QB Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh Steelers

HT: 6-5, WT: 241, Born: 3-2-1982, College: Miami (OH), Drafted: Round 1, Pick 11

2013 Projections

Average draft position

Current as of May 21st. [Full ADP list]

Overall: D Moore (106), B Tate (107), Ben Roethlisberger (108), B Pierce (109), D Hopkins (110)
Position: T Romo (76-QB12), E Manning (97-QB13), Ben Roethlisberger (108 - QB14), A Dalton (117-QB15), M Vick (119-QB16)
Click here for a comparison of these players.

Outlook

Ben Roethlisberger struggled in his first year under offensive coordinator Todd Haley. He only threw eight interceptions last season but most of them came at key parts of the game and led to defeat. Roethlisberger struggled in a system that de-emphasized the deep passing game. Haley's offense is all about short underneath passes and chipping your way down the field. Roethlisberger missed three games last season as the offensive line continued to disappoint. If guys like David DeCastro and Mike Adams can stay healthy then Roethlisberger should be able to stay healthy in 2013. Adding rookie running back Le'Veon Bell should help strengthen the running game which will keep defenses honest. This season Roethlisberger may feel less pressure to make something happen on his own because he'll have the help he needs. With a year experience under his belt in this system, better protection, and a more well rounded offense 2013 could be a bounce back year for Roethlisberger.

Latest News

Steelers | Ben Roethlisberger happy with offensive changes (Wed May 22, 02:30 PM) - Pittsburgh Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger has voiced his happiness over the direction of the team's new offense this offseason. 'There've been some changes this offseason in some of the offensive philosophies, playbook and some things that I think are good,' Roethlisberger said. 'It's some compromise from all the different position coaches, the running back coaches, the line and quarterback coaches. I think we've taken a little bit of everything and made it a lot better.'

Our View: We'll see if year two in the Todd Haley offense is better for Roethlisberger and the Steelers. The team needs to feature more downfield passing which is not a Haley specialty but plays to the strength of their QB.
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Steelers | Landry Jones struggles on the move (Thu May 9, 08:11 PM) - Since the start of the 2010 season Landry Jones completed 27.4% of his passes with two touchdowns and five interceptions when forced to scramble out of the pocket.

Our View: Jones was added in the fourth-round to be a developmental prospect behind Ben Roethlisberger and Bruce Gradkowski. He's got the size, experience, and arm strength to be a quality pro. However, he needs to improve his accuracy and decision making if he wants to play up to his potential.
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2013 Schedule

2012 Game Summaries

Week 1 - Roethlisberger began the game a bit sluggish as Pittsburgh tried to establish the running game and play away from Denver’s strength of rushing the passer. He drove the team down the field to a goal-to-go situation in the first half, but the drive stalled due to a pass he certainly wishes he had back. Roethlisberger had Heath Miller wide open in the endzone, but he failed to put enough loft on the ball to get it over the defense. It was tipped, and it cost Pittsburgh four points. Once the team shook things up and utilized the no-huddle defense, Roethlisberger found a groove and was able to sustain some drives, including a 14-play, 89-yard drive that resulted in a TD in the final minute of the first half. Roethlisberger used that momentum and drove the team to a time-consuming field goal drive to begin the third quarter. At one point in the game, Roethlisberger was 9-10 on 3rd downs, with eight passes converting a first down. The run game gave him little support, and team wouldn’t have been in the game without his precise passing on 3rd downs. His touchdown pass to Mike Wallace displayed great mental ability and accuracy. Wallace ran a slant from the left and kept the defender on his left hip, meaning Roethlisberger had to throw to his back shoulder – a rarity on a quick slant play. Roethlisberger’s biggest mistake, though, happened in at the worst time. Late in the game, down by six points, Roethlisberger threw a pass to the sideline that was undercut and returned for a game-clinching TD by Tracy Porter. In games against lesser teams, the run game may be a bit better, which will help Roethlisberger perform better.

