“He was firing it left and right. It’s just great having him back.” — Hines Ward on Ben’s return to practice today.

From The Huddle at USA Today this afternoon:

In his first post-suspension practice with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Ben Roethlisberger’s first pass Tuesday in 11-on-11 drills was a deep completion to speedy wide receiver Mike Wallace.

“It was good. I just wanted to get one up there early for Mike, and he made a good catch,” said Roethlisberger.

The rainy-day workout was held in the team’s indoor practice facility.

“Hopefully, that means we’re going to get a lot of that come two Sundays from now,” said Wallace.

“I knew he was probably going to throw it out there. But he always throws good passes so I’m not worried about that. I’m not worried about his timing. I’m not worried about anything. … I’m excited to see him out there again.”


You can read the rest here.

You can see a few photos from the practice here.


Quote of the Day:

“His conditioning is not a concern at all and if you lay eyes on him you’ll understand what I’m talking about. He’s in great physical shape.  His arm is in great shape. He’s ready for work…it’s just about being sharp – being football sharp, being able to recognize and identify pressure packages and change protection points and distribute the ball.  And that’s football.   That’s why we’re working today.  But ultimately you’ve got to be able to do that under duress and sometimes the only duress that is legitimate is inside stadiums so we understand that his progress is going to be measured on how he does in the stadium next Sunday and moving forward.” — Coach Tomlin on Ben, during his radio interview on The Sirius Blitz today on Sirius NFL Radio.

*Thank you to Stan for the heads-up!

After a 2pm team meeting, Ben took the podium to make a short statement and to answer questions from reporters:

“First off, it’s good to be back here, at the Facility, especially with my teammates…to get to see coaches and be around my teammates. I’m just excited to get back and get focused on football, and focus on this year and try to get to Dallas.”


On what he learned the last few weeks –

“I hate being away from football. How much you appreciate meetings and practice and being around the guys and just being away from them mostly.”


On watching the Steelers games away from the field –

“I have no fingernails left! It was hard, it really was. To watch them at home…I was on the edge of my chair, trying to keep busy, watching, standing up, sitting down. It was tough but it was fun watching them win.”


On what he did to stay in “game ready” shape –

“I worked out a lot. I worked out for 2-2 1/2 hours – longer than I would be if I was out here practicing. I threw more balls that I would have if I was here.  I just really stayed  focused with George, my quarterback coach, and worked on footwork techniques, throwing, stuff like that….worked on my routine, my cardio.”


On whether staying away from his teammates was the most difficult part –

“One of the hardest parts.  I mean obviously I love football, I missed that more than anything. But to be away from my guys, my brothers, my family, that was one of the hardest parts and that’s what made coming here today so great.  I think every single one of the guys came and gave me a big hug, and I was so happy to see them and I think they were happy to see me as well.”


On coming back to a team that is 3-1 –

“I think there is a lot of great chemistry on this team right now. They’re playing great football – offense, defense, special teams…from what I’ve been able to watch. I’m not coming in and trying to be anything more than what I am, just trying to be helpful and be a teammate and do everything I can to help this team win football games. Like I said, I think they are off to a great start. […]

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

Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger will report back to the Steelers Monday afternoon, when the players gather for a 2 p.m. team meeting, coach Mike Tomlin said today.

He has kept a low profile over the past month, politely declining interviews as he worked out with a quarterbacks coach and some receivers in the area.

Tomlin said the Steelers will practice Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.


You can read Mr. Bouchette’s full report here.



And from the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review‘s Kevin Gorman:

Defensive end Brett Keisel, Roethlisberger’s best friend on the team, said the quarterback has been “doing good” despite missing the game, the competition and the camaraderie with his teammates for the past month.

“Getting anyone that has done what he’s done back is going to be great for us,” Keisel said. “We’ll just welcome him with open arms and move forward. … It’s been hard on him, but through it all, it’s made him a better person. We’ll be glad to get him back.”


You can read Mr. Gorman’s entire article here.


Ben is scheduled to do a press conference on Monday afternoon!

Christian music artist Chris Tomlin performed to a sold-out crowd at the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh last night with Ben and his parents in the audience.Ben and Chris have become good friends, and for his mother Brenda’s birthday, Ben took her and his dad to the concert. The photo of Ben and Chris was taken backstage.Chris is a three-time Gospel Music Association male vocalist of the year, a two-time GMA artist of the year and two-time Grammy nominee.Ben said the show was awesome – that Chris’ music delivers a strong message and his talent is unreal.He would also like to wish his mom a very Happy Birthday!You can read an interview with Chris from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette here. You can check out Chris’ website here. And, you can view a larger version of the photo here. Other Birthday Wishes…for this weekend go out to fans Anne Cooper (Oct 1st) and Dot Kifer (Oct 4th)!

“It’s not like I have Mike Tomlin standing behind me to reinforce what I say. But I might as well have.  Ben’s been very coachable. He’s fired up to do this. I was a little intimidated at first, because I didn’t know what to expect. But he’s excited to come to work every day when I’m with him, and he’s putting his time to good use.” —  George Whitfield on working with Ben.


From Sports Illustrated senior writer Peter King this morning:

A week from now, one of the big stories in the league — maybe the biggest story in the league — will be Ben Roethlisberger returning to the Steelers after his four-week suspension. What kind of mood will Roethlisberger will be in? Will he be humbled, chastened? And in a football sense, will he be ready to return after the Steelers’ bye week to resume his starting role on a Super Bowl contender?

George Whitfield, a quarterback coach from San Diego, was hired by Roethlisberger’s agent, Ryan Tollner, to work privately with Roethlisberger for his four weeks away from the Steelers. Whitfield commutes from California each week and tries to simulate a regular Wednesday-Thursday-Friday practice week at a high school in Pittsburgh.

One thing Roethlisberger is happy about, Whitfield said, is to work on some of the mechanical things a quarterback never has time to do during a normal season. “He likes the fact that this is like a one-month mechanics camp,” Whitfield said. “He’s a very self-aware quarterback. He’ll say, ‘I pat the ball, I overstride, sometimes I’m sloppy in my drop — let’s work on those things,’ “Whitfield said. “I think he’s been very happy to be able to take some time to work on things he believes will make him a better player.”

“I think he’s going to come back sharper and hungrier,” Whitfield said. “He’s really focused right now.”


You can read the full story here.



Also Today:

“He’s going to be an amazing story!”

Former Pittsburgh Steeler and current ESPN analyst Merril Hoge spoke to WTAE Channel 4‘s Sally Wiggin today about seeing an obvious change in Ben since they began working closely together over the past month.


You can see his interview here.


*Thank you to Billie Jo for the link!