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Revision as of 23:01, 11 January 2005 by Mattmentecky (talk | contribs) (repetition)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Ben Roethlisberger (born March 2, 1982 in Findlay, Ohio) is an American football player for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the NFL. A quarterback, Roethlisberger was taken 11th overall in the 2004 NFL Draft. In college, he played for the RedHawks of Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Roethlisberger holds every major passing record at the school and a number of passing records in the Mid-American Conference despite the fact that he only played for three years. His former coach at Miami University, Terry Hoeppner, is now the head football coach for the Indiana University Hoosiers in the Big 10 Conference.
In high school, Roethlisberger was captain of the football, basketball, and baseball teams. There is an urban legend to the effect that Roethlisberger did not play quarterback until his senior year. In an interview he explained that he did not play quarterback in his junior years so that his coach's son, a senior, could have the position, but he did play his other school years.
On August 4 2004 Roethlisberger signed his first contract with the Steelers, a six-year, 14 million USD contract with an $8 million 2009 roster bonus, and was touted by Steelers coach Bill Cowher in a press conference as a franchise quarterback.
He took over from Steelers starting quarterback Tommy Maddox after Maddox was injured during a game against the Baltimore Ravens. As of December 26, 2004, he is 13-0 as a rookie starting quarterback, surpassing former Steeler Mike Kruczek for the record for the best start by a rookie, and exceeding the mark for total wins as a rookie set by Chris Chandler and Joe Ferguson. Roethlisberger has received much praise from coaches in the NFL including Dallas Cowboys coach Bill Parcells who compared him to NFL legend Dan Marino. On January 5, 2005 Roethlisberger was unanimously selected by 48 sportswriters as the Associated Press Offensive Rookie of the Year, the second quarterback to be so honored.
So far, Roethlisberger's most accomplished feat has been leading the Steelers to a 34-20 victory over the defending Super Bowl champions, the New England Patriots, ending their NFL-record 21-game winning streak. He completed 18 of his 24 pass attempts, including a 47-yard touchdown "bomb" to Plaxico Burress, and racked up 196 yards to go with with two touchdowns; there were no interceptions. The week after that game the Steelers defeated the Philadelphia Eagles, another unbeaten team, 27-3. This was the first time a team had beaten two undefeated teams in a row mid-season. Roethlisberger was 11 for 18, with two touchdowns and one interception.