For the first half of his career, Ben Roethlisberger has “Backyard Ben.” Draw it up in the sand, run around, when the play breaks down, scramble around and wait for someone to get open. Great for the offense, great for his skill guys, not-so-great for an offensive line who often had no idea where Roethlisberger was going or how long they’d have to block for.
Appearing on the Pat McAfee Show Friday afternoon, Roethlisberger admits his style made life tough on a veteran offensive line.
“At that time right there, that was like, ‘one’s not there, two’s not there, start making something happen,'” Roethlisberger told McAfee and the show of his scrambling preference. “You gotta credit your linemen first off, because they hated blocking like that. That’s the hardest way to block because it’s like, ‘where is he going? What’s he doing?’ And your guy’s gotta run around forever to get open. So when it worked, it was great. When I got sacked I had so many Alan Faneca stares at me when he turned around during those days.”
Roethlisberger was pressed into action sooner than expected, becoming the No. 2 when Charlie Batch was injured in the regular season and the starter when Tommy Maddox went down in Week 2. A rookie coming in to lead a veteran team with an experienced offensive line, led by Faneca. At the time, Faneca expressed his discomfort for having a rookie like Roethlisberger in the lineup.
While his earliest days were built around the running game and defense, Roethlisberger’s flair put the team over the top. His style was unique in an era of pocket passers like Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, and Trent Green and harkened back to an earlier era of Fran Tarkenton, Terry Bradshaw, and Ken Stabler. What made Roethlisberger different was his size, able to shake off defenders and break out of tackles other quarterbacks couldn’t. In Pittsburgh, the code for “Ben Ball” was to never give up on the play because Roethlisberger sure wasn’t.
It resulted in a bunch of big plays. And a ton of sacks. From 2006 to 2009, Roethlisberger was sacked at least 46 times each season. His game would evolve and his style would change to pocket passer, becoming one of the least-sacked quarterbacks by the end of his career. But his longevity and early style made him the league’s most-sacked quarterback in history before being surpassed by Brady.
Live by the sword, die by the sword. Overall, Roethlisberger made it work. It just meant a couple of daggers from his o-line when it didn’t.
