Notes…

Take a few minutes to read:

Ed Bouchette’s column in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette today entitled, “On the Steelers: Roethlisberger ‘sharp'” here.


Hal Spivack’s phone interview yesterday with Ben’s quarterback coach George Whitfield at NFL Fanhouse here.


James Walker’s AFC North Blog entry on Ben this week at ESPN.com entitled, “Seven questions about Ben Roethlisberger” here.

Quotes…

From an AP article in the Indiana Gazette:

“If you had told us we’d be 3-1 at the beginning of the year without Ben, no one outside of this locker room would have given us a chance. But it’s definitely great to have Ben back on our side.” — Hines Ward


“We’ve got to realize that our all-world quarterback is an all-world quarterback, but what we have established is great. We’re going to add him to what has been established. That’s one thing we’ve got to realize, how much the run is going to complement the pass and how we can just grind it if we need to. We’re not going to get away from the things we’ve been doing well.” — Antwaan Randle El


“The offense is definitely going to go in another direction. It won’t change too much, but at the same time we’re going to throw the ball because we’ve got one of the best guys back. So I’m excited.” — Mike Wallace


You can read Mr. Robinson’s  article here.



From an article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:


“He looked good. No question that he has taken advantage of his down time or time away from us. He has utilized it and continued to prepare himself.” — Coach Tomlin, after the conclusion of this week’s practice.


You can read Mr. Bouchette’s article here.



From an article in USA Today, comparing Tampa Bay’s quarterback Josh Freeman to Ben:

“Josh isn’t as accurate as Drew Brees, but he has some things Drew and other quarterbacks don’t: his ability to extend a play because of his size and strength in the pocket. He shakes guys off.

“That part is similar to a Ben Roethlisberger, where Josh can stand in the pocket, shake guys off with great vision down the field. All the good quarterbacks have great vision down the field.” — Buccaneers offensive coordinator Greg Olson


You can read  Mr. Corbett’s article here.



And last, but not least….

From a blog at NFL Fanhouse:

“You can’t go wrong with Big Ben — yeah, […]

Ben interviewed with Merril Hoge and discussed what the past few months have been like for him and his family.

The interview was shown on today’s NFL Live on ESPN and will be replayed on SportsCenter throughout the evening.


You can watch it here.

Ben spent much of September working with quarterbacks coach George Whitfield.  Mr. Whitfield owns Whitfield Athletix in La Jolla, California and commuted each week to Pittsburgh from his home in San Diego to try and simulate a regular NFL practice week with Ben at a local high school.

Mr. Whitfield sent photos from their workout sessions which I have added to the gallery!

Their first day together was spent working out in a heavy rain, “I don’t know how many guys like to throw in the rain, but he did it in a steady, driving rain for two hours,” Mr. Whitfield told the Pittsburgh Tribune- Review‘s Scott Brown. “To him, it was much more than just going through drills. He wanted to know: ‘What did you notice here? What do you have in mind for this drill?’ I learned how dedicated this guy is.”

Mr. Whitfield also appeared as a guest yesterday on 93.7 – The Fan and said of his student, “I’ve been looking forward to talking to the Steel City about their leader. In regard to Ben being ready… He’s ready. He’s been through a one-man training camp. It was meticulous, it was filmed, it was Western PA blue collar style. He’s ready, he’s sharp, the guy’s in great shape and more than anything he’s excited. So you blend all that together and I think when they uncage him in 13 days, he’s gonna be ready to go. I think you guys will be excited.”


You can listen to Mr. Whitfield’s full interview here (Thank you Jan!).

You can check out his website here.

And you can check out the workout photos here.


*Thank you so much to Mr. Whitfield!

“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. […]