“I’m just going to play the game the way I know how to play it. I’m not going to change anything.” — Ben, on whether he has “tweaked” his game.

More from Ben this afternoon:

On Peyton Manning –

“I enjoy watching a guy like that who is a future Hall of Famer and one of the best to play the game, you can learn things. You just have to be in awe of the guy that he is.”


On the growth he’s seen in Antonio Brown’s game –

“He’s had growth in his route running, his understanding of the offense, understanding of the defenses, when he needs to look back, and things like that.”


When asked to give the “hierarchy” of his receivers, Ben joked –

“I think we have 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D and then put Heath Miller at 1E.”


Watching Peyton Manning’s full control of the offense –

“It would be a lot of fun to do all that stuff all the time. But I think we’ve been pretty successful with what we’ve done and I’m not complaining about the offense that we have or what we’ve done in the past.”


You can watch video of Ben’s interview here.

The Pittsburgh Steelers announced this afternoon that team captains for the 2012 season have been named – Ben for the offense, and Brett Keisel for the defense!

Ben shared the duties of captain with Hines Ward in 2008, 2009, and 2011.

“It means a lot to be a captain of this team,” Ben said of the honor in 2011. “With all of the past captains and great players that have played here on this team.”

The Steelers did not select a special teams captain this season.



You can see a list of former captains from Steelers.com.

And while you’re on the team’s website, you can watch video of Ben’s interview with the media! You can read a transcription of it here.



Also Today:

“At age 30, Steelers QB in his prime”

From Alan Robinson, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review:

Ben Roethlisberger looks to be in the prime of his career, throwing the ball with as much zip and accuracy as he ever has during his nine-season career, according to Steelers wide receivers. Mike Wallace didn’t need much time to notice.

“I haven’t been with Ben in a while, and his arm is stronger than when we left last year,” said Wallace, who practiced Monday for the first time since ending his offseason holdout. “He was throwing it pretty far.”

Roethlisberger passed for 4,077 yards last season — second in his career to his 4,328 yards in 2009 — and he might have the best and deepest cast of receivers he has had yet in Wallace, Antonio Brown, Emmanuel Sanders and Jerricho Cotchery. While he didn’t predict one Monday, he expects a big season.

“I hope so. I don’t think by any stretch of the imagination I’m on the down slope and the end of my career,” Roethlisberger said. “ I hope not, geez. The game keeps slowing down, and you keep figuring things out. I’m just blessed to have a great group of young guys around me that can make plays, so I don’t have to do as much as I used to.”


You can read more here.

As we get ready for the start of the season next week, here are a couple of Steelers fan moments from this summer for your holiday weekend viewing!


You may remember the story from August 11th of Jeffrey Metz, a young man with cerebral palsy who traveled 4,200 miles just to attend training camp in the hopes of meeting #7…

Well a fan in the crowd by the name of Michael Hershey, of Wheeling, WV began to videotape the interaction between Ben and Jeffrey after Ben signed the young man’s football. He sent it to Mickey Metz, Jeffrey’s uncle, who posted the video to Youtube for others to see:





Now what the video doesn’t show is Ben getting in the driver seat of the golf cart himself and taking Jeffrey and the Metz family back to their car.


You can read the story from Mr. Metz here, and from the perspective of another Steelers fan, Mr. Kevin Davis here, titled “Happy ‘Training’ Campers”.


After meeting Ben at training camp and receiving an autographed Nike from him before they left, Jeffrey Metz insisted he was going to take his new prized possession with him to Disney World and pose with Mickey Mouse…and the shoe! Jeffrey is a man of his word! After returning to his uncle’s home in Orlando, Jeffrey took an unscheduled visit to Disney World.

“I feel extremely blessed to be a part of that. Meeting Ben made all the traveling I did worth it. He has been my favorite player for a long time. I never thought he would do what he did for me. It is something I will never forget. If I could talk to Ben one more time, I would tell him that day brought so much joy into my life. I can never thank him enough for that. Go Steelers!!!” — From Jeffrey Metz, after seeing the video on the website today.

And:

Remember Julia Pollock? She received the video from Ben that he made for her during his Kids Camp in June after her long stay in the hospital.

Julia’s father, Alan Nagy had this to share with those who sent so many well-wishes to her after seeing her story:

We’re so very grateful for your thoughts and prayers, […]

“Ben Roethlisberger On Playing Surfaces, Refs & Life After Football”

Ben sat down with KDKA‘s Bob Pompeani:

One more preseason game and then it all begins – the quest for a 7th Lombardi Trophy. That road already has some potholes as we have seen injuries to both David Johnson and No. 1 pick David DeCastro.

KDKA’s Bob Pompeani spoke with Ben Roethlisberger about a lot of topics, including DeCastro’s injury which in his mind had a lot to do with the condition of the turf in Buffalo.

“Natural grass is so much better to play on – players love playing on the natural grass compared to an artificial surface,” he said. “The NFL nowadays is doing so much to ‘protect players’ and players’ health and concussions and all these injuries – well, that artificial surface is a harder surface. I think guys when they slam their heads seem to get more concussions than on natural grass….I saw a study the other day that 88 percent of injuries occur on artificial surface – knee injuries – occur on artificial surfaces compared to grass,” Roethlisberger continued. “I don’t think people really realized that. I know I was shocked when I saw that number. So, I’m just thankful that the Rooneys are all about grass and that we’ll stay on it.”


You can read more from his interview here.



Also Today – some MU News:

From Alex Rieger, at the Western Courier:

Head coach Mark Hendrickson saw something special when he hired Jared Elliot to coach the Western Illinois quarterbacks.

Recruited to Miami of Ohio in 2003 on a scholarship, Elliot played quarterback and wide receiver for the Redhawks while he earned a degree in kinesiology and health with a minor in coaching. That same year he played behind future two-time Super Bowl champion and two-time pro-bowler Ben Roethlisberger. Even though he didn’t know him well, just playing behind “Big Ben” and watching his demeanor helped him develop as a young quarterback in the Mid-America conference.

“Whenever you’re with one of those elite athletes, it makes your game better,” he said.

This was in 2003 when Elliot wasa freshman and Roethlisberger, then a senior, was in his last year before getting drafted to the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2004.

“Just watching a guy like […]

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

Reaction to seeing WR Mike Wallace back with the team –

It was neat. It’s neat seeing him back. He’s a friend, a teammate and a brother. We’re excited to have him back.


Are you worried about his football fitness?

Not at all.


Understanding that football is a business and holdouts are a part of it –

We’re just excited to get him on the field. It’s kind of like your parents telling you that you get a new car but it has to sit in the driveway because you don’t have any insurance. Once you get that insurance, you can get out and take it for a ride.


How prepared is Wallace?

To me, it’s about how much work he has put in on his own learning the playbook. I know he’s been working out physically, but mentally has he been working out? We’ll see when we get in meetings and get out there.


You can read more from his one-on-one interview with Ms. Varley here.

Follow-up comments and a correction on the playing surface in Buffalo:

In my post-game interview on Saturday, when asked about the knee injury David DeCastro suffered, I mistakenly referred to the artificial grass in Buffalo as FieldTurf. My intention was only to say I believe real grass is the safest surface for football, and allows some knee injuries to be avoided. I was really bothered by David’s injury in that moment, and can only wish him the best now in his recovery.