STEELERS Ugly season all but over

Ben Roethlisberger said it was frustrating, but the team will bounce back.
By TOM WILLIAMS
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
PITTSBURGH -- After Sunday's 31-7 loss to the Baltimore Ravens that eliminated the Steelers from the postseason chase, the defending Super Bowl champions tried hard to not look past Sunday's season finale in Cincinnati.
The few players who spoke to the media didn't all succeed.
"It's been frustrating," said quarterback Ben Roethlisberger who has endured plenty since becoming the youngest quarterback to win the Super Bowl on Feb. 5.
After surviving a motorcycle accident in June and an emergency appendectomy during Labor Day weekend, Roethlisberger suffered a concussion Oct. 22 in a loss to the Falcons in Atlanta.
"I don't look back on anything with regret in my life," the third-year quarterback said. "It is what it is, and we live for the here and now.
"But it would be awful hard to make it worse next year," Roethlisberger said. "We'll come back. Offensively, we're going to get better. I'm going to stay here [in the off-season] and learn this offense, and work with the young guys.
"We've got to get better -- we all know that," Roethlisberger said. "We've still got one more game ... we know we need to improve."
Struggled against Ravens
Against the Ravens' swarming defense, Roethlisberger struggled, overthrowing open receivers and seeing several passes deflected. He completed 15-of-31 passes for 156 yards and was intercepted twice.
"It wasn't so much throwing lanes as they have an active defense," said Roethlisberger. "They jump a lot, they get their hands up and they're big guys.
"I think our offensive line did a great job tonight -- we saw things that were going on -- we just couldn't connect," said Roethlisberger who was sacked five times.
"We fought hard -- they are a great team," Roethlisberger said. "For the first time in a long time, I felt quite not on the same page of the receivers.
Wide receiver Hines Ward, who caught eight passes for 79 yards, couldn't say why the Steelers' passing attack fizzled against the Ravens.
"There were some miscues -- I can't really pinpoint the reason why," Ward said. "We have to convert on third downs. We had a lot of missed opportunities on third down."
Third down conversions
Twelve to be exact as the Steelers converted just two times on their 14 third-down plays.
"We talked about getting in third down and manageable situations," Steelers coach Bill Cowher said. "We were third-and-4, third-and-5, third-and-6 -- those are the ones we usually convert. Consequently, we couldn't get into any rhythm until that last drive of the first half."
After a 2-6 start, the Steelers rebounded back into the fringe of the playoff race by winning five of six games. But two late season losses to the Ravens ended their dream of defending their crown in the postseason.
"We've fought very hard to get back here," Cowher said. "It's disappointing that it ended here at this field."
The Steelers finished 5-3 at Heinz Field, also losing to the Bengals (28-20) and Broncos (31-20).
Sunday, the Steelers' season will end against the Bengals.
"It's disappointing," said Steeler tailback Willie Parker who was limited by the Ravens to 29 yards on 13 carries. "But at the same time when this season is over, you have to use it as motivation for next year. We still have one more game and I'm not going to overlook it."
The Steelers' holiday cheer this week is likely to be lacking.
No holiday spirit
"We feel horrible," defensive end Brett Keisel said. "You're supposed to feel good during the Christmas season and I can speak for all the guys in here -- we feel horrible."
Roethlisberger said the Steelers' turnaround showed the team's character.
"When we were 2-6 and everybody was questioning us, we told ourselves that we wouldn't quit. That's why I'm so proud of these guys -- offensively, defensively, special teams -- because no one quit," Roethlisberger said. "We've got one more game and we're going to come out and play good football, I know we are."
williams@vindy.com