Week 2 - Roethlisberger was efficient and effective from the get-go, despite a running game that was sputtering in the early-going. The first play was a quick screen to Antonio Brown, and the opening drive was full of plays designed to get the ball out of his hand quickly. Roethlisberger was very effective, approaching 100 passing yards in the first quarter. A couple of red zone stalls kept the game close though. With 6:43 left in the first half, he led the team on a touchdown drive that consumed five minutes and 40 seconds. He was 5-6 for 36 yards on the drive – including a one-yard TD pass. While the first half was full of shorter passes, Pittsburgh did bring back the deep ball on a 3rd-and-16 play in the 3rd quarter. After evading the rush, Roethlisberger heaved a ball to the endzone, and Mike Wallace made a great adjustment to catch it for a touchdown. The second half wasn’t as eventful for him as Pittsburgh finally got the running game going against a very fatigued New York defense. He did ice the game away on a ten-minute, 13-second fourth quarter drive. He was 4-4 for 34 yards, including two clutch 3rd-down conversions on the game-clinching drive. It was an incredibly efficient game from Roethlisberger, which was much-needed after throwing a key interception last week against Denver.

Week 3 - Just as he did in the first two games, Roethlisberger shouldered the load of the entire offense because the running game was largely unsuccessful. Pittsburgh passed early and often, many times supplementing a lacking run game with quick-hit passes that exploited Oakland’s lack of bump-and-run coverage. He developed a significant rhythm with many of his receivers, hitting ten different players by halftime. Whether it was due to the bad running game or the opponent being weak in the secondary, it’s clear that Todd Haley and the Steelers adjusted the game plan to be more pass-heavy. In the second half, Roethlisberger missed a couple throws that he would typically hit. The first play of the third quarter was a deep ball to Mike Wallace, who had beaten his defender. Roethlisberger overshot Wallace, though. On the same drive, Antonio Brown beat his defender for a comeback route on the sideline, but Roethlisberger’s pass sailed out of bounds. If his worst points in any game are physical (like these ones) as opposed to mental (bad decision-making, turnovers), he’ll continue to perform and give Pittsburgh a chance to win. His first two touchdowns were relatively routine short ones, but his third was vintage Roethlisberger. He ran around in the pocket for an extended period of time, could have easily run five yards for a first down, but instead threw downfield just as he approached the line of scrimmage. Wallace was wide open in the endzone for a TD. The phrase “extending the play” is used so often when Pittsburgh is playing, but it’s an accurate phrase. By making the defense cover longer, it’s easier for them to blow an assignment and lose a receiver – like what happened on Wallace’s touchdown.

Week 5 - In a typical Ben Roethlisberger performance, the Steelers quarterback was not getting much help from his teammates. Roethlisberger wasn't officially sacked, but he was under pressure in the pocket more often than not. On at least four occasions Roethlisberger was hit by defenders but brushed them off with his strength. Roethlisberger is used to dealing with poor pass protection, but he generally gets more help from his receivers than he did today. Roethlisberger was making quick passes early as the offense centered around Heath Miller. He also kept the ball on what appeared to be a read-option for five yards at one point, which was notable because the Steelers reportedly did something similar in training camp. Roethlisberger followed that with a nine yard scramble when he faked a pitch outside to evade a linebacker. Roethlisberger, for the most part, threw very accurate passes but never really got the opportunities to look downfield. He was throwing mostly intermediate passes while also checking down when he had to. One of those check downs was a touchdown pass to Rashard Mendenhall that was officially ruled as a lateral. Mendenhall was wide open in the flat when Roethlisberger threw it to him and he beat a defender to run in for a touchdown. Roethlisberger had hit Antonio Brown with a pass over Nnamdi Asomugha previously, but Brown couldn't hold onto the football despite a perfect throw. At the goal-line Roethlisberger should have been intercepted on a pass that was tipped at the line of scrimmage when Wallace ran a rub route with Emmanuel Sanders. Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie was holding Wallace, but it wasn't called, and the ball was tipped directly to him but Cromartie couldn't react quickly enough to catch it. Roethlisberger only really had one notably bad throw on the day when he wildly overthrew Heath miller at the goalline in the fourth quarter. Roethlisberger was playing in a very tempered offense, while dealing with an offensive line that was forcing him into quick decisions.

