Ben Roethlisberger: A Star Is Born

Ben Roethlisberger: A Star Is Born

It wasn't supposed to turn out this way. A rookie quarterback's 4-game win streak pitted against the defending Super Bowl Champs and their record-shattering 21-game victory tsunami. This was supposed to be the game that would send Ben Roethlisberger back to the drawing board to learn some valuable rookie lessons at the hands of the NFL's most feared Jedi Knight, Bill Belichick. But in the wake of the Steelers astonishing win over New England, the only conclusion, the only lesson learned, is that Ben Roethlisberger is nothing close to your average rookie quarterback. We now have a new streak, and it's all Ben's. Since abruptly taking over the starters job in week 2 after incumbent starter Tommy Maddox went down with an arm injury, Ben and the Steelers haven't lost. 5-0 as a rookie starter, and truth be told, if you date back to include his final 13 games in college, Roethlisberger has now won 18-straight football games. He's thrown 9 TD passes in 5 games, which is quickly becoming one of the most prolific career beginnings in NFL history. Not since Dan Marino threw 20 TD's in his first 11 games as a rookie have we seen this kind of production from a neophyte quarterback. Perhaps what is echoing most right now are the words of the Pittsburgh Steelers starting guard Alan Faneca who spoke out about the mood of the team when Tommy Maddox went down and Ben Roethlisberger was named the interim starter;

ON STEELERS GUARD ALAN FANECA SAYING, LAST MONTH, THAT HE DIDN'T LIKE "GOING TO WORK WITH SOME LITTLE YOUNG KID THAT JUST GOT OUT OF COLLEGE"

Ben's response: "What he said was true -- nobody wants to go to play for a rookie, a quarterback especially. He had every right to say what he did. I'm just trying to go out and win, and hopefully the more you win the more your teammates will respect you." - CNN/SI

I'm sure if Mr. Faneca woke up this morning to go to work for anybody but this 'little young kid that just got out of college', he and just about everybody else in Pittsburgh would be outraged, to say the least. In this business, winning changes everything. And for Steelers fans, players and coaches, Ben Roethlisberger is a messiah.

Ben Roethlisberger, Steelers Quarterback [CNN/SI]
Photo: [1Deuce3 Photography]

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