Steelers TE Pat Freiermuth names the strikingly similar characteristic between quarterback Aaron Rodgers and Ben Roethlisberger
Aaron Rodgers and Ben Roethlisberger are two very different people, and even quarterbacks. What both of them will one day boast, however, is a Hall of Fame career that included starting for the Pittsburgh Steelers. And according to Pat Freiermuth, whose rookie season was Big Ben's last, Rodgers and Ben share one very instinctual trait […]
Aaron Rodgers and Ben Roethlisberger are two very different people, and even quarterbacks.
What both of them will one day boast, however, is a Hall of Fame career that included starting for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
And according to Pat Freiermuth, whose rookie season was Big Ben's last, Rodgers and Ben share one very instinctual trait that the tight end has already picked up on…
Aaron Rodgers and Big Ben share the ability to throw WRs open
“I think he’s similar to Ben in a way where like he’s gonna trust you to where you’re gonna be, and he’s gonna throw you open," Muth told Cam Heyward on his Not Just Football podcast. "Aaron, I can see on film where he’s expecting you to be somewhere, and if he trusts you, he’s gonna throw it to that spot and go let you make a play. I think that is what I’ve noticed a lot on film … He sees the game in a certain way. If we can get on that same page to seeing where he sees the defenses and where he wants the routes to go and the ball placement and stuff, the quicker we can do that, the quicker the offense is gonna go.”
The great ones are what former NFL GM Michael Lombardi would call "born with the quarterback instinct from the first time their mother touched them." The trait to know the game through spatial awareness, anticipation and instincts that will never fade.
Sure, is Rodgers the same athlete he was 10 years ago? Absolutely not. Is his arm still as live as when he beat the Steelers in the Super Bowl? Doubtful. But whatever marginal losses his skillset has taken from the erosion of his physical traits, he's gained through experience.
I don't just mean experience as years in the league either. Experience with two different teams via the Green Bay Packers and New York Jets and a plethora of different WRs. Experience that comes from working with TEs like Mercedes Lewis, of whom he compared Darnell Washington to.
So between that experience and his instinctual nature to play the position, Rodgers is more than suitable to be the Steelers' starting quarterback, and Pat Freiermuth is excited to have him.
