Ben Roethlisberger throws during practice Thursday. - MATT SUNDAY / DKPS

Steelers

Kovacevic: This Ben just isn't that Ben, and nothing else matters

By Dejan Kovacevic

Jan 12, 2018 • 12:00 am

9.6K

What's a 419?

Ben Roethlisberger was basically bouncing away from his stall at the Rooney Sports Complex, sporting a bright blue shirt with those three digits on the front, and I just had to ask.

"Findlay area code!" he beamed back. "Got that from my hometown!"

Of course. Once he'd gotten closer, I could make out the map of Ohio inside the 9.

"Pretty cool, huh?"

It actually was.

And by that I'm referring not only to the shirt itself or the childlike delight the franchise quarterback clearly was taking in showing it off, but also, and infinitely more important this weekend, the fact that ... well, let's just say he didn't exactly look distraught over having thrown five interceptions in a game, uh, three months and three days ago.

So very much is so very different from the previous time the Steelers and Jaguars met at Heinz Field, but here's the most violent swing of all: The most important player on either side was at maybe his career low the first time, and he's been riding a relentless upward wave ever since.

That's it. This matchup doesn't need to be muddled.

In the 30-9 loss to Jacksonville on Oct. 8, Roethlisberger misfired on 22 of 55 passes, failed to find the end zone once and, as anyone can recall above all, threw five interceptions, two of them for pick-6s. It was as lousy as he's ever looked. It was cause for legit concern.

Occasionally throughout his career, he's found subtle ways to blame others when he's messed up. But listen to his answer when I asked that day what had to happen for the offense as a whole to get right:

"Me playing better."

More illustrative yet, this was a moment on the Steelers' sideline, captured by our Matt Sunday, of Roethlisberger ruefully watching one of his picks on a Surface tablet:

Ben Roethlisberger on the Steelers' sideline Oct. 8. - MATT SUNDAY / DKPS

Yeah, I'd say things are very different.

For one, that determined-but-down, self-deprecating-though-not-all-serious attitude is as distant a memory for all concerned as the anthem flap and water-cooler massacre. He's been vocal, energized, engaged on all fronts. He's taken charge of practices and drills in much the same manner he was doing in the summertime in Latrobe. He's raving about his linemen, reaming out receivers.

He's Ben again.

For another, there's the small matter of actual football:

Look at the climb there. Look where it began, with winning the following week against the 5-0 Chiefs in Kansas City, then just erupting.

A lot else has been upgraded around Roethlisberger, too. Le'Veon Bell found his footing after the sluggish start. Martavis Bryant stopped pouting and started producing. JuJu Smith-Schuster blossomed into more than anyone could have hoped from a 21-year-old. Even the tight ends, Jesse James and Vance McDonald, the long-feared weak link, stepped up.

Antonio Brown?

He was there all along. He just needed the ball.

Now that it's all come together, the Steelers' offense is back to being the strength that had always been expected. And neither that facet, nor its iconic architect, are about to take some similar plunge into the depths again. Not this Sunday. Not in this stadium.

That subject brought another smile.

"I expect it to be loud, I expect them to have a lot of fun," Roethlisberger would forecast of the scene. "Anytime you get extra football at Heinz Field, the fans enjoy it, and we do, too."

This one guy enjoying it -- again -- will be all the difference anyone needs.

• If you ask a professional athlete a probing question, and that professional athlete is reflexively candid by nature, this is the kind of answer you can expect to get more often than not, the timing be damned.

Mind you, I'm not criticizing the question. The topic's fair game, as is the timing. Also, Bell easily could reject discussing it, given that he's got the game of his life coming up Sunday. He undoubtedly should have.

I'm just stressing that the question comes first.

• Anyone who thinks this will be a distraction to anyone hasn't been paying attention.

• The principal worry for the home team, at least from this perspective, should be stumbling on offense over the first couple drives. Rhythm isn't a snap to recover in football, and it'll have been a full month since the last time they faced a real NFL team -- sorry, Texans and Browns, but that run plus a bye week is like three bye weeks -- and it might take a while.

As a result, if I'm Roethlisberger and Todd Haley, I'm scripting conservatively in the early going and pounding the run. Because then, at least, a major mistake is less likely.

• I'm all in favor of the NFL in London, and not just because I loved every blessed second of covering the Steelers' trip there in 2013 and loved the 2012 Olympics that much more and love everything, everything, everything about the place.

Some pics I took of all that ...

The Steelers in London, 2013 - DEJAN KOVACEVIC / DKPS

... and then, best of all, the reaction inside Wembley when the Steelers sprinted out onto the field, this from a crowd evenly split with Vikings faithful:

For second time in history, a Pittsburgh team set for real game in Europe. Other? Pens/Stockholm.
A post shared by DK Pittsburgh Sports (@dkpghsports) on Sep 29, 2013 at 9:55am PDT

But the real reason I'm all in favor of the NFL in London, including the three additional games announced Thursday for 2018, is that the global outreach of the most American game of all is insanely overdue. It creates bridges and bonds, and it comes with so many other cultural benefits that one genuinely has to experience to appreciate. Just seeing all the U.S. military members on site, many of them Pittsburgh natives who flew over from bases in Germany, made it feel worthwhile. And this isn't even to mention the monstrous amount of additional revenue available by expanding into Europe.

That said, it's time to graduate from neutral-site exhibitions and put a franchise there. The plan is to go from three games to five in 2019, so you're already this close to eight. Just do it.

• Here's hoping -- and I mean this respectfully -- that when the Penguins return to practice today following their bye week, they come back with a new life as well as some new approaches. Mike Sullivan's going to have to install something more diverse than pedal-to-the-metal as a strategy at some point, and what a wonderful time this would be.

• It isn't all on the players, and it isn't all on fatigue, either. It can't be. That's illogical. Great coaches adjust not only to personnel but also to circumstances. Sullivan's more than capable of that.

• Nothing matters more in the weekend games against the Red Wings and Rangers than to keep Sidney Crosby hot. And that means keeping both rookies, Daniel Sprong and Dominik Simon, on his flanks five-on-five. When Sid wears down, he needs fresh legs around him because of his churning style. Those kids have the legs and the hands.

• MVP of the game Sunday: Roethlisberger.

MATT SUNDAY GALLERY

Steelers practice, Rooney Sports Complex, Jan. 11, 2018. - MATT SUNDAY / DKPS

WHAT'S BREWING

• Much, much Steelers-Jaguars coverage this morning. It's flowing in quantity and quality, including good stuff in Friday Insider, sponsored by Point Park University.

• The Penguins' return to practice this afternoon will be covered by Chris Bradford. A bunch of us will be at the matinee return game tomorrow against the Red Wings.

• I'll be on WPXI-TV's 'Subway Final Word' this Sunday at 11:35 p.m. It'll be intensely into football, I'm told.

• Do you follow us on social media? If not, we're available on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Twitter. We'll make it worth your while, as we've got some fun initiatives planned on those fronts toward signing up new subscribers.

VIDEO

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