Steelers Super Bowl Special
Nothing's Shocking
By Tony DeFazio

On Feb. 2, the national sports media seemed to do an about-face when it came to Ben Roethlisberger. A day earlier, the Steelers quarterback had marched his team 88 yards in two minutes to win the Super Bowl with as good a pass as a quarterback can throw, hitting Santonio Holmes in the corner of the end zone for the game-winning touchdown with 35 seconds remaining.

The national pundits used words like "surprising," "redemption," "vindication," and "resurrection."

Where have these folks been for the past five years?

What Roethlisberger did at the end of Super Bowl XLIII last month was nothing new; he's been doing it since he started his first game for the Steelers in 2004: winning when the pressure it at its highest.

"When it was down at the end, (overcoming) three points I thought was a given," Steelers offensive coordinator Bruce Arians said. "We've been in this situation six times this year and he has done it every time."

Six times in 2008; 18 times in five years.

How could anyone have thought the result was going to be any different that night in Tampa?

Down 9-6 in Baltimore on Dec. 14, Roethlisberger engineered a 12-play drive that ended with a four-yard TD pass to Santonio Holmes with 43 seconds left in the game.

One week earlier, he tossed a game-tying six-yard touchdown pass to Heath Miller with just over two minutes remaining in a 20-13 win over Dallas.

Nov. 16 against San Diego he produced another late game-winner; completing all six of his passes for 62 yards on the final drive.

Oct. 5 in Jacksonville? Hit Hines Ward for the game-winning TD with less than two minites left.

On a Monday night in late September against the Ravens, Ben found Mewelde Moore for 24 yards on a 3rd and 8 in OT to set up the game-winning field goal.

Wanna go over the other dozen? If you've got the money, I've got the time.

Some folks-most folks-will tell you that Roethlisberger played poorly four years ago in Super Bowl XL. Not me.

What I saw was a player with a poor passer rating (when they start crowning Super Bowl champions based on passer ratings, by the way, let me know) who made plays to win a football game.

I saw a quarterback, on a 3rd and 28, roll left, turn around while escaping several defenders to make sure he had time, look up to his left, identify the line of scrimmage, flatten his angle to make sure he stayed behind the line, stop dead and fire across his body-across the field-a good 60 yards on a rope to Hines Ward for a first down.

Then I watched him dive headfirst into the end zone for a touchdown.

I watched him flatten a Seattle defender to allow Antwaan Randle El to throw his famous gadget play touchdown to Hines Ward.

I watched him convert two crucial third-downs late in the game while his team chewed clock, one with a pass to Randle El and one with his feet.

I watched a 23-year-old quarterback make enough plays to win the first of his (so far) two Super Bowls.

"Ben has done this all year long…when you have to have a play, he's going to make it," said ESPN's Trent Dilfer, himself a Super Bowl winning quarterback. "Talk about a quarterback putting his team on his back and making plays… The argument is over. Ben Roethlisberger now needs to be put in the elite category of quarterbacks."

What I can't understand is why there was an argument in the first place.