Countdown to Kickoff: Profile on Pittsburgh Steelers QB No. 7 Ben Roethlisberger
By Jeremy Klump
The NFL Spin Zone ‘Countdown to Kickoff’ series continues with seven days until kickoff, profiling Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback No. 7, Ben Roethlisberger.
Today is September 1, 2016, which means there are exactly seven days until the NFL season kicks off.
As we wait for the Denver Broncos and Carolina Panthers to start the NFL season, the team at NFL Spin Zone has decided to profile a player whose number is associated with the amount of days until that first kickoff.
With that in mind, there are seven days until football, so I will profile Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback, No. 7 Ben Roethlisberger.
Related Story: Where is Roethlisberger ranked in the QB Power Rankings?
Looking at Roethlisberger’s game, you can see he has been underappreciated by many over his career.
Getting drafted 11th overall in the 2004 NFL Draft by the Steelers, Roethlisberger saw plenty of action during his rookie season. He played in 14 games, while starting 13 of them. Roethlisberger showed that he could be the real deal, winning all 13 games. He did so well in his rookie season that he was named the 2004 NFL AP Offensive Rookie of the Year.
There was room for growth in Roethlisberger’s game, but after 12 NFL seasons and heading in his 13th, Roethlisberger proved he has truly emerged.
In his second season, Roethlisberger would lead his team to a Super Bowl while going 9-3 in the regular season. The Super Bowl entered Roethlisberger’s name in the record books, as he is the youngest quarterback to ever win a Super Bowl (23).
Roethlisberger would then lead his team to another Super Bowl in 2008. After going 12-4 in the regular season, Big Ben stepped up big in the final game. He led his team on an eight play, 88-yard drive leading to his game-winning touchdown pass to beat the Arizona Cardinals, 27-23.
He has only ever had a losing season once in his entire career, going 7-8 in 2006. He has a career record of 113-56, to go along with his two Super Bowl wins and Rookie of the Year award. His record is solid, but his career numbers are great.
The four-time Pro Bowler is currently 13th for passes completed in a career (3,476), 13th for passing yards (42,995), 14th for passing touchdowns (272), ninth for passer rating (94.0), 11th for passing yards per game (251.4), 11th for completion percentage (64.1), seventh for game-winning drives (37), and 13th for total offense (41,319).
At 34 years old, Roethlisberger has more time to continue to shine in the NFL. He will likely end his career in the top 10 for a majority of the important career statistics, which is obviously impressive.
He also has a chance at another Super Bowl in 2016.
Roethlisberger’s favorite target, Antonio Brown, had a monster year in 2015. He caught a league leading 136 passes for 1,834 yards and 10 touchdowns. Those numbers could have been even bigger, however Roethlisberger only started 11 games because of injury. Brown and Roethlisberger have a chance to do something special together in 2016, and I have already predicted that Brown breaks the receptions and yardage record in a season this year.
Along with Brown, Roethlisberger will have his talented running back to help get them to the promise land. Le’Veon Bell may be suspended for the first three games of the season, but once he is back Roethlisberger has a great target in the passing game. He also has a great running back to lean on when they need him.
The Countdown Continues: No. 8 Marcus Mariota
If Roethlisberger wins another Super Bowl this season, he will have three of them to add with his top 10 ranking for a lot of his career statistics, proving he is an easy first-ballot Hall of Fame player.
We have to wait seven days for the 2016 NFL season to kickoff to see if No. 7 can lead his team to another Super Bowl victory while showing he is one of the greatest to ever play the game.