Entries from August 1, 2006 - September 1, 2006
The Jolly Green Roethlisberger
From The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review:
Ever wonder why the Steelers' quarterbacks don't wear red jerseys -- the NFL's universal symbol for "hands off" -- during practices?
Cowher doesn't think red jerseys are necessary.
Players are continually reminded, beginning in minicamp, that contact with a quarterback is to be avoided.
"He's always got the red shirt on," Cowher said. "The quarterback is off limits in our practices."
The closest a Steelers QB has come to differentiating himself from his teammates during training camp came on Monday morning at St. Vincent College, when Roethlisberger donned one of the skull caps employed during special teams drills to separate those covering kicks from those blocking on returns.
His headgear was a response to Hoke getting tangled up with quarterback Charlie Batch during 11-on-11 play on Saturday.
"We did a little dance. I kind of missed a step and fell," Batch said. "It was fine, no big deal at all.
"I think guys were trying to make him feel bad by making it seem worse than it was."
Roethlisberger, apparently, still is.
"Chris Hoke hit Charlie Batch on a play, so I put it on to keep Chris Hoke away from me," Roethlisberger said. "I'm not fearful. It's more of a goofy thing.
"Plus, I completed all of my passes this morning and this afternoon, so we're going to keep it going. I'm superstitious."
