Ben’s Back; Steelers franchise QB returns after suspension

While Steeler Nation will have to wait till October 17th to finally see him, the Steelers finally have their franchise quarterback back.

Ben Roethlisberger comes back to the team after serving a four-game suspension handed down by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell for his off the field conduct.

He returns to a team that for the most part rallied behind backup QB’s Dennis Dixon and Charlie Batch for four weeks, as the team sits at 3-1 entering their bye week, tied for first in the division.

“We’re getting our starting quarterback, our franchise guy, back. I know he wishes he was out there competing,” Hines Ward said. “We get a chance to get him back next week. We have a bye week and then we get ready for Cleveland.”

The big thing about the next two weeks is for Roethlisberger to make sure he and his wide outs, Ward included, get on the same page. It’s been awhile since Ben has thrown to those guys, but if he plays like he did for a good part of the preseason, there’s no reason the Steelers should be able to get right back in the win column for weeks to come.

As far as the future for Charlie Batch, he looks to be the hard luck loser in this QB saga. He goes from the #1 to the number three unless something unforseen happens. He was :55 seconds away from leading the team to a 2-0 mark with him as the starter, and now it looks like he won’t see the playing field unless a number of injuries put him back on the field.

“I can’t even really worry about what’s going to happen in the next couple of days or hours. For me, we let one go. It’s an empty feeling anytime that you lose, regardless if you are 3-1,” Batch said Sunday. “We feel that we shouldn’t be feeling down right now. I honestly feel that way.”