The Pittsburgh Steelers suffered a loss more devastating than a defeat in a match this NFL regular season: losing Super Bowl material quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. With the upcoming game against the Baltimore Ravens at Heinz Field on Thursday (October 1), 8:25 pm ET, it appears that the Pittsburgh Steelers must pick themselves up and try to move forward sans quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. Hence, the NFL community will see backup quarterback Michael Vick as the starting player for the Pittsburgh Steelers in the match against the Baltimore Ravens. While Michael Vick has always been a notable NFL star, fans and followers of the Pittsburgh Steelers are anxious over the change and how this will affect the team's Super Bowl dreams.
However, the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Mike Tomlin, appear to be confident on the capacity of Michael Vick to fill in the shoes of Ben Roethlisberger. Despite the confidence, the Pittsburgh Steelers coach remained conscious of the differences in the playing style and talent of Ben Roethlisberger and Michael Vick. He shared, "That doesn't mean we're going to ask him to execute our offense in the manner which we'd ask Ben to." Mike Tomlin added, "Ben and Coach Haley have been together for three years now, Ben's been in Pittsburgh for over 10 years. So there's a certain comfort with that continuity. We're not going to assume certain things because Mike is a veteran player and he's up to speed on a large body of work. We're going to work in his comfort zone and bring the game to him to put us in the best position to win a football game."
With the concern over Ben Roethlisberger's absence arising not only from the public but also from members of the NFL team, such as Brandon Boykin and Heath Miller, the Pittsburgh Steelers coach shared that Michael Vick is fully knowledgeable of the offense strategies of the NFL team. Mike Tomlin reached out to the special teams in terms of lending a helping hand to Ben Roethlisberger's backup as well. The Pittsburgh Steelers head coach went on to say, "Obviously when you're minus a quarterback like we are, particularly one the significance of Ben, if you can get a leg up in the special teams that can be significant. So we've got some work for us in front of us in that area as well."
The Pittsburgh Steelers will face the Baltimore Ravens with fresh off a 12 - 6 win over the St Louis Rams during Week 3 of the regular NFL season. The match against the St Louis Rams saw Ben Roethlisberger complete 20 out of 24 passes for 192 yards. Upon his injury, Michael Vick entered the NFL game and pitched in five out of 6 passes for 38 yards. Antonio Brown spearheaded the receivers with 11 receptions in 108 yards; while Le'Veon Bell contributed one touchdown in 19 attempts and 62 rushed yards as well as 70 yards in seven catches.
