LATROBE, Pa. -- For Ben Roethlisberger, the loss of Darryl Drake hit home nearly as hard as it did for the players he coached directly.
Roethlisberger had formed a bond with Drake, the Steelers' wide receivers coach who died suddenly at age 62 Sunday morning. And it was a bond that was obvious to his teammates.
"Not many people have changed Ben since I’ve been here," Alejandro Villanueva said. "He started to open up his mind, be a very outspoken leader about the things he thought had to be said. And people respected that, people respond to that."
Roethlisberger said Thursday after the Steelers wrapped up their final practice of this training camp here at Saint Vincent College that he and Drake had an understanding that went beyond the football field.
"I only knew him for a year and a half. But I think in that year and a half he meant more to me than some people that I’ve known for my whole life," Roethlisberger said. "I know he was an amazing football coach, but he was even a better man, better husband, better father and a better man of God than he was a football coach. So, what he brought to this team and our relationship together was truly something that can never be replicated. He will be very dearly missed, but we know that he is with us and we know he is in a better place."
Roethlisberger had a difficult offseason with the team's trade of Antonio Brown after Brown had trashed him in the national media. But, as the critics piled on, Roethlisberger used some words from Drake to help him through the ordeal.
"The big one he had this year was, ‘Shut out the noise,’” Roethlisberger said. "’Everything that is not important that is not right here. Shut it out and focus on what is important, and that is this group.’”
With his 16th training camp with the Steelers now in the books, Roethlisberger remains bullish on this team. And it shows with how he interacts with his teammates, both on and off the field.
It's clear he took Drake's words to heart.
And he knows that as the unquestioned leader, he has an important role moving forward.
"Just try to be there, listen. Sometimes I think that’s the best thing you can do for grief is to listen," he said. "I think so many times we get caught trying to talk and telling people it’ll be OK, but grief is not about being OK. It is about grieving, talking and communication. So just trying to be a good communicator and listen."
If it sounds like Roethlisberger has become a better and more influential leader, it's because he has.
That's something this team got accomplished in this camp. It not only avoided any controversy -- something that was an issue in the past -- it seems to have come closer together through the issues it's faced. Roethlisberger has been at the forefront of that. He practiced regularly throughout the offseason and this camp. And though he didn't play in the team's preseason opener last week and won't again this Saturday against the Chiefs at Heinz Field, he's made himself available to his teammates.
"Camp was good," he said. "We are happy to finally have it over with. But it is fun to come here to bond with guys, see different things, see different people, different connections, so I think it was a good camp."
Roethlisberger came away impressed with what the Steelers might be in 2019. He directly pointed to second-year receiver James Washington having a good camp. And he also said he continues to be excited about the potential with free-agent signee Donte Moncrief. Rookie receiver Diontae Johnson missed several days of practice with a hip injury, but Roethlisberger also said he likes what he saw of the third-round pick, as well.
"I hope we can get him on the field more to see what he can do," Roethlisberger said. "He’s got some talent, he really does."
One player he got to see a lot of in this camp was first-round draft pick Devin Bush. The inside linebacker has lived up to the hype of being the 10th pick in this year's draft. He's seen a lot of practice time, and understandably so. He's also caught the eye of the quarterback, especially after Bush's 10-tackle performance against the Bucs last week.
"It is kind of one of those things, in practice it wasn’t anything special, but he wasn’t making mistakes," Roethlisberger said. "And then you watch the game and you see the box score at the end of the day; I know he had a bunch of tackles and made some plays. He is just there. He is doing things and doing the right things and you don’t hear him getting hollered at because he is doing something wrong. To me, that is important for a guy at that position. It might not be all the special and wild plays you make, but when you’re not screwing up, that is just as important."
Roethlisberger hopes it all adds up to a special season, especially considering the team went 9-6-1 a year ago and missed the playoffs.
There's still a lot of work to be done. But the quarterback likes the way things are looking.
"I like this group. I think we have a special group of people here," he said. "That’s why I am excited to see when things get real what is going to happen."
