Ben Roethlisberger: 'I wasn't a good teammate early in my career'
Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has grown by leaps and bounds when it comes to how he is viewed by his teammates.
He treats his offensive line to expensive Christmas gifts and takes them to dinner the night before games. He picked up the entire tab for a private jet and four-day stay at his vacation home with offensive teammates this summer to get some extra work in during the offseason.
It's a far cry from the Ben Roethlisberger who burst onto the NFL scene with 14 straight wins as a rookie. Despite helping the team to a Super Bowl in his second season, Roethlisberger never felt comfortable as a twenty-something quarterback that was supposed to lead a team of veterans. His attitude even led to a clash with receiver Hines Ward, according to a profile from Dan Pompei of Bleacher Report.
"I'd be the first to admit I wasn't a good teammate early in my career," Roethlisberger said. "There are some guys who had animosity towards me, and probably rightfully so. "I probably could have helped that by being a humble guy who was the best teammate I could be."
A three-hour dinner with former backup Charlie Batch turned Roethlisberger on the right path toward becoming a better teammate, and his current teammates are reaping the rewards.
"I sat next to him in that room for nine of his 11 years," said Batch, now a media analyst in Pittsburgh. "I know what he's done, and it's a lot. And I'm not even including the little things he would get for the [quarterbacks] room: snacks, drinks, things to fill the refrigerator in there, or buying comfortable chairs for the room."
Other interesting anecdotes from the piece: Batch calls into question former Steelers running back Rashard Mendenhall's accusation that Roethlisberger forcing a rookie to pick up a $25,000 bar tab, and Antonio Brown saying that Roethlisberger warned him to show up for OTAs earlier this offseason after skipping voluntary workouts.
The entire piece is worth a read at Bleacher Report.
