Wednesday’s Q&A with the media
“We all need to perform better, and it starts with me. I have to complete passes, if that’s the call. If it’s run, then we have to get hats on hats, if you will. Once again, you guys are asking questions that if I had an answer to it, we wouldn’t be having these issues. We can’t fix anything until we get out there on Sunday really.” — Ben.
From Teresa Varley at Steelers.com:
The Steelers got off to a slow start last week against the Bengals, heading into halftime already down 17-0, a deficit they couldn’t dig out of.
It wasn’t the first time they have found themselves struggling early on in games, something Ben Roethlisberger knows needs to get fixed, and fixed now.
“It feels like it’s something different every week,” said Roethlisberger. “It’s hard to really nail down one thing, but it’s something that’s very important to us and we need to get fixed now.”
One thing Roethlisberger has been consistent with all season is pointing to himself to improve, whether the team was 11-0 or 11-3. He has taken his share of heat from outside the team walls, but he doesn’t shy away from admitting some of it is deserved.
“I don’t blame them,” said Roethlisberger. “When you play like poo, you should get talked about like that. I need to play better. If I’m not giving them a reason to talk good, then I’m giving them a reason to talk badly. That’s all on me. I need to play better.
“When you’re not winning, truthfully, at the end of the day, that’s my determining factor of if I played well or not. Did I win the football game? Because that’s all that matters to me. Am I not completing enough passes? Am I missing the right play call? There’s a myriad of issues, in my opinion, that aren’t helping us win the game. It can be something different all the time. I just have to play well enough to help us win a football game because, at the end of the day, that’s all that really matters.”
Roethlisberger said on Wednesday the players gathered for a meeting, mainly just offensive players, just to talk and ‘express where we are and what we need to do moving forward.’ He stressed it wasn’t a panic meeting after losing the last three games, but […]
Week 15: Steelers 17, Bengals 27
“I will never stop believing in these guys or this team. We’ll just push forward.” — Ben, post-game.
From Mike Prisuta, Steelers.com:
The Steelers’ losing streak has reached three consecutive games and the AFC North Division championship remains up for grabs after Monday night’s 27-17 loss in Cincinnati.
The Steelers fell to 11-3.
“I’d say that I’m not consistent enough, which affects the offense, because the ball is in my hand every play.” — Ben.
The Bengals improved to 3-10-1.
The Steelers would have clinched the division championship with a victory.
They have failed to score at least 20 points in four consecutive games.
“We better get it figured out, and I think we can.” — Ben.
A Black & Gold Christmas
“I thought I’d share this year’s version of my Steelers Christmas tree. It is definitely Ben-centric, as it features a photo ornament of Ben, as well as two of the Wendell August ornaments that benefit Ben’s foundation.” — Scott Juba.
@_BigBen7 was correct about the matching PJs. Same thing happened at my house. Haha! Merry Christmas from our family to yours! #Christmas2019 #HereWeGo #Steelers
@_BigBen7 who needs elf on a shelf when we have Ben on a shelf?! Go Steelers!
“Me and my wife do these trees every year. She is a Steelers fan and I’m a Browns fan. It gets pretty exciting during football season! lol!” — Mike Davis.
Go Steelers! We will support black and yellow when they’re winning or losing all day and even for bedtime. Lol! #bigben7
The next @_BigBen7? Just a growth spurt away. #HereWeGo
“My sister saved a spot for Ben at the TOP of our tree!” — Elle Infalvi.
Had a little time on my hands so decided to decorate my steelers tree (ornament tree less branches made to show ornaments better) had to showcase my new @_BigBen7 @WendellAugust ornaments front and center.
Feliz Navidad a todos los @RegiosdAcero
The G.O.A.T. goes up top @_BigBen7
Open grant season is winding down….
But there’s still time for your agency to complete & enter a grant request during the final days of the 2020 grant cycle for the Ben Roethlisberger Foundation at The Giving Back Fund.
This marks the 14th season of grants for Ben’s foundation. The majority of the grants distributed will help police and fire department K-9 units to purchase dogs and dog safety vests, but other types of K-9 specific needs will be considered.
