…was FAN-tastic!!!!

“It was so great that he signed both of my Grandchildren’s footballs. Thank you Ben for making my guys so happy.” — Francene Slampak

“Ben is a great guy…Cares about Fans!” — John Filijowycz

“Thank you for the autographs, my boys are at camp tonight from NC! Steeler proud!!” — Elaine White

“MY FAVORITE QB BIG BEN ON AND OFF THE FIELD.” — Betty Samuels

“Ben is the best ever for signing autographs. He really cares for the fans. He talks to the fans while he is signing, and that is rare. A really nice guy, and a great QB. — Carol Evans

We got @_BigBen7 @L_Bell26 & James Harrison's autographs just now pic.twitter.com/1E4Avb13BH

— Taylor Marvin (@tlorrr) July 31, 2015

@_BigBen7 Thanks Ben for a great Birthday present last night!! pic.twitter.com/3eMC5LSMyc

— Dave Marvin (@ILsteelerfan58) August 1, 2015

Steelers Training Camp! @_BigBen7 great autograph tonight! pic.twitter.com/a7gOvYBMb2

— Rettabetta7 (@rettabetta7) July 31, 2015

THX @_BigBen7 THANKS FOR SIGNING MY DAUGHTERS FOOTBALL AT FRIDAY NIGHT PRACTICE YOU MADE OUR DAY & YOU ARE THE BEST. pic.twitter.com/ncNnswNiWH

— PATRICK H (@milfhunter3828) July 31, 2015

QB Ben Roethlisberger of the #Steelers spending time with the standing room only crowd at Night Practice @WPXI pic.twitter.com/5zVmNx6xis

— Bill Phillips (@WPXI_BPhillips) July 31, 2015

Ben Roethlisberger making his rounds for autographs. pic.twitter.com/xnQO5Sec7Y

— Missi Matthews (@missi_matthews) July 31, 2015

From ESPN.com:



And finally on the field!

At Friday Night Lights & watching @_BigBen7 do what he does best #steelerstrainingcamp #BigBen pic.twitter.com/N4ajTDjcCx

— Billie Jo Yakubik (@marinewife1998) August 1, 2015

Thank you to everyone who shared their photos & thoughts with us on social media tonight!!

for your department or agency to make their request to the Ben Roethlisberger Foundation for the 2015 grant cycle!

“We’re very fortunate to be in the position that we are able to help these K-9 units. The work that is performed by the dogs and their handlers as well as the bond that is formed is incredible. We’re just thrilled to do our small part.” — Ben, on why his foundation is so important to him.

This marks the ninth grant cycle for The Ben Roethlisberger Foundation, which distributed more than $132,000 in grants to K-9 units around the country during the 2014 NFL season, including $55,000 in the Pittsburgh community. The majority of the grants distributed will help K-9 units to purchase dogs and dog safety vests, but other types of needs are also considered. Ben’s foundation also supports Make-A-Wish and combined, has distributed in excess of $1.3 million since 2007.

The Foundation will be distributing grants in the cities and surrounding communities of each regular season away game for the Steelers during the 2015 NFL season including Boston, St. Louis, San Diego, Kansas City, Seattle, Cincinnati, Baltimore and Cleveland areas. The Ben Roethlisberger Foundation invites police and fire departments in these eight cities to submit proposals detailing their needs. Also, for each Steelers’ appearance in a playoff game, a grant will be awarded to a non-NFL market city anywhere in the United States that would not otherwise be eligible to apply. In addition, the Foundation will continue to make grants to several police and fire department K-9 units in the Pittsburgh area following Super Bowl 50.

Fans of The Ben Roethlisberger Foundation can support future K-9 grants by purchasing candy on Sarris Candies’ website, (www.SarrisCandiesFundraising.com), using a special purchase code (77-7777). Sarris will donate 25 percent of the purchase price to the Foundation.

You are welcome to donate directly through The Giving Back Fund here.


REQUIREMENTS:

Please submit all of the following items and information in one proposal. Incomplete applications will not be accepted or pursued. Please do not staple, bind or print proposal double-sided. Do not fax or email submission. PLEASE DO NOT FAX APPLICATION.

Grant proposals must include the following:

– Completed cover […]

…to bring you a few fun photos!


