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The only bad thing I can say about Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is that he doesn’t update his blog very often. OK, that and the occasional errant throw. Otherwise, the guy epitomizes Pittsburgh Steelers football — he’s a blue-collar, relentless warrior. With a sprained shoulder, virtually no practice time and an offensive line that’s having trouble protecting him (I’m being kind), Ben stood tall and strong in the pocket — and mobile and athletic out of it — in leading the Steelers to a 26-21 win over the Jacksonville Jags last night. Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin takes the good with the bad:

“That’s Ben. Sometimes he holds the ball too long, and the offensive line catches a bad rap for it. But you take the good with the bad because he can step up and deliver the way he delivered tonight. He’s very good at what he does, and the guys have a great deal of belief in him. He delivers time and time again.”

Check the numbers: 26-of-41 passing for 309 yards and three touchdowns. The guy is money. But after receiving a six-figure contract, this is what you do. You play hurt and you play well. It’s called earning your keep. And with a running back by committee structure in-place due to an abundance of injuries (currently featuring Mewelde Moore, Gary Russell and Najeh Davenport), more pressure has been placed on Big Ben. And thus far, he’s shouldering (pun intended) the workload.

Source: Steelers.com, NFL.com, Photo: Newscom

Post from: Every Morning Quarterback

Ben Roethlisberger Shoulders the Workload

The Pittsburgh Steelers got back to their winning ways tonight against the St. Louis Rams in a 41-24 road win, but it came at a price. The Steelers lost All-Pro RB Willie Parker for the rest of the season with a broken leg. The injury happened on his first carry. Najeh Davenport will take over the lion’s share of the ground game for Pittsburgh from here on out.

Najeh has run for a good average this season (4.9 ypr entering tonight’s game) and while he managed an impressive 123 yards on 24 carries tonight, he’s no Willie Parker. Najeh is a big, bruising runner with nowhere near Willie’s speed. But as was evidenced by Willie’s league-leading number of carries this season, Najeh will get a full workload as the Steelers head into the playoffs. It’s no secret that Pittsburgh likes to run the football and Najeh Davenport is perfectly suited for their ground game. He won’t offer the big play capabilities that Willie did, but I can assure you defenses will be tired of tackling him in the 4th quarter.

Post from: Every Morning Quarterback

Pittsburgh Steelers Lose All-Pro Willie Parker With Broken Leg, Beat Rams 41-24