Everyone must admit that “Big Ben” is not the sharpest knife in the drawer. After repeatedly being warned by everyone to be careful and wear a helmet when he rode his motorcycle….he ignored advice from people older and wiser than he. Terry Bradshaw even went so far as to tell him to not be like the “Moron in Cleveland” (Kellen “The Soldier” Winslow), but he did anyway and almost killed himself. The Steelers season hinges on Ben staying healthy, without him they are a sub .500 team. Roethlisberger has played in 26 games (25 starts) and has completed 64.7% of his passes for 5,006 yards. Ben threw 34 TD passes and 20 interceptions with a 98.3 rating in his first two years. Even though he played lousy in the Super Bowl…he proved to be much more than a game manager against the Broncos and Colts. His tackle against the Colts saved the game.

If Charlie Batch had to play the Steelers would be in trouble. When Batch was in Detroit all he had to do was handoff to Barry Sanders and watch him work his magic….the Steelers have no such back on the roster. Batch played in 48 games (46 starts) in Detroit and threw for 9,016 with 49 TD and 40 INT. In four years with the Steelers, he’s been gathering rust as mostly the third QB. He has appeared in only 7 games (2 starts) and threw for 293 yards with a TD and an interception.

Omar Jacobs (another rookie from the MAC Conference, Bowling Green) was an outstanding QB in college. In his 21 starts at Bowling Green he threw for 6,592 yards with 67 TD and only 11 pickoffs. The thought on Jacobs is that he is a product of the Bowling Green offense and has a lot to learn to compete in the NFL.