NFL Football

Statistically, Ben Roethlisberger's last NFL game was his worst. But the youngest quarterback ever to win a Super Bowl has looked like a new man for the Pittsburgh Steelers this spring. "He's been tremendous this offseason," Steelers quarterbacks coach Mark Whipple said. "I think he's really stepped up as a leader and is controlling the offense and he knows what's happening." Roethlisberger's leadership is evident. With veteran running back Jerome Bettis gone, the third-year quarterback has taken charge. Roethlisberger is also showing off a stronger throwing arm after struggling through the late part of the 2005 season with a broken right thumb. "The thumb's healthy, and that obviously helps," Roethlisberger said. "My whole body feels good. I feel healthy." He's consistently thrown 65- to 70-yard deep passes this spring. That's almost 10 yards further than his deep throws in the second half of last season. After missing four games in the middle of the season with knee injuries, Roethlisberger returned for a Monday night game against Indianapolis and broke his right thumb. He aggravated the injury the following week. Because a painkilling shot would have numbed the fingers on his passing hand, Roethlisberger played the rest of the season with a protective splint under a glove on his right hand. "It was excruciating," he said. "I couldn't throw a ball without a glove. I couldn't squeeze it. There were practices where I just had to hold the ball in my palm. It was a broken thumb. Every time I took a snap it hurt." He won't blame his poor Super Bowl statistics on the injury. After all, Roethlisberger compiled two of his top four passer ratings last season in the AFC playoffs. But in the Super Bowl, Roethlisberger's passer rating of 22.6 was the lowest ever compiled by a winning quarterback, and the worst of his two-year career.