Training camp is always an exciting time. Fans can\u2019t wait to see the new offseason acquisitions take the field for the first time. Two-time Super Bowl champion and Steelers Hall of Honor inductee Ben Roethlisberger is no different with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He\u2019s looking forward to seeing players like QB Aaron Rodgers and CB Jalen Ramsey suit up for the Steelers.<\/p>\n
And on Tuesday\u2019s episode of Footbahlin With Ben Roethlisberger<\/a>, Big Ben named his top three(ish) things he\u2019s excited about when it comes to this year\u2019s team. It all starts with Ramsey and the Steelers\u2019 defense.<\/p>\n \u201cI think the defense has, yes, you\u2019ve lost Minkah, but you\u2019ve got players\u2026\u201d Roethlisberger said. \u201cI think you\u2019ve got a potential of a defense to be a top-five defense in this league.\u201d<\/p>\n Roethlisberger mentioned OLB T.J. Watt as one of those players. Thankfully, the Steelers and Watt came to an agreement on a lucrative contract extension before camp. Insider Gerry Dulac said that head coach Mike Tomlin played a big role in the timing of the contract<\/a>, preventing it from being a hot-button issue at Saint Vincent College. Having Watt ready and a full participant at training camp is a positive thing.<\/p>\n Roethlisberger wonders if Father Time will catch up with DT Cam Heyward. He did note, however, that Heyward played at a level that was unexpected for his age. Heyward also isn\u2019t showing signs of slowing down. Combine Watt and Heyward with the rest of the pass rushers and rookie first-rounder Derrick Harmon, and the Steelers certainly have a fearsome defensive group of players affecting the line of scrimmage every down.<\/p>\n The reinforced secondary deserves attention as well. DB Jalen Ramsey has already made notable plays early in camp. Tomlin says he isn\u2019t locked into playing just in one spot<\/a> on the field, either. Then, there\u2019s CB Darius Slay, who brings title-winning experience to the table from his time with the Eagles.<\/p>\n Undoubtedly, the Steelers have the players who can make a top-five defense, at least on paper. It\u2019s hard not to be excited to see them take the field.<\/p>\n There are also spots on the offensive side of the ball just as exciting.<\/p>\n \u201cThe tight end room,\u201d Roethlisberger said. \u201cJonnu Smith and Pat Freiermuth, and Mount Washington. I think there\u2019s just a lot of potential there to do some things.\u201d<\/p>\n Jonnu Smith is coming off a career year with the Miami Dolphins, notching his first Pro Bowl appearance, and is reunited with his old tight ends coach and offensive coordinator, Arthur Smith. He\u2019s looking forward to working with Freiermuth, saying that they can help each other improve<\/a>. Then there\u2019s Darnell Washington, an absolute mountain of a tight end who can both block and hurdle linebackers. With Arthur Smith\u2019s affinity for tight ends, this position group oozes potential.<\/p>\n Roethlisberger is excited to see the quarterback throwing to them, too. He thinks QB Aaron Rodgers\u2019 resume speaks for itself.\u00a0 The four-time league MVP will surely be a Hall of Famer one day. How can you not be excited to see a Hall of Famer play?<\/p>\n Roethlisberger didn\u2019t forget special teams.\u00a0 He is excited to see K Chris Boswell, the man he calls \u201cthe best kicker in the game.\u201d Perhaps some will be concerned with Roethlisberger saying he\u2019s excited to see the kicker, but he went 41-for-44 last year on field goals, hitting 93.2 percent of his attempts. That\u2019s pretty darn good.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not all roses for Roethlisberger, though. He does have concerns about the offensive line, specifically OT Broderick Jones, and the wide receiver position. Roethlisberger thinks that Jones slimming down could be a positive thing, but he\u2019s still concerned about how well he\u2019ll play left tackle. The blind side tackle position may be the most important spot on the line for protecting an aging Rodgers. Insider Mark Kaboly said Jones is struggling to start camp<\/a>, and that will definitely be something to keep an eye on once he\u2019s practicing in pads.<\/p>\n As for the receiver position, Roethlisberger is questioning the depth there. He said he likes both DK Metcalf and Calvin Austin III, and he wants to like Roman Wilson, but he\u2019s not confident beyond those first two players. He hopes someone will step up, whether it\u2019s Wilson or someone else. Perhaps the tight end room that he\u2019s thrilled about can help take that pressure off the wide receiver room.<\/p>\n Just like every year, there are things to be excited about and to be concerned about with the Steelers\u2019 roster. Hopefully, the things Roethlisberger is excited about will all pan out while his concerns prove inconsequential.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Training camp is always an exciting time. Fans can\u2019t wait to see the new offseason acquisitions take the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":246784,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2055],"tags":[6594,6595,7,6,520,57,2360,426],"class_list":{"0":"post-246783","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-pittsburgh-steelers","8":"tag-ben-roethlisberger","9":"tag-footbahlin-with-ben-roethlisberger","10":"tag-football","11":"tag-nfl","12":"tag-pittsburgh","13":"tag-pittsburgh-steelers","14":"tag-pittsburghsteelers","15":"tag-steelers"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/114939629063422689","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246783","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=246783"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246783\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/246784"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=246783"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=246783"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=246783"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}