BlitzburghRockCity
09-28-2006, 01:20 AM
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06271/725692-66.stm
Thursday, September 28, 2006
By Ed Bouchette, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Bill Cowher delivered a message to his quarterback yesterday, borrowing a line from Forrest Gump: Run, Ben, Run!
Perhaps as a way to help his young quarterback out of a rare funk, or merely to make him more dangerous, Cowher urged Ben Roethlisberger to return to his roots and scoot across the line of scrimmage every now and then to keep defenders guessing.
Oh, and one more thing: When he's not eating up more yards on the ground, how about eating a little more at the dinner table.
"I talked to coach about it; we decided that maybe I need to get out a little more, run a little more," Roethlisberger said. "I've kind of gotten away from running the ball. He said, 'Yeah, take your 6 yards and slide.'
"We'll see. I'm not going to go out and try to change anything. I'm just going to continue to play the way that I play and just try to make smarter decisions."
Roethlisberger is in the worst statistical slump of his young pro career. The quarterback with the best winning percentage in football is 0-2 this season with five interceptions and no touchdowns, the only ranked quarterback in the league without one. He has the best two passer ratings in Steelers history in his first two NFL seasons -- his 98.1 from 2004 is a rookie record and his 98.6 was third in the NFL last season. He's at 34.3 this season, next to last among the 32 ranked quarterbacks in the league.
"... It seems like I'm having brain [cramps] out there."
-- Ben Roethlisberger
"It's a weird feeling, but no excuses," Roethlisberger said of his performances. "I'm not going to blame it on the wind, I'm not going to blame it on anything but just the way I've been playing. We'll try to find a way to correct it so it doesn't happen again."
Roethlisberger lost 15 pounds after his June 12 motorcycle accident, down to 240. Cowher would like to see him gain some weight, but Roethlisberger was noncommittal.
"I feel a lot better. I'm working out and really feel good where I'm at. Coach wants me to put on a little bit more weight, but I feel good with where I'm at right now."
Said Cowher, "We've talked about it. I am encouraging him to make sure he eats snacks at night."
Roethlisberger ran 56 times for 144 yards and a touchdown in 131/2 games as a rookie. He ran 31 times for 69 yards and three touchdowns in 12 games last season, then added 19 more runs for 37 yards and two touchdowns in four postseason games. He has two runs this season for minus-1 yard.
Cowher does not want to turn him into Kordell Stewart, but he'd like to see him take off more often.
Oh God, please don't ever turn into Kordell !!!!
Thursday, September 28, 2006
By Ed Bouchette, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Bill Cowher delivered a message to his quarterback yesterday, borrowing a line from Forrest Gump: Run, Ben, Run!
Perhaps as a way to help his young quarterback out of a rare funk, or merely to make him more dangerous, Cowher urged Ben Roethlisberger to return to his roots and scoot across the line of scrimmage every now and then to keep defenders guessing.
Oh, and one more thing: When he's not eating up more yards on the ground, how about eating a little more at the dinner table.
"I talked to coach about it; we decided that maybe I need to get out a little more, run a little more," Roethlisberger said. "I've kind of gotten away from running the ball. He said, 'Yeah, take your 6 yards and slide.'
"We'll see. I'm not going to go out and try to change anything. I'm just going to continue to play the way that I play and just try to make smarter decisions."
Roethlisberger is in the worst statistical slump of his young pro career. The quarterback with the best winning percentage in football is 0-2 this season with five interceptions and no touchdowns, the only ranked quarterback in the league without one. He has the best two passer ratings in Steelers history in his first two NFL seasons -- his 98.1 from 2004 is a rookie record and his 98.6 was third in the NFL last season. He's at 34.3 this season, next to last among the 32 ranked quarterbacks in the league.
"... It seems like I'm having brain [cramps] out there."
-- Ben Roethlisberger
"It's a weird feeling, but no excuses," Roethlisberger said of his performances. "I'm not going to blame it on the wind, I'm not going to blame it on anything but just the way I've been playing. We'll try to find a way to correct it so it doesn't happen again."
Roethlisberger lost 15 pounds after his June 12 motorcycle accident, down to 240. Cowher would like to see him gain some weight, but Roethlisberger was noncommittal.
"I feel a lot better. I'm working out and really feel good where I'm at. Coach wants me to put on a little bit more weight, but I feel good with where I'm at right now."
Said Cowher, "We've talked about it. I am encouraging him to make sure he eats snacks at night."
Roethlisberger ran 56 times for 144 yards and a touchdown in 131/2 games as a rookie. He ran 31 times for 69 yards and three touchdowns in 12 games last season, then added 19 more runs for 37 yards and two touchdowns in four postseason games. He has two runs this season for minus-1 yard.
Cowher does not want to turn him into Kordell Stewart, but he'd like to see him take off more often.
Oh God, please don't ever turn into Kordell !!!!