…is the wise way to say “Merry Christmas” to the Steelers – by sending them to sunny Hawaii for the 2012 Pro Bowl!

There is just one week left!

Pro Bowl voting ends Monday, December 19th at the conclusion of Monday Night Football (Pittsburgh Steelers at San Francisco 49ers, 8:30 p.m.) so get those last votes in and make them count!!

Being selected as a starter in the Pro Bowl is a huge honor for players! Let’s show our team how much we support their selection – vote early, vote often! Make Hawaii Black & Gold!

And if they end up making Indianapolis Black & Gold instead, at least they’ll have earned the right to be called “Pro Bowlers” at the same time!!!

The annual contest of the AFC and NFC’s best will take place Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012 at Aloha Stadium in Hawaii.

Steelers on the ballot from the offense include Ben (working on his hula moves during a break from practice at the 2008 Pro Bowl above), Rashard Mendenhall, Mike Wallace, Antonio Brown, Hines Ward, David Johnson, Heath Miller, Marcus Gilbert, Max Starks, Ramon Foster, Chris Kemoeatu, and Maurkice Pouncey.

Defensive players include Brett Keisel, Ziggy Hood, Casey Hampton, James Harrison, LaMarr Woodley, James Farrior, Lawrence Timmons, William Gay, Ike Taylor, Troy Polamalu, and Ryan Clark.

Ben has passed for 3,526 yards with 21 touchdowns and a quarterback rating of 95.6 rating so far this season! He is currently No. 2 in fan voting for AFC  behind the Patriots’ Tom Brady. The Bills’ Ryan Fitzpatrick is third in AFC quarterback voting, and the Broncos’ Tim Tebow is fourth.

The Pro Bowl teams will be announced at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 27 on a special NFL Total Access 2012 Pro Bowl Selection Show on NFL Network.


You can vote for the Black & Gold as many times as you like, just click here!



*”Mele Kalikimaka” means “Merry Christmas” and the title of a Hawaiian-themed Christmas song written by Robert Alex Anderson in 1949. It is a classic that was made famous in 1950 by Bing Crosby, and again in the 1989 movie, “Christmas Vacation” starring Chevy Chase.


Injury Update:

Coach Tomlin told the media today that both […]

“Me knowing Ben he’ll be out there competing and fighting his tail off to be out there.” — Hines Ward.

From the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review‘s Scott Brown this afternoon:

High ankle sprains won’t keep quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and center Maurkice Pouncey from playing next Monday night when the Steelers visit San Francisco.

That is what Pouncey said following the Steelers’ first practice since a 14-3 win over the Browns last Thursday night.

Both Roethlisberger and Pouncey got hurt in the game, and only Roethlisberger returned from his ankle injury.

“We’re both fine,” Pouncey said. “We’ll be alright to go on Monday Night Football.”

Roethlisberger, who has a walking boot on his left foot, was at Steelers’ headquarters today but he did not attend practice. Pouncey had been in a walking boot, but he said today that his left ankle has progressed to the point that he doesn’t need the extra protection.


You can read more from Mr. Brown here.

“What I saw last night was phenomenal! It just gives you an idea how important the game is to him and how important being around his teammates is to him. That’s leadership.” — Former NFL quarterback and current NFL Network color announcer Joe Theismann, as a guest on Mad Dog Radio‘s Evan and Phillips in the Morning.

From ESPN‘s Jamison Hensley this morning:

Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger isn’t going to win the NFL most valuable player award. Aaron Rodgers will take that.

Roethlisberger won’t win the offensive player of the year honor, either. Give that to Drew Brees or Tom Brady.

If there was a trophy for grittiest quarterback, though, the unanimous pick would be Roethlisberger.

When it comes to playing in pain, there is Roethlisberger, and then there is everyone else in this generation of football players.

You can break his nose. You can break his thumb. The problem is, no one has ever broken his will to win.


More from Mr. Hensley here.

“I thought my leg was broken, honestly. One of the most painful things I`ve ever felt. I didn`t want to feel that my foot was outside of my leg.” — Ben.

From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette‘s Ed Bouchette:

Ben Roethlisberger has a high ankle sprain and will have an MRI on it Friday morning. X-rays taken immediately after the injury showed no broken bones but the MRI will show if there is more ligament/tendon injuries in his left ankle.

