Steelers' Ben Roethlisberger doesn't 'really care' about elite QB debate, even if he is one

Nate Davis | USA TODAY Sports

PITTSBURGH — Ben Roethlisberger has never concerned himself with personal accolades. Yet the footprint of his ever-expanding legacy will only take on new dimensions when the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback reports for training camp with his teammates in Latrobe, Pa., this weekend.

And as he assumes the mantle of the longest-serving member of the Steelers roster for the first time in his career, Roethlisberger may also finally be breaking into that elusive club of truly elite NFL quarterbacks.

But Big Ben will tell you none of it is a big deal.

"For me, it's always about winning. That's always been my M.O.," Roethlisberger, 33, told USA TODAY Sports. "People ask me all the time about what do I think about not being one of the five elites or the three elites or whatever it is.

"I don't really care. As long as I can win football games and win championships, that's all that really matters to me. At the end of the day, to me, that's what you're based on."

He certainly has a solid base. February will mark the 10-year anniversary of the Steelers' Super Bowl XL victory when Roethlisberger, then 23, became the youngest starting quarterback to win the Lombardi Trophy. Three years later, he added a second ring and narrowly missed a third when the team fell short against the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl XLV.

Roethlisberger also may have sparked a seismic shift in the way NFL teams treat young quarterbacks.

After being thrust into the lineup early in his rookie year for injured starter Tommy Maddox, Roethlisberger proceeded to go 13-0 in the 2004 regular season, won his first playoff start and took the Steelers all the way to the AFC Championship Game a year after they'd gone 6-10 with most of the same key personnel.

He became the first quarterback to earn AP offensive rookie of the year honors.

"He ultimately changed the thought process as far as how you evaluate quarterbacks," said Charlie Batch, Roethlisberger's (now retired) longtime backup.

"Before, it used to be throw them into the fire, see what happens and hopefully you win some games. And then he comes out the gate undefeated. So when people now figure out what that bar is, they always look at him and say, 'Well if Ben can do it, why can't we do it?' — which is unfair to a lot of young quarterbacks."

Perception of Roethlisberger may not have always been fair, either.

Often deemed the beneficiary of Pittsburgh's perennially elite defense earlier in his career, he now triggers an offense that fuels the team's furnace, ranking second in the NFL last season. His 4,952 passing yards in 2014 tied noted stat machine Drew Brees for the league lead. Roethlisberger's 32 TD passes and 67.1% completion rate were career bests. He's wrested most of the Steelers' significant passing records from beloved Hall of Famer Terry Bradshaw.

Now that he's got the numbers to go with the jewelry, his name more regularly comes up alongside Aaron Rodgers, Peyton Manning, Tom Brady and Brees in the ever-simmering debate of franchise quarterbacks.

"It's amazing when everybody would put their top five quarterbacks up, he was never in there. It would always baffle me," Batch said. "You knew it always burned inside of him because he wanted to be that guy.

"People always looked for fantasy. For him to have that success, it showed everyone outside Steeler Nation how good this guy really is. Tying Drew Brees as the passing leader earned everyone else's respect. They're like, 'This guy actually can pass.'

"It took you 10 years to figure that out?" Batch added with a look of wonderment on his face. "Everyone here knew what you had."

The Steelers certainly know. And after an offseason when they parted with longtime mainstays Troy Polamalu, Ike Taylor and Brett Keisel, there's a sense of reassurance with the continuity Roethlisberger provides the reigning AFC North champs.

"I just think it's a very natural thing, kind of a mundane thing to be honest with you," Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said. "When you do a job as long as he's done it, you're gonna get better, you're going to do it more efficiently, you're going to be in command of the things that you need to be in command of and wear the official elements of the job as well as the unofficial elements of the job. He's done all of those things. I'm not surprised that he has. As a matter of fact, we expect him to, and he's met those expectations.

"I know that I'm glad he's on our team."

Batch sees a player who's steadily grown into the role after taking cues from veterans like Jerome Bettis and Hines Ward early in his career and says Roethlisberger is eager "to keep the train moving," especially as the Steelers evolve defensively.

"I'd like to think I've been a leader on this team for a while," said Roethlisberger, who admits he's earned the trust of being in Tomlin's ear over the years. "But once you lose the last of the older guys — the Troys, Ikes, Keisels — it really kind of bounces down to me.

"I think it's just the natural way the game goes. If you plan on playing in the league for a long time, you're going to see turnover."

Roethlisberger has seen plenty on his path to this point, including a serious motorcycle crash in 2006 and a four-game suspension for violating the league's personal conduct policy in 2010.

He seems settled now after recently celebrating his four-year wedding anniversary. And he says raising two young children has been a professional boon.

"You grow up, you mature, you understand things, you go through life experiences, and it's all about how you take those life experiences and football experiences and how does it make you better? Do you use it to improve, or do you stay the same?" he said.

"Having kids teaches you patience. It's taught me how to tune out — when you have a crying baby at home — you tune out the crowd now. It's amazing sometimes. Just having patience, kindness and understanding translates to your friends on the football field as well. I take lessons I learn at home onto the football field and vice versa."

And he seems to be applying them masterfully.

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Follow Nate Davis on Twitter @ByNateDavis