Top honors for Week 8 went to a duo from teams representing Pennsylvania – Ben Roethlisberger of the Pittsburgh Steelers won FedEx Air Player of the Week, and LeSean McCoy of the Philadelphia Eagles won FedEx NFL Ground Player of the Week!

Ben completed 36 of 50 passes for 365 yards, two touchdowns and one interception in the Steelers’ 25-17 win over the New England Patriots. His total passing yards were the most of any quarterback on the weekend.

LeSean McCoy rushed for 185 yards and two touchdowns on 30 carries in the Eagles’ 34-7 win over the Dallas Cowboys. His ground yardage total was the highest of any player on the weekend.

Junior Achievement has partnered with FedEx and with Ben’s win, they win! $2,000 will be donated to Junior Achievement of Western Pennsylvania.

Thank you fans!!!


You can check out NFL.com for all the FedEx Players of the Week so far.

From Teresa Varley, Steelers.com today:

You could hear the trepidation in 17-year old April’s voice as she spoke in front of those gathered at the CASA Champions for Children event at Heinz Field.

But after a few minutes she read from the poem “Hide Away” that she wrote, and a confident girl quickly emerged. A girl whose life has changed thanks to CASA and the volunteers her poem was directed toward.

April is one of the 250 kids served by CASA, short for Court Appointed Special Advocates, in Allegheny County. CASA works with children in the child welfare system that are neglected or abused. The advocates serve as a voice for the children in court and other situations to help ensure that every child has a safe, supportive and permanent home.

Wide receiver Mike Wallace served as the honorary chair of the event, something he is happy to do especially after meeting April.

The Steelers and CASA have teamed up thanks to offensive coordinator Bruce Arians, whose wife Chris is a CASA volunteer. Wallace, Antonio Brown and Ben Roethlisberger kicked off the night by attending a dinner with sponsors, giving them the opportunity to hear April speak.

“Kids are neglected in Allegheny County way too much,” said Roethlisberger. “These things help get those kids out of bad situations and put them into places where they can thrive and strive. These kids are in tough situations. If I can help them out I will do that.”


You can read more here.



Also Today:

“Steelers’ Roethlisberger shrugs off MVP talk”

From an article by Mark Kaboly, Pittsburgh-Tribune Review:

Drew Brees has the yards, Tom Brady has the reputation, and Aaron Rodgers, well, he probably has the award already locked up.

For Ben Roethlisberger, that’s just fine because he’s not really interested in all the talk of him being in the running for the NFL MVP award with some of the league’s heavyweights midway through the season.

He’s more worried about winning.

“I am never about individual stats and numbers,” Roethlisberger said. “For me, that has kind of defined my career by just winning football games. For me, that’s all that matters. For me, it is so much bigger than that.”

With the transformation of the Steelers to more of a pass-happy offense coupled with the best four-game stretch of his career, Roethlisberger has maneuvered himself into the league MVP race at the halfway […]

Big Ben’s gold band –


“I don’t ever take it off. I wear it because it’s special to me, but I cover it with tape because I don’t want it to get caught on something and rip my finger off. My wife thinks it’s really neat. She likes it when other people notice that I’m wearing it.” — Ben, on wearing his wedding band.


From ESPN’s Paul Lukas, Page 2 column:

Roethlisberger is part of a small subset of athletes — including a surprising number of NFL players — who compete while wearing their wedding rings, a move that seems both charming and risky.

Most of these players don’t tape over their rings like Roethlisberger does, so there’s always a chance that their rings could get snagged on something. And even if that never happens, what if the ring just gets dinged up? What if another player steps on it? What if it falls off somehow and gets lost?

In the NFL, most of the ring-clad players are quarterbacks and kickers. Or at least those are the ones we know about, because they’re just about the only players on the field who are bare-handed. It’s not clear how many additional players may have rings lurking under their gloves, but there’s at least one: Roethlisberger’s teammate Troy Polamalu. Polamalu declined to comment for this article, but his wedding ring — which is much more elaborate than a traditional band — is occasionally visible when he removes his gloves on the sideline. The ring is even included in the new Madame Tussauds wax figure of Polamalu.


You can read more here.



Save Big, Meet Ben –

From #1 Cochran Automotive:

Want to meet Ben?

Anyone who buys a new or pre-owned #1 Cochran Buick or GMC between now and November 12th will receive an invitation to an upcoming VIP party featuring an autograph session with Ben!

