Big Ben, Rodgers: A study in contrasts

Photo by: Mark Humphrey

ASSOCIATED PRESS

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Pittsburgh Steelers' Ben Roethlisberger answers questions during media day for NFL football Super Bowl XLV, Tuesday, Feb. 1, 2011 in Arlington, Texas.

Associated Press

ARLINGTON, TEXAS

Ben Roethlisberger dodged the tough character questions the way he avoids pass rushers.

Aaron Rodgers didn’t have to. He didn’t get any.

Roethlisberger is on the verge of joining an elite group of quarterbacks who are three-time Super Bowl winners; Rodgers has yet to play in one.

Roethlisberger has a troubled past; Rodgers had a tough act to follow.

The two met the masses at Super Bowl media day on Tuesday for what turned out to be a study in contrasts.

Roethlisberger, who has led the Pittsburgh Steelers to their third Super Bowl in six years, deflected talk about his four-game suspension to begin this season for violating the league’s personal conduct policy.

Instead, he used a smile and what sounded like a well-rehearsed reply when pressed about the punishment, stressing his desire to be a model citizen.

“I want to be the guy people look up to,” he said, smiling through a beard he said will be gone by Monday, win or lose. “I want to be that kind of husband, father and grandfather some day if I am lucky enough.”

Rodgers, who is leading the Packers to their first Super Bowl appearance since 1998, didn’t have anything more difficult to address than replacing Brett Favre in 2008.

“I just wanted to be honest through the entire time,” he said of the will Favre-won’t Favre return saga that was settled when the Packers dealt their longtime QB to the Jets. “It was a difficult situation.

“It was tough to stand up every day in front of media not knowing what questions were coming at me and how the fans were going to react that day in practice.

“But the whole time the organization stood by me and they told the truth, and I told the truth, and we moved on together.”

Speaking of moving, no one was getting anywhere fast Tuesday morning after a snow and ice storm — weather suited for Pittsburgh and Green Bay — crippled the Dallas area.

And no one bothered turning up the heat inside cavernous Cowboys Stadium, site of Sunday’s title game. The chill left many players shivering. Even Roethlisberger, who handled questions better than he did the cold, asked for someone to crank up the burners — to no avail.

“You’ve got to fight through a lot of difficult things in life, and this is no different,” he said, referring to the penalty he received from Commissioner Roger Goodell after accusations of sexual assault were made by a 20-year-old college student in March.

The quarterback was never prosecuted over what was the second such set of allegations against him. “You’ve got to keep plugging along.”

He took about a dozen questions on the subject, and pretty much stayed with the same answer:

“That’s a reflective question. This is not the time for reflection.”

Rodgers, on the other hand, had no problem looking back. The six-year pro compared his sitting for three years behind Favre to what Steve Young experienced in San Francisco behind Joe Montana.

“I reached out to Steve when I became a starter, among some other guys, too,” Rodgers said, noting that he has not spoken with Favre about being a Super Bowl QB. “I wanted to talk to a lot of guys who’d been there and had success in the NFL.

Steve obviously had a very similar [situation], being a guy who followed a legend. He’s been great. Steve has been a great guy to lean on and he’s made time for me and is somebody who I really appreciate.”

Young’s not a bad role model. He won a Super Bowl and is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

His supporters have increased all through the roster — just as they have in Pittsburgh now that he has the Steelers in their eighth Super Bowl; they’ve won a record six.