Trick or Treating in style…
BIG BEN style!!!
It’s Halloween night and from Pennsylvania all the way across the country to Washington there are going to be plenty of Pittsburgh Steelers quarterbacks out there looking for treats, all wearing the uniform of #7!
A few checked in before heading out!
Now you can check out these great photos of Steelers Treaters Garrett Cagle, Waylon Flowers, Zac Godfrey, Brooklyn Bradshaw, Jovan Ortiz, Rich Diel and more!
And while you’re looking in the Lil’ Fan’s album, be sure to scroll down to see our latest “Baby Ben” fans!
And…
The Trick or Treaters were out in force at the Roethlisberger house!
Ben was busy handing out candy and snapping photos to share of just a few of the scary, the spooky, the funny, the pretty, and the down right cute kids that showed up at their door tonight!
You can see his collection here.
Happy Halloween Steeler Nation!!!
*If you would like to share a photo of your lil’ Ben fan, send it in an email to: bigben7website@gmail.com
Steelers 25, Patriots 17
Nothing scary about this game played on Halloween Eve!
“Roethlisberger had 314 yards passing in three quarters and Brady had just 125. It was the 18th time in his career Roethlisberger topped 300 and only the second time he’s done it in consecutive games.” — From Ed Bouchette’s post-game recap, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
More post-game media notes & quotes…
From the AP:
The Pittsburgh Steelers found a way to beat Tom Brady: Don’t let him get the ball.
Ben Roethlisberger passed for 365 yards and two touchdowns and the Steelers finally solved their Brady problem with an emphatic 25-17 victory over New England.
Roethlisberger completed 36 of 50 passes and led the Steelers (6-2) on a series of clock-chewing drives, effectively keeping Brady and the NFL’s top-ranked offense off the field. Pittsburgh held the ball for more than 39 minutes and survived a late rally to win its fourth straight following a 2-2 start.
You can read more here.
“Tom Brady entered today’s game 6-1 all time against the Steelers, but it was Ben Roethlisberger who stole the show.” — Joe Shermetaro, ISportsWeb.com
From The Sports Network:
Ben Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh Steelers chewed up the clock and the New England defense on Sunday, beating the Patriots 25-17 for their sixth straight win at Heinz Field. They beat Tom Brady for only the second time in eight tries, denying Brady and Bill Belichick the NFL record for most wins by a quarterback-head coach combo in the Super Bowl era.
Pittsburgh has won four in a row and remains at home to play AFC North rival Baltimore next week. The Patriots (5-2) were coming off a bye and had a three-game winning streak snapped since their only other loss at Buffalo in Week 3.
You can read more here.
“Ben Roethlisberger had been above average all season at completing short throws, but Roethlisberger turned in an elite performance against the Patriots on Sunday. Both of Roethlisberger’s touchdown passes came on throws fewer than 10 yards.” — ESPN‘s Mike Reiss, from his stats blog. […]
Ben on DVE…
Ben was a guest on DVE’s Morning Show with Jim and Randy on Friday.
He called in to answer questions about Tom Brady, the Steelers offense, the younger players, Max Starks, Sunday’s game, and even Tim Tebow.
You can listen to his interview here.
Patriots talks Big Ben
“You can’t go for the kill shot. You just got to grab an arm and pull him down.” — Patriots defensive lineman Shaun Ellis on Ben, from the blog below.
From Nick Underhill, The Repulican/Mass Live:
It’s no secret that one of the reasons that the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Ben Roethlisberger is considered a top-tier quarterback is due to his ability to stretch plays.
He isn’t the most accurate passer or as cerebral as Tom Brady, but Roethlisberger may be better than any other quarterback when under siege.
He has faced pressure on 35.4 percent of his total drop backs, yet has a 60.4 accuracy percentage – the total number of completions minus dropped passes – in such situations, placing him fourth in the league among quarterbacks who have faced a similar amount of pressure.
The difference between Roethlisberger and those that rank above him on that list is that he actually invites pressure due to his ability to escape it, which makes the aforementioned kill shot an effective way for a defense to shoot itself.
Often times, he won’t react to the defense at the line of scrimmage like most quarterbacks. Instead, he’ll take the snap and allow the defense to show itself before making a read.
No other quarterback, including Philadelphia’s Michael Vick, can operate under such mayhem effectively on a consistent basis.
You can read more from Mr. Underhill’s blog here.
“Big guy. Strong. Very elusive. Strong arm strength. Can make all the throws. He’s definitely a top quarterback in this league for a reason.” — Patriots safety James Ihedigbo, from the article below.
From Glen Farley, Patriot Ledger:
While Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady and Drew Brees are now the names most often bandied about when debating the relative merits of the best quarterback in the NFL today, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Ben Roethlisberger brings an imposing physical presence to the position that none of them do.
“He’s a big guy,” Patriots outside linebacker Rob Ninkovich said of the signal caller the Patriots will face at Heinz Field on Sunday afternoon. “He’s big and he can move. Anybody who’s 260 pounds who can move is hard to get on the ground so […]
Ben: Preparing for the Patriots
“Well, I guess it depends who you talk to at what point in the season. I mean, are you asking the media those questions, are you asking a player? It’s different. We are probably too old on defense, we’re probably too young on offense, and we’re just trying to get by with wins.” — Ben, when asked about the Steelers level of play right now.
“Well-played, sir.” — The Boston Herald‘s Ian Rappaport, on Ben’s response.
More highlights from Ben’s interview with the Boston media today:
On the Steelers vs Patriots rivalry –
“It’s kind of special. They beat me in my first championship game. I’ve said it many times, I think Tom Brady’s the best and I think that translates and correlates a lot into them being one of the best teams in the league consistently.
“Everyone wants to beat the best team. That’s why it’s special, and means something to you – you want to beat the best.”
On what he thinks will be the biggest challenges of playing against the Patriots defense –
“I think they do a good job. They switch from a 3-4 front to a 4-3 a lot to even a 3-3, so they mix it up on you. And then I think if you get into certain passing situations, they like to bring their linebackers from the outside. To me it’s about identifying and being able pick up those blitzes, because if you can’t, then you’re not going to be able to get the ball off. And also, when you put the big guy [Vince Wilfork] in the middle – he never seems to leave the field – but he makes plays in the run game, and you wouldn’t think, but in the passing game as well now.”
On staying off of “Wilfork Island” –
“Well, you definitely have to be aware. That’s going to be a heck of a job for whether that’s our center, or our guard. He seems to move around. I even saw him blitz off the edge one time – I think it was against Oakland, they kind of ran a mixer look and he rushed against the tackle. Whoever is against him, he […]
Today: 2012 Pro Bowl voting opens
Vote 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 26 passes for 361 yards and 3 touchdowns in the Steelers 32-20 win over the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday. Voting ends on Friday at 3:00 PM.
Ben was nominated in Week 5 after he threw for 228 yards and 5 touchdowns against the Titans, but Packers fans beat out Steelers fans in the voting making Aaron Rodgers the winner with a total of 365 yards and just 2 touchdowns! Come on Steelers fans, we can do better than that!
Vote for Ben here.
And…
Vote for the Ben to Mike Wallace “historic” touchdown as the GMC Never Say Never moment of Week 7!
From NFL.com:
Historic play lifts Steelers over Cardinals – Backed up at their own 5-yard line after a false-start penalty and up by only a touchdown over the Arizona Cardinals, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh Steelers knew history wasn’t […]