From the Toronto Sun’s Mike Zeisburger, “Big Ben is pure Pittsburgh“:

Manning and Brady are rhythm pocket passers who own quick releases. They shuffle rather than scramble and usually go down when you hit them. Hit Roethlisberger, on the other hand, and you are likely to bounce off him in the same way bullets harmlessly deflect off Superman. Rather than set and throw, Roethlisberger uses his size to his advantage, shedding potential tacklers like irritating bugs and extending plays as if they were drawn up in the schoolyard dirt, not on a classroom chalkboard.


From ESPN’s James Walker, “Ben Roethlisberger is NFL’s most clutch QB“:

There is no better quarterback on the big stage than Roethlisberger, who has a 9-2 career playoff record and is competing in his fourth AFC Championship Game in seven seasons Sunday. Manning has a sub-.500 record (9-10) in the playoffs, so he’s out. Tom Brady has a good playoff record (14-5), but he has lost three postseason games in a row.


From the New York Times’ Judy Battista, “Ben Roethlisberger and the art of the pump fake“:

In his seven seasons, Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has elevated it to an art form, winding up, pretending to throw, pulling his arm back and reloading so often that it looks as if someone is hitting the fast forward and rewind buttons while watching game tape. Roethlisberger uses the pump fake more than any other current quarterback except perhaps Peyton Manning.


From NFL.com’s Albert Breer, “Big Ben, other title game QBs had shot to grow into roles“:

Dan Rooney wrote in his 2007 autobiography that the memory of passing on Dan Marino in 1983, the quarterback who grew up down the street and starred collegiately across town, stuck with him for two decades. And it was that memory that motivated him to push his football people to draft Ben Roethlisberger in 2004, even as some of them leaned toward selecting Arkansas tackle Shawn Andrews.

On draft day, Rooney recounted, “I couldn’t bear the thought of passing on another great quarterback prospect the way we passed on Dan Marino in 1983, so I steered conversation to Roethlisberger.”


From Steelers.com’s Teresa Varley, “Players message to fans“:

“Lots of noise, lots of excitement,” said Ben Roethlisberger. “We want energy, which they always bring, but take it to the next level. Mark Sanchez uses a cadence and I want it to be so loud they can’t hear him talk.”