There are obviously many reasons why Ben Roethlisberger has transformed into one of the league's best and most clutch quarterbacks. He is incredibly physically gifted, with great arm strength, vision, movement, and a fantastic 6th sense of when to get out of the pocket and play "backyard football." He has a great mind for the game -- maybe not the football smarts of Peyton Manning, but Ben knows where everyone should be at all times and is doing an increasingly better job of dissecting defenses. He is the absolute and undisputed best quarterback at improvising a play when things break down. He is a great teammate and an emerging locker room leader. He is good with media coverage, and is excellent at deflecting praise onto his teammates when they deserve it.

More than anyone, Ben himself is responsible for his climb to the top echelon of NFL quarterback rankings. Not only relying on his wonderful physical gifts, the man has been a tireless worker in the Steel City -- to the point where teammates have been concerned with him overworking his body in the gym. He has spent countless hours in the film room, helped design playbooks, and spent a lot of extra time with his receivers. But he has had some help along the way. Most notably, he was drafted to a team that was a solid mix of talent, both young and veteran. A team with a dedicated fanbase, solid and stoic ownership, and a coaching staff that knew how to breed winners. He also had a series of excellent coaches who have helped him on his journey to the top. Terry Hoeppner, his recently deceased former college coach at Miami (Ohio), was best friends with Big Ben and essential to his meteoric rise. Bill Cowher, Ken Wisenhunt, and Russ Grimm gave him guidance and taught him the position in the NFL, and how his role works around his teammates'. Ken Anderson, his current quarterback coach and former Bengals star, has helped propel Ben onto another level of performance. And, finally, Mike Tomlin has done an excellent job relating to his star quarterback and placing him in a position to succeed. 

But I would argue that Dick Lebeau has been as influential to Ben's success as anyone outside of Ben himself.

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I found this through Lamar's website. It was from an interview he did for a magazine called Urban Ink.

The link is through his site:http://www.lamarrwoodley56.com/

Anyway, the question from the interview goes as follows:

Urban Ink: Out of all the quarterbacks you sacked in the playoffs, which gave you the most satisfaction?

Lamar Woodley: I'm going to say Philip Rivers. The first time I sacked him, I got up and did my little celebration. He started talking trash and saying, "Get back in the huddle" and woofin'. So I told myself that the next time he'd pay the price. The next time I got him, I took him on what I call the "rollercoaster." He met the ground and I stood over him. When he got up he was a little woozy. On the next play he threw the ball away before I could get him again. After I hit him that time he couldn't say anything and I didn't have to celebrate. I just wanted to look in his eyes and let him know that Number 56 put him in the dirt. Two weeks later I got fined $15,000 for that hit, and that definitely hurt me in the pocket.

The hit can be seen here at youtube. The quality is poor, but wait till the end where the jumbotron replay is shown. 

From Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

Pittsburgh and Allegheny County will host another rally Friday in advance of the Steelers playoff game against Baltimore on Sunday.

The "Roast the Ravens" rally is set for noon in the courtyard of the County Courthouse on Grant Street, Downtown.

A rally was also held there Friday before the Steelers defeated San Diego in the first playoff round.

For the upcoming rally, live music is planned and complimentary wings and coffee will be available.

Officials are asking everyone, whether attending the rally or not, to wear black and gold that day.

Rally-goers are also asked to take a nonperishable food item, which will be donated to the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank.

So if any travelers or locals are around on Friday, be sure to come! I'll be there, slightly tipsy, wearing my all-yellow Steelers outfit. I wonder if a pint of Crown Royal counts as a nonperishable food item?

Here is the list of current Steelers players and their playoff experience. I only included active players for this season as well. Kendall Simmons and Marvel Smith would have added some experience, but they are both on IR, so no go.

0 Playoff Games

LB Patrick Bailey

OT Jason Capizzi

LB Bruce Davis

QB Dennis Dixon

T Tony Hills

DT Scott Paxon

LS Jared Retkofsky

WR Limas Sweed

1 Playoff Games

RT Willie Colon (All with Pittsburgh Steelers)

DE Nick Eason (All with Pittsburgh Steelers)

LB Kerayon Fox (All with Kansas City Chiefs)

DB William Gay (All with Pittsburgh Steelers)

WR Santonio Holmes (All with Pittsburgh Steelers)

QB Byron Leftwich (All with Jacksonville Jaguars)

DB Anthony Madison (All with Pittsburgh Steelers)

FB Sean McHugh (All with Green Bay Packers)

T Jeremy Parquet (All with St. Louis Rams)

RB Gary Russel (All with Pittsburgh Steelers)

