The Pittsburgh Steelers are set to report to training camp next Tuesday for the first time without Ben Roethlisberger since 2003. That is going to look weird for a lot of people, including Roethlisberger himself who will certainly be thinking about Latrobe when he's sitting at his house next week.
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (7) and offensive coordinator Matt Canada talk during the team’s NFL minicamp football practice in Pittsburgh, Tuesday, June 15, 2021. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
To the surprise of many, Roethlisberger has been in the spotlight pretty often during the early stages of his retirement. We've seen him at Pittsburgh Penguins games dropping the puck, and we've seen him doing some public speaking. And now he's scheduled to throw out the first pitch at the Pittsburgh Pirates game on July 29, 2022.
He's also just being dad.
“These days, I’m doing a lot of driving,” Roethlisberger told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “I’m a cab driver, an Uber driver, whatever you want to call it. It’s not a good time to have high gas prices.”
This week, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writer, and long-time Steelers insider, Ron Cook caught up with Roethlisberger.
One of the topics that came up was whether or not Roethlisberger had any regrets during his 18-year career. Surely someone that played for as long as Roethlisberger has would have plenty of regrets. The 2004 AFC Championship game comes to mind. Or possibly any of the horrendous losses to the New England Patriots.
Then again, there is a major one that a lot of Steeler Nation tries to forget: Super Bowl XLV.
"That was tough. It still stings. We lost [Maurkice Pouncey] right before that game. I still think, ‘What if? What if he’s able to play?’ He was such a different playmaker for us. I look back at it and think, man..."
Steelers running back, Rashard Mendenhall fumbles in the fourth quarter during Super Bowl XLV against the Green Bay Packers. | Photo via New York Times
Pouncey of course was injured during the Steelers win against the New York Jets in the AFC Championship game. His replacement, Doug Legursky was out manned during the Super Bowl and often spent time being pushed right back into Roethlisberger. The offensive line as a whole played their worst game of the season that day.
“I know some Packers. I have talked to them. We were starting to make a little bit of a run, driving down the field. They were nervous. A couple of guys were like, ‘Here they go.’ It would have been fun to see what would have happened [if Rashard Mendenhall hadn’t fumbled].”
Ah, of course. The Rashard Mendenhall fumble. A play that he continues to discredit. Just last month, Mendenhall claimed that he didn't cost the Steelers the game.
While the game shouldn't be blamed squarely on Mendenhall's shoulders, he should take the brunt of the blame. Roethlisberger had a poor day with costly interceptions. But momentum had shifted when Green Bay lost Charles Woodson late in the first half. The entire third quarter, the Steelers were dominating. Had Mendenhall not fumbled to begin the fourth quarter, it's quite possible that Roethlisberger would have three rings.
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