For more information, stop by #1 Cochran Buick GMC of Monroeville or Robinson for details!


You can also check out their website here.



Big Ben, Cover Boy –

“Ben Roethlisberger leads the NFL in being sacked but is less likely to be hurt because of his size and strength.” — Gary Mihoces, USA TODAY.

From the Cover story for this week’s USA TODAY Sports Weekly:

Charlie Batch’s 5th annual In the Pocket event is scheduled for Monday, November 14th from 7:00 p.m to 11:00 p.m. at J. Verno Studios (3030 Jane Street in Pittsburgh).


In the Pocket is a fundraising event that gives you the opportunity to play pool, ping-pong, and poker with Charlie Batch, his Steelers teammates, and other Pittsburgh sports stars and celebrities!

A list of confirmed Steelers players and celebrities will be available soon. You can check the confirmation page here.

You can purchase spectator tickets, player tickets or high roller tickets (and get more information) here.


Check out and “Like” Charlie’s Best of the Batch Facebook page for a chance to win two high roller tickets for the event.


Proceeds from the evening will benefit the Best of Batch Foundation.

This is the second time in a month, and the eighth time in his career that Ben has been awarded this honor!


From Steelers.com this morning:

Ben Roethlisberger was named AFC Offensive Player of the Week after leading his team to a 25-17 victory over the New England Patriots. It marks the second time Roethlisberger has won the award this season, including twice in the month of October, and the eighth time he has been honored with this award in his career.

Roethlisberger finished 36-of-50 for a season-high 365 yards and two touchdowns against the Patriots, recording his third 300-yard game of the season and the 18th of his career. His 36 completions and 50 pass attempts were the second-most of his career.


You can read more here.



Also Today:

SI’s Jim Trotter, from his Inside the NFL column:

Mid-season Quarterback Ratings –

1. Aaron Rodgers, Packers

2. Ben Roethlisberger, Steelers: If there’s a quarterback big enough to put an offense on his back, the 6-foot-5, 241-pound Roethlisberger is him. The two-time Super Bowl champion has been lethal his last four games, throwing for 1,154 yards, 11 touchdowns and two picks, with a 67.1 completion percentage and a 110.4 passer rating. More impressive, he’s playing with poise and discipline, things he struggled with at times in the past. Not surprisingly, the Steelers have won four in a row after a 2-2 start.

3. Tom Brady, Patriots

4. Ryan Fitzpatrick, Bills

5. Cam Newton, Panthers


You can read more here.



And:

An update on our Shout Out from last week – New Castle, PA native and Big Ben fan Brittany Barclay –

Brittany was a contestant in the Miss Maryland USA pageant which took place this past weekend in Bethesda, Maryland.

She sent this message to all those in Steeler Nation that wished her well in the pageant:

“I just wanted to follow up with you and let you know how the weekend went. Out of 79 girls, I got Top 16 and won the Title of Miss Amity (Congeniality) 2012. It was a great weekend, and definitely put me out of my comfort zone haha. Unfortunately I had to miss the big Steelers game on Sunday because of the pageant, but […]

Keep the votes going for Ben and his teammates to play in the 2012 NFL Pro Bowl!!

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

Steelers on the ballot from the offense include Ben, 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.

Balloting is open until Monday, Dec. 19 at the conclusion of Monday Night Football (Pittsburgh Steelers at San Francisco 49ers, 8:30 p.m.).

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.

Being selected to appear in the Pro Bowl is a big honor for players! Let’s show our team how much we support their selection – vote early, vote often!


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

You can read more on the 2012 Pro Bowl here.

You can check out photos from Ben’s participation in the 2008 Pro Bowl here.



And while you’re in the voting mood…

Vote for Ben for the FedEx NFL Air Player of the Week!

Ben completed 36 of 50 passes for 365 yards, two touchdowns and one interception in the Steelers’ 25-17 win over the New England Patriots. His total passing yards were the most of any quarterback on the weekend.


Vote for Ben here.


And…

Vote for the Ben’s performance against the New England Patriots as the GMC “Never Say Never” moment of Week 8!

From NFL.com:

Big Ben helps Steelers beat Patriots – Tom Brady and the New England Patriots had dominated the Pittsburgh Steelers over the past decade, winning six of seven games played. But on Sunday, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger put his team on his back by completing 36 of 50 passes for 365 yards and two touchdowns, as the Steelers shut down Brady and the Patriots, 25-17.


You can vote for the […]