Week 6 - For as much as was made of the offensive coordinator change in Pittsburgh and Roethlisberger’s alleged unhappiness over the move, he certainly has embraced Todd Haley’s pass-friendly offense. Roethlisberger got into a rhythm again and continues to be the main reason this team stays in games with a poor running attack. He had two offensive linemen injured during the game but was able to continue to do “Roethlisberger” things by avoiding rushers, finding open receivers, and converting 3rd downs. Roethlisberger’s 82-yard touchdown pass to Mike Wallace was a thing of beauty. Wallace ran a deep fly and simply ran past the opposing defensive back despite a large amount of cushion pre-snap. Roethlisberger hit him in stride. This team will go as Roethlisberger goes, and looking ahead at Pittsburgh’s schedule, he should “go” nearly every week. Between the way he’s playing and the team’s ineffectiveness on the ground, he’ll have to throw 40+ times per week for the team to contend

Week 7 - – Roethlisberger's play was better than the stat line might indicate. He did an excellent job standing tall in the face of a dangerous pass rush and was able to scramble just enough to prolong plays when it appeared he would be sacked. His passes were largely on target and he did a great job getting the ball to his receivers while they were on the run. His lone mistake came on a ball thrown too high in to the end zone that resulted in an interception. Roethlisberger's interception came on a pass intended for Health Miller in the end zone. Unfortunately, Miller was double-covered and the pass was high, allowing Chris Crocker to make a stellar catch resulting in the turnover. On the subsequent drive, Roethlisberger was sacked deep in Cincinnati territory and fumbled the ball leading to an AJ Green touchdown reception on the very next play. Roethlisberger's best throw came on a ball dropped by Mike Wallace. From the Cincinnati 24 Roethlisberger stepped back and to the left as the pocket was collapsing around him and found Wallace streaking to the left sideline for a sure first down. The pass was made off of Roethlisberger's back foot but had plenty of velocity. Unfortunately his normally reliable receiver dropped the easily cathcable pass. Roethlisberger's touchdown came at the end of the first half after an Andy Dalton reception. On the play, he found tight end Health Miller on a quick route to the middle of the field. The pair linked up again for the two point conversion on a fade to the left side of the end zone. On the pass, Roethlisberger lofted the ball high and to the outside so that only Miller had a chance to catch it.

Week 8 - Roethlisberger made beating the Washington defense appear to be child’s play. From the very first drive, he was able to do nearly everything he wanted. On the team’s second play from scrimmage, Pittsburgh gave the look of a wide receiver screen, but Roethlisberger pump faked to draw the defense in and threw behind a couple defenders to Heath Miller for a 25-yard gain. Pittsburgh continued their deliberate attack, which keeps Roethlisberger upright and in a rhythm. They utilized the no-huddle at various points in the game, and Roethlisberger looks as comfortable as any quarterback in the league when using it. Roethlisberger’s best highlight of the day came on his second quarter touchdown pass to Miller. In vintage Roethlisberger fashion, he stepped up in the pocket when he had no one open. Just as it appeared he was definitely going to tuck and run, he pulled the ball up and fired in to Miller in the back of the end zone. The play is never over with Roethlisberger. Extending the play is where some say he’s at his best, but standing in a clean pocket and making accurate throws to allow his speedy receivers to run after the catch is something at which he also excels.