Pittsburgh Steelers ‏@steelers
What do you think, @AntonioBrown84 & @_BigBen7? Is this the next dynamic duo? #50atSVC




Nortolian Nicholson ‏@nortolian
@steelers, @L_Bell26 ,@_BigBen7,@AntonioBrown84 ….My kids are so ready to see y’all play this year!!




Pittsburgh Steelers ‏@steelers
Wait a minute… Is that you, @_BigBen7? #50atSVC



And the lil’ fans aren’t the only ones at St. Vincent having a good time!


Andrew Baugh ‏@baughaw
@_BigBen7 Ben has some moves.. #fancylegs



Check out all the latest photos from camp here (pages 1 & 2).

Q&A with Big Ben, courtesy of Steelers.com:


Is quarterback more fun to play than when you started?

It’s always fun to play quarterback. When you have a group of guys that you’ve played with for a while now, and the same group coming back, the coach lets you have a lot of fun with it and have a lot of influence. It’s fun to participate in. It’s fun to see the talented young guys we have.


Is the ceiling for this group of offensive players as high as any you’ve been around?

Potentially. I think it’s still always about staying healthy, as it is with any team. Staying healthy, and [we need to] keep wanting to get better, each guy individually. If each individual wants to get better, then collectively as a group we’ll get better.


You guys talked about the red zone issues early in the season that seemed to get better as the year went on. How would you like to see this offense evolve?

We just want to keep getting better in every phase of the game. Name a category, and we’ll say we want to get better at it. Whether it’s individually or collectively, as a group we need to get better and score more points, get better on third-down, red zone, first-down, second-down, everything.


Why is 30 points per game a realistic goal for this team?

It’s what our offensive coordinator set as a goal for us, so that’s what we’re going to try and do.


How important will Martavis Bryant’s development be?

It will be big. He’s put the work in. He looks good. He’s picking everything up. Last year we just kind of put him in there and gave him a couple of things to do, which he did really well at. Now we’re asking him to do more. We’re asking him to move around a little bit, front side, back side, and to know things better. I’m going to count on him in the no-huddle. Last year he’d ask everyone what to do. Now we feel more comfortable with him knowing what to do. Hopefully he’ll be able to translate that into playing faster.


13 days from your first game, what do you try to accomplish in these early practices?

Stay cool and really just staying healthy. We’ve got everyone back on […]

“You want to do it now, not because I feel I’m older. I feel great. I feel I’m playing well. My arm is great. I feel like we’ve got a great team.”

From Ed Bouchette’s interview with Ben today Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

At 33, Roethlisberger said he and his arm are in tip-top shape and that he is surrounded with perhaps the best talent he’s ever had from offensive line to Antonio Brown and his receivers and Le’Veon Bell at halfback.

“That group in front of me is as good as any in the league, and as good as any I’ve ever had. It’s great.

“Then you look at outside receiver. AB is as good as anybody in this league and arguably one of the greatest that I’ve played with. Just all around on offense, we have just a special group. It has a chance to be really good.

“There are a lot of young guys, kind of the unknown other than AB. But they have as much potential and talent from top to bottom as we’ve had here in a long time. To me the sky is the limit for them.”

While they may need more production on offense to overcome some defensive shortcomings that dropped them to a 21st-century low of 18th in the NFL in yards allowed, Roethlisberger believes they will improve as well.

“I feel they’re going to take what happened last year to heart. I know there’s some change there with coach [Keith] Butler and coach [Dick] LeBeau being gone and some new guys. But they’re really starting to come along. They’re a fast, physical group. It’ll be neat to see what they do this year.


You can read what else Ben had to say here.

Photo courtesy of Teresa Varley.



Ben also did a 1 on 1 interview with Mark Kaboly at the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review:

When the Ravens’ Haloti Ngata broke Ben Roethlisberger’s nose with a chop to the face, Roethlisberger refused to come out of the game and didn’t miss a play despite a severely displaced septum and blood dripping down his face.
When Roethlisberger got his bell rung in last year’s playoff game against the Ravens, he missed three plays before returning to the field in a game that’s outcome had already been decided.

There is a legitimate reason why Roethlisberger refuses to […]

Now it’s time to get to work! Training camp is open for business!