Roethlisberger told me that he had one a long time ago. Usually, when you’ve had one, the second will heal much more quickly. Ben told me that he didn’t think that was the case because his first one happened so long ago.

High ankle sprains can keep players out of action for weeks and even though Roethlisberger returned to play in the second half, it does not mean he will be able to play against San Francisco a week from Monday.

Just don’t bet against it.


More from Mr. Bouchette here.

“He knows the whole team is on his shoulders. It’s going to take a lot to sit him down.” — Willie Colon.

From the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review‘s Dejan Kovacevic:

When he took the field, the crowd stood and roared. But he could barely […]

“He’s got to be in the conversation when you’re talking about the best quarterbacks!” — NFL Network game announcer Mike Mayock.

“The guy exemplifies toughness.” — Antonio Brown, post-game.

“I just didn’t want to let my guys down. It’s a close ballgame, we’re in a tight race right now, it’s an AFC North opponent. We were only up 7-3 so I was going to give it a go the best I could.” — Ben, post-game.

From NFL.com this morning:

Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger played through a high left ankle sprain to lead the Steelers to a 14-3 victory over the Cleveland Browns on Thursday night.

Roethlisberger passed for 280 yards and two touchdowns, including a 79-yard scoring strike to Antonio Brown with 2:52 remaining, to help Pittsburgh win for the eighth time in its last nine games.

Roethlisberger went to the locker room for X-rays following a gruesome second-quarter sack, but he returned to start the second half, passing for 178 yards after the break.

The Steelers (10-3) moved a half-game ahead of the Baltimore Ravens in the race for the AFC North title.


You can read more and check out game highlights here.

You can check out a few game photos here.

You can watch Ben’s post-game interview here.

You can watch Ben’s interview with Michael Irvin here.



Injury Update: Ben suffered a high ankle sprain. MRI is expected today (Friday).

Reminder:

The Steelers will welcome the Cleveland Browns to Heinz Field on Thursday, December 8th.

The game starts at 8:20 PM.

Pre-game coverage starts at 6:00 PM on NFLN and will include a sit-down interview with Ben conducted by Michael Irvin.

Don’t miss it!!



Quote of the Day:

“He is so big, not bigger than the defensive linemen, but he’s certainly bigger than most quarterbacks we’ve seen. He’s thick and very athletic. He’s got great balance. He’s just hard to get down and he’s got an uncanny knack of holding onto the ball somehow even when you get him from the blind side occasionally.” — Cleveland Browns defensive coordinator Dick Jauron on the difficulty of game-planning for Ben.

“It would be nice to peak somewhere in like early February.” — Ben, as tweeted by Scott Brown, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

From the blog of Mike Bires, The Beaver County Times:

Roethlisberger owns 39 franchise passing records and shares five others. His latest milestone came Sunday when he surpassed Terry Bradshaw for most career completions (2,206).

But that wasn’t the only record Roethlisberger set Sunday. He now holds the dubious record as the Steelers quarterback who’s been sacked most often (308). He surpassed Bradshaw when he was sacked twice by the Bengals. This season, Roethlisberger has been sacked 34 times.

He shares the NFL lead in that category with San Francisco’s Alex Smith. But obviously, Smith and Roethlisberger have fared well despite all the sacks. They rank seventh and eighth, respectively, in the NFL with 94.9 and 93.6 passer ratings. And the 49ers (10-2) have already won the NFC West while the Steelers (9-3) are tied for the best record in the AFC.


You can read more here.



What does Ben have to say about the sack record?

From his Q&A with the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review‘s “The Steel Mill” blog:

“I plan for it. At the beginning of the year I put a big number up that I’m trying to get. That speaks to not worrying about it. I don’t go into a game saying ‘OK, I’m going to try not to get sacked this game.’ I go in and play the game the way I know how to play it. I know the line takes a lot of heat for those things but you’d probably cut those sacks in half if wasn’t for the style of game that I play. I think they’re overworrying about it, the media and the fans and people talking about them doing a poor job. I think they’re over it now. My thumb (injury) wasn’t on a sack. The big injuries just seem to happen on regular plays. I don’t think I take too many big shots.”


You can read the rest of his Q&A here.



And:

Ben happy with improvement in the red zone

From the Erie-Times News‘ John Dudley: