Steelers football blog

Tomlin speaks about Big Ben

Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin isn't hiding his anxiety about the sexual-assault allegation against quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.

"I'm highly concerned for our franchise and for Ben personally," Tomlin told the NFL Network after arriving in Orlando, Fla., on Saturday for the NFL meetings, which start Monday.

The police in Milledgeville, Ga., are still investigating a 20-year-old female college student's accusation against Roethlisberger.

"My concerns are many," Tomlin said, "but I think at this time it's kind of appropriate to watch these things and let these things run their course. I think it would be inappropriate for me to have strong feelings one way or another with the investigation being ongoing and so forth. Like everyone else, you watch these things unfold." Continue

Big Ben's night out gets a little clearer

 Shortly after 9 p.m. on March 4, Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger turned to Heath Burton and told the restaurant owner that he was going to do something he'd never done before: Drive to tiny Milledgeville.

"He told me he'd never been down there," said Burton, owner of the posh Eenoco Japanese Steak & Sushi restaurant a few miles from Roethlisberger's mansion in the Reynolds Plantation resort.

After a 45-minute drive to the home of Georgia College & State University, Roethlisberger indulged in a few hours of bar hopping -- complete with Big Ben holding court in the VIP room of the popular Capital City nightclub. The fun ended soon after a 20-year-old woman told a Milledgeville patrolman at 2:30 a.m. March 5 that Roethlisberger, 28, had sexually assaulted her there.

The ongoing criminal investigation into Roethlisberger's conduct that night and a flood of national media washing over the seat of Baldwin County are revealing in greater detail the cloistered world of a National Football League icon known not only for his two Super Bowl rings, but also two allegations of sexual assault. Continue

Big Ben in photos with Milledgeville police officers prior to assault claim

 The Milledgeville police officer who took the March 5 statement from a woman who accused Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger of sexually assaulting her mugged for photographs with the star hours earlier.

Patrolman Jerry Blash was joined in the photo, taken during Roethlisberger's downtown bar-hopping, by Milledgeville Detective Everett January, Lt. Willie Goddard and Officer Paul Cressman.

Milledgeville authorities insist none of the officers spent time with Roethlisberger at the Capital City nightclub or the dance bar's VIP room, which is adjacent to a restroom where Roethlisberger is accused of assaulting the 20-year-old Georgia College & State University student. Continue

Big Ben in hot water again with 20yo woman

A 20-year-old college student has accused Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger of sexually assaulting her early today at a dance club in Georgia, police said.

"It is alleged he is the perpetrator," Richard Malone, the deputy police chief in Milledgeville, Ga., said at a news conference this evening.

Malone said investigators briefly spoke with Roethlisberger and that no charges have been filed. "We have been in touch with his attorneys and they are going to make available all the personnel to talk to us who were here last night."

Roethlisberger's agent, Ryan Tollner, acknowledged police have talked with Roethlisberger.

"Last night, Ben and his friends met a group of women and everyone mingled together throughout the evening," Tollner said in a statement. "We have spoken to law enforcement. Based on information currently available, an allegation was made against Ben, which appeared to be dismissed after a preliminary investigation last night." Continue

Big Ben is selected team MVP

The only surprising thing about Ben Roethlisberger earning the Steelers' MVP award yesterday is that it is the quarterback's first such honor.

Roethlisberger returns Sunday to the place where it all began for him, in Miami in 2004 in a hurricane's wake. It was his first start in a remarkable season that was like no other; he became the only rookie quarterback in history to win all 13 starts.

And it only got better: two Super Bowl victories, one in which he took over on the winning last-minute drive, and most every Steelers passing record within his grasp. Many of those were set this season when he became the first Steelers quarterback to pass for 500 yards in a game and the first to pass for 4,000 yards in a season. Continue

Bettis gets under Big Ben's skin

Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger responded to comments Thursday that former teammate Jerome Bettis made on a syndicated radio program that the Steelers' season "is basically over" following their 13-6 loss to the Cleveland Browns.

"When you lose your spirit, then everything is pretty much gone," Bettis said on the Dan Patrick Show. "It tells me the leadership isn't there."

Said Roethlisberger: "I guess he's entitled to his opinion. He's not on this team, he's not in this locker room, so he's just taking an outside view as all of you (media) guys are. If you don't know, I don't think you should speak on it."

Big Ben admits Wards comments bothered him

Ben Roethlisberger was hurt Sunday in Baltimore even though he did not play against the Ravens. The quarterback said yesterday that learning what Hines Ward said about him is what did it.

"He reached out to me and I told him I was just more hurt than anything," Roethlisberger said yesterday, relating part of his conversation Monday with his wide receiver.

"You know, we got over it, moved past it and now we're preparing."

Roethlisberger was held out of Sunday's loss in Baltimore by coach Mike Tomlin after the quarterback complained about headaches after practice last week. He was judged to have had a concussion in overtime of the Steelers' loss Nov. 22 in Kansas City. Continue

Big Ben should start vs Raiders

The Steelers have received a double dose of good news on the Ben Roethlisberger front.

The Steelers' quarterback didn't experience any headaches Monday after working out, and he is expected to return Sunday against the visiting Oakland Raiders.

Also, he and wide receiver Hines Ward have apparently resolved any issues that may have arisen when Ward told NBC that he has played with concussions in the past — and that Steelers players were divided over Roethlisberger not playing last Sunday in a 20-17 overtime loss to the Ravens.

Roethlisberger sustained a concussion Nov. 22, and coach Mike Tomlin held him out of the Ravens game following a recommendation by Dr. Joseph Maroon. Continue

Ward 's comments disturbing for Steelers

If Hines Ward's words sounded cutting in an interview aired before the game, he later explained they were merely spoken in frustration.

In a taped interview with Bob Costas aired beforehand on NBC's "Football Night in America," the Steelers' all-time leading receiver talked about the locker room being "like a 50-50 toss-up" over whether quarterback Ben Roethlisberger have played last night despite a concussion from seven days earlier. Ward talked about lying to team doctors on occasions when he suffered from concussion symptoms and how many NFL players overlook them, statements that league officials won't relish reading and hearing amid an increased effort to protect players from such life-altering injuries. And he talked in such a way that his predecessor as the player voted the league's dirtiest, NBC analyst Rodney Harrison, criticized Ward for questioning his team leader's toughness. Continue

Big Ben out vs Ravens

In a stunning development, it appears Dennis Dixon and not Ben Roethlisberger will start at quarterback against the Baltimore Ravens tomorrow night after Roethlisberger experienced headaches recently after practicing this week.

Doctors will test him today before the Steelers board their flight to Baltimore at mid-afternoon and again tomorrow to determine how he feels and if he can play at all.

Although Roethlisberger said on Thursday that he felt fine, passed every test they'd given him and would start against the Ravens, he apparently began having second thoughts yesterday as he developed headaches following practices on Wednesday and Thursday. Roethlisberger left last Sunday's game in Kansas City with what were described as concussion-like symptoms after a blow to his head. Continue