethlisberger Foundation. The majority of the grants distributed will help K-9 units to purchase dogs and dog safety vests, but other types of needs are also considered.

Ben’s foundation will be distributing grants in the cities and surrounding communities of each regular season away game for the Steelers during the 2014 NFL season.

He is inviting police and fire departments in these eight cities to submit proposals detailing their needs.

Also, for each Steelers’ appearance in a playoff game, a grant will be awarded to a non-NFL market city anywhere in the United States that would not otherwise be eligible to apply. In addition, the Foundation will continue to make grants to several police and fire department K-9 units in the Pittsburgh area following Super Bowl XLIX.

The Foundation distributed $157,600 in grants to K-9 units around the country during the 2013 NFL season and has distributed in excess of $1.2 million since 2007.

*Eligible departments must apply to The Giving Back Fund by August 15, 2014.

Late or incomplete applications will not be considered.


You can view the full grant requirements, eligibility and evaluation process, please visit http://www.givingback.org/documents/RFP_2014_BRF_app.pdf.

You can also see the guidelines on Ben’s Foundation page here.

And you can enjoy more photos in the Ben Roethlisberger Foundation album here.


Update:

Ben’s foundation fundraiser in June raised more than $218,000 to help fund police and fire K9 units as well as the Make A Wish Foundation.

You can pick up a copy of the August issue of WHIRL magazine to read more about Ben’s event and enjoy some great photos!

via the website’s Twitter page!


Teresa Varley ‏@Teresa_Varley
@_BigBen7 signs for fans before practice. #Steelers


mary leblanc @mhall00
Thank you @_BigBen7 for giving my daughter your shoe today. It def made her day!


Steelers #1 Fan @JoeSteelerFan
Ben Roethlisberger stayed nearly 30 mins. after practice signing for as many as he could. Very generous with his time today. #Steelers



And Ben checked in with the DVE Morning Show!

You can watch & listen to his interview here!