Carolina comes through during a quiet week!


Carolina Quintero had great seats and her camera at the December 19th game at Heinz Field against the Jets.

Now, the Steelers didn’t win, but we did with these great photos of Ben and your other favorite players, including some fun shots of the weekly “attack” ritual on Casey Hampton!


You can check out her photos here.


*Thank you so much, Carolina!



Also Today:

Congratulations to Maurkice Pouncey, James Harrison, and Troy Polamalu on their selections to represent the Steelers at the 2011 NFL Pro Bowl on Sunday, January 30, 2011, at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Ben and teammates Heath Miller, Brett Keisel, Casey Hampton, LaMarr Woodley, and Ryan Clark are all Pro Bowl alternates.

Thank you to all those fans who voted for Ben and his other teammates as well!



And:

Ben received an Honorable Mention for “A Year Full of Earful: The best sports quotes from 2010” as compiled by the Covers.com staff:

“I look like I went 12 rounds with (Manny) Pacquiao. I guess I’ll be having a little surgery in the morning to get it fixed.” — Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger on the broken nose he suffered following a hard hit at the hands of Baltimore Ravens defensive tackle Haloti Ngata earlier this season. The next week, Roethlisberger wore a face shield on his helmet.


You can check out more great quotes from their list here.

From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette‘s Ed Bouchette this morning:

Ben Roethlisberger and Mike Wallace have been teammates for only 31 games, but they already are on the verge of becoming the most prolific big-play combination in franchise history.

When Roethlisberger and Wallace hooked up for a 43-yard touchdown in the second quarter of the Steelers’ victory Thursday against Carolina, they tied a club record for most touchdowns of 40 yards or more by a quarterback-wide receiver combination.

“He’s a great player,” Wallace said of Roethlisberger. “He has a real good feel for the game. It’s not hard for me as a receiver when you have a guy that good. I have the easy job, especially when you’re playing with a guy like that.”


You can read Mr. Bouchette’s article here.



Also Today:

Do Ben’s teammates think he’s soft?

Not a chance!


Check out this video interview at NFL.com with Mike Wallace and Lawrence Timmons.

I just want to wish all of my fans and Steelers fans out there a very Merry Christmas. I hope that everyone has a blessed holiday! And I hope that Santa brings all you kids out there everything you wanted!

Thank you all for your continued support, and a special thank you and Merry Christmas to Erin for the awesome job she does on this site!

Take care everyone and have a great New Year,

Ben


You can check out a larger version of Ben’s Christmas photo here.


You can also watch and listen to Ben’s message to the troops here.

Back by popular demand…


“Steel City Dreams” – Super Bowl XLIII, by artist Fred Carrow:

Twas the night before the game, when all through the house,

Not a creature was stirring, except for his mouse.

The posters were hung, on his walls with great care,

In hopes that Big Ben, soon would be there.


The child was nestled, all snug in his bed,

As visions of touchdowns, danced in his head.

Terrible towel for his hand, bedpost for his cap,

He and his dog, settled down for their nap.


When up on his desk, arose such a clatter,

Should he awaken, the players would scatter.

From posters and photos, the players came forth,

Rehearsing the game, this team from the North.


With halftime approaching, the Cardinals were poised,

To score a touchdown, and end all this noise.

The call was to blitz, but deep in his mind,

James saw this before, and dropped in behind.


A slant to Fitzgerald, could never miscue,

Be sure to account, for this guy, ninety-two.

He slyly slipped back, and made a quick slash,

Intercepting the ball, for a one hundred yard dash.


Now Larry was game, and would never give up,

He’d run down this thief, who drank from their cup.

He could never get near, with this team that surrounds,

In order to catch him, he’d sneak out of bounds.


With a heart from the Burgh, but his apparel now red,

A pass up the middle, and the birds were ahead.

Ten peeked at the clock, its time to be great,

We’ll give it our best, and seal our own fate.


One final drive, to take back the lead,

Get Santonio the ball, and we’d surely succeed.

To the corner he ran, to the ball he did stretch,

Two toes in the zone, for the game winning catch.


