Trent Dilfer once got booed by the home fans at a Tampa Bay pizza parlor, and Matt Hasselbeck struggled so much that one of his former teammates supposedly called and asked, “Hey, what’s going on? I heard you suck.”
That’s what it’s like to be an NFL quarterback. Learning on the job. Surviving adversity. Growing up in front of America while everyone watches your complexion change and hears your voice deepen.
Now for what it’s not like to be an NFL quarterback. Nobody gets thrust into action midway through his rookie year, wins six consecutive games, and reincarnates a dead dynasty into an unlikely Super Bowl contender.
Nobody.
Except Ben Roethlisberger.
“I know that I couldn’t have done it my rookie year,” said Hasselbeck, who waited three years before he made his first professional start and another season and a half before he actually started to resemble an NFL quarterback. “I was nowhere near ready to play.”
Both Hasselbeck and Dilfer shake their heads and marvel at the game’s newest sensation. The Seahawks’ top two quarterbacks know how much work goes into having success at the NFL level, so they are dumbfounded at the way Roethlisberger has made it look so incredibly easy.
“It’s unbelievable,” said Dilfer, who played in 18 NFL games before he got his sixth win. “I need to watch it because I can’t explain it. Every once in a while there’s something happening like that. Like Randy Moss was that way. You couldn’t explain what he was doing. The Indianapolis offense, to a certain degree, right now is hard to explain.”
And so is Roethlisberger.
On a team that has nine offensive starters back from last season’s 6-10 campaign, the most obvious difference-maker has been a rookie quarterback from Miami University (the one in Ohio, not the football factory down south). The Steelers had high hopes for Big Ben – Roethlisberger was taken with the 11th overall pick in the April draft – just not this soon. Nobody could have predicted a rookie would have so much early success.
Especially a rookie quarterback.
Dilfer still remembers how difficult his first year was. He got thrown into five games, including two starts, and had an 0-5 record to show for it. The Fresno State product completed just 46.3 percent of his passes, with one touchdown and six interceptions.
“I could throw as well as anybody, and do this and that,” he said, “but my mind was just racing constantly.”
Watching from afar, Dilfer can’t explain Roethlisberger’s rookie success. But he assumes the Steelers have tailored the offense to make the transition easier.
“I can’t imagine a young quarterback coming in and doing what Matt (Hasselbeck) does,” Dilfer said. “I just don’t think it’s possible. There’s just so much adjustment at the line of scrimmage, and it takes years to even understand what’s going on.”
Dilfer had trouble handling it as a rookie, despite the physical tools that made him a higher draft pick than Roethlisberger (Dilfer went No. 6 overall to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 1994 draft). He struggled so badly during six seasons in Tampa Bay that the Bucs eventually gave up on him … only to watch Dilfer come back to Tampa and win a Super Bowl with the Baltimore Ravens.
Hasselbeck sat and watched Brett Favre for three seasons in Green Bay, then got off to a Dilfer-like start in his first season with the Seahawks. While both he and Dilfer credit their early difficulties to their eventual success, Hasselbeck watches Roethlisberger’s smooth transition with a touch of envy.
“It’s fun to see how much he’s just balling right now,” Seattle’s 29-year-old quarterback said. “They’re not treating him like a rookie. They’re not handcuffing him. They’re not saying, ‘You’re just a rookie.’ It reminds me a little bit of what the Patriots did with (Tom) Brady when (Drew) Bledsoe got hurt.”
Whereas Hasselbeck once drew comparisons to Rick Mirer, Dan McGwire and Kelly Stouffer, Roethlisberger is already getting thrown into a class with Brady.
It must be nice to be Ben Roethlisberger these days.
“From what I hear about him, he’s got the pimped-out ride, he’s got the throwback jerseys, he’s all iced up,” Hasselbeck said. “I’m sure he’s got it going on right now.”
The Steelers’ young quarterback has got it going on better than any rookie QB since a kid from Pittsburgh named Dan Marino stepped into the NFL 21 years ago.
Seahawks at Rams
Kickoff: 10 a.m. Sunday
TV: Fox (Ch. 13)
Radio: KIRO (710 AM)
Stars to watch: Seahawks – RB Shaun Alexander (879 rushing yards, 12 total TDs) is on pace to set franchise records in rushing (1,545 by Chris Warren in 1994) and touchdowns (18 by Alexander in 2002). WR Darrell Jackson has 45 receptions to rank sixth in the NFC. RT Chris Terry has had success against Rams DE Leonard Little. CB Marcus Trufant has three interceptions, nine passes defensed and a sack.
Rams – WRs Isaac Bruce (48 catches) and Torry Holt (43) are both among the top eight in the NFC in receiving. DE Leonard Little has four sacks this season. LB Pisa Tinoisamoa leads the Rams with 74 tackles.
Breaking down the game: The testosterone ought to be flying high in this one.
Coach Mike Martz has been challenging his Rams players all week following a disappointing performance against New England. The Seahawks are fired up after letting St. Louis back into a game five weeks ago.
This has all the makings of an offensive shootout, but the backdrop means it’ll probably be more about physical play than flash. If Martz pushed the right buttons, he should have the Rams ready for the challenge.
And back in a tie atop the NFC West.
Pick: Rams, 24-21.
Injury report: Seahawks – DE Grant Wistrom (left knee) is doubtful. WR Bobby Engram (left ankle), CB Ken Lucas (chest), TE Itula Mili (groin), LB Anthony Simmons (right hip) and DE Chike Okeafor (neck) are questionable. LB Chad Brown (left knee), S Michael Boulware (left ankle), S Ken Hamlin (right knee), WR Darrell Jackson (right ankle) and CB Bobby Taylor (right knee) are probable.
Rams – WR Dane Looker (ankle) is doubtful. CB Tod McBride (hamstring) is questionable. G Chris Dishman (hamstring), LB Tommy Polley (hamstring), CB Jerametrius Butler (knee), CB Travis Fisher (teeth) and T Scott Tercero (shoulder) are probable.
Little-known fact: With back-to-back 100-yard rushing performances under his belt, Shaun Alexander has a chance to become the first Seahawks running back to record three in a row.
Other NFL games
Houston (4-4) at Indianapolis (5-3), Sunday, 10 a.m.: One of the feel-good stories of the first half, the Texans are actually in the hunt for an AFC South title. That road always seems to go through Indianapolis, so we’ll find out Sunday if the Texans are for real. They should score a lot of points, but can they stop Peyton and the boys? Pick: Colts, 31-24.
Baltimore (5-3) at N.Y. Jets (6-2), Sunday, 10 a.m.: The Quincy Carter era in New York won’t get off to an easy start. Let’s just say Ed Reed will be waiting. Pick: Ravens, 16-7.
Minnesota (5-3) at Green Bay (4-4), Sunday, 1:15 p.m.: Left for dead three weeks ago, the Packers find themselves in position to take control of the NFC North. Their defense needs work, but it’s not nearly as Swiss cheese-like as that of Minnesota. Ahman Green should be doing his share of Lambeau Leaps. Pick: Packers, 34-20.
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