Setting the Stage
Ben Roethlisberger was born in Lima, Ohio and played his high school football at Findlay High School, also in Ohio. He not only was a three-sport athlete playing baseball, basketball, and football, but he was captain of all three teams. Although Roethlisberger played quarterback on the JV team, he did not play that position on the varsity team until his senior year after his high school coach’s son graduated.
Following high school, Roethlisberger was not highly recruited. Although he passed for over 4,000 yards as a senior, he had only played quarterback one year and was considered to be slow-footed. He stayed relatively close to home and attended Miami University in Southwest Ohio. He started every game of his college career, passing for more yards and TDs in each of his three seasons. In all, Roethlisberger passed for 10,829 yards and 80 TDs and ran for 354 more yards and 7 TDs. He declared for the NFL Draft following the completion of his junior year.
He was highly regarded entering the draft based on his excellent size, great arm strength, accuracy and mobility. He was rightfully considered more athletic than either Philip Rivers or Eli Manning, the 2004 NFL Draft’s other top quarterbacks. The biggest questions that scouts had about Roethlisberger were his limited quarterback experience combined with his playing collegiately in the Mid-American Conference against what was generally considered lower level competition. In addition to that, he had a relatively poor performance at the NFL combine.
He wound up being drafted after both Manning and Rivers, taken at 11th overall by the Pittsburgh Steelers. All three of these quarterbacks have been franchise type players for the teams that drafted them and all three remain with the same team that drafted them after 11 NFL seasons.
The Steelers had planned for Roethlisberger to sit for a year and he was initially listed as their third quarterback behind both Tommy Maddox and Charlie Batch. However, Batch was injured during the pre-season moving Roethlisberger up to second. Maddox was injured in the 3rd quarter of the second game and Roethlisberger took over. He played very well and almost brought the Steelers back, but they lost their first and last game of the regular season. The team won their other 14 games and barring injury, Roethlisberger has been the Steelers’ starting quarterback ever since. He still holds the NFL record for most consecutive wins to begin a career with 16, including the first two games in 2005.
Early on in Roethlisberger’s career, the team relied strongly on their defense and preferred to run the ball early and often. Over his first two seasons, the team ran 1,162 times and threw 730 passes or 38.5% of the offensive plays. However since 2009, he has averaged over 250 yards passing per game. In 2014, he set career highs in attempts (608), completions (408) and passing yards (4,952 yards) and tied his career high in passing TDs (32). Roethlisberger has always been an efficient passer, averaging 8.9 ypa over his first two seasons and averaging 7.9 ypa for his career. He ranks 2nd overall among NFL quarterbacks in the number of passing attempts it took to reach 25,000 passing yards (3,109), only 33 more passes than Kurt Warner.
An interesting fact about the top three 2004 NFL Draft’s quarterbacks, they rank as QB4 – QB6 for NFL passing yards since 2004, behind only Drew Brees, Peyton Manning and Tom Brady. Eli Manning at QB4 has a slim lead in passing yards and TDs, but Roethlisberger at QB5 has the highest career yards per attempt and also easily leads in rushing yards and TDs with 1,160 yards and 15 TDs, more of each than the other two players combined.
His career statistics:
| Year | Games | Comp | Att | Pct. | Yards | ypa | TDs | Ints | Rushes | Yards | TDs |
| 2004 | 14 | 196 | 295 | 66.4% | 2,621 | 8.88 | 17 | 11 | 56 | 144 | 1 |
| 2005 | 13 | 168 | 268 | 62.7% | 2,385 | 8.90 | 17 | 9 | 31 | 69 | 3 |
| 2006 | 15 | 280 | 469 | 59.7% | 3,513 | 7.49 | 18 | 23 | 32 | 98 | 2 |
| 2007 | 15 | 264 | 404 | 65.3% | 3,154 | 7.81 | 32 | 11 | 35 | 204 | 2 |
| 2008 | 16 | 280 | 468 | 59.8% | 3,308 | 7.07 | 17 | 15 | 34 | 101 | 2 |
| 2009 | 15 | 337 | 506 | 66.6% | 4,328 | 8.55 | 26 | 12 | 40 | 80 | 2 |
| 2010 | 12 | 240 | 389 | 61.7% | 3,200 | 8.23 | 17 | 5 | 34 | 176 | 2 |
| 2011 | 15 | 324 | 513 | 63.2% | 4,077 | 7.95 | 21 | 14 | 31 | 70 | 0 |
| 2012 | 13 | 283 | 448 | 63.2% | 3,252 | 7.26 | 25 | 8 | 26 | 92 | 0 |
| 2013 | 16 | 375 | 584 | 64.2% | 4,261 | 7.30 | 28 | 14 | 26 | 99 | 1 |
| 2014 | 16 | 408 | 608 | 67.1% | 4,952 | 8.14 | 32 | 9 | 32 | 27 | 0 |
| Totals | 160 | 3,155 | 4,952 | 63.7% | 39,051 | 7.89 | 250 | 131 | 377 | 1,160 | 15 |
Looking Forward to 2015
Roethlisberger and the Steelers return most of the key offensive players that a year ago finished 2nd in the NFL in total yards (only 0.3 yards per game behind the Saints) and 2nd in passing yards. The offense picked up a key addition hiring Mike Munchak as their offensive line coach, following his dismissal as Titans’ head coach for the past three years. They also drafted Sammie Coats out of Auburn in the 3rd round to add depth to their wide receiving corps.
