Pittsburgh Steelers legendary quarterback Ben Roethlisberger had a reputation, especially early in his career for being tough as nails. He'd sit in the pocket or get out of it and throw defenders around before magically finding a receiver downfield. It was incredibly entertaining for Steeler Nation to watch him and his backyard football style, especially in the early years when he still had some legs under him to move around. The style took its toll though and Roethlisberger would often play hurt. It was less fun for his backup quarterbacks who saw an opportunity to play before the Miami of Ohio product would trot out onto the field.
Pittsburgh native Charlie Batch spent nearly 9 years as a member of the organization he grew up cheering for between 2003 and 2012. He missed all of 2004 after having knee surgery. Batch joined the Brian Hess Show on Thursday and talked about his journey in the NFL and what he's up to now with his foundation. Batch said that he saw Roethlisberger play through so many different ailments that when he was actually forced to miss games, you knew it was serious.
"There were many times that I grabbed my helmet 'cause I thought I might be going in," Batch said. "We were playing in a home game once and he [Roethlisberger] goes into the tunnel to the locker room. I was literally with the offensive coordinator getting ready for the next play and the referee said 10 seconds to go when all of a sudden I heard a roar from the crowd and Ben ran out onto the field."
Batch said at the time, he was a little annoyed because he had warmed up and was excited to go, but looking back, it spoke to how much of a competitor Roethlisberger was and his crazy tolerance for pain. He said that there were multiple occasions during his time backing up the future Hall of Famer that he'd take all the starter's reps in practice, only to be told by the coaching staff on Saturday before a game that Roethlisberger was good to go.
Steelers' Batch Understood His Role Was To Be Support
Batch had been a starting quarterback for the Detroit Lions for parts of four seasons before he signed as a free agent with Pittsburgh. As a competitor, he wanted to play just as much as he wanted to win, but once he got to Pittsburgh, he realized that in order to win, it meant that he didn't always play.
Batch said that at first, while on his couch still recovering from knee surgery, he was watching Roethlisberger compile 13 straight victories and watching the young man take his job. As he reflected further though, he realized he needed to come back to the team and provide their new franchise quarterback with all the support and advice he could give him as the franchise tried to win.
"He [Roethlisbeger] was a young quarterback trying to figure out what that looked like for him," he said. "I had to learn how to lead from behind. I understood as a veteran that I was trying to help him. In the meeting rooms, you had to build up trust and let him know that what you are telling him is for his benefit and for the team."
Batch said it was important to him to convey the right messages to Roethlisberger, as he was learning the ropes of the NFL. He said that older players weren't always telling rookies the right things, but he strived to be one that did. He had a veteran in Frank Reich, now Head Coach of the Carolina Panthers, as his backup in 1998 in Detroit and he wanted to be just like that for Roethlisberger now that he was the elder statesman at quarterback.
While he certainly would've liked to play as much as possible, and he had some big moments as a Steeler, he understood his job was to make sure the team was getting the best version of Roethlisberger they could every Sunday.
Are you surprised by Batch's comments about Roethlisberger's toughness? What did you think of his comments on backup mentality?
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