greasywheels121 Posted January 5, 2005 Share Posted January 5, 2005 Roethlisberger wins AP offensive honor unanimously Associated Press NEW YORK -- Ben Roethlisberger did what John Unitas, Joe Montana, Dan Marino, Brett Favre and every other NFL quarterback never managed by winning The Associated Press Offensive Rookie of the Year award. The first quarterback to win the honor since its inception in 1957, Roethlisberger did so unanimously, the second straight rookie to get all the votes. The Pittsburgh Steelers' young star received all 48 votes Wednesday from a nationwide panel of writers and broadcasters who cover pro football. Last year, Arizona wide receiver Anquan Boldin also swept the panel. But Boldin didn't go unbeaten in 13 starts, as Roethlisberger did in leading the Steelers to a franchise-best 15-1 record, which led the NFL this season. Neither, of course, has any other rookie QB. "I think it is just a comfort level every week, learning and practicing, getting on the same page as these guys,'' Roethlisberger said. "I think that has really helped by being out there in practice and working with these guys, the receivers, the linemen, the running backs, and just getting familiar with each other has really helped our success and our progress.'' Roethlisberger's progress was aided by having a superb running game featuring Jerome Bettis and Duce Staley, operating behind perhaps the league's best offensive line. Pittsburgh ranked second in rushing. And the Steelers' defense was the league's best, allowing the fewest points and yards. That meant Roethlisberger didn't need to win many games with his arm. Yet when he did, he brought back the AFC North champions with late drives to beat Jacksonville and the New York Giants. His composure, competitiveness and intelligent handling of the offense were keys to those wins -- and several others in which he didn't require such heroics. "I did not really know what to expect,'' said Roethlisberger, the 11th choice in the first round of the draft -- and the third overall quarterback taken behind Eli Manning and Phillip Rivers, neither of whom had much of an impact. "I thought coming in, knowing about Tommy (Maddox) as the starter, that I was going to come in and just try to learn this offense and try to learn to be a backup, whatever coach was going to ask of me,'' Roethlisberger said. "Obviously, things changed.'' They changed when Maddox injured his right elbow in Game 2 at Baltimore, the Steelers' only loss. There were loud doubts about Pittsburgh's chances of prospering with a rookie quarterback, including some from Roethlisberger's teammates. He silenced those doubters very quickly. "We've got mostly the same guys, it's Ben that has made a big difference,'' linebacker Joey Porter said. "Everybody else has been here. Duce and Ben are the biggest two additions we had. Nobody knew he could play at this level this early.'' Roethlisberger finished fifth in passer rating at 98.1. He completed 196 of 295 passes -- yes, only 99 incompletions -- for 2,621 yards, with 17 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. His best work came in the middle of the schedule and he wasn't quite as dynamic in December. But he kept winning, even as he was given more responsibility in the offense. "I think we will surely evolve and add more plays and do more things as an offense,'' he said, "and I can kind of become more diversified as we continue on this quest this year and in coming years.'' Roethlisberger, whose sensational rookie season could earn him $2.6 million in bonuses, is the fourth Steelers player to win the award, joining receivers Louis Lipps (1984) and Jimmy Orr (1958) and running back Franco Harris (1972). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WHarris1 Posted January 5, 2005 Share Posted January 5, 2005 Shocking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
witesoxfan Posted January 5, 2005 Share Posted January 5, 2005 (edited) I guess that means Lee Evans was second in the voting... ...along with every other offensive rookie the NFL Edited January 5, 2005 by witesoxfan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WHarris1 Posted January 5, 2005 Share Posted January 5, 2005 ...along with Craig Krenzel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChWRoCk2 Posted January 5, 2005 Share Posted January 5, 2005 jk it was obvious Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
black jack Posted January 5, 2005 Share Posted January 5, 2005 i'm expecting Vilma (prefered) or Duanta Robinson to win defensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Punch and Judy Garland Posted January 5, 2005 Share Posted January 5, 2005 Don't discount DJ Williams who was just as good as Vilma. However, I agree that Vilma will win because of the NY exposure/bias. I still don't think Big Ben is all that great (he's a handoff specialist) but I was impressed by the offensive class this year (Williams-Clayton-Evans-The 2 Jones'-Steven Jackson) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WHarris1 Posted January 5, 2005 Share Posted January 5, 2005 A handoff specialist who also had a damn good QB rating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChWRoCk2 Posted January 5, 2005 Share Posted January 5, 2005 QUOTE(Punch and Judy Garland @ Jan 5, 2005 -> 05:04 PM) -The 2 Jones' Julius Jones and ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WHarris1 Posted January 5, 2005 Share Posted January 5, 2005 