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In support of Big Ben.
See the thing is -- the thing is -- that Ben Roethlisberger is a promising quarterback. Young, yes. A rookie, technically yes. And for only the second time in his shiny, new NFL career he played as if those two things were the only true definitions of who he is as an athlete. Nervous, sure. Pressured, undoubtedly. As much as I wanted the Steelers to win, and as much as I continue to believe that they very much could have won, I can't really fault the kid for missing this one. As I said before, he's young. Big Ben has time and health on his side. Of course we are talking about the NFL so there are no guarantees, but I think that he'll make more noise in the coming seasons.
Don't get me wrong I am VERY disappointed. I am NOT a Patriots fan.
Now, what does bother me is what the naysayers and journalists and commentators seemed to agree upon. Ben Roethlisberger couldn't beat "Too-Good-For-You" Tom Brady, not because he isn't a good quarterback, not because his team isn't good, but because he is a rookie. All those people so very impressed with the rookie quarterback leading his team on a needle straight path to the Super Bowl suddenly retracted their admiration for the new kid on the block. He is, after all, a rookie. Of course he can't lead his seasoned team against the super seasoned, championship winning Patriots. Of course not. That would be ridiculous. So, let's forget for a moment that the Steelers include players like Jerome Bettis, Plaxico Burress, Hines Ward, Troy Polamalu and Duce Staley, veterans and Pro Bowlers. Let's forget that for fifteen games Big Ben played like an NFL pro and NOT like the rookie he suddenly became last week against the Jets. Let's forget that the Steelers were 15-1 in the regular season and that among those 15 games won was the one in which the Steelers brought the Patriots' 21 game winning streak to a close. So, Ben, listening to the hype about the Patriots and Tom Brady (who I will concede are definitely a good team, but who are, like all teams, beatable) and the suddenly hostile 'experts', threw four interceptions in the game that counted the most.
I wish we could take back the day and that Ben could walk onto Heinz Field with all the confidence and support that saw him through the regular season. I'm not mad at you Ben. You are, as they say, a rookie. But being a rookie is not why the Steelers lost. Every quarterback has a bad game, a bad season, makes a bad play. It happens. You played with the big boys and did amazingly well. You just didn't make it in the end. Donovan McNabb and the Eagles, I am sure, can sympathize.
Rookie or not, Ben Roethlisberger played a hell of a season and if you dismiss him as just a rookie then you're as shallow and short-sighted as Phil Simms and that is not a good thing to be.
See the thing is -- the thing is -- that Ben Roethlisberger is a promising quarterback. Young, yes. A rookie, technically yes. And for only the second time in his shiny, new NFL career he played as if those two things were the only true definitions of who he is as an athlete. Nervous, sure. Pressured, undoubtedly. As much as I wanted the Steelers to win, and as much as I continue to believe that they very much could have won, I can't really fault the kid for missing this one. As I said before, he's young. Big Ben has time and health on his side. Of course we are talking about the NFL so there are no guarantees, but I think that he'll make more noise in the coming seasons.
Don't get me wrong I am VERY disappointed. I am NOT a Patriots fan.
Now, what does bother me is what the naysayers and journalists and commentators seemed to agree upon. Ben Roethlisberger couldn't beat "Too-Good-For-You" Tom Brady, not because he isn't a good quarterback, not because his team isn't good, but because he is a rookie. All those people so very impressed with the rookie quarterback leading his team on a needle straight path to the Super Bowl suddenly retracted their admiration for the new kid on the block. He is, after all, a rookie. Of course he can't lead his seasoned team against the super seasoned, championship winning Patriots. Of course not. That would be ridiculous. So, let's forget for a moment that the Steelers include players like Jerome Bettis, Plaxico Burress, Hines Ward, Troy Polamalu and Duce Staley, veterans and Pro Bowlers. Let's forget that for fifteen games Big Ben played like an NFL pro and NOT like the rookie he suddenly became last week against the Jets. Let's forget that the Steelers were 15-1 in the regular season and that among those 15 games won was the one in which the Steelers brought the Patriots' 21 game winning streak to a close. So, Ben, listening to the hype about the Patriots and Tom Brady (who I will concede are definitely a good team, but who are, like all teams, beatable) and the suddenly hostile 'experts', threw four interceptions in the game that counted the most.
I wish we could take back the day and that Ben could walk onto Heinz Field with all the confidence and support that saw him through the regular season. I'm not mad at you Ben. You are, as they say, a rookie. But being a rookie is not why the Steelers lost. Every quarterback has a bad game, a bad season, makes a bad play. It happens. You played with the big boys and did amazingly well. You just didn't make it in the end. Donovan McNabb and the Eagles, I am sure, can sympathize.
Rookie or not, Ben Roethlisberger played a hell of a season and if you dismiss him as just a rookie then you're as shallow and short-sighted as Phil Simms and that is not a good thing to be.
