Big Ben a hard man to bring down

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has run
for only 52 yards this season. There’s eleven NFL
quarterbacks who have amassed more yardage with their legs
than he has.

Roethlisberger has also been sacked 18 times in six games-
–
the 3rd highest total in the league this year.

Despite those figures, Roethlisberger is still one of the
most feared scramblers at the quarterback position in the
NFL, especially by members of the Arizona Cardinals, who
will host Big Ben and the Steelers Sunday afternoon in
Glendale.

And it’s not only members of the defense that are
concerned or aware about Roethlisberger’s uncanny ability
to wiggle out of trouble and make plays.

“He’s pretty amazing,” Roethlisberger’s counterpart Kevin
Kolb said earlier this week. “He’s the best at making an
ugly play look great. He gets out of there and somehow
finds a way to keep his feet and make big plays down the
field and that’s something our defense is focused on.”

Defensive end Calais Campbell agreed. “He’s a tough
tackle. So we have to make sure when we get there, we get
him down,” he said.

This will be the third time Darnell Dockett will face a
Roethlisberger-led offense, and the Cardinals defensive
lineman hasn’t had too much of a problem bringing Big Ben
to the turf.

In a week four win over the Steelers in 2007, Dockett had
2.5 sacks. In Super Bowl XLIII, Dockett upped that to 3
sacks against Roethlisberger. Not bad for a player who
has only had one other three-sack game in his career.

But Roethlisberger’s ability to escape affects more than
just the players in the Arizona front seven who will chase
him around. It has a huge bearing on what happens in the
secondary as well, and rookie cornerback Patrick Peterson
knows it.

“He’s definitely one of the best quarterbacks that extends
plays,” Peterson said. “If we think Ben’s sacked, we
definitely gotta stay on our guys.”

In those two games against Arizona, Roethlisberger been
sacked 7 times.

So maybe, just maybe, the Cardinals have a formula on how
to deal with Big Ben. I guess we’ll find out on Sunday.

Follow @Vincemarotta