By Teresa Varley
Steelers.com

Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger played in his first Pro Bowl on Sunday, and threw a touchdown pass to a receiver he is not used to connecting with – Bengals wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh

Roethlisberger was five for nine for 42 yards and a one-yard touchdown toss, while playing in the second quarter of the game, which the NFC won 42-30. He also led the AFC in rushing with one carry for 18 yards.

Roethlisberger talked about what it was like to practice with a different group all week, including taking snaps from a new center and getting used to the receivers.

“It’s different taking a snap from a different center and throwing to different receivers,” said Roethlisberger. “You may have the same route, but every single person runs them different. When you are not used to throwing to these news guys it takes some time to get used to. I think we did a good job to get on the same page.”

Roethlisberger also took time before the game to reflect on the Steelers 2007 season, one which saw them win the AFC North and make the playoffs under first year head coach Mike Tomlin.

“It was disappointing. We didn’t get as far as we wanted to,” said Roethlisberger.
“We had a good first season if you will under Coach Tomlin. It was good for us. We started the stepping stone. We got it going and hopefully we can continue to carry it on.”

Roethlisberger is looking forward to building on what the team accomplished this past year and knows they have the ability to do so.

“Offensively we were continuing to grow throughout the year from the beginning all the way until the end,” said Roethlisberger. “We will continue to get better, doing the no-huddle, being able to speed it up, slow it down, do a lot of the things we feel we can be good at.

“We have a lot of weapons on offense, especially the receiving corps and great backs and tight ends that we feel we can utilize in a lot of different ways. Offensively that’s where we need to continue to grow in this new system.”