Roethlisberger: Manning, Rivers have nothing on me

[Durango53]

Roethlisberger: Manning, Rivers have nothing on me
April 26, 2004
SportsLine.com wire reports

PITTSBURGH -- Ben Roethlisberger arrived Monday in Pittsburgh as the No. 3 quarterback in the NFL draft and, for now, no better than No. 3 on the Steelers' depth chart.

He doesn't expect either situation to last very long.

Roethlisberger, only the second quarterback drafted in the first round by Pittsburgh in 33 years, didn't predict he would beat out incumbent Tommy Maddox or backup Charlie Batch immediately. He didn't promise to have better rookie-year statistics than Mississippi's Eli Manning or North Carolina State's Philip Rivers, the two quarterbacks drafted ahead of him.

But he said he lacks nothing Manning and Rivers possess -- he dismisses talk the Manning family lineage gives Eli an edge -- and is eager to show it. Even if he must wait a little longer to play than Manning does with the Giants or Rivers does with the Chargers.

"Eli's been getting a lot of hype leading up to this, but I said coming in it all boils down to this: it's just football," Roethlisberger said. "That's what I've been wanting to do for a long time, just get on the field and start playing."


Roethlisberger didn't criticize Rivers or Manning, but said, "I think I bring a little more athleticism than both of them, but I guess we'll have to wait and see.

"Everyone seems to think they have better systems, better teams they played on in college, were born into a football family," said Roethlisberger, who played at Miami of Ohio. "Once I get the field, my will to win is much greater than both of them."

Roethlisberger has already created more buzz in Pittsburgh than any Steelers quarterback draft pick since Terry Bradshaw in 1970. The Steelers haven't yet started selling Roethlisberger's No. 7 jersey, but no doubt they will quickly order up a batch to satisfy fan demand.

They might want to order a few in extra-extra large, too; obviously not accustomed to having 6-foot-4½, 240-pound quarterbacks, the Steelers badly underestimated Roethlisberger's size and gave him a much-too-small uniform for Monday's photo shoot.


Now, they've got to find out how Roethlisberger fits into an already crowded quarterback mix.

Maddox, a starter who is earning backup-like wages, apparently wanted to meet Monday with Steelers chairman Dan Rooney and coach Bill Cowher to discuss his future, however short it may be.

But there was no meeting, with Rooney saying one was never planned, and no hint when there might be one. It's possible Maddox and Cowher might talk on the phone later this week, though Cowher prefers to talk in person.

While Maddox is underpaid for an NFL starter at $750,000, he now has little bargaining power. The Steelers won't pay Roethlisberger millions to sit very long, and that means Maddox may remain the starter only one more season -- or less. Maddox could find himself playing this season for the chance to earn a contract elsewhere next year.

Roethlisberger was diplomatic when discussing playing time, at least for this season.

"I'm willing to do whatever the team asks of me, whether that's play right away or sit," he said. "I want to talk to Tommy and Charlie a little bit about what's going on. Whatever they're willing to help me with, I'm going to take it all in."

Wide receiver Plaxico Burress, who is signed only through this season and could also be playing for a contract, is curious to see how the quarterback situation plays out. Cowher hasn't ruled out Roethlisberger's starting this season.

"The best man's going to win. That's the reason why we have minicamps and training camps," Burress said. "I don't really have an idea who it's going to be, but when you bring a quarterback in that high, I guess it kind of sends a red light up to Tommy. I guess he's kind of down about the situation, but I've been playing with him for two years and I'm sure he'll step up and defend his position."



What a great artical!!! This guy is great!!! He talks like a winner and he is talking like a guy that wants to win and if that means he has to sit then he will sit. But I think this guy is going to make the Steelers great!!! I am happy the Steelers got him. I have always like the way the Steelers played and the class this team has always had and he seems to fit right in with them. I wish him all the luck in the world and I hope he kicks the crap out of Manning when they play and shows him what a real QB is!!!

[Kiwideus]

This guy got great attitude and very mature. He will be a superstar QB one day.

[Special_K19]

Courtney Brown needs to go Turkey Jones on his ass. ;)

I really liked Big Ben, and Josh Harris too for that matter (can you tell I watch a lot of the MAC?), so I was disappointed to see him go to Pittsburgh. And it would figure that Harris would go to Baltimore as well. :hmm: (Didn't there used to be a rolling eyes smilie?)