TE Matt Spaeth (All with Pittsburgh Steelers)

G Darnell Stapleton (All with Pittsburgh Steelers)

LB Lawrence Timmons (All with Pittsburgh Steelers)

LB Lamar Woodley (All with Pittsburgh Steelers)

2 Playoff Games

DB Fernando Byrant (All with Jacksonville Jaguars)

FS Ryan Clark (2 with Washington Redskins, DNP in 2007 Steelers playoff game)

RB Mewelde Moore (All with Minnesota Vikings)

3 Playoff Games

FB Carey Davis (2 with Atlanta Falcons, 1 with Pittsburgh Steelers)

4 Playoff Games

LB Andre Frazier (All with Pittsburgh Steelers)

C Justin Hartwig (All with Tennessee Titans)

5 Playoff Games

T Trai Essex (All with Pittsburgh Steelers)

G Chris Kemoeatu (All with Pittsburgh Steelers)

CB Bryant McFadden (All with Pittsburgh Steelers)

TE Heath Miller (All with Pittsburgh Steelers)

DE Orepheus Roye (1 with Cleveland Browns, 4 with Pittsburgh Steelers)

WR Nate Washington (All with Pittsburgh Steelers)

7 Playoff Games

RB Willie Parker (All with Pittsburgh Steelers)

SS Troy Polamalu (All with Pittsburgh Steelers)

QB Ben Roethlisberger (All with Pittsburgh Steelers)

T Max Starks (All with Pittsburgh Steelers)

CB Ike Taylor (All with Pittsburgh Steelers)

9 Playoff Games

P Mitch Berger (All with Minnesota Vikings)

SS Tyrone Carter (2 with Minnesota Vikings, 7 with Pittsburgh Steelers)

LB Larry Foote (All with Pittsburgh Steelers)

LB James Harrison (All with Pittsburgh Steelers)

NT Chris Hoke (All with Pittsburgh Steelers)

DE Brett Kiesel (All with Pittsburgh Steelers)

DE Travis Kirschke (2 with Detroit Lions, 7 with Pittsburgh Steelers)

K Jeff Reed (All with Pittsburgh Steelers)

11 Playoff Games

NT Casey Hampton (All with Pittsburgh Steelers)

DE Aaron Smith (All with Pittsburgh Steelers)

CB Deshea Townsend (All with Pittsburgh Steelers)

WR Hines Ward (All with Pittsburgh Steelers)

12 Playoff Games

LB James Farrior (3 with New York Jets, 9 with Pittsburgh Steelers)

Several things of note:
Not every player actually played in all those playoff games, but they did dress and were considered active. I’m not sure this entirely matters, though. It’s probably very important for young players to get to see a playoff game and experience the atmosphere and intensity of the event. I’m sure it’s better to actually play, but just being there is next best. DT Scott Paxon is the only player who has no playoff experience who is not a rookie. Our 2003/2004 draft classes are boss, with several stars still here with tons of playoff experience.

26 players have 4+ playoff games under their belts, with 18 having atleast 1 game, and only 8 players having none. The average number of playoff games per player is 4.3 games! This is unbelievable. This has got to be the most playoff-experienced team in the NFL. Also most players have some experience playing for the Steelers in the playoff, which comes with massive pressure from fans' expectations and a demand of excellency from the franchise itself. Something else of note: The Pittsburgh Steelers have been in 11 playoff games in the past 7 seasons (not including this season, yet) and they have won 7 and lost 4. Unbelievable. Can you imagine the joy of, say, a Detriot Lions fan if his franchise has those stats. I love the consistency of this franchise. They really do things the right way. Finally, James Farrior is a beast, ‘nuff said.

A great way to recognize our players' efforts (especially our defense) is to get out there a vote. We all did our civic duty (except maybe HighSchoolSteeler as he's probably too young) recently when we did our presidential voting. Let's vote on something that really matters -- getting our Steelers some nationwide recognition. You could claim that this is a bane to the teams' future success, as Pro Bowl players demand higher salaries, but I'd rather have a team full of Pro Bowlers than a team like the Lions...

The voting ends EARLY THIS NEXT WEEK, so get it done. This latest round has been my 21st time voting this year.

http://www.nfl.com/probowl/ballot

Just read it on ESPN. Some kinds of unreported rules violation. This should definitely help out second-time starter William Gay. Instead of having to cover Housh the whole game, now Ike Taylor gets to statistically eliminate him from the game.

On a side note, I just landed a last-minute ticket to the game. The Steelers are 3-0 at the only other games I have been able to attend. Not that we need another good luck charm for this game, just thought it couldn't hurt..