This year, Ben has opened up the eligibility to include all towns and communities in the United States and invites police and fire departments to submit proposals detailing their needs.
The Foundation began accepting proposals on September 1st, and will continue through the remainder of the year. Grant announcements will be made after the season.
The mission of the Ben Roethlisberger Foundation is to support K-9 units of police and fire departments throughout the United States with a particular emphasis on support for service dogs in Pittsburgh, PA.
In addition, Ben’s foundation has hosted a number of events to benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation, his high school alma mater, and other organizations close to his heart.
Ben’s foundation has distributed in excess of $2.2 million since 2007, $1.8 million of which has specifically benefited K-9 programs.
Full grant guidelines and application cover page are available at https://www.givingback.org/ben-roethlisberger-foundation-application-2020/.
Applications and supporting documents must be mailed and postmarked between September 1st and December 31st.
For more information about the Ben Roethlisberger Foundation or The Giving Back Fund, please contact Jessica Duffaut at www.givingback.org.
Wednesday’s Q&A with the media
“There are a lot of things involved. Sometimes physicality is mental too. You have to be mentally tough. All of those things combined I think can hopefully turn this thing around and we can hit the plays that are there to be had.” — Ben, on the question as to whether the offense needs to be more physical.
From Teresa Varley, Steelers.com:
Normally when you talk about the Steelers, it’s about their physical play, their tenacity and aggressiveness in all areas of play.
But when Coach Mike Tomlin talked about his team during his weekly press conference, it was the Steelers who were getting called out for not being the more physical team in the loss to the Buffalo Bills.
Roethlisberger doesn’t feel like wholesale changes need to be made after the team lost two straight games, he just believes they need to be more…physical.
“I don’t think we need to adjust drastically,” said Roethlisberger. “There are plays to be had that we are not making. I think some of it stems from physicality. I don’t think we are being as physical as we should be and need to be all of the time. I think that is something we always took pride in as the Pittsburgh Steelers and being physical.”
It’s easy for many to point the finger at the offensive line because the offense starts up front, but Roethlisberger said that isn’t accurate. He stressed that the offense needs to be more physical at every spot.
“Physicality isn’t just about the line,” said Roethlisberger. “I think people think that is where it is. But it’s about picking up the blitzes, getting the tough yards, blocking on the perimeter. Things like that.
“When you talk about physicality, that’s where everyone automatically looks. Your eyes go to o-line, d-line, because that is every single play you have to be physical. So, it naturally falls in that area. I don’t think all of the fingers should be pointed there by any means. When we talk about physicality, I think the line takes it personal because they want to be physical.
“Being physical doesn’t always mean I am going to go blow him off the line of scrimmage or outpower him. Sometimes being physically tough in your mind. You have to find multiple ways to be physical. It’s not just the line, it’s all of us. As runners, sometimes […]
Week 14: Steelers 15, Bills 26
We lost two. We’re facing some adversity. But we’re not hitting the panic button. Offensively, we’re not very good. Right now we’re not playing good football and that starts with me. We all need to look in the mirror – like I said, it starts with me. We all need to be better and I think that we will be. We are a team with a lot of resilience, and understands what it takes to win football games and understands what time of year it is. We need to play better on offense. The way we are playing now is unacceptable. — Ben.
From Mike Prisuta, Steelers.com:
The Steelers took the field in Buffalo knowing they had qualified for the playoffs but left the turf at Bills Stadium with a two-game losing streak.
Kansas City’s 33-27 victory over Miami on Sunday afternoon assured the Steelers of their first trip to the postseason since 2017, but there wasn’t much to celebrate after a 26-15 loss to the Bills on Sunday night.
The Steelers fell to 11-2. The Bills improved to 10-3.
Buffalo exhausted the final 7:11 of regulation after the second interception of the night thrown by Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger gave the Bills possession at their 29-yard line.
I hope so! If I don’t play good enough football then I need to hang it up, but you know, I still feel like I can do enough things to help this team win football games and I’m going to do everything I can to get us back on track. — Ben, when asked if he can “turn it around” for the next three games.
You can read more here.