Fantasy football: Bank on Big Ben

By Richard Diaz  |   Thursday, June 05, 2008  |  Comments( 10 )

Fantasy Football
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Last season turned out to be a pretty good one for Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who threw for 3,154 yards and 32 touchdowns. When compared to the NFL's best, only Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and Tony Romo threw more touchdown passes.

An area of concern has typically been Pittsburgh’s run-first philosophy, which definitely played a role in Roethlisberger's total passing yards ranking outside of the league’s top 10. However, it’s worth noting that the Steelers open up at home this season against a Texans team that consistently ranks at the bottom of the league in passing defense. After that, they’ve got several games against defenses that rated 15th or lower in that category last season. Moreover, many of Pittsburgh's opponents have a proven ability to stop the run, meaning Roethlisberger should have more throwing opportunities than usual.

In addition, the Steelers have awarded Big Ben two new weapons in running back Rashard Mendenhall and wide receiver Limas Sweed this offseason. At running back, the ultra-speedy combination of Willie Parker and Mendenhall will give Roethlisberger two extra targets who can turn a screen pass into a huge play. Those two will demand so much attention that defenses will inevitably have trouble defending the pass.

That trouble is made worse by the addition of Sweed, a 6-foot-5 second-round pick from the University of Texas who’s build is similar to Andre Johnson's (Houston). Adding Sweed to a receiving group that already features Santonio Holmes and Hines Ward can potentially give Roethlisberger one of the best wideout corps in the league to work with. Throw tight end Heath Miller into the mix, and the passer has four steadfast targets to look for in the open field.

In short, Roethlisberger's a quarterback who could easily slip through the cracks of fantasy drafts this year. Even though early predictions are indicating he can go in any round from the fourth on forward, one would be wise to grab the four-year veteran earlier. There’s a legitimate shot at Roethlisberger once again being among the best statistical quarterbacks in the league in 2008, and it’d be a shame to miss out on the impact that he might have on your fantasy team.
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