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Chick Ludwig covers the Cincinnati Bengals. He also writes about his other passions: college football, basketball and golf.Home > Blogs > Chick Ludwig At Large > Archives > 2008 > September > 16 > Entry
AFC North: Big Ben & Big Willie
ROETHLISBERGER GIVES
NBC REPORTER KREMER
THE OL’ STIFF ARM
NBC Sports reporter Andrea Kremer kept hammering away.
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger kept giving her a Heisman Trophy-like stiff arm.
No way was he going to address his shoulder injury after Pittsburgh’s 10-6 victory at Cleveland on Sunday night.
The Steelers reported the shoulder as “sore” before the game. NBC called it “separated.”
Somehow, Roethlisberger completed 12 of 19 passes for 186 yards and improved to 10-0 in his home state of Ohio.
Kremer pressed Roethlisberger about the shoulder three times in a post-game interview. He rebuffed her each time, choosing to praise his offensive line and tailback Willie Parker (28 carries, 105 yards) instead. It was Parker’s 23rd career 100-yard rushing game.
“(For the) last time — how did your separated shoulder hold up?” Kremer asked.
“My O-line’s waiting for me,” Roethlisberger said. “They did a great job. Let me go congratulate them.”
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin’s reaction?
“They (NBC Sports) know more than I did,” he said. “That’s good television, I guess. He’s hurting pretty bad, but he’s a tough character. Is he 100 percent? No. But no one plays as hard as he does without getting banged up.”
BROWNS: NOT PANICKING AT ALL
Quarterback Derek Anderson was plagued by more than a brutal wind against the Steelers.
Braylon Edwards (3 catches, 32 yards) dropped three balls and Kellen Winslow (game-high 7 catches, 55 yards) dropped one.
“People want to look at dropped passes as a problem, but it’s not just that,” Anderson said. “I’ve also made some bad throws.”
He’s 29 of 56 passing for 280 yards, one TD and two picks for a 57.1 passer rating.
“We’ve put the Dallas game behind us, and now we’re putting this game behind us,” linebacker Willie McGinest said. “We’re not panicking, not at all. We’re not putting our heads down. We’re going to keep fighting.”
RAVENS: LOVIN’ BIG WILLIE
Baltimore’s Week 2 bye — forced by Hurricane Ike — could be a blessing in disguise. Right offensive tackle Willie Anderson got more practice snaps. The ex-Bengal is fast becoming a locker room leader.
“Willie is doing a nice job,” coach John Harbaugh said. “He looks better every day. You can see why he’s got the reputation that he’s had. What I’ve been impressed with is he’s really gone out of his way to become a Raven and to mentor those young linemen. He’s been good for our team from that standpoint — kind of in the Lorenzo Neal mold.”
Oops, Neal’s ANOTHER ex-Bengal.
Harbaugh said Big Willie “plays as a real mauler. But his personality is kind of quiet and cerebral — a student of the game. He’s been great with our guys as far as some of those fine points that only a player of his caliber could really give to the younger players.”
BENGALS: NEXT MAN UP
Left cornerback Johnathan Joseph’s sprained ankle means second-year vet David Jones will get more practice reps and could start against the Giants.
Jones got beat in the front left corner of the end zone by Titans wideout Justin Gage for an 11-yard TD at 0:38 of the second quarter in the Bengals’ 24-7 loss.
“It was a mistake on my part,” Jones said. “You’ve got to have a short memory playing corner. It’s a tough job, but somebody’s got to do it. You make a good play, you’ve got to forget about it. Same with a bad play.”
Contact Chick Ludwig at (937) 225-2253 or cludwig@DaytonDailyNews.com
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