[Special_K19]

Not to get off track, but here's a quick lesson for those not up to speed on the Browns-Steelers Rivalries.

http://www.brownstng.com/browns/truthCenter/images/TurkeyJoe.jpg

Jones was big (six-foot-six, 250 pounds) and athletic, which is why the Browns picked him in the second round of the '72 draft out of Tennessee State. His half-brother was Washington's Hall of Fame receiver Charley Taylor. At Dalworth High School in Grand Prairie, Texas, Jones was a star basketball player. In track, Jones ran the high and low hurdles, threw the shotput and discus, and high jumped.

He was also gullible. The Browns' veterans played an annual joke on the rookies at Thanksgiving, handing them directions to a nonexistent, out-of-the-way farm where they would receive free turkeys. Cleveland tackle Dick Schafrath remembered getting two or three calls from a lost Jones. Each time Schafrath told him to keep driving. Finally, Jones abandoned his efforts. But he never caught on to the joke. Jones fell for it again the next year, prompting Schafrath to nickname him ''Turkey.''

Jones performed better on the field, working his way into the starting lineup his first season. But Jones missed the 1972 season, with a knee injury, and two years later was dealt to Philadelphia, which cut him during the '75 season. The Browns quickly claimed him.

By 1976, Jones again was starting and making an impact. So when he dug in against right tackle Larry Brown, a converted tight end, Jones felt confident. Then Bradshaw dropped back to pass.

''No tackle could back up faster than I could run forward,'' Jones said. ''I took Brown upfield and turned his shoulders and came on the inside and grabbed Bradshaw and did my thing.''

A whistle blew when Jones wrapped his arms around Bradshaw. But Jones said after the game he never heard it. Then he spiked Bradshaw.

''It wasn't like it was totally innocent,'' Sherk remembered. ''But it was probably a bad decision by Joe and not preordained. Joe didn't have a malicious bone in his body. He never cheap-shotted anybody. It was more that Joe did not know his own strength. He was such a powerful man, especially from the hips down. It was almost like he used his legs and leverage to do a wild flip. They both landed on their heads.''

''Terry was a big strong guy, and he would keep struggling,'' Darden said. ''The next thing I know, Joe picked him up and dumped him on his head. He looked like a chicken with his head cut off, and his body flinched two or three times. It was something.''

Harris ran over to Jones and bumped him. The officials flagged Jones for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, marching off fifteen yards. Bradshaw was carried off on a stretcher, headed to the Browns' locker room for X-rays, and replaced by rookie Mike Kruczek.

He didn't have Mays's success. When Cockroft kicked a forty-one-yarder with less than two minutes remaining, the Browns led 18-10. Then Kruczek finally connected with Lynn Swann for a big play, completing a forty-five-yard pass. Kruczek then scored on a twenty-two- yard run late in the game. Mack Mitchell blocked the extra point and Cockroft eventually punted the ball on the game's final play.

Afterward, Jones approached Bradshaw, still lying on the trainer's table in the Browns' locker room. First, though, he had to get past Bradshaw's wife, Jo Jo Starbuck , who was flanked by two bodyguards.

''She wasn't too happy,'' Jones recalled. ''I can't say the words she used. But she swore at me, very much so. I talked to Bradshaw, told him I was sorry and that it was just in the heat of play. He said, 'I understand, Joe.' ''

Lambert didn't understand. While his teammates defended the play, Lambert snapped: ''You take somebody and smash them upside down on the ground as hard as you can--that's not trying to hurt anybody?''

The league didn't understand, and Jones said he was fined approximately $3,000, which the commissioner's office returned to him after the season. Pittsburgh fans didn't understand, either.

They shipped angry letters by the dozen, which he sent to the NFL. On the Browns next trip to Pittsburgh, in 1977, Jones said the league placed him in a separate hotel from the team for security reasons. ''I kept my mouth shut and my helmet on when I went to Pittsburgh,'' Jones said.

The 1976 game spurred a turnaround for both teams. Cleveland won seven of its next eight games, but missed the playoffs when lowly Kansas City whipped the Browns, 39-14, on the final day. Pittsburgh won its next ten games and lost in the AFC Championship Game to Oakland.