BIG BEN (1 Viewer)

[Macdaddy_2004]

1st road Playoff game for Ben - how do you think he comes out ??Last year the two games he played were both in Pittsburgh and he looked very shaky. At times this year when the pressure has been placed on his shoulders he has thrown untimely picks (see Indy game).Does Ben come out and proove he is a winner this year ??I notice he has a very laid back attitude and it almost as if it seems like he doesn't care at times.On the flip side when you watch a guy like Tom Brady play you see the fire and the determination, a characteristic that Jake Delhomme has also displayed (see 04 Superbowl).Can Ben do it ?? Can he lead the Steelers back to glory ?? Or will he be a caretaker only asked to pass when necessary.If the Steelers are gonna beat both the Bengals and the Colts to get the the AFC championship. I believe Ben has to play huge.

 

[AhrnCityPahnder]

Hard to say. Last year both his playoff games were after he hit the wall, could have had a thumb injury that was afffecting his throws, and was admittedly exhausted. Oh yeah, and he was a rookie.While his thumb is possibly broken now, the glove and splint combo has worked well for him. He had two picks vs Detroit, but only one was a badly thrown ball and that was his first 2 picks in a month. If the Steelers don't make it to the Superbowl, is that going to be Ben's fault? It may be, but it doesn't automatically mean that. Remains to be seen.

 

[Macdaddy_2004]

I don't necessarily think it will be Ben's fault if the Steelers don't make it to the SuperBowl but I do think the Steelers can't make it to the Bowl without Ben playing at the top of his gameI can gurantee you the game will be in his hand at somepoint and this is when he needs to step up ala Brady and Delhomme.

 

[Stillers Jr.]

I wonder if Carson Palmer has jitters considering this is his 1st Playoff game????? OH MAN THE TENSION!!!!!

 

[Evilgrin 72]

1st road Playoff game for Ben - how do you think he comes out ??

Last year the two games he played were both in Pittsburgh and he looked very shaky. At times this year when the pressure has been placed on his shoulders he has thrown untimely picks (see Indy game).

Does Ben come out and proove he is a winner this year ??

I notice he has a very laid back attitude and it almost as if it seems like he doesn't care at times.

On the flip side when you watch a guy like Tom Brady play you see the fire and the determination, a characteristic that Jake Delhomme has also displayed (see 04 Superbowl).

Can Ben do it ?? Can he lead the Steelers back to glory ?? Or will he be a caretaker only asked to pass when necessary.

If the Steelers are gonna beat both the Bengals and the Colts to get the the AFC championship. I believe Ben has to play huge.

Do you really see a lot of fire and passion in Tom Brady's play? I'd say the exact opposite is true, if anything, I'd say he projects an almost emotionless calm under center, which is his greatest asset. He doesn't get rattled and that calm carries over to the entire team. This is what makes him a great leader and a great QB.As far as your question goes about whether Ben will just be a "caretaker" or not - a lot of that depends on how the game is going. If the Steelers defense is stout early and/or forces turnovers, and the Steelers grab a 10-point lead at halftime, then he will primarily just handoff for the second half. If the game is a seesaw battle and/or the Steelers are playing from behind, then he will be throwing a lot. Roethlisberger has shown he is absolutely capable of bringing his team back with his arm, but he has also shown a propensity to "guide" the ball when he gets behind and is forced to be perfect throwing against double or packed zone coverages. When he does this, he tends to overthrow the ball frequently, which often leads to turnovers, and the Steelers' demise (see AFC Championship Game of last year, or the Cincinnati game earlier this year.) This tendency has and will dissipate with time, as he gets more comfortable and learns to pick his spots better, but he has a lot of that Favre-ish maverick quality in him that compels him to force the ball trying to make a play rather than just cut his losses sometimes. That's part of what makes him a really good NFL QB already, but also can be his worst enemy in big games.

If the Steelers get behind, we'll see what happens. If Roethlisberger can buck this trend, I have complete confidence that he can carry the team to victory with his arm. He's done it before in the NFL, and in college, he threw 40 times a game frequently (people tend to forget his Nintendo-like passing numbers in college) so he CAN get it done. If he starts steering the ball again and forcing passes into coverage that he should not throw, the Bengals will win another close high-scoring game.