Last year at about this time, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was referring to the new offense being installed by then-new offensive coordinator Todd Haley as the “Rosetta Stone Offense.” Following the first OTA practice of the 2013 season on Tuesday, Roethlisberger was asked if he feels different about the offense now that he is entering his second year in it.
“Yeah, a little bit. There’s a little more comfort, said Roethlisberger. “There has been some changes this offseason in some of the offensive philosophies, playbook and some things that I think are good.
“It’s some compromise from all different position coaches, running back coaches, line, and quarterback coaches. I think we’ve taken a little bit of everything and made it a lot better. You can ask anybody on offense that, including coaches, and they’ll tell you that we all like the way the offense is and where it’s going.”
With veteran quarterbacks Charlie Batch and Byron Leftwich no longer with the team, Roethlisberger now enters his first season with the Steelers as the veteran quarterback on the roster, and he was asked whether or not it will be different for him this year having to assume that role.
“Yeah, I\’m excited to be that guy that\’s a leader for those guys and to help them,” said Roethlisberger, who turned 31 years of age back in March. “I\’m going to do that and I\’m going to do everything that I can to help those guys to get ready to play, because I\’m here to win games, and we\’ve had other guys step up and play and win games for us in the past. I\’m excited to help these guys to be ready to go if need be.”
With wide receiver Mike Wallace now gone, Roethlisberger was asked to access the wide receiver position after just his first practice.
“Obviously, we’re going to miss Mike (Wallace) as a person, friend and teammate, said Roethlisberger. “We have to be ready to move on. We’ve got a lot of young guys and we’ve got some guys that are back.
“We’ve got a good mixture of people in that room that are going to be ready to go. We’re excited to get moving. We haven’t really had a chance to do one-on-one’s and get out here and do stuff. Day one is a good one.”
Overall, it sounded like a pretty non eventful day for Roethlisberger, and that\’s exactly the kind of stuff that you like to hear at the start of OTAs. He looked good and apparently is fully healthy, so you really can\’t ask for anything more than that.