Week 9 - Ben Roethlisberger played at a high level on Sunday and had very few mistakes. Roethlisberger made a lot of plays for his team, kept plays alive in typical fashion and punished a Giants defense that lacked intensity. Early in the game, the Giants were able to hit Big Ben often and sack the QB which resulted in a lot of drives that were cut short as a result. Roethlisberger’s first touchdown came in the redzone, on a simple in-pattern at the back of the endzone to WR Sanders. Roethlisberger got good protection, shifted out of the pocket one yard to the right and picked out Sanders who was wide open and made a great play to keep his feet in bounds. A bizarre play happened shortly after which resulted in a fumble returned for touchdown from Roethlisberger. Giants DE Umenyiora hit Roethlisberger’s hand, which dislodged the football slightly, causing Roethlisberger to lose control of it, according to the officials and it was returned for the score. Roethlisberger’s second touchdown came on an unbelievable run from WR Wallace. Ben found the receiver on a simple in-breaking route over the middle but Wallace used his elite speed to run around the entire defense and race down the sideline for the touchdown. Roethlisberger had one interception as he forced the ball down the middle due to the Giants pass rush, which was picked off easily by CB Webster for the Giants. Overall, Roethlisberger played a very efficient game. He used his running game well which proved very successful, and had the luxury of several very short fields due to excellent special teams plays by Pittsburgh.

Week 10 - Ben Roethlisberger wasn't having his best game prior to going out injured in the third quarter. The offense appeared to be out of sync without Antonio Brown on the field, while the Chiefs defense executed well on the night. Roethlisberger was nearly intercepted by Eric Berry after scrambling against a three man rush and unleashing a pass towards Emmanuel Sanders by the pylon. Berry undercut the route and had a chance to make the catch. His first throw of the second half should have been intercepted also. With good pass protection, Roethlisberger went threw his progression before throwing an inaccurate pass into double coverage down the left sideline. Just like Eric Berry had before, Javier Arenas dropped the pick. Outside of throwing to Heath Miller, Roethlisberger never got in rhythm with any of his receivers. Roethlisberger did throw a touchdown to Mike Wallace in the second quarter when he threw an accurate fade to the corner of the endzone. Wallace made an incredible reception to bring the ball in.

Week 14 - After missing the last three games with a rib injury, Roethlisberger returned this week and looked like he hadn’t missed a beat. The San Diego front put pressure on him right from the outset, but managed just two sacks on him because of how good a job Roethlisberger did of eluding pressure in the pocket. The Chargers may have won this game in a rout, but it actually could have been much worse if Roethlisberger hadn’t played so well. He avoided safeties, sacks, and general pressure being applied just about every time he dropped back. At times he had to fight through tacklers to get away; at others, he just side-stepped oncoming pass rushers as if he was moving out of their way on an elevator. He did the most he could with those opportunities, keeping his head up and firing downfield to his receivers (though they didn’t always do him favors, with several key drops in the game). Roethlisberger re-established a good rapport with WR Mike Wallace, connecting seven times for 112 yards and a pair of touchdowns. But the two couldn’t quite get on the same page on a first half deep ball. As usual, Roethlisberger was being harassed as he threw and didn’t have time to really step into the throw as he might have wanted to, so the pass trailed a bit to the sideline rather than staying down the seam. Had it been closer to the middle of the field, it may have gone for an 88-yard score. As it was, Wallace got his fingertips on it but couldn’t haul it in. Roethlisberger had an up-and-down second half. He turned the ball over twice, but one of them probably shouldn’t have been ruled a turnover. And he did lead his team to three second half touchdowns. The turnover that probably wasn’t, was a play near his own end zone where he threw a lateral to WR Antonio Brown. It fell to the ground and bounced into the end zone, where it was recovered by the Chargers for a touchdown. It was ruled a backward lateral on the field, although overhead cameras appeared to show that the ball moved forward ever so slightly (which would have been an incomplete pass). The replay officials upheld the call. Roethlisberger also threw a bad interception over the middle for his first home interception of the season. It was just a bad read, as he seemingly expected the defender to keep sliding to the right but instead he darted back and jumped in front of the pass for the turnover. But aside from those two plays, he moved around really well and did a great job of keeping his head up to find targets deep downfield. He made a particularly nice throw on the 40-yard touchdown to WR Mike Wallace, a perfectly thrown stride between defenders. He also did a nice job of looking off defenders with pump fakes before finding Wallace a second time. His last touchdown pass of the game came on a quick slant to the aforementioned Brown. His second half performance was too little too late for the Steelers, but just what fantasy owners were hoping for. Roethlisberger did take one particulary hard shot towards the end of the first half. Considering he did most of his damage after halftime, it would appear that the hit didn’t affect him too badly.

