Strength of Ben Roethlisberger Saved Two Important Points Yesterday

Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

According to Ryan Clark, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ designated media-whore, Ben Roethlisberger needed to tone himself down from “doing everything” and alter his approaching to playing the game with his unique skill-set.

While it would certainly be nice to see “Big Ben” have to do less on the offensive side of the ball, a quarterback is usually unable to play well if their offensive line cannot pass-block for them on a consistent basis.

Roethlisberger has had to extend plays out of necessity many times during his career, and the numbers of sacks he has avoided throughout his career have to be in the triple-digits.

It’s been a “double-edged sword” sometimes, but I’ll take the “Houdini-ing” of “Big Ben” any day of the week. Take yesterday’s game for instance when Roethlisberger avoided a sack from Muhammad Wilkerson in his own end zone in the first quarter.

After the game was over, Wilkerson was still racked with regret over the play according to Rich Cimini of ESPN New York.

The massive defensive end essentially walked Kelvin Beachum back into the end zone before getting past him for a free shot on Pittsburgh’s Pro Bowl quarterback. Wilkerson went high on the play and leveled Roethlisberger for what should have been a safety.

Of course, hitting “Big Ben” high did not help the Jets’ 2013 leader in sacks, the Steelers’ signal-caller spun away, avoided the sack, and kept the game scoreless at a crucial juncture.

I for one wonder what Clark would have said if his quarterback went down in the end zone or “turtled” for a safety like so many other signal-callers around the league would have done. That jagoff’s post-game comments probably would have been along the lines of: “Well, we were already down 2-0 thanks to our quarterback…etc.”

So kudos to you “Big Ben” for your efforts out there yesterday, and only continue to take advice from yourself, your offensive coaches, and guys who have actually played the position. Your skill-set is what has made you a great player, and we all appreciate that about you, sir.

Stats & Contract Info. Provided By: ESPN.com, Steelers.com , Spotrac, and Pro Football Reference

Follow me on Twitter: @DominicDiTolla

Follow & Like “NPC” on Facebook: Nice Pick, Cowher