He ‘woke the next morning, his visions had waned,

Twas merely a dream, yet the ticket remained?

And later that evening, his dreams they proved right,

“Seasons beatings to all and to all a good-night.”


XLIII – Pittsburgh 27, Arizona 23


Original Poem “Twas the Night Before Christmas” by Clement Clarke Moore (1822).

Parodied by Fred in 2009.


*Thank you to Fred once again! Check out his website (and a larger version of the print) here .


Merry Christmas!

“He’s a ‘Night at the Improv’ every time he comes to work. He reminds me of John Elway.” — Former NFL linebacker and current NFLN game analyst Matt Millen referring to Ben during the game.

Media Notes & Quotes….


From NBC Sports website:

Ben Roethlisberger completed 22-of-32 passes for 320 yards and one touchdown while adding a second score on the ground to lead the Steelers to a 27-3 victory over the Panthers in a dominant Week 16 performance.

Shaking off another bloody nose, Big Ben was on fire early, completing 13 of his first 15 passes for 198 yards and a score by late in the second quarter. Both players did a nice job of reading the blitz and changing to a hot route when Roethlisberger hit Mike Wallace for a 43-yard touchdown to jump out to a 10-0 lead. Even with a huge lead, play-caller Bruce Arians kept the pedal to the medal until the fourth quarter, allowing Big Ben to clear the 300-yard mark.


You can read more here.

“He’s unique. He’s incredible.” — Former NFL quarterback and current NFLN color analyst Joe Theismann, referring to Ben during the game.

From NFL Fanhouse:

Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was shaking off tacklers all night and completing passes on the move to put the Steelers (11-4) in position for a first-round bye in the playoffs and a home postseason game.

Roethlisberger came up a little woozy after taking a hit in the second quarter. His nose, which he recently had surgically repaired after he broke it against Baltimore, was bleeding and he briefly retreated to the Steelers’ locker room.


You can read more here.

“Ben Roethlisberger, this guy’s a tough guy and he’s getting better every week.” — NFLN’s Steve Mariucci during the Post-Game Show.

From the Panthers Official website:

Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and wide receiver Mike Wallace became just the second quarterback and second receiver to post 300-yard passing and 100-yard receiving games, respectively, against the Panthers this season. Roethlisberger tallied 320 yards with one touchdown on 22-of-32 passing, while Wallace accumulated 104 yards with one touchdown on four catches. They joined quarterback Joe Flacco with 301 yards for Baltimore (11/21/10) and wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald with 125 […]

“The Pittsburgh Steelers were a good team under Bill Cowher, but they didn’t become a great one until Roethlisberger got there.”— Darin Gantt, from his commentary below.

From the Charlotte Observer‘s Darin Gantt this afternoon on the Panthers and the 2011 draft:

This is not just another Andrew Luck column. This one’s more about how Ben Roethlisberger could make Marty Hurney change his mind, perhaps one of the hardest things to do in Charlotte.

For years, the Carolina Panthers general manager was firm in the belief that quarterbacks were important, but ultimately fungible.

But you sense that Hurney’s beginning to sway, and the last two seasons are influencing him. Tonight should be the thing that pushes him over the edge.

From 1992 to 2003, the Steelers won 115 games, an average of 9.6 per year. They went to the playoffs eight times. They won no titles. They got close with defense, and running, and often despite quarterbacks Neil O’Donnell, Mike Tomczak, Kordell Stewart and Tommy Maddox.

The 2004 draft brought Roethlisberger, but the veteran coach wanted to stick with a veteran passer. It took both Maddox and Charlie Batch getting hurt to get Roethlisberger on the field, but once he got there, the Steelers took off. They won every game he started in the regular season. The next year, they won the Super Bowl. Three years later, another one.

It happened so fast, Roethlisberger didn’t have time to freak out.

“I didn’t have any time to anticipate that I was going to play that early,” Roethlisberger said. “I don’t know if that was good because I couldn’t think about it that much.”

The Panthers have to find their guy, and they might have to bend their own rules to do so.


You can read Mr. Gantt’s full commentary here.


*Thank you to Anita Doddroe for the heads-up!