LeVeon Bell will be suspended for the first three games of the season and the Steelers signed free agent DeAngelo Williams to a two-year $4 Million contract to start the first three games and provide depth behind Bell. Williams enters the season at the age of 32 and has averaged fewer yards per carry each of the last four seasons. The Steelers could lean even more heavily on the passing game this year, particularly early on.
The primary receivers remain the same as a year ago and Roethlisberger has excellent rapport with Antonio Brown (career high 129 catches in 2014) and Heath Miller, who has been Roethlisberger’s starting tight end for all but one year of his career. Markus Wheaton, a 3rd round pick in 2013 caught 53 passes and last year’s 4th round pick Martavius Bryant caught 26 passes with 21.1 ypc and scored 8 TDs in his first season. Those two young players should improve with another year’s experience in the system. The team added another athletic receiver this year, selecting Sammie Coates Jr with their 3rd round pick. The receiving corps is perhaps the strongest since 2011.
Positives
- Roethlisberger is the master at shaking off the rush, extending the play and making completions out of chaos
- Initially troubled by Todd Haley’s system and play calling, he is now very comfortable in the offense
- He has excellent and plentiful receivers which gives him many options
- An improved offensive line should be a benefit to the passing game
Negatives
- His penchant for remaining in the pocket to make plays leads to frequent hits on his body and he is not getting any younger or quicker
- Bell’s suspension will limit the running game effectiveness in the first three games
- Expectation by most pundits are for decreased production in the year after their career years
Projections
| Name | Games | Comp | Att | Yards | TDs | Ints | Rushes | Yards | TDs |
| David Dodds | 16 | 391 | 581 | 4,497 | 30 | 11 | 30 | 48 | 0 |
| Bob Henry | 16 | 392 | 595 | 4,760 | 31 | 11 | 30 | 50 | 0 |
| Jason Wood | 16 | 405 | 605 | 4,800 | 35 | 9 | 30 | 90 | 1 |
| Maurile Tremblay | 16 | 403 | 613 | 4,873 | 31 | 13 | 31 | 45 | 1 |
| Stephen Holloway | 16 | 410 | 620 | 4,900 | 34 | 13 | 35 | 90 | 2 |
Final Thoughts
In most seasons, Roethlisberger is ranked in the lower range of starting quarterbacks in 12-team fantasy leagues, but he has finished as QB8 and QB6 over the past two seasons. With considerable talk about both New Orleans and Denver relying more on the running game and with Tom Brady currently facing a four-game suspension, this could be the year that Roethlisberger breaks the into the top five.
Other Viewpoints
Bryan DeArdo, SB Nation – Behind the Steel Curtain
Over the last two years, Ben Roethlisberger has flourished under Todd Haley's offense. With the Steelers in five prime time games this season and facing many of the game's other best quarterbacks, Big Ben will have an opportunity to shine and take home Pittsburgh's first league MVP trophy since 1978.
Last season, Ben Roethlisberger proved he can be lead Pittsburgh to success as the team's catalyst, and with five prime time games this season, the opportunity to defeat several other elite quarterbacks and being armed with maybe the best offense in pro football, Roethlisberger has a chance to cement his legacy as one of the best quarterbacks of his or any era.
Jim Meinecke, SB Nation – Behind the Steel Curtain
No one can or should doubt Ben Roethlisberger as an elite quarterback in the NFL, and he was paid as such this offseason, but can he finish out his new deal healthy enough to be an everyday starter?
Roethlisberger is the active leader in times sacked in the NFL, and it isn't even close. He leads Tom Brady, who has played 50 more games, by 55 sacks. He leads Peyton Manning, who has played an additional 97 games, by 132 sacks. Even if I broke down the statistics to the two quarterbacks Roethlisberger was drafted with in Eli Manning and Philip Rivers, the numbers aren't pretty. Manning and Rivers both have more than 130 less sacks than Roethlisberger and have nearly played the same amount of games.
Jeff Tefertiller of Footballguys.com player comments
Roethlisberger has gone under the radar in fantasy leagues the past couple of seasons, even though he has been elite in Todd Haley’s offense. The Steelers are stocked up at wide receiver and the big passer could finish in the top three at his position.