Week 15 - Roethisberger was nearly intercepted on his third pass of the game when he combined a poor decision with an inaccurate throw. He threw a slant to Antonio Brown, who's defensive back was in press coverage at the line of scrimmage. The defensive back deflected the ball into the air, but a Cowboys' defensive lineman couldn't hold onto the ball. Roethlisberger rebounded with a perfect pass to Emmanuel Sanders over the middle, but Sanders couldn't hold onto it when he was hit by two defenders. Roethlisberger wasn't having a great game in the first half. He wasn't under pressure in the pocket very often but couldn't connect with his receivers. Once they got under two minutes however, Roethlisberger came alive as the Cowboys got some pressure in the backfield. He first evaded a blitz to hit Antonio Brown down the field, before waiting for an age in the pocket against a three man rush to hit Heath Miller wide open down the sideline for a touchdown. Having finally connected with a deep ball to Mike Wallace to set up a short touchdown run for Dwyer, Roethlisberger marched his team down the field for his second touchdown on a quick throw to Brown in the flat at the goalline. Roethlisberger had a very good second half compared to his first, but threw the game sealing interception to Brandon Carr when trying to hit Mike Wallace on a deep out route.

Week 16 - Roethlisberger was sacked on his very first drop-back after three straight running plays to open the game. Geno Atkins blew by David DeCastro for an easy sack. He didn't have his first completion until the beginning of the third drive, on a tipped pass, before he threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown on his next attempt. Leon Hall beat Heath Miller inside on a slant route before catching the ball as if the throw was designed to go to him. Miller was never open and Roethlisberger was anticipating him to come free when Hall was already in position to make a play. In the hurry-up offense, Roethlisberger hit Antonio Brown on a deep comeback down the left sideline before hitting him for a 60 yard touchdown after a pumpfake. Roethlisberger had time in the pocket and Brown was wide open. It was somewhat fitting that Roethlisberger was calling the plays at this point, and used the first play to set up the second. Outside of those two plays, Roethlisberger wasn't having his typical impact. He struggled to maintain drives against what is a very good defense and oftentimes felt pressure when it wasn't there. Roethlisberger nearly threw his second interception throwing across his body after scrambling out of the pocket. He tried to hit Mike Wallace in a very tight window. With the game on the line, Roethlisberger rolled out fo the pocket and overthrew his intended receiver down the field. The ball went straight to a Bengals' defender to set the Bengals up in Steelers' territory.

Week 17 - Roethlisberger was under pressure on his first few drop-backs, before he should have been intercepted. Roethlisberger adjusted to avoid an open pass rusher on third and one, before throwing the ball straight to D'Qwell Jackson over the middle on an il-advised, poorly thrown pass. Roethlisberger wasn't throwing the ball impressively early on, but did complete a big pass down the field to Antonio Brown for 43 yards that was negated by a holding penalty on the offensive line. The Steelers relied on the running game to push the offense down the field, but in the redzone it was Roethlisberger who scrambled in the pocket before hitting Antonio Brown in stride over the middle for the score. Roethlisberger appeared to be in significant pain after the play. With a seven point lead late in the fourth quarter, the Steelers were looking to close the game out. A play-action call from Haley gave Roethlisberger a receiver open in the endzone, but he underthrew his fullback on a wheel route and was almost intercepted. Roethlisberger went straight back to the endzone on the next play to hit Plaxico Burress for the touchdown.