Kevin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palehosefan Posted January 5, 2005 Share Posted January 5, 2005 Ben was anything but a handoff specialist. He made all kinds of plays with his feet throwing downfield. He was just amazing, he has good athleticism that he uses to move around in the pocket and find someone downfield. Normally young athletic QB's just use their athleticism to run instead of buying more time to throw downfield. He is something special. He was blessed to be playing behind the Steelers line and with some good RB's, but the Steelers would probably be something like 10-6, 9-7 without him. He just makes good things happen with his arm and his legs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palehosefan Posted January 5, 2005 Share Posted January 5, 2005 Also, don't forget Sean Taylor in the defensive ROY, he had 76 tackles, 4 interceptions, and a sack. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
black jack Posted January 5, 2005 Share Posted January 5, 2005 QUOTE(Punch and Judy Garland @ Jan 5, 2005 -> 11:04 PM) Don't discount DJ Williams who was just as good as Vilma. However, I agree that Vilma will win because of the NY exposure/bias. I still don't think Big Ben is all that great (he's a handoff specialist) but I was impressed by the offensive class this year (Williams-Clayton-Evans-The 2 Jones'-Steven Jackson) DJ had some fine plays this season and will be a future probowler, but Vilma was the qb of the number 6 defense in the league. the guy made all the calls and adjustments...pretty impressive for a rookie. he is the leader of that defense. DJ is just a player. al wilson is the leader. i'm a big jets fan, so i'm biased, but they threw the playbook at this kid and he absorbed it so fast it shocked me. leads team in tackles(100 and something), 2 (or3) sacks, 3 ints, 1 td, and a couple fumble recoverys....stats from memory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
black jack Posted January 5, 2005 Share Posted January 5, 2005 one other thing on DJ: he was basically told where to line up and what to do. Vilma told everyone else where to line up and what to do, then went out and made the play himself most of the time. that has to play into the voting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Punch and Judy Garland Posted January 6, 2005 Share Posted January 6, 2005 I don't buy into Big Ben and his QB rating and I won't unless they throw the football. I didn't watch Vilma a whole lot but I did watch Williams a great deal. I must mention my Bronco bias here as well. There are a few points that you didn't mention, not that they invalidate yours though. Williams put up numbers where the difference between himself and Vilma was negligible. When Al Wilson missed time, DJ was there with a sack and held the Jaguars to 7 points. DJ also led his team in tackles. While mentioning the leadership of Al Wilson is a good point, Vilma played behind what I believe was one of the elite front 4's in football this year. Lastly, The Bronco D was just as good as the Jet D this season. Good luck with your Jets in the playoffs, hopefully we'll get a Bronco-Jet matchup out of all this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palehosefan Posted January 6, 2005 Share Posted January 6, 2005 Roethlisberger was 22nd in the NFL in passing with over 2600 yards with 17 td's and 11 int's in only 13 games started. He completed over 66% of his passes with 43 passes of over 20 yards and 7 passes of over than 40 yards. Ben averaged 8.88 yards per attempt which is more than Duante Culpepper who led the league in passing yards. Ben is the only QB in the top 27 that threw less than 300 attempts. He has great touch on his passes, great spirals. He's a special one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Showtime Posted January 6, 2005 Share Posted January 6, 2005 Common now, I can't be the only person who saw the title and thought this was about Ben Gordon.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
black jack Posted January 6, 2005 Share Posted January 6, 2005 No doubt DJ Williams is a stud. He was blessed with amazing talent. I felt very torn between who I wanted the Jets to draft. It was because of the Jets' front four i felt Vilma had a chance to be special early on. He's a bit undersized, but is so instinctive, fast, and is a great study...a film rat. DJ is probably the more talented of the two, but Vilma has that something that the great one's have. A year or two in the weightroom and just letting his body mature and look out. Give DJ a bit more time to learn the position (i believe he's a converted rb), and you've got a annual probowler. skies the limit for him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DBAHO Posted January 6, 2005 Share Posted January 6, 2005 QUOTE(witesoxfan @ Jan 6, 2005 -> 08:25 AM) I guess that means Lee Evans was second in the voting... ...along with every other offensive rookie the NFL If Julius Jones played the whole season, he could have very well challenged Big Ben, and that's behind a pretty poor Dallas Offensive Line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WilliamTell Posted January 6, 2005 Share Posted January 6, 2005 Yep, hands down the Rookie of the Year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jake Posted January 8, 2005 Share Posted January 8, 2005 vasher didn't have a bad rookie season Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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