Kovacevic: Ben will never quit on Steelers

[zulater]

Ben Roethlisberger isn't going anywhere.
He'll stay with the Steelers for as long as they'll have him, and that's for the foreseeable future, well beyond the expiration of his current contract in two years. He'll then retire with the team, and he and his family will make their permanent home in Pittsburgh.
I believe that.
Just as I believe that the key to understanding why is to tune out all the noise.
All of it.
To start, discard the ridiculous report that the NFL Network's Ian Rapoport put out Sunday that Roethlisberger and the team might be planning — lock on those last three words to judge newsworthiness — to part ways at season's end. The report's sources characterized the feelings of a player and the team, yet the report itself never attributes anything to Roethlisberger, his agent Ryan Tollner or Art Rooney II.
All those guys will do is, you know, decide everything.
But go further. Don't listen, either, to the strongly worded denials from Roethlisberger or Tollner or Rooney during and after the Steelers' 23-10 victory over the Bills at Heinz Field.
Turn all of the volume down to zero.
Instead, go with your eyes.
Look at what Roethlisberger has done, at his actions, even in this most miserable of seasons, and ask if this individual, as the report charges, wants out.
Ramon Foster, as often happens, put it best: “That guy's no quitter, and you're seeing that now more than ever.”
I'll emphatically second that: I've never been more impressed by Roethlisberger and, as a result, I've never been more convinced of his commitment to the Steelers.
But don't take my word for it. Go inside the huddle. Go ask the men who know him far better than any of us.
Ask left tackle Kelvin Beachum about his encounter with Roethlisberger on the sideline during the final seconds Sunday, not long after Beachum allowed a defender a blindside sack.
“I asked Ben, ‘How's your body?' And he just said he was OK but that we have to do better,” Beachum recalled. “He holds us accountable, but he doesn't cuss us out, and he never gets discouraged. Never. There's frustration, but he just wants to keep going.”
Roethlisberger, for the record, has been sacked 35 times behind this patchwork line — four more Sunday, plus three other hits — and his next public complaint will be the first. His next missed snap will be the first, too.
Ask Jerricho Cotchery how Roethlisberger handles similar issues with his wide receivers.
“Never heard the first complaint,” Cotchery said. “This man gets hit, and all he does is line up for the next play. Mentally, I don't think there are too many NFL players at any position who can match him. He's that tough.”
That sound like a quitter to you, someone scrambling for a parachute?


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[tihmtahm]

That's the point I make to all of my non Steeler friends... They always like to rub it in that our O line would be better served by putting in traffic cones in place of the current players... I agree that the line needs help... badly! The one thing I find solace in is that any other QB in Ben's situation would be hopping mad or completely deflated... P. Manning, Brady, and almost any other QB cannot do what Ben does under that same pressure, and like the article says... I never ever hear of him bad mouthing his teammates.

[X-Terminator]

That's the point I make to all of my non Steeler friends... They always like to rub it in that our O line would be better served by putting in traffic cones in place of the current players... I agree that the line needs help... badly! The one thing I find solace in is that any other QB in Ben's situation would be hopping mad or completely deflated... P. Manning, Brady, and almost any other QB cannot do what Ben does under that same pressure, and like the article says... I never ever hear of him bad mouthing his teammates.

Marsha would be screaming for his binky behind that OL. It's why I think Ben is one of the 5 toughest guys in the league at any position, and definitely the toughest QB. Nobody - and I mean NOBODY - could take the beating that he has taken and still be as effective as he's been, other than the turnovers.

[steel striker]

I even have some so called steelers where I live complain about Ben then, I mention how tough Ben is any other QB would not be able to take the punishment like he has. Brady would be crying and, bitching and, you think Brady numbers are down if he played behind this o-line he would not last two games. I still think alot of steelers an don't realize how good Ben is and, he covers up alot holes on this offense. Sure he makes mistakes but, look at all the plays he makes and, pulls them out of nothing at times. Ben is the toughest QB I think I ever seen play and, i'm 45 been watching this game for a while. This guy has helped this team to three super bowls and, has won two of them. I know this off the thread but, alot of steeler fans better enjoy Ben while we still have him because, when he retires it won't take long to realize what a great player Ben has been for the steelers.

[Psycho Ward 86]

you know, we talk about how tom brady and peyton manning would be such bitches behind a shitty o-line like ours. but they are both so much more cerebral quarterbacks compared to ben that theres a good chance theyd hardly be getting touched at all, especially peyton. and they certainly wouldnt be missing some of the easy throws that ben has mysteriously been missing at times even when he isnt under duress

[X-Terminator]

you know, we talk about how tom brady and peyton manning would be such bitches behind a shitty o-line like ours. but they are both so much more cerebral quarterbacks compared to ben that theres a good chance theyd hardly be getting touched at all, especially peyton. and they certainly wouldnt be missing some of the easy throws that ben has mysteriously been missing at times even when he isnt under duress

I doubt that. Both of them have a history of curling up in the fetal position when you pressure them. Neither of them would be as effective behind our OL, especially Marsha. I'm 100% certain of that.

[Psycho Ward 86]

I doubt that. Both of them have a history of curling up in the fetal position when you pressure them. Neither of them would be as effective behind our OL, especially Marsha. I'm 100% certain of that.

i agree with brady, but emphasis on WHEN you pressure them. i recall the broncos have lost starters along their offensive line this season as well and peyton is still on pace to break the season TD record. But the guy is just so good at making adjustments he just seems impossible to make uncomfortable most of the time. Think about all the times we've played peyton with dick lebeau as our defensive coordinator. Were one of the top defenses the majority of the time and usually hardly manage to touch him.

[JayC]

they are two of the most studious qb's in the game. ben doesn't come off as studious at all. with manning specifically, he almost seems like a coach who plays qb. it's almost like manning wrote his own playbook and the offense was built by him instead of coaches/staff. ben for whatever reason, is nothing like that either by choice or a shit coaching staff that gives him no control.

[fansince'76]

Thomas' missed block on Colts linebacker Robert Mathis was just one of many protection problems for the Broncos last week as Manning was hit 10 times - three more than he had taken in the previous six games combined.

The toll showed both in Manning's stat line, with a completion rate below 60% for the first time all year,and in the quarterback's body. Manning, who hadn't missed a practice since signing with the Broncos in 2012, sat out Wednesday to rest a sore ankle.

http://www.floridatoday.com/usatoday/article/3190375

Denver quarterback Peyton Manning will undergo an MRI on Monday after taking a selection of big hits in the Broncos' win against San Diego at Qualcomm Stadium on Sunday, including a low hit from Chargers defensive end Corey Liuget with 1:44 to play.

"I'm pretty sore," Manning said following the 28-20 victory. "They got me twice in that lower area. I felt better coming into the game after the bye week, but I'm pretty sore."

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/99...roncos-get-mri

Let's see - two games of getting knocked around behind his backup offensive linemen like Roethlisberger has been getting clobbered for pretty much his entire career behind his STARTERS, with a bye week in between, no less, and he winds up getting an MRI?

There's no way he'd last behind our shit line and especially behind whomever our "turnstile of the week" happens to be at LT in a given game. No way. And IMO, Manning is one of the top 5 QBs in NFL history.

[Mojouw]

To be fair Manning is a hundred years old and is only recently recovered from super-cancer-neck-aids.

The point remains that Ben takes a beating that maybe only David Carr can truly understand week in and week out. That many hits gave Carr the NFL version of PTSD and he washed out of the league...