Last week, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said that Charlie Batch would be the starting quarterback against the Ravens, two days after Batch put together a big game against the Bucs. No one was surprised.
This week, with Ben Roethlisberger back in the fold, Tomlin once again has told the world what the world already knew.
Big Ben will be back under center when the Steelers face the Browns on October 17.
Joining Adam Schein and Rich Gannon of The Sirius Blitz on Sirius NFL Radio, Tomlin spoke about the no-brainer decision.
"[H]e’s going to get his normal reps in terms of preparing for the game that he’s gotten since I’ve been here in terms of preparing a starter to play,” Tomlin said. “And, of course, he’s going to start next Sunday.”
Tomlin also said that Roethlisberger is physically ready to go.
“His conditioning is not a concern at all and if you lay eyes on him you’ll understand what I’m talking about,” Tomlin said. “He’s in great physical shape. His arm is in great shape. He’s ready for work. It’s just about being sharp, being football sharp, being able to recognize and identify pressure packages and change protection points and distribute the ball. And that’s football. That’s why we’re working today. But ultimately you’ve got to be able to do that under duress and sometimes the only duress that is legitimate is inside stadiums so we understand that his progress is going to be measured on how he does in the stadium next Sunday and moving forward.”
We think he’ll do just fine. Before Sunday’s game against the Ravens, we believed that, if the Steelers had won, they could have run the table. Though the best the Steelers can now manage is 15-1, we wouldn’t be surprised if it happens.