The Pittsburgh Steelers legendary quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger released his first foray into podcasting. Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger: Episode 1 was released on his Channel Seven YouTube page. The future Hall of Famer sits down with his friend Spencer T’eo and discusses Steelers football, while sampling various beers from around the world. T’eo, in between sips of ale, asks Roethlisberger that based on his success as a rookie, if Pittsburgh fans would expect similar results from Kenny Pickett’s rookie season.
Steelers' Jerome Bettis (#36) and Ben Roethlisberger (#7) line up against the Chicago Bears in 2005. | Steelers.com
“The Steelers have an unbelievable defense,” Roethlisberger opines. “The defense is really, really good. The only difference is when I came in, we had a lot of veteran guys on offense. Veteran line, Jerome Bettis, veteran receivers; I was really the one young piece that was in there. That’s a little different now because there is such a young offense. A very young offense. It’s going to be really tricky, but it benefits the quarterback to have a really good defense, because you don’t have to do too much.”
Roethlisberger had unparalleled success a rookie. He started 14 regular season games and went 14-0, eventually falling to the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship game. He demonstrated a surprising command of the offense from the moment he stepped on the field and Bill Cowher did a fantastic job of putting the rookie signal-caller in the best possible position to succeed. Roethlisberger followed up a great rookie campaign and led the Steelers to a Super Bowl XL victory in his second NFL season.
“Hopefully, it’s not Kenny coming in,” Roethlisberger continues. “Because that means Mitch is struggling and doing something wrong, and I love Mitch and I hope he doesn’t. I came in, I was kind of the three/four behind Tommy Maddox, Charlie Batch and Brian St. Pierre. Charlie got hurt early in camp, so now all of a sudden, I’m kinda like the two. You don’t ever expect the starter to get hurt, then all of sudden, Tommy gets hurt in the second game and I have to go in. So, I hope that doesn’t happen to Kenny, because I don’t want Mitch to get hurt.”
Ben Roethlisberger (right) replaced Tommy Maddox as the Steelers’ starting quarterback after Maddox suffered an elbow injury two games into the 2004 season. (George Bridges / Getty Images)
Maddox had a short, but memorable career with the Steelers. His comeback against the Cleveland Browns in the 2002 Wild Card game will forever endear him to fans of a certain age that had watched the quarterback play drought that extended back to Terry Bradshaw. Down 19 points with 17 minutes to go, if you have never watched this game as a younger fan, you can find it on YouTube. It is well worth the watch, especially if you can’t wait another second for Steelers football.
“For me, it was very unique and scary. It was like, 'Don’t screw this up,'” the future Hall of Famer emphasizes. “You have a great defense. You got a veteran group of guys on offense; I’m the young guy and I was running around like a chicken with his head cut off. I put so much pressure on myself because I didn’t want to let the guys down.”
Steelers veterans did not know what to expect when Roethlisberger took over as the starter in his first season. Alan Faneca famously was quoted as not being excited about playing with a rookie. Somewhere along the line, in his string of 14 victories, he won the veterans over and he started demonstrating his career long comfort in coming from behind late in games. Say what you want about the Pittsburgh signal-caller, but if you are down less than a touchdown with two minutes left, give me Ben Roethlisberger. In that situation, no one is his equal.
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“He’s older than some of the second-year guys. It’s not the same kind of pressure. You know he’s [Pickett] got the chance to really take that group by the collar and say I’m the leader of this group. I’m not going to speak for him, I feel more pressure because I am in Pittsburgh where I just was, and all the fans want me. I was told by some guys that in the preseason game, it was like a regular season game, it was so loud, it was crazy, it was unbelievable. The pressure he could feel from that is way more than any he is going to put on himself.”
Steelers fans were unsure what to expect when Roethlisberger took the field in his rookie campaign coming from Miami of Ohio. It is just the opposite for Pickett who enjoyed great success at Pitt. He will have a certain level of comfort with his surroundings, but the veteran signal-caller makes the extremely important point that Pickett may be battling some unreasonable expectations. He hasn’t taken a snap yet in the regular season and he is being hailed as the next great Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback.
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett (8) during a preseason game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Seattle Seahawks, Saturday, Aug.13, 2022 in Pittsburgh, PA. (Jared Wickerham/Pittsburgh Steelers)
The Steelers have endured throughout the Super Bowl era as a contender because of defense. When they get excellent quarterback play, they have won Super Bowl championships. When they get less than excellent quarterback play, they still have made the playoffs and AFC Championship games and even a Super Bowl. While Pickett may be the future in Pittsburgh, he doesn’t have to be great immediately for the team to contend. He will never be Seven, but he doesn’t have to be. Being the best Eight should be good enough for the black and gold.
What do you think, Steeler Nation? Was Roethlisberger on the mark about bringing Pickett along slowly? Please comment below or on my Twitter